Ask HN: How many computers you got?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31325893

65 142 4 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Just wondering how many (working) computers do you have at home, if you're on HN you are probably technical and maybe even a developer. How many computers do you have? Not counting computers that I could set up to do something but haven't because I would need to do stuff to make it all work I have 4 computers, counting stuff I need to do to make work probably 7 or 8.

Also one Android Tablet. An old Ipad that would need to do stuff to make work. And a reMarkable tablet.

N0RJ4K• 4 years ago

I count 16. that's my overall figure

rantallion• 4 years ago

13. One for each month of the year. Although my Mercedonius computer doesn't get used every year, for obvious reasons.

thorin• 4 years ago

Personally 0. Well, I have one old Sony Vaio which I haven't used for several years. I have 2 work computers (one specific to a client I'm working with). I have 2 android tablets, which belong to my kids and one android tablet for work testing purposes.

I have several old phones which may not be working and 2 android phones a main one and a spare I bought in lockdown 1.

I'm a software developer/architect.

[edit] I forgot I have an Amiga 500 in my mums attic. I wonder if it still works!

the_only_law• 4 years ago

Right now probably 2-3 working modern PC’s not including my work laptop and a number of retrocomputers including and SGI Indy, HP A600+, a very good condition and complete HP-86, an Alpha and probably a few others I’m forgetting. I also have maybe 2-3 other modern machines that are either gutted or dead atm.

I also have a number of terminals including an HP X-terminal, a Tektronix graphics terminal and a Videotex terminal.

I also have a number of “not general purpose computers” including a variety of retro telecom/network line analyzers, an android tablet, and various small hobbyist embedded systems. Some of these are basically PC’s like my Agilent J2300E which is just a Win95 machine with specialized hardware you wouldn’t normally see on a PC like V.35 and RS-449.

Still have quite a few machines I want in all categories above, but I’ll probably be needing a storage unit soon.

kstenerud• 4 years ago

* 1 headless NAS running NixOS + a few containerized services

* 1 headless NUC running NixOS + a bunch of containerized virtual desktops and services. I also launch VMs from here when needed (mostly for Windows dev).

* 1 desktop PC running windows

* 1 laptop running macos

* 2 laptops running linux

* 1 chromebook (mainly for using the virtual desktops)

corobo• 4 years ago

In terms of live, installed, ready to go:

2. A main daily driver (Ubuntu 20) and my old desktop machine running Proxmox so I can spin up any test network I want/need for dev work.

4 if you're including laptops (HP Elitebook w/ Ubuntu 20, Macbook air) but they're mostly gathering dust as I've not commuted anywhere in a few years

Also got an old Android tablet which is mostly dedicated to Todoist (mounted above my monitor on an arm) and an iPad for background entertainment/distraction while working. They dual-function as test devices as needed for webdev :)

I used to have the could-probably-get-it-working guts of 4 or 5 laptops and an older desktop following me around but I guess they finally got sold off for parts during my last move

I'd probably have more but I'm renting a relatively small single room compared to my last place. The two desktops alone have meant I've not needed the heating on whenever they're both going.

E: Oh aye there's also a 9-disk NAS knocking about somewhere too (Synology DS918 plus an expander bay). I use that more than my desktop I guess technically. Everything mounts off it somehow or other so I'm counting it :)

Tell you what, Tailscale is the one app that's got me back into home network nerdery. I love hosting internal things on my Proxmox server or NAS that just.. work, even when I'm not at home. No matter where I am in the world, I can mount nas.coio.uk and, aside from a bit of lag in some places, it works just as well as it would locally connected. That's so cool!

thedanbob• 4 years ago

6, including 3 servers and not including mobile devices. Probably +3 or +4 if you count raspberry pi and similar.

codevark• 4 years ago

Four windows laptops (two from our employers), old windows Phenom X4 file server, new(er) windows Ryzen 7 PRO desktop, Rocky Linux Athlon X3 webserver, (2) Amiga 3000s, Amiga 500, mini HTPC (needs repair), Mac Mini w/ MorphOS, Pegasos 2 w/ MorphOS, several spare A3000s for parts/repair, RPi Zero W, Android tablet.

17? 18? Maybe more. ha

hutattedonmyarm• 4 years ago

* 1 Desktop (Windows)

* 1 Laptop (macOS)

* 1 headless NUC working as NAS (debian)

* 3 Raspberry Pis

So 6 in total, plus a tablet and a VPS (which I don't own and is not at home so I'm not counting it)

rejor121• 4 years ago

Eight, if we count my phone and tablet and my wife’s phone as a computer xD

badcarbine• 4 years ago

6 laptops, all working, one desktop also working. I like to experiment with different hardware and OS's. One is a Chromebook from 2014 with 2GB of ram running linux mint. Still use it to browse the web.

Ask me how many computers I have had in my life and the answer is well over 100.

V__• 4 years ago

  - 2 Windows 10 machines
  - 1 MacBook Air
  - 1 iMac
  - 3 Raspberry Pi's

  - 1 iPad
  - 2 Android Tablets
  - 4 Android phones
  - 2 iPhones
  - 3 Alexa Speakers

draxil• 4 years ago

1 desktop, 1 server, 3 laptops (one belongs to my employer, one is old), 3 raspberry pis, 4 games consoles, 1 chromecast.

Thristle• 4 years ago

Desktop used for gaming or work stuff that doesn't have to go through the VPN (zoom,calendar,slack and so on)

Living room desktop running plex for stream to the google TV

my uni laptop is still being used by my SO when she needs to look at some 3D imaging which is painfully slow on her uni laptop

so i/we use 2 desktops my SO uses 2 laptops and an fire tablet when shes on the train

spyremeown• 4 years ago

Work Laptop, Desktop that I'm getting rid of and my phone.

Pretty simple.

Havoc• 4 years ago

4 proper ones...and perhaps another 6 or so raspberry pi type things.

Only 3 get daily use though

senectus1• 4 years ago

4 desktops one not in use (yet)

3 laptops (plus a work laptop)

2 tablets

4 phones

1 4 port NAS (Synology)

2 rPi's

Too many... and yet not enough :-)

its worth noting this is in a household of 4, two adults one teenager and a sub teen.

My son is teaching himself to code my daughter is teaching herself digital art I work in IT and my wife is no slouch in the area either.

monkin• 4 years ago

Only iPad Pro 12.9, 2020 model.

kiwih• 4 years ago

1 daily driver - windows/Ubuntu dual boot.

1 Ubuntu only laptop. 10 years old. Used as print server for 3d printer.

1 wife work laptop.

1 wife gaming laptop.

1 wife gaming laptop, aged/retired but still works. We host game servers on this sometimes.

1 windows netbook. Unused but functional. Too old to sell.

1 windows 8 tablet. Unused but functional. Too old to sell.

1 Android tablet, frequently used.

3 x raspberry pi. 1 in use permanently as media server.

2 x smartphones.

It's easy to collect computers!

behohippy• 4 years ago

3 desktop class machines, one acting as a server. 3 laptops, one is a chromebook. 8 RPi's doing PiHole, OctoPrint and part of my temp/humidity sensor network. It gets fuzzy with the Pi's because I tend to load them up with multiple duties depending on location. With spare hardware I could probably do a few TV PCs.

spacemanmatt• 4 years ago

Too many.

My Android phone. My last Android phone. My laptop. My work laptop. My work desktop. My stack of old Raspberry Pis. My stack of ESP32 variants. A buncha Chromecasts. I stopped keeping broken stuff years ago.

globular-toast• 4 years ago

I cut down on the number of computers I have so now only have 8.

I'm counting computer as anything I can SSH in to. That number includes Raspis and the like scattered around the house.

If you mean something I sit down at and type, then only two: work and home.

Bouncingsoul1• 4 years ago

work: 1 laptop 1 mac mini 4 rpi 2 iphones 8 android phone + various devices running embedded linux private: 1 desktop 1 laptop 3 android phones 2 rpi 1 android tablet 1 ps4

I develop/test a lot of BLE stuff , for Android automation I use rpi+ phones. To build/automate iOs. iPhone+mac+rpi.

paulcole• 4 years ago

I have a Raspberry Pi and iPad Pro at home.

I leave my work computer at my office.

My partner has a MacBook Pro on the very rare occasions when I absolutely need to use a computer at home, but those times are getting rarer and rarer — think it was maybe 6 months ago now.

meekins• 4 years ago

- Work laptop running Linux

- Sofa laptop running MacOS

- Raspberry Pi running Linux (RetroPie)

- SFF gaming desktop running Windows 10 Pro

- reMarkable 2

- Two Android phones (work & personal)

usrn• 4 years ago

- powerful desktop running Linux

- Pinephone running PMOS

- Work Macbook

- An Apple //e for distraction free computing

hycaria• 4 years ago

3, two desktop (Ubuntu both) one laptop (OS X)

Just a few weeks ago I also had one iMac and one old MacBook but I just sold them both.

Also one iPhone one iPad and one Apple Watch. And one car if that counts too.

gorbachev• 4 years ago

Too many.

bookofjoe• 4 years ago

1 2020 MacBook Air 1 2012 MacBook Pro 1 2020 iPad Pro 1 2015 iPad mini 1 2021 iPod touch 1 2018 iPhone XS Max 4 Apple Watches Series 3-7 (2017-2021)

Not using but still functioning perfectly: 2018 MacBook Air 2012 iPad 2004 PowerBook G4

timpattinson• 4 years ago

Windows desktop. Fairly high end. Gaming, some side project development work. Ubuntu laptop - XPS 9560 (don't buy one, they are crippled by thermals and poor sleep support even in windows). Mostly used for web browsing.

aquova• 4 years ago

Even some of my technical friends are somewhat aghast at what I've collected... as for stuff I actually use:

- My daily use machines - Desktop, laptop, home server (all Arch Linux)

- My girlfriend's machines - Windows 10/Arch dual boot desktop, MacBook Pro

- Our work computers which are owned by our employers - Windows 10 desktop for me, MacBook for her

- Raspberry Pis - A RPi 3 for PiHole and a RPi Zero W for controlling RGB Xmas lights we haven't taken down

- Our two iPhones, and we each have an iPad

- Various consoles. I have a bunch of retro stuff and a Switch while she has a PS4

- I still have all my older smartphones, older laptops, some additional Raspberry Pis none of which are set up with anything, but they're in the apartment

Koiwai• 4 years ago

1 main desktop

1 router, you'd probably argue this doesn't count, but my router is debian running on consumer computer hardware, with custom vpn and routing.

1 file server, this one is not strictly at home, since it's located in my company's server room for the bandwidth, but I mainly use it at home over Internet.

1 gaming laptop, connected to TV.

1 lightweight laptop in EDC bag.

3 mining rigs.

ipad and android tablet.

jgrahamc• 4 years ago

I have no idea. Countless microcontrollers and Raspberry Pis.

hiyer2• 4 years ago

1 mac from the office

1 Asus zephyrus g14 for personal use, running Arch Linux

1 Asus (don't remember the model) laptop from 2013 running Windows. It was used extensively for my kid's online classes but is mostly gathering dust now. Maybe I'll set it up as a server one of these days.

saint_angels• 4 years ago

are there any arch linux issues you haven't been able to solve on zephyrus g14?

hiyer2• 4 years ago

Only one that I can think of - I wasn't able to get Bluetooth to work.

dijit2• 4 years ago

Many.

3x Desktops:

  * AMD TR 3970x // 256G DDR4 ram (current work machine; gentoo)
  * AMD 3700x // 64G DDR4 ram (previous work machine; popOS)
  * Intel i7 4930k // 64G DDR3 ram (previous-previous work machine; archlinux)

3x Macs:

  * Macbook pro (2020), i7, 32G LPDDR4x ram (though his is my employers and will be returned)
  * Mac Pro (2013), Intel Xeon E5-2697v2, 32G DDR3 ECC ram
  * iMac (2012), i5, 8G (nice to have as sort of a chromebook with an insanely nice screen)

3x "servers":

  * Intel NUC (skull canyon) i7, 16G ram (ubuntu)
  * Synology NAS (DS918+)
  * Super Micro 2U pizza server, intel Xeon E5-2667v3, 128G DDR4 ECC ram (freenas)

2x Linux Laptops:

  * GPD P2 Max; intel m3 8100Y, 16G LPDDR4x (archlinux)
  * Dell Precision 5520; Intel Xeon E3-1505v6, 32G DDR4 (archlinux)

and some orange pi's and raspberry pi's if they count.

and a nintendo switch and a PS4, if they count.

giantg2• 4 years ago

"AMD TR 3970x // 256G DDR4"

What kind of work do you do?

dijit2• 4 years ago

I make backends for online games.

The reason I have so much power is that I spin up many multiples of datacenters to test failure modes among components, it's also nice to be able to run full-fat gameservers.

Could do it in the cloud but it ends up taking longer, is harder to automate and winds up being much more expensive very quickly.

sysadm1n• 4 years ago

Intel NUC

They're too pricey for me. You can get fanless 'Mini PCs' on Amazon for roughly ~$150, but they're not mainstream brands like Intel, but they work like a dream. Mine has been hopping along for 5 years now.

rawland• 4 years ago

Depends how we count... Car? Your smart fridge? Your Alexa?

20, I would say. Don't know for sure, due to intransparency what contains a computer these days...

FinnKuhn• 4 years ago

Right now I use/have at home: - one desktop in use - two unused old desktops - one MacBook in use - one Surface and one old Laptop somewhere in my closet - one barely used ipad - (not sure if smartphone count as computers, but should they count I have two in use and two or three old ones unused)

vbezhenar• 4 years ago

Microserver, PC, Linux laptop, mine old macbook, mine current macbook, wife's macbook. 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, 2 Androids. I think that there's one unpacked Pi somewhere.

howeyc• 4 years ago

2 Linux "laptops": Surface Pro 7 (desktop use), Surface Go 2 (sofa use)

1 Raspberry Pi

1 Windows work laptop

marcinzm• 4 years ago

2 windows desktop machines (gaming)

1 server for file storage (unraid)

3 personal apple macbooks (one is old)

3 work apple macbooks (advising a previous company and new one sent me two)

Some raspberry PIs

xdfgh1112• 4 years ago

Just a ThinkPad t14s. I travel a lot though, so no point collecting more hardware.

kraig911• 4 years ago

Personally 3 Laptops. Really want a desktop.

Macbook Pro (2021 M1 Pro Base model), Alienware 15 i7 10th gen (Windows 11 + Ubuntu 20)

Daughter 1 has: Chromebook from school (wrecks my home network all the time), Macbook Air (m1) (Minecraft/Roblox Machine), Ipad.

Daughter 2 has: Samsung Laptop (Minecraft/Roblox Machine), Ipad - her assistive speech device and Youtube monitoring :)

Wife has: Asus windows laptop. Ipad Air (the new m1 one).

We also have an XBox, Switches, Playstations, Raspberry Pies etc...

APhoenixRises• 4 years ago

Far too many

- Thinkpad workstation laptop provided by work

- One desktop running Windows 11 (gaming/development)

- One laptop dual booting Windows 11 and Fedora (gaming/development)

- Surface Laptop Studio running Windows 11 (content consumption, light development)

- Surface Pro X (previous content consumption device. I'll sell it "someday")

- Samsung Galaxy Tab 7+ (mobile gaming, content consumption)

I also compulsively switch out my laptops/tablets on a yearly basis...I have a problem.

wanda• 4 years ago

I have a custom desktop PC and a Macbook Air that I actually use for work. Mostly the Macbook.

In terms of just tinkering during my spare time, I have a small HP server, about half a dozen ThinkPads (all in varying states of disrepair but working), a small desktop PC I never use, a Macbook Pro from forever ago that probably still works, and that's about it?

(Web developer)

timw4mail• 4 years ago

Too many, and yet not enough :)

* 386, 486, Pentium, and Pentium Pro systems for Retrocomputing

* PowerPC Macs with OS 9 and OS X

* Ryzen 9 Gaming Desktop

* Ryzen 9 Web Server

* A bunch of other x86 systems

* Rasperry Pis from the original to 4, with a 400

brycewray• 4 years ago

Pretty pedestrian for HN purposes...

- Three desktops: a 2017 Intel iMac; and, on the floor and basically ignored, a 2005 Windows XP eMachines PC (took over from son-in-law, who no longer wanted it, because all I had at the time was even older and lamer) and a 2001 Windows XP HP (as I was saying).

- Two laptops: a now-unsupported 2015 Toshiba Chromebook and a molasses-slow, all-but-dead-in-the-water 2013–2014 HP Pavilion that originally ran Windows 8.0 (!) but was on Windows 10 before I unsuccessfully tried putting one of several other OSs on it.

- Two tablets: a 2016 iPad Pro and a 2016 (?) Amazon Kindle something-or-other that I got for virtually nothing out of sheer curiosity and almost never touch.

- Three phones: my 2017 iPhone X, my wife's 2019 iPhone X, and a 2014-vintage iPhone 6 that I most recently used only for work-required/work-app logins before I retired.

linker3000• 4 years ago

1 x Debian (main server)

1 x Debian mini ITX server running Zoneminder for CCTV cameras

1 x 'spare' mini ITX cube running Debian as a services backup (email and Web stuff)

1 x Quad core fanless mini ITX thingy running the house home automation (Debian, Node-RED, MQTT, Zigbee2MQTT, Mosquitto)

1 x Asus i5 desktop for main home office. 6 core + 32GB RAM for virtualisation. Dual boot.

1 x DIY i7 3rd gen (old desktop)

1 x Asus Zenbook flip - home work and travelling laptop

1 x Lenovo T420 + dock. Previous round-the-house 'portable' workstation

1 x Raspberry Pi 3 as a media client hooked to my hifi for synced room-room audio

2 x Raspberry Pi 3 for STEM development and STEM days

1 x Raspberry Pi 4 for STEM development and STEM days

3 x retired laptops with some 'emergency' mileage in them, or take to STEM days

1 x Lenovo Thinkstation (retired desktop from the Mrs)

Samsung tablet

Motorola G8 phone

simne• 4 years ago

At the moment, have constantly working 2 modern comps, and I once count about 6 intel core class cpu's, and for mobiles/k6/486/older I'm too lazy to count :)

TheYumasi• 4 years ago

I want to keep the number low (I don't like e-waste):

Laptops:

- Macbook Pro (2021), M1, 16Go: my only personal machine. I play video games using services like Shadow or GeForce Now, I want my setup to be small.

- My work laptop, employer issued.

Servers:

- 1st gen Surface Book: currently works as a home server, used to be my student laptop, soon to be retired with...

- Core i7 3700 (something like that), 16Go DDR3: an old machine I got for free yesterday, than I will put in a small mini-ITX case to work as a full-time home server (mainly storage). It will end up at the bottom of a small shelf, and needs to be completely silent.

My servers all run NixOS.

kiawe_fire• 4 years ago

More than I wish I needed, but fewer than I seem to want.

1x Windows desktop for gaming

1x Dell XPS 13 laptop with Linux for development / work / personal

1x MacBook Pro for some development / work / personal

1x Intel NUC with Linux as an experimental / frequently reformatted sandbox for trying things out

And yet I find myself wanting an additional (smaller) gaming PC for travel / LAN parties, and a Mac Mini as the Mac version of my NUC for messing around with, and maybe a file server at some point.

And yet I also would love to just be able to have one single travel friendly laptop running Linux that I could work and game on.

Adraghast• 4 years ago

2021 MacBook Pro.

I don't understand y'all.

ragebol• 4 years ago

2x laptop for work

2x personal laptop that barely gets touched these days

2+x old laptop in a cabinet somewhere that are out of spec to be donated for eg. remote education as home early in the pandemic

1x raspberry pi running https://github.com/dsmrreader/dsmr-reader in the utility cabinet.

irrational2• 4 years ago

I have computers in my heat pump water heater, at least 4 in my 2 heat pump HVAC systems, at least 4 in the 4 TVs in the house, at least 2 in game consoles, at least 1 in the Apple TV, at least one in each car, probably one in each refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, instant pot, etc., at least 1 in the 8 laptops, 1 Mac Pro desktop, 4 chrome books, 4 iPads, 6 phones, 3 kindles, 1 printer, 1 headless computer to handle all the home automation sensors, etc. in the house, at least 1 in each router/hub/etc. I also have a bunch of older computer equipment that isn’t plugged in right now. Hmm, as I sit here thinking about it I keep coming up with more and more things that have computers in them. I’d be hard pressed to give an exact number.

longnguyen• 4 years ago

Do you have different models of Kindle or all the same?

irrational2• 4 years ago

All the same.

dagw• 4 years ago

1 personal desktop and 2 work laptops.

There was however a time when I prided myself on having *nix running on almost every major CPU arch of the time a home (x86, Sparc, Mips, PowerPC, Alpha)

croutonwagon• 4 years ago

2x Optiplex 7040's running ESXi

1x Optiplex 7050 running windows/hyper-v.

2x Synology diskstations (1 runs backups from the other)

2x rasperberry PI's running pikvm for the optiplexes

1x Raspberry Pi running a dakboard build.

1x 2012 Mac mini...was mostly used during COVID for WFH. I do some toying with garage band on it but thats about it.

Plus a laptop or two for myself/wife/kids.

11-12 Total I suppose. 9 or so pretty much 24/7

bojangleslover• 4 years ago

-MacBook Air 1.2GHz quad-core Intel (use as a home entertainment center)

-Intel NUC i5 with 32g RAM (use for my self-hosted stuff)

-M1 Max MBP (use for daily driver, usually)

-System76 Thelio with 5950x and 64G RAM (use for heavy compute and US-based streaming)

-Raspberry Pi (pi-hole DNS)

-2014 MacBook Pro 16G RAM (old daily driver—incredible longevity)

lodovic• 4 years ago

- 1 main desktop pc - 2019 (i9 9th gen, nvidia 1080ti)

- 1 work laptop (zbook i9 11th gen, nvidia a200)

- 1 macbook (m1)

- 1 synology nas

- 1 wife laptop (very old netbook-like)

- 1 ipad (2018)

- 1 kid laptop for school (windows, i5 8th gen)

- 1 windows laptop (6th gen, nvidia 1060, used for kid gaming)

So that's 8 in total. Besides the xbox, a dormant nuc, a few smart phones, a hue hub, a couple of rpis, android tv, a few chromecast dongles, a nest, a couple of android tablets, a system for managing my solar panels, and maybe I forgot a few.

WelcomeShorty• 4 years ago

For me, 1 iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021).

And a couple of Raspis for more invasive stuff that I do (red teaming).

Less is more, yes I am old.

hestefisk• 4 years ago

1x MS Surface Book running Linux - my personal machine 1x Lenovo X1 (work issued) 1x Asus laptop (runs Windows 11) for my son’s school 1x MacBook Air (2013), too old but still runs like a charm 1x recent Mini ITX custom build for MS Flight Simulator 2020 (Windows 11) 1x HP Microserver Gen8 running TrueNAS Core, serving files to the home and backs up everything 1x Qotom with 4x LAN interfaces, my firewall running opnSense (FreeBSD based firewall) 1x beefy x64 server with Hetzner, running FreeBSD 13.0 - offsite backup from home NAS using ZFS / sanoid (thanks Jim Salter), mail, VMs, hosting for clients, backed up to offsite storage box using Borg

rvieira• 4 years ago

- 2017 iMac with Linux ("light" general coding, note taking)

- 2021 Ryzen 24-core 64Gb RAM (heavier stuff, remote k8s dev, etc)

- 2021 Intel MBP (90% of the working time there)

- 2021 7-inch Pocket Book (for fun really. I call it my "Emacs machine")

Lying around:

- 2015(-ish?) Macbook Air, now with Linux. Such a great little thing, can't bear to get rid of it

- Half-a-dozen ugly, plasticky PC laptops. Did their job, but my eyes just refuse non-HiDPI screens nowadays.

cranium• 4 years ago

I built a good PC last summer to get more perfs and it's a joy to use: really silent compared to my laptop and so much faster.

Work computers running on Manjaro:

  - Desktop AMD 5800X with 32GB RAM, bought in 2021
  - Laptop Dell Precision 5520 with 32GB RAM, bought in 2017

Little homelab:

  - Ubiquiti Dream Machine
  - Synology NAS (DS918+)
  - 4x RaspberryPi 4 on Raspbian, forming a Kubernetes cluster with K3S
  - Ubiquiti UniFi Flex to power the Pis with PoE

Otherwise:

  - A reMarkable
  - A Chromecast Ultra used for streaming games from my computer to the TV with Steam Remote Play, also works when at a hotel (!)
  - A RaspberryPi 3 connected to speakers, running a simple PulseAudio server that I can remotely connect to to stream audio (very little latency compared to the misc AirPlay implementations I tested)

lnsp• 4 years ago

I got a

- main desktop PC (AMD Ryzen 5950X, 64GB, 2TB SSD) I use for basically everything when I'm doing stuff at home (dual boot Linux/Windows)

- a recent 2021 14" MacBook Pro (which replaced an older 2016 MBP) for university

- a 4th-gen iPad Air with Pencil (mostly note-taking and occasional media consumption)

- my previous desktop PC (Intel 3770k, ~12TB storage) stuffed full of storage, just a place where I can throw data I don't immediately need anymore

- a Raspberry Pi 4 with a 512GB SSD attached, running some home services like DNS

So 5 in total not counting my phone.

rookderby• 4 years ago

I'm going to count anything that I could program, script, or otherwise ask to run a computation.

(3) There's four of us humans in the house, but only three that you could ask to do some addition.

(1) The work computer is a HP z-book. It is a G3 model currently, but they're swapping it out for a newer one this month.

(1) The main daily driver for home is a Thinkpad 470s with openSUSE or Fedora on it.

(3) Several older laptops i've kept around as backups. They're in the closet.

(1) An older Synology 4-bay NAS.

(1) A Raspberry pi 4 hooked up to the TV.

(1) A Raspberry pi 3+ sitting in a box; I've been meaning to use if for DNS-based filtering.

(2) Two Mac devices the wife uses.

(2) Two smart phones.

(2) Two ebook readers.

(1) A kids kindle.

(4) 3D printer projects and other projects that have arduinos or something similar.

