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:title: My setup
:status: published
I'm always interested in what tools others are using to get their work done. On this page, I want to share how I get my stuff done, at least the computing part of it. This is also inspired by `The Setup <https://usesthis.com/>`_ and Richard Stallman's `"How I do my computing" <https://stallman.org/stallman-computing.html>`_.
Hardware
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My laptop is a Thinkpad Edge E530. I was lucky to get it quite cheaply without Windows preinstalled. I like about it that it did not yet fail on me over the last years. I replaced the crappy hard disk with a SSD to get some performance out of the otherwise not very powerful laptop. The screen is not that good, but the fact that it's a matte screen makes it quite usable in the sunlight. I removed the camera and microphone. `This guide <http://www.insidemylaptop.com/replace-screen-on-lenovo-e530-laptop/>`_ was quite helpful for that, although it's actually for replacing the screen. However, the same steps make it possible to access the camera and microphone module above the screen.
I built my own PC after I had finished school and I still use it today. The CPU is an Intel Core i7-860 and runs overclocked at 3.4 GHz which is still enough for my performance needs. The processor is perfectly cooled by a `Scythe Mugen 2 Rev.B <http://www.overclock.net/products/scythe-scmg-2100-mugen-2-rev-b>`_ which is not only really huge but also very quiet. I added 8 GB of RAM and the motherboard is a `MSI P55-GD65 <https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/P55GD65.html>`_. I can't really say something positive about the motherboard as it made quite some issues over the years. The only bad purchase besides the motherboard was the GPU. I managed to buy a variant of the Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 from EVGA that has the fan always running at 100%. To keep the noise down, I replaced the fan with an `Alpenföhn Klara <http://www.alpenfoehn.de/auslaufmodelle/klara>`_. The power supply is from `bequiet! <http://www.bequiet.com/>`_ and everything is kept inside a nice Aluminium case from Lian Li that also has a side panel window. The only issue is the sometimes oscillating and thus noisy side panel.
For personal data and services for family and friends, I use a HP ProLiant MicroServer N54L as a home server. It is equipped with two 1 TB disks. A TP-Link TL-WDR4300 serves as router with an Allnet ALL0333CJ as modem. This blog and other public stuff is hosted on a `VPS <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_server>`_ which uses `KVM <http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page>`_. I'm planning to move from the VPS to another home server as soon as I can get hold on a fast internet connection that is separate from the one the MicroServer is connected to. I'd like to keep the two servers completely separate from each other so I can use them as backups for each other.
Furthermore, I own two Samsung Galaxy S III phones. One of them is my daily driver and I use the other one for development work on `Replicant <http://www.replicant.us/>`_.
Software
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`I try to use as much free software as possible <{filename}/why_free_software.rst>`_. Unfortunately, we are not yet at the point when we can buy almost any kind of hardware as use it exclusively with free software. My laptop and PC work fine with the free graphics drivers for Intel and Nvidia chips. On the operating system level, I don't depend on nonfree software in the case of the PC, home server and router. However, the laptop needs a nonfree firmware to make the Intel Wireless card work.
My PC, laptop and home server need proprietary hardware initialization software. There isn't a free `BIOS <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS>`_ replacement available yet. I'd like to use hardware that is supported by `Libreboot <https://libreboot.org/>`_ or at least supported by `Coreboot <https://www.coreboot.org/>`_. The `Libreboot website <https://libreboot.org/>`_ explains why it's important that free software boots up your system. It also sums up why security and privacy is only possible on `Intel <https://libreboot.org/faq/#intel>`_ and `AMD <https://libreboot.org/faq/#amd>`_ hardware that is several years old.
..
A nonfree BIOS causes several issues. Among others, many manufacturers use whitelists to only allow the usage of a certain hardware. This makes it difficult to replace parts of the hardware. The nonfree BIOS is often slow and bloated. It may contain backdoors Security issues are
More coming soon!
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