I have an eight-year-old laptop that needs replacing and I’m paralyzed. What are the most reliable ones now? Do I need a desktop for CAD? Pros and cons of operating systems (and where do I find them?) Browsers ditto? Where do I find answers that aren’t just product marketing?

  • @[email protected]
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    4110 months ago

    Do I need a desktop for CAD?

    Probably not, unless your models are really complicated or you do heavy duty finite-element analysis or something and thus need a high-end GPU. (If that were you, you’d know it and wouldn’t have needed to ask.)

    Pros and cons of operating systems (and where do I find them?)

    Linux is the best, but if your use-case is CAD you’re likely stuck on Windows because Autodesk etc. are run by assholes (in other words, because most CAD software only runs in Windows).

    Browsers ditto?

    Firefox, because it’s the only reasonably-mainstream browser that doesn’t use the same rendering engine as Chrome. You shouldn’t use any Chromium-based browser because allowing Google to have hegemony over web standards is bad for the Internet and society as a whole.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      2110 months ago

      You shouldn’t use any Chromium-based browser because allowing Google to have hegemony over web standards is bad for the Internet and society as a whole.

      Preach it, brother!