(2) Graphing calculators

----------

Total: 24

Not counting a broken dell G5 5505 that keeps going into the shop under warranty, the not-yet-delivered steamdeck, or the collection of slide rules.

drakonka• 4 years ago

I've got one primary laptop and one secondary work laptop. I've got a couple of old laptops stashed away that are still usable, but have been surpassed by the primary laptop and haven't been booted in over a year.

wink• 4 years ago

  * 2 gaming pcs, 1 soho server - all in active use
  * 1 gaming laptop, 1 work laptop, 1 thinkpad - all in active use
  * 1 NAS, 1 Lenovo x230 - NAS is off atm, the x230 is my travel laptop and I don't travel
  * 2 laptops from 2004, one is my OpenBSD playground, 1 is an offline-only DVD player ;)
  * 2 hand-me-down laptops I can hand out to friends and family as backup machines
  * 1 RPi that's not really in use anymore

so I'd say 5 of them get used every week (some every day), 1-3 every month or so - that's for 2 people

johngo54• 4 years ago

In our household: 1 MSI Gaming laptop (needs repair, but still works), 1 Asus K53 laptop (still good, no longer in use), 1 Custom-built Desktop PC (no longer in use), 2 Asus Vivobooks (one for me, one for wife), 1 Raspberry Pi 3B+, 1 Raspberry Pi 4B, 1 Synology DS213j (which is, in fact, a Linux computer, right?), 1 Synology DS716+II (which can, in fact, be used as a computer; running Docker)

Does a Virtual Private Server count? Running one on Strato's infrastructure.

simonsarris• 4 years ago

Zero TVs, IoT devices, home automatons, etc. I generally dislike anything that beeps, anything with LEDs. Though I built my own house, I don't even own a microwave. The stove is gas. I like candles. In winter we heat with firewood. Though I have ornamental gardens, I have no watering timers, I water everything by walking around and pointing at it with the hose.

for what are called computers:

1 desktop - a 2013 box that I built

1 laptop - a Microsoft surface

1 phone - a pixel 5

1 camera - Leica Q2 (well and a Praktica MTL5 made in East Germany)

And one kindle. And an iPad, for work testing. I'm a web developer. I love technology. But it has to feel and serve very human purposes to be worthwhile.

turtlebits• 4 years ago

Off topic - for all the combustibles you have, I hope you have good ventilation and filtration.

tcmart14• 4 years ago

A bit of a collection my wife wishes wasn't so much of a collection.

- M1 Macbook Air base model (Usual daily driver) - Lenovo Ideapad S340 (For testing stuff on windows) - Macbook 2007 (all white polycarbonate, kind of my main Netbsd machine) - iBook G4 (Eventually want to take on the crazy project of writing an OS for it) - A dell netbook (can't remember the exact model, for any odd purpose that fits the day) - Mac mini 2009 (serves as a little test server, running NetBSD) - Raspberri Pi 4B (FreeBSD)

iKnowKungFoo• 4 years ago

  Desktop PC - General browsing and light gaming.
  Laptop PC - Work
  15" Macbook Pro (Intel) - Work (deprecated)
  16" Macbook Pro (M1 Max) - Work
  iPhone 13 Pro Max
  iPad Pro M1
  Amazon Fire tablet for guest access to wireless audio.

Monitors

  3 x 27" Acer IPS 2k monitors
  3 x 27" LG IPS 4k monitors

Protip: A 27" 4k monitors is a waste of a 4k monitor. Text is waaaay too small for coding at that resolution.

Everything else has been sold or recycled. I used to have PILES of desktops and servers, but I got over my nostalgia years ago.

Matthias247• 4 years ago

Protip: A 27" 4k monitors is a waste of a 4k monitor. Text is way too small for coding at that resolution.

Protip: Set them to 150 - 200% scaling and get way better font rendering and readability than with a lower-resolution screen, which makes it easier on the eyes. If things then get too big (because actually 4k at 24" would be more appropriate), reduce font-size by 1pt or so. 4k is not meant for use without scaling.

t0bia_s2• 4 years ago

PPI over 120 is terrible for web design. You want to keep scale 1:1, like most of people have.

For 4K you need at least 32’.

aceazzameen• 4 years ago

Not counting devices that the rest of my family uses:

2 desktops (1 newer AMD with a 3090, and an older Intel)

A 2013 MacBook Pro running mostly Windows 10, which still runs amazingly well!

A raspberry pi

An Android tablet and phone

theandrewbailey• 4 years ago

1 gaming desktop (custom build: Win 10, Ryzen 1800X, 64GB RAM, RX 6800, 2x 28" 4k 144hz) [0]

1 server (custom build old desktop: i7 2600, 16 GB RAM)

1 laptop (HP, 2015)

1 work laptop (Dell Latitude, 2017-ish)

1 retro desktop (2000-era custom build: Win 98 SE, P3, 256 MB RAM, Geforce 2, 17" CRT) [1]

That's 5 PCs, but I also have:

1 Raspberry Pi (original model B)

1 Moto X4

1 Kindle Fire (2013-ish?)

[0] https://theandrewbailey.com/article/187/AMD-Ryzing

[1] https://theandrewbailey.com/article/120/Project-Twentieth-Ce...

ravenstine• 4 years ago

My stuff:

Macbook Air M1 13" (2021), my primary computer

Macbook Pro 15" (2015), chronically broken keyboard, used now as a remote Docker host and Bitcoin/Lightning node

Google Pixel 5, rooted and ~90% degoogled

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B v1.1, used for various projects

avgDev• 4 years ago

xps laptop for work

xps laptop for home

microsoft surface

gaming rig 5900x with a 3070

gaming rig x2 - most likely will be utilized as server

3 older laptops floating around the house

macbook air

synology NAS

fetus8• 4 years ago

Desktop 1: Ryzen 7-5800X, 5700XT, 64GB DDR4 RAM, Custom Build(Office Desktop)

Desktop 2: Intel i5, RTX 3060, 32GB DDR4 RAM, Custom ITX Build (Living Room HTPC)

Laptop 1: 2021 Macbook Pro 14in (Personal)

Laptop 2: Dell Precision 5550 (Work)

Laptop 3: 2012 11in Macbook Air (Old Personal)

I have an iPhone too if we're counting those...

antongribok2• 4 years ago

Laptops:

   LG Gram 17" 16GB RAM and dual NVMe disks - Fedora, main machine for work
   Dell XPS 13 - Fedora, wife's laptop
   Mac Book Pro 16" 2019 - Official work laptop, used as a paperweight
   Toshiba Tecra 740CDT - Recently revived, Knoppix (kind of retro playground)

Desktops:

   Ryzen 2700X w 64GB RAM 6-disk ZFS - Fedora, backup storage, video transcoding, photo editing
   Xeon E3-1230 w 16GB RAM - OPNsense, house firewall

NAS:

   9x Raspberry Pi 4s, (mix of 8 and 4 GB RAM) - Ubuntu 20.04 with Ceph Pacific used as main network storage with CephFS

cwiggs• 4 years ago

How is ceph on the RPIs?

antongribok2• 4 years ago

Given the single GigE network and SMR drives, it's not very fast, but fast enough for my needs.

More importantly, it is more reliable than running ZFS on a single box, which is what this Ceph cluster is replacing. I've had 100% uptime for 11 months, and I've been able to move the PIs physically around my house in this time.

Also, the power utilization is lower which is actually very impressive. I'm using 2.5" SMR drives, so that helps.

Most of my data is on an erasure-coded pool with a 4+2 setup, and the PIs are fast enough. CephFS has been very reliable on the laptops as clients, and reconnects within 1 second after sleep.

I'm also using compression, and it's not a problem on the PIs.

withinboredom• 4 years ago

4 at home, 3 in a data center, 2 in a storage unit (old) and if we are counting tablets and phones, another 7-8 (depending on how you define “working”).

ericmcer• 4 years ago

1 personal 2019 Macbook Pro. 1 work 2020 Macbook Pro. Why have a ton of general purpose computers that I need to switch between for specific purposes?

codegeek• 4 years ago

4 working laptops and about 5 (I think) older deprecated laptops (they may still work but don't use them anymore). In addition, 2 IPads, one nintendo switch (if that counts). One remarkable tablet as well.

mindcrime• 4 years ago

Hmm... let's see:

1 primary development / daily use laptop

1 old laptop which is relegated to a place on my desk where I sit to study math or whatever

1 old laptop which is dedicated to my electronics bench, usually just used for playing music and/or looking up datasheets

1 old laptop in the bedroom, connected to a big display, used as a "media center" of sorts.

1 raspberry pi, running retropie, for gaming

1 raspberry pi, for random stuff

1 old server that's mostly idle now, but it does serve as sort of a "jump box" for ssh access from outside. It's the only box I port forward to from the edge router, so I can shell into it and then access other machines.

1 Android tablet

1 Nook (which is basically just another Android tablet)

1 Android phone

1 Atari 800 that I scored on Ebay last year. Haven't even powered it up yet, so not 100% sure that it works, but it was sold as "in working order" so fingers crossed.

1 Arduino Nano 33 IoT which provides wireless control of a couple of lamps (using a relay) that are on top of a bookshelf and hard to reach. I set this up so I could turn them on and off via http requests and put a link to the page on my phone's home screen to make it nice and convenient to control them from the phone.

So yeah... about 12, or whatever that adds up to. I have other rPi's that aren't normally powered up, and a couple of older PC's that technically still work (as far as I know) that just aren't ever powered up for anything and should probably be thrown out. There are also plenty of Arduino's in my parts box, a couple of Beaglebone Black's, and I have a few unused Android phones, including a Pinephone that I bought but haven't set up for use yet.

Edit: since someone mentioned calculators, I might as well add (heh, heh) those in as well.

I have a Sharp EL-506A, a Casio graphing calculator that I forget the model number of (FX-7700g or something close to that, I think), a TI-85, a couple of TI-86's, a couple of TI-89's, at least one TI-84, and an HP-49g.

mikedelago• 4 years ago

Homelab - Ryzen 5700G, 64GB memory, 32TB of storage, Proxmox - Building this was such a great upgrade to my old Dell R510

Personal Desktop - Ryzen 3700X, 32GB memory, Arch Linux

Personal Laptop - Thinkpad T480, i5, 32GB memory, Arch Linux

Work Laptop - Macbook Pro 2019. i9, 64GB memory

I've got about 10 other computers kicking around that aren't being used

stonecharioteer• 4 years ago

A ThinkPad P14S AMD Gen 2 with AMD Ryzen 7 5800H and 32GB RAM (Work) running Ubuntu

A Lenovo IdeaPad with Intel i3 8th gen. Not a fancy machine but it is a flip laptop that I use to read once in a while. Runs Linux Mint.

