or, how to stop hating your computer
or, how to stop your computer from hurting you
Since the dawn of smartphones and social media, computers have transformed from a tool that we use to assist us in our daily lives to the object around which they revolve. Go out in public and most formerly free humans are glued to smartphones, given any spare moment at all. Some even have tiny extra smartphones strapped to their wrists. Everyone’s walking around with headphones on all the time, shutting out the world, pushing a mindless meaningless drip of “content” into their heads. People can’t navigate anywhere on their own without Google or Apple telling them step-by-step directions. A shockingly high amount of people use their smartphones while driving.
This isn’t just about smartphones. Every type of computer (at least the ones you can get from a retail outlet) has become worse, in terms of how it treats the user and what it demands. They first came into our lives as tools, but now they (and their true owners) are the ones in control. From automatic updates at the least convenient times, to subscription services, dark patterns, censorship, and now the unending torrent of “AI” features, there seems to be no refuge from the evolution of unhelpful technology, and its dominance over daily life.
In the mid-90s, a mid-range computer might have 32 megabytes of memory. In 2025, my work computer has 32 gigabytes of the stuff - that’s an increase of 1024 times in less than 30 years. We’ve gone from single-core, sub-gigahertz clock speeds in processors to multi-core, multi-processor, multi-gigahertz in a very short time frame. However this doesn’t amount to much - Windows 98 runs perfectly well with 32 megabytes of memory and a Pentium 2, and for some reason, even on a high-end modern computer, “modern” Windows 11 takes longer to perform similar tasks.
In the 90s, if your computer had a virus or a program was hogging resources, it was readily apparent. Things would slow to a crawl, because the limited resources could not easily be shared among many programs. Software had to be lean and efficient. Now software seems like a gas - it’ll expand to fill its container. With heaps of resources to spare, the makers of the software you use have become lazy and greedy. They pile in useless junk you don’t want or need, and every program includes spyware (they call it “telemetry”) to report on all your activities. Half of what these programs do would be considered a virus in the 90’s - a program that you didn’t ask for, perpetually running in the background, reporting on you - but that’s just par for the course in the modern world.
Fortunately, all this stuff is avoidable. It just takes some time and patience and know-how. It’s easy to learn what to avoid, what to look for, and how to regain some sanity in your digital life. After all, it should be a separate thing, an augmentation, a tool to assist you in your life, not its locus.
In order to do this, paradoxically, you’ll need to learn a bit more about computers, the Internet, and the services and software you use. Knowledge is power, and in order to have some control over your digital life you’ll need to be the one that holds that power, instead of someone else.
I promise this will be a short read.
This is not an academic paper. I will not present you with a bibliography. Mountain of evidence or no, some people really just want to spend money on shiny gadgets and further their doom-scrolling addiction. I am not selling you a product, I am coaching you on a lifestyle that you already want. You’re reading this to get help down a path you wish to travel. Of course, most of what I’m saying here is straightforward and obvious.
That being said, links to most things I talk about are provided at the end. And finally, if you disagree with me, or notice any factual errors, let me know what you think by emailing book@adamthiede.com, and I can publish an updated version with your comments.
My primary computer is a laptop from 2011 - it’s currently 14 years old, and I bought it used in 2016 at a steep discount. I’ve replaced a few parts, because you can with computers of that vintage, and it’s still doing everything I need it to. While old(er) computers aren’t perfect for more specialized needs (music and video production, CAD and other engineering disciplines, playing the latest video games) they’ll get the job done for most people. You, too, can run recent software on an old computer and it’ll work just fine. My wi-fi router was a free gift from a coworker and it just passed its 11th birthday, and it (and the aftermarket software I put on it) still works just as well as day 1.
The point is that good computer hardware is not expensive - you just need to know what software you want to run first. Using stable, minimal, lightweight programs is the best way to squeeze the most out of your computer and I’ll go over software in the next section.
Let’s go through the basics of a modern, minimal, and thrifty tech stack. You’ve probably got a lot of this already, but I’m going to explain each thing and the ways you can save on each.
Any more than that is “extra”. You’ll know if you need or want it. Like most nerds, I have a home server - a place to store all my files and to run some software that I want “always on”, instead of just running on my laptop.
Generally, avoid Apple products. They’re expensive and they only operate well with each other, so you’ll need to go “all in” if you want it to work right. There is no tangible benefit to Apple products for most people. Android has the same apps, normal PCs are just as good and are far more flexible. Think of Apple products like a video game console: they’re designed to run a very specific set of software, they’re completely controlled by the manufacturer, and there’s really no easy way to “color outside the lines” or use them like a normal computer. If all you want is to use Apple’s first-party software and hardware, I suppose that’s fine - the general principles below can still apply.
Just get the cheapest plan you can stand. Generally, 50Mbps (Megabits per second) download and 10Mbps upload is adequate. (Upload speed usually isn’t advertised; you may have to dig around, or call and ask.) My fellow nerds may fight me on this, but unless it’s 2020 and you’ve got six kids all doing zoom school, you’ll be fine with those speeds. If you want to pay for more speed, go for it, but you should know why you need it. I have always taken the cheapest option I can get. Usually connection speed isn’t a problem during daily use, it’s latency and reliability. To fix those, you have to look at the router.
If you’ve got broadband or cable Internet, which most people do, you should buy 2 devices: a router and a modem. The modem takes coaxial input (the one-pin screw-in connector, like for the back of televisions) and provides Ethernet to the router. The router will usually provide a few more Ethernet ports, and WiFi connectivity.
These should be two separate devices. Most of the time, the device your ISP will rent you is a combo unit - it is both a router and modem. Like a Swiss army knife, it’s a “jack of all trades, master of none”. I’ve helped a lot of people with their home Internet connection woes, and pretty much every time, these rented combo boxes are the whole problem. If you spend about $150 on good equipment, it’ll last you for years. The ISP is charging you $7 to $15 a month for their piece of junk, and you can get more features, more reliability, and more speed out of something you buy yourself. Consult your ISP’s modem compatibility list, buy one of those (at least DOCSIS 3.0 capable), and then get a decent WiFi router from Netgear, TP-Link, Mikrotik, or Ubiquiti, with at least WiFi 5/“AC”. (If you don’t want WiFi at all, you can get device that are just ethernet routers - there’s no wifi chip in them at all! Mikrotik makes good, cheap equiment like this.)
The best way to get reliable speeds on WiFi is to avoid using it! Everything that is stationary should be plugged into Ethernet. The fewer devices you have on WiFi the better it’ll operate for those devices. Again, if your connectivity is unreliable, your Internet connection speed is rarely the problem. Plug into Ethernet and throw all that WiFi IoT junk out.
Whether you want a laptop or a desktop, you shouldn’t buy anything brand new. Buying used or refurbished computers has many advantages.
Used computers are cheaper. Generally you don’t need the performance a new machine offers and you can get the “same thing” (as far as what it’ll do for you) for much cheaper.
Used computers have repair guides and parts available, if you need to do some upgrades. Generally the early adopters have figured it out before you get hold of the thing.
Used computers are past their teething phase. Sometimes a new machine will need a few system firmware updates to “stabilize” its behavior, and if you buy new, you endure this phase.
If you go used, you can get stuff you wouldn’t be able to get new. The market tends to be flooded with used “business-class” laptops, like Dell Latitude, HP Elitebook, or Lenovo Thinkpad. These machines usually come with the “Pro” Windows licenses, which enables things like disk encryption and remote desktop (if you are a Windows user).
In terms of desktops, Lenovo ThinkCenter and HP EliteDesk machines are also a good bet. They come in all sorts of sizes, from your traditional full desktop to a “1-liter” size, about half the size of the keyboard you’ll plug into it.
Careful and knowledgeable users who know what they want can go the eBay route. For those less certain, check best buy and microcenter’s refurbished listings. Research model numbers, read reviews (pcmag or notebookcheck are good sources) and buy something between two and five years old, making sure it fits your requirements. Make sure you get a solid state drive 256GB or greater and 8GB or more of RAM.
If you buy a Windows PC, you can use Windows, or install Linux or ChromeOS on it. If you buy a Chromebook you can only use ChromeOS, and once it stops getting updates, you’re out of luck. If you’re aware of the trade-offs (sometimes short support lifecycle, low specs, no real app support) then Chromebooks can be a good option. But there is no flexibiilty there. Be aware they’re more limited even than a Linux machine would be.
If you’re comfortable putting a LEGO set together, watching a few YouTube videos, and you want a desktop computer, you should build one for yourself instead of buying one pre-built. The benefits are numerous - you use standard parts that are all interoperable so you can upgrade piecemeal; you get exactly what you need, and none of what you dont. You don’t have to over-pay in one area (say, for a beefy graphics card) and get less RAM or storage than you’d like. Typically you’ll save money too. The pairings that pre-built manufacturers make are typically balanced in favor of their bottom line, or of a very specific use case. People are unique, and likely you don’t fit into one of those boxes.
Most of the time - home, work, school - your phone should be on WiFi, so you probably don’t need much data. Be smart about how and where you download things and you can get away with 1-2GB per month. Generally, don’t stream video or browse excessively while you’re on mobile data. Just use your phone as a phone (primarily communications, be it SMS or some texting app like WhatsApp or Signal) and you won’t need lots of data.
Generally avoid the big carriers like AT&T or Verizon. MVNO (“mobile virtual network operators”, an acronym you don’t need to remember) offer better flexibility and pricing. Some recommendations are Ting, Tello, US Mobile, and Mint Mobile.
Don’t buy your phone from the phone carrier. Almost always, this ends up being more expensive than just buying the device outright. If you can’t afford that, buy used. Always buy a “SIM unlocked” phone so you can switch between carriers as needed, or if you move or travel. You do not want to move to a house where Verizon has no coverage, only to find out that your phone is digitally locked to only accept Verizon SIM cards. (Been there, done that; I had to replace a less-than-1-year-old phone!)
Google’s Pixel A lineup (9a, 8a, etc.) is good but they tend to be around $500. If you’re a bit technical you can install GrapheneOS, which will increase security and extend the software life cycle of the device beyond what the manufacturer supports.
For most people, just get the cheapest Samsung Galaxy A (A15, A25, etc.) series from their website. It’ll probably be under $250 and get software updates for a couple years. Just buy one of those, uninstall or disable most of the bundled apps, use it until it falls apart, and then repeat the process.
If you are careful, you can buy two or three year old phone from someone else on Swappa. The problem with that is that phone batteries don’t last long, and they’re hard to replace. If you buy a new cheap phone, less than $300, and treat your battery well, it’ll last you maybe five years or more.
In general, avoid installing apps for things you can do in a browser. You can browse Twitter and play Wordle in the browser. Use the Firefox browser on Android; it lets you install uBlock Origin, which will save you data and battery life.
The siren’s song of the New Shiny can be tempting. But most people shouldn’t need more than what I’ve listed above. Prefer used to new, prefer repairing to replacing, and buy with a long lifecycle in mind.
There’s a good chance you have a computer that’s good enough and a phone that works well. However, you may feel your computer is not keeping up with your needs. Often that’s because of a software misconfiguration, or because there’s one tiny thing wrong with your hardware. Right after college I had a few friends with a college MacBook that wasn’t keeping up, and not enough money to spend on a new machine. In that era (“back in my day!”) MacBook Pros were pretty easy to upgrade - 10 screws and you could upgrade the hard drive and RAM. I upgraded the RAM on my friends' machines and swapped spinning hard drives for SSDs, and gave these old machines a new lease on life.
Upgrading computers is not hard, once you know which part is causing the problem. Opening “Task Manager” in Windows will give you a good idea of what your bottleneck is. If your memory is 100% used, then you could use a RAM upgrade, or maybe you could close some background programs. If your disk is always heavily utilized, check if it’s a spinning disk, and if you could upgrade to an SSD.
Do some basic investigation, look at documentation (like ifixit’s website, or your manufacturer’s field repair manual) and see what can be done. Unfortunately, on many “modern” computers, you can’t upgrade any components at all! Try not to buy computers like that. And if you do, Linux can rescue you from that, too.
If you want your computer to be reliable and get out of your way, just use the stuff that comes with it. Don’t go for a different browser, or another media player; try not to install many applications. Just use what comes with it and get familiar with that. Chances are it’ll change a bit, every once in a while, as things do, but you won’t get many surprises, and you’ll be walking the “happy path” that the manufacturer wants you to.
This path doesn’t make me happy, though. If what you want is sanity and detachment from all this modern tech, there are better ways to go about it than just accepting what you’re given.
The best way to get stuff to be reliable, stable, and respect your wishes, you must use Free Software. I don’t mean “no cost”, I mean software that respects your Freedom as a human being. Free Software lets you modify it and run it in any way you wish, with no penalty or restriction. Generally, Free Software is also available at no cost.
Here are some good examples of Free Software programs that work well and are reliable, stable alternatives to all the “normal” stuff you hate dealing with. All these programs have stood the test of time, and will likely be around for a long time to come.
Over the last ten years or so, I’ve seen people’s computer use collapse down into fewer and fewer actual programs they run on the computer. For better or for worse, web services or web apps, accessed through the browser, are an ever-increasing percentage of what people do with their computers. This is both good and bad. It means that while these web apps can change on you at any time, and you don’t have the ability to “go back”, it does mean it’s reasonable to just use a computer that’s got a web browser and not much else.
If you want your computer to get out of your way and work in a relatively predictable and stable manner, the main thing you need to do is swap out your operating system entirely. Remove Windows and use Linux. It’ll run all the programs above, won’t nag you about cloud services or payments or upgrades, and will be under your control pretty much forever. It runs faster than Windows does on any hardware, and actually supports older hardware too.
Windows 10 stops receiving security updates in October 2025. If you don’t have a computer from 2018 or newer, Windows 11 won’t run on it. If you don’t want to buy another computer, if yours is working just fine, there’s no reason not to switch to Linux. There are a few flavors to choose from:
In general, Linux is different than Windows and macOS, and can work just fine for most people. Your computer will look and work the exact same for as long as you want it to, it won’t get slower over time, it won’t bug you to pay for things, and it won’t spy on you.
If you’re going to use Windows, definitely do a clean install. The manufacturer of your PC often will install unnecessary software. Upon reinstall, Windows will automatically install all the drivers and programs necessary for your computer to work properly. It’ll take some time, so be patient, just go to “Windows Update” in the Settings program and
Set User Account Control to full, install the programs described in the Software section (try out Ninite), and enable automatic updates.
Just don’t use it.
Some people claim that they need social media. As someone who has lived without for many years, I can tell you there’s really nothing I’m missing. Everyone who has a social media account has some other way be contacted (usually both a phone number and an email address) and you can use those. Social media provides you nothing that you need.
Instead of deleting your account, go dormant: make one last post with your contact information (phone and/or email), tell people you’re no longer using the account, and then change the password to something stupidly long and complicated, and write down that password and put it somewhere safe, or give it to a friend. Maybe change your profile picture to something indicating your inactivity as well. This ensures that if anyone misses you, they know how to find you, and if you do absolutely need to log in for some reason, then you’ll be able to.
I don’t have to tell you that these services are like junk food for your brain, and that you’re giving people that hate you lots of data about your life and your family. You probably don’t want that, so just stop using it. You’ll notice positive change in your life.
Things like Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon are also not things that you need. CDs, DVDs, and BluRays are still available, and you can still rip them to your computer. There’s no reason to pay monthly for something that you never get to keep.
In fact, if you’re looking to simplify your digital life, cut down on media consumption. The music and movies you listen to and watch should be something you consider beforehand and make a conscious decision about, instead of just turning on the streaming box and letting it lead you into mindlessness.
Finally, if you don’t have one, you should get yourself a library card. You can get as many books as you want for free! Libraries also have movies and music, and you’re already paying for it by paying taxes. Take advantage of it. Copy the movies and music to a big hard drive you own, and you’ll never lose access.
For things like cloud storage, backups, software subscriptions (Adobe Photoshop, MS office) that’s based on your discretion. They’re definitely not worth the money, in my eyes, but some people feel like they need them, or just really want them.
Buying is always better than renting. If you want extra storage, a home server is a great, cheap option. Buy an old desktop, throw in a few hard drives, and install TrueNAS or OpenMediaVault; or buy a polished solution like Synology, Qnap, or AsuStor. There’s no way you can get as much storage and flexibility from a cloud vendor as you can just buy and own. This will be covered more in the “DIY” section.
I won’t tell you that video games are bad. I like playing games - I’ve shared a lot of good memories with family and friends playing together, and some games tell interesting interactive stories in a way other media can’t. But video game time should not take precedence over other things. Don’t obsess over it, try and keep your games family friendly, and try to share this time with others. Games are more fun played together. We’ve been playing things like Sim City and Untitled Goose Game with our daughter, and we always have fun, but it’s never more than once a week. It’s just another fun family thing we do, not a main activity.
If you want stability, predictability, low cost, and long-term ownership, doing it yourself (for many different “it"s) has always been the right call. For things like file storage and various network services, running a home server, big or small, is usually pretty cheap and effective. Here are a few ways you might get into "self hosting”.
