Then you can become a pundit. On 2022-08-17 12:00, Eric Oyen via PLUG-discuss wrote: > I am not going to argue politics, especially on this list. However, I > do ask that you dismiss all the pundits on both sides, go out and do > your own research. Just an honest opinion on my part, I don’t think > you are going to like what you see. > > -Eric > From the Central Offices of the Technomage Guild, Political Sciences > Dept. > >> On Aug 17, 2022, at 3:25 AM, David Schwartz via PLUG-discuss >> wrote: >> >> I don’t know what you’re referring to exactly about the economy >> crashing, other than the typical doom-and-gloom nonsense that the >> right-wing propaganda machinery floods the airwaves with whenever >> Democrats are in charge of things. The truth is, things are always >> shifting, slowly but surely. >> >> As for technology, I’d make this simple observation: >> >> At some point, the world leader in CPU chips — Intel — was >> following along the same path they had been taking for years and was >> working on a 5 GHz CPU when they realized that as they kept trying >> to speed-up CPUs, the amount of effort needed to extract the heat >> from the chips would make the hardware far too expensive and >> cumbersome to remain viable. So they decided that multiple CPUs on >> the chip where the CPU speed was around 2-3 GHz would be better in >> the long-run. >> >> I’m guessing that the folks at a world leader in computer >> engineering — Apple Computer — also figured this out. Intel >> sells chips; Apple sells computer systems. Dell buys Intel chips and >> integrates video cards from another vendor that use Intel’s GPUs. >> Apple doesn’t really care who makes what; they just want to >> maximize their profits. >> >> Coincidentally, video cards have been hard to come by because the >> GPUs have been getting hijacked for use by crytocurrency miners. A >> large portion of these have Intel GPUs on them. >> >> Apple decided it might make more sense to simply put a bunch of CPUs >> and GPUs on one substrate and then tune their software to run on >> this sort of architecture, alleviating the dependency on separate >> CPU and GPU chips and cards. There’s a side-effect in that nobody >> is going to be hijacking their GPUs for other purposes. >> >> Intel apparently didn’t want to lose the revenues they’ve been >> earning from their GPU chip sales to crypto miners and, well, Apple >> is no longer using either Intel’s CPUs or GPUs. >> >> So while some say the economy is “crashing”, the 10 largest >> corporations in the world are all reporting record profits and >> growth. The stuff politicians are doing to continue long-term >> policies that enable corporations to siphon off more and more money >> from consumers is appalling, and may well lead to a lot more >> discomfort and pain for consumers, but certainly not from corporate >> shareholders and execs. If you want to profit from that shift, then >> buy stocks in these large and growing companies. Warren Buffet has >> large holdings in them, as well as Apple. He also owns a large >> utility company in Nevada. >> >> Speaking of utility companies, one thing that is surely going to >> help “crash” the economy (for consumers) over the coming decade >> is the increasing growth of EVs and their need to get their fuel >> from the power grid. The same power grid that’s going to be used >> to power computers and crypto miners. Some with >> politically-motivated arguments might see it as convenient that >> states like Arizona have passed laws that give utility companies the >> power to punish consumers who want to install their own renewable >> energy sources and batteries to become independent of the power >> grid. Yes, we’re talking about those folks who’d like to unhook >> from the inevitable increases we’re going to see in the cost of >> electricity, especially since the cost of fuel to power generators >> is also skyrocketing — and the profits from those price increases >> is nearly all flowing into the bank accounts of the monarchy of >> Saudi Arabia (with the help of elected officials in Congress, both >> past and present, members of both political parties). >> >> The tea leaves are pretty clear to many readers: there’s a big >> shift towards more and more things in our life that require >> electricity to run, and it’s inevitable that the cost of said >> power is going to go up. But the price of gas is also going up, >> which is contributing to the increase in power costs. Buying a bunch >> of old computers that consume 3x the power of the newest computers >> does not seem like a smart way to avoid increases in the cost of >> electricity. >> >> Make your home more thermally efficient so you don’t need to run >> your A/C as much. Replace electronic equipment with newer >> lower-power stuff. Reduce your overall carbon footprint by 10%. Grow >> your own fruits and veggies. Set up a wind turbine or solar panels >> to charge batteries that power your electronic equipment at home, >> but do not connect them to the grid. Buy an inexpensive EV to get >> around town, because in the long-run it’ll be far cheaper than a >> gas-powered vehicle. (I recommend a Bolt or a Leaf as they’re the >> cheapest EVs on the market today and will remain so for 2-3 years >> due to factors like the global chip shortage. I got a 2019 Leaf SL >> Plus, and I *LOVE* it! It only costs me 4¢/mile in electricity to >> drive.) >> >> While you’re at it, figure out how to generate $100-$200 per day >> online to supplement your income. >> >> -David Schwartz >> >>> On Aug 15, 2022, at 9:31 AM, Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss >>> wrote: >>> >>> Hi, >>> About 24 years ago I worked for a guy who used to say "There is >>> opportunity in chaos.". >>> >>> Given the chip shortage and other things taking place in the >>> global space, present and future, I am wondering what do you see >>> as opportunity in this present/coming chaos? >>> >>> FWIW I am an old guy who has started to realize that being forward >>> thinking is VERY important. >>> >>> To keep things relevant I see that hardware is finally powerful >>> enough that 10 year old hardware can run Linux rather well. If >>> the economy really is going to crash it might be worth acquiring >>> some old iron, SSD drives, and RAM for future projects. >>> >>> Your thoughts? >>> >>> Thanks!! >>> --------------------------------------------------- >>> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org >>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >>> https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss [1] >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > > > Links: > ------ > [1] > https://u2206659.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=SJEG7TF39YLaAIMD0HhsfC6E-2FcJXOs2D1VhGcvn2YkObFLMBOC3gmante55BOqf2F-2ByuZjZxeWAcK3DSlXP4Xtp4dQImX1G2Oq-2BQoN6woQ4-3DGQCz_o-2BjQxMsWfboH-2B-2BcY2qb3IYCoqvthnvff9ftZz0pNEJ2tF1jbVlVBtrlaPYq4av3GbSfa5IB-2BgC7AIuStRqkxSmG9LCziM-2BAFzPbP3QcGSaV544d1zAheLSAo-2FqkoVY6RO6zfNrayVpiJqk4guM9vumbD9pN3ql3atS1EsAHOglhHOjwctqEPNiEq3svPaDh1-2Fm5cNBrYCCD3qzHxCYjGmuV0-2BuiDkt-2BqhSFfowi9R5Q-3D > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss