Possible alternative for Whatsapp is to run matrix and a WhatsApp bridge, then all of your messages will be stored in the WhatsApp bridge, and you can access them via a matrix client. Pretty long winded though. As for Android auto, I can’t afford a fancy new car with a screen in it so I just mount my phone on the dashboard and use it like that with no Android auto.

Strikes me that there should be some kind of provisioning tool similar to Ansible for Android devices, what does industry do when they need to automate provisioning of thousands of devices for POS, retail, barcode scanning, delivery drivers, etc.

you can keep the fan and heatsink on the board

Interesting, never had that happen to me, but then perhaps you are using a laptop with a dgpu? I have not been. My laptop generally consumes 4w at idle and up to 15w under load, so I don’t see this ever outpacing the 60w charger. The CPUs with the highest tdp are only around 100w anyway right? And in that case the laptop comes with a higher wattage charger. But you’re right I guess it could happen depending on the hardware, never personally seen it however.

I’ve run laptops before without batteries a few times and never had issues, is there a reason for the slowdown?

Remove the battery, take the motherboard out of the case. Plug the motherboard in, and voila you have a larger and more powerful raspberry pi. You could use it as a second node for control, management, observation purposes, etc.

I’ve used odoo before, it is a large piece of software and can be modified to do lots of things. Most likely you will be able to get it to do what you want. You’ll probably need the e-commerce module, there is probably some sort of mode for subscriptions. You can also add the CRM on top for marketing, etc. there is also the booking module (iirc) which is maybe useful for sessions with trainers etc. maintenance might also be useful.

Use new containers, that’s what they’re for.

Hetzner got caight MITM https traffic from their servers recently or something similar if i recall

Any demo? That doesnt have a paywall?

You are right, many oddly specific gaming things like this are not that well supported, but the strength of Linux and open source is that everyone has the power to change it. The software that people have already developed to interface with proprietary hardware is great, I have a Corsair mouse and thought I would never have support for macros on it on Linux, but someone has already developed software that does a way better job than corsairs official software. It can do all of the same operations and doesn’t hang or crash regularly. I’m sure a few of your issues have already been solved by someone. The brilliant thing is, Linux ultimately allows much more control over the software and hardware it is interfaced to. So something like the transducers you mention would probably be easier to do than it is on windows, but someone has to actually do it. Maybe the sim-racing community is just waiting for you to come along? ;)

I would definitely still go with containers, running baremetal is less secure, more fiddly and less reproducible

You could do all of them

Ah good point. Even more then :)

If you can find a second hand PC with a Celeron, they’re pretty low draw, and it will mean you can open it up and add as many drives as it has SATA ports. We did the same, got an old PC for £30 and added drives and more RAM.

I am indeed talking about consumer high-end cycling, and I see it poisoning peoples minds in my city with their marketing that says to be eco-friendly and cycle to work you have to buy a brand new bike for £1000. I am arguing about the case in my city and the direction I don’t want to see cycling in general take. I agree with you that in many places, cycling is much better, the Netherlands is a great example. I am not going after cycling as a whole, just the rich directors of Shimano, SRAM, Trek, Specialized, etc. that have greenwashed expensive high-end cycling and make people believe that they need the latest stuff. I am not saying that the industry is already in a bad place, just that it could head that way.

I would argue the difference between modern bikes and old bikes for short to medium commutes (<1 hr) is immaterial. I have commuted on a carbon racing bike, an aluminum gravel bike (~£500) and a ~40 year old steel road bike I got for £20. Of course the carbon bike is very light and fast, but it has a massively greater ecological and financial cost. The aluminium gravel bike is pretty nice to ride, but not significantly different to the steel bike, which I actually find more comfortable on the road. The rotors on the gravel bike will soon need to be replaced, and that will probably be £100. I would agree with you that some modern components are better, notably corrosion resistant chains and puncture-resistant tyres. I would disagree on repair costs, in my experience, a repair at a shop in my city will cost at least £30 for something very simple like a new chain (which I can fit myself for less), and a while ago I had to pay £60 to replace a Di2 cable that got severed. (It went through the BB and I don’t have the tools to take out and refit a BB).

I’m not arguing against a strawman, I’m arguing against an extreme case. In the city where I live, people buying loads of fancy new expensive bikes to seem “eco-friendly” is large. The number of high-end bike shops is large. Repair costs are extreme; £60 for a medium job. This is of course, a predominantly white, affluent city. I regularly see new gravel and commuter bikes (the latest trend) manufactured by the likes of Specialized, Trek, Canyon. These cost in the region of £1000 ± 200. I agree that there is not mass migration away from standard parts yet, but I am worried that that is the direction the cycling industry wants to take. There is already an explosion of different cassette standards, meaning you need unique tools to change many of the new cassettes. Disk brakes add complexity and expense, and your average commuter bike arguably does not need disk brakes, they are just a shiny addition to make it more marketable. My argument is against the increase of these expensive bikes, fancy parts and brands that produce them, as it just pushes people away from cycling and the ecological and health benefits it can bring.

I can see this argument, but I just hate the way the industry is heading, to extract as much money as possible by selling upgrades, new frames, etc etc. The price of a new bike has also risen 2-3x since before COVID and won’t go down. Frame materials are becoming more resource intensive, parts are becoming less replaceable and more proprietary.

Yes, I have cycled a fair amount and raced too. Now I have downscaled my cycling to just getting around. Would you care to elaborate? If I was not clear I would like to explain myself. I knew many people who were always looking for the next upgrade to get a little performance boost, and willing to pay a great deal of money for it.

I don’t know the ideologies of the protestors, but I do agree with protesting against “big cycling”. Cycling around on a trusty steel bike which you can repair yourself is environmentally friendly. Buying a new carbon fiber bike every few years because it is 2% more aero than the last is not. Instead of standardized parts, the cycling industry wants you to buy cheap ones that break fast, and can only be replaced with their specific parts. They sell this to you by including some upgrades in chains, cassettes etc. The cycling industry is the same as any other industry, it exists to make profits. Truly sustainable things do not come from making profits.