Don’t be afraid of the command line. It’s an old but still useful interface that most software professionals around the globe use every day. After all, programming a computer is the most normal use of the computer. Get your hands dirty and build something useful.
Everyone has files. Usually people have more files they can fit on any one computer, or they’d like to do backups, or share files among different computers. For this you need something like dropbox, or your own server. Chances are you have a file share at work. This is just making the same thing at home.
Old desktops are cheap. Get an old desktop (chances are you have one, or someone you know does) and 2 big identical hard drives. Install the free TrueNAS or openmediavault operating systems. Configure the drives to be a mirrored pair (RAID1) and set up something like SMB (often called “samba” or “cifs”) and NFS. There are dozens of youtube videos that’ll show you how to do this. It’s an easy process.
If you want to automatically sync files, syncthing is as simple as you can get. Install it on multiple computers and keep a specific folder in sync. There’s not much more to say there. It’s just a program you download and run, and configure through a web interface.
Pi-hole is self explanatory - it blocks all ads on your network. You like blocking ads. You want something like that for your whole network. Pi-Hole is Free Software, it works incredibly well, is easy to use, and heavily customizable.
Pi-hole can run on any computer. Unless you already have something like a home server that has processing power to spare, a Raspberry Pi (or other single board computer, like a LibreComputer Le Potato (yes it’s actually called that)) is cheap and reliable. The site’s documentation has everything you’ll need to set it up.
Here are a few things that don’t deserve their own chapters, but you might want to look into anyway.
Just buy the cheapest Brother laser printer. It’ll work over WiFi and it won’t beg you to sign up for ink subscriptions or other stupid things like that. I’ve had my 2011-era HL-2270DW printer for over a decade and I have treated it very poorly. It still works great after half a dozen moves and long term storage upside down in hot, humid locations. It prints lots of pages very fast.
If you need a scanner, buy a cheap flatbed that plugs in over USB. Just like your WiFi router, the combination units usually are bad at both jobs.
Avoid smart speakers or screens, like Amazon’s Echo/Alexa, Google Home, HomePod, etc. They’re just bad computers with a difficult interface.
If you buy a TV, and it has “smart” features (i.e. it’s not just a dumb display with video inputs), there’s one simple rule: just never connect it to the Internet. Instead, buy something like a Chromecast, Playstation, or Roku to hook up to it. Then your TV can last you years and years, and you can upgrade the external “smart” box whenever you want.
Conceptually I like Chromebooks: unbreakable software that does basically just what you need it to. Being tied at the hip to Google isn’t my preference, though. If you don’t care about that, and just need a computer to do email and basic office tasks, they’re great.
Video games are fun, and you’ll probably own a console. This is generally better than PC gaming because consoles require far less maintenance, console gaming doesn’t require a high-end desktop PC, and PC games tend to come with lots of spyware. Many can be used as a DVD and Blu-Ray player too if they have disk slots. The only thing I’d advise on this is to buy physical media (cartridges or disks) for your console. Keep your console offline as much as possible. Nintendo games tend to be more family friendly, and the games and consoles are more offline-friendly.
The Steam Deck is also a decent game console, as well as a competent desktop PC when hooked up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
Everything a tablet does, something else can do better. You don’t need a huge smartphone or an artificially limited laptop. Just get one of those laptops with a touchscreen that flips around if you really want something like that. If you want to read on your tablet, use an e-reader.
Specifically, devices made for reading books or articles with e-paper screens.
E-readers are awesome! You can bring a dozen books with you anywhere you go. The battery life on these things usually lasts for weeks, the screens look like an actual newspaper, and many of them have lighting on the display (front-light, not back-light) so you can read in bed without disturbing your spouse. I used a kindle for 10 years before replacing it with a kobo, because of my dislike for Amazon. If you read a lot, these things are great companions. You can hook them up to your local library with a program called Libby, too!
I recently bought an “Ooma” - it’s a home phone that’s almost free and runs over the Internet. It’s great to enable kids to call people without giving them your smartphone. While this means it only works if the Internet works, I have reliable service so I’m not worried about that. There are other low-cost or free home phone services, like Vonage. Or you can get a cheap cell phone plan and use it with a flip phone.
You can get some good “dumb” phones these days, and they work really well - HD voice, importing contacts over Bluetooth, regular headphone jacks and charging cables - but you have to be sure that’s what you want. You might not be prepared for how much in your smartphone you’re used to.