A Dell G5 SE with Ryzen 7 4800H. The absolute worst laptop I've ever owned and the last Dell I will ever own. Running Ubuntu / Windows

3 Raspberry Pi 3Bs

4 Raspberry Pi 4 (8gb)

4 Raspberry Pi 0W

10 Raspberry Pi Pico

10 ESP8266

1 ESP32

10 STM401F32 boards

4 Arduino ProMicros

1 desktop with an i5 5th gen, 1060 6GB, 16gb RAM. Running Linux Mint

1 PS4 Pro

1 Nintendo Switch Mario edition

1 Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

1 Lenovo Android Tablet

1 Kindle Oasis

1 Amazon Echo Speaker

2 Misc smart bulbs

1 smart switch 10Amp

An Asus RoG 5 Phone. Loved it until Android 12 became a thing. Hate it since.

sprior• 4 years ago

That's not a question with a clear answer these days. Besides a Laptop and a Surface all my real development is done on currently 15 VMs ("if you can't tell, does it matter?") I host on several server computers in a rack. I've lost count of how many ESP8266/ESP32 devices that I built are around the house. There are 3 3D printers being run by Raspberry Pi 4's. All in all I'm running low on addresses for a class C network.

rg111• 4 years ago

A daily driver laptop from Asus set up for work + study + research.

An old HP laptop that works as a media center.

One Samsung android smartphone that is the daily driver. Has no SIM. Only wifi.

One old Samsung android smartphone that I had to retire because of lack of supply of replacement battery during Covid. But it has got 1/3rd power mAh-wise.

A Nokia android tablet (T20) for reading books of all kinds, research papers, etc.

An old Lenovo tablet I am looking to pawn.

A Kindle for reading non-fiction and novels.

A Raspberry Pi mainly for Edge AI model deployment tests, but also for studying ARM architecture, and fiddling with OS.

I guess the Arduino MC does not count.

So it totals up to 7/8.

valbaca• 4 years ago

- For work MacBook Pro, 2020 Intel...I wish this was an M1 but I won't get an upgrade for four years :(

- My personal MacBook Pro M1 (love this laptop)

- My gaming computer (I mostly use it to play MTGO but I mostly play PS5 nowadays)

- My wife's MacBook Air

- A tiny Linux box I play around with occasionally.

- A Raspberry Pi 400 I've done nothing with.

"Sort of computers": Wife and I each have an iPhone 11. Gave her my iPad Pro b/c she plays iPad games a lot and I took her very old iPad b/c I mostly just read books. We share an iPod touch for "just music" (like working out or cooking).

Gaming consoles: PS5 + external 5TB HDD, PS4 (mostly a FromSoftware machine for Bloodborne & Sekiro), Switch

harph• 4 years ago

1 Work + play desktop PC

1 Laptop

1 HTPC under the TV

All running Linux, fwiw

rootsudo• 4 years ago

Too many, I used to have quite a bit but lately I've enjoyed downsizing, soon I'll just have a Macbook and iPhone.

I'm not the biggest fan of the Apple ecosystem, but for the upfront purchase price, 3-5 years of life and able to sell them for 50% at the end of their "retail" lifespan, is a no brainer for me. The other alternative would be Thinkpads, but the nicer equipped ones really are marginally cheaper than a equally equipped macbook, before the M1 stuff.

If we're not counting virtual machines, then lately just two - a dev windows Laptop that's an XPS 13 and M1 which, with Parallels and Windows 11 (unfortunately not W10) comes pretty close to being what I need.

It used to be a time that I had a server at home that would run an array that'd hold storage and such, but lately it's just easier to have a virtual instance for that.

I have some Pi's also but they're not used really, but really just downsizing and not buying new shiny things, sounds hard, but silly enough it really helps to focus.

It also goes against the grain with me on how I used to enjoy hopping on every different distro and trying new things - Now I just don't have the time and enjoy being clutter free.

Old Cell phones are the worse, they usually aren't worth the resale pain of $30-60, unless you resell them on 1-2yr cycles and 3yrs for iphones.

mortenlarsen2• 4 years ago

10+ Retro PCs from 386 to Pentium 4 (with all the obligatory graphics cards (3DFX, TNT2 Ultra, PowerVR etc.), sound cards (GUS, Adlib, SB Pro, AWE32/64, etc.) and MIDI modules (Roland MT-32, SoundCanvas, etc.) And the parts to build 30+ more in the basement.

6 or 7 Sun Machines, SGI O2, a few Cobalt RaQ (CacheRaQ, Velociraptor) (both MIPS and x86). Also in the basement.

5 HP Microservers (one with a "low power" Xeon running 24/7). ~50W

3 "Low power" Xeon servers (two 4 cores and one 20 cores). One running 24/7 ~60W.

3 Intel NUC's. One is my daily driver (FreeBSD).

15+ Laptops (mostly IBM/Lenovo), and even an old 386.

6 PCEngines APU4C4 (firewalls) two running 24/7 ~7W each.

7 Soekris NET4801, 2 NET4501 (my old firewalls and NTP servers).

7 Raspberry PIs (mostly 4s with 8GB).

My plan is to have one APU (~7W) + one Server ~60W running 24/7. I have 7 APC power units to allow me to turn all the other stuff on and off remotely. Most of this stuff is in my lab (GF decided I needed my own room for some reason). Most of the stuff not ready to run is stored in the basement.

I have a lot more than these but this is just from the top of my head. Pretty sure that I have 100+ all in all.

Jaruