There;
Community-recommended computers
they recommend “HP Compaq 8200 Elite SFF i5-2400” and thinkpads with iX-3X20M" they doesn’t seem to me a bad choice, but as they are already a bit obsolete I wanted to ask first to make sure.
Are they still a good option? Do they work well with Qubes4.1? Will they still be a valid options in the next years with the next versions?
I don’t intend to use them as my main daily systems, but considering that the hardware is becoming more and more inaccessible for the user to manipulate, the ridiculous prices that old hardware parts have reached due to their scarcity (like retro consoles or ibm keyboards) and that it seems that the world is moving towards a future where surveillance and social credit systems etc supported by technology are just around the corner where they have not already arrived…
For these reasons and many others, I would like to take advantage now to acquire hardware that may be useful for the future.
All suggestions are welcome.
The idea would be to have another workstation different from the one I use for my daily activities, this second one, it would barely connect to the internet, only if necessary, and it would be mainly destined to store files, from music to cryptocurrencies. Will it be a good option to use qubes? or will it be better to use some other light version of linux hardened or maybe even open-bsd?
I would also like to acquire some laptop to use it in case I have to do something connected to the internet, to be able to move and do it in a public place, what would be better for this, a hardened corebooted thinkpad or disposables burner laptops?
The idea would be to put together a list of old hardware that meets certain security criteria, and that can be useful and not become totally obsolete in the medium-long term.
Not to buy them all at once and keep them waiting for the time to come, but rather to have a “guide” for when we visit flea markets or thrift stores, which have mountains of electronic junk that surely hide gems for those who know how to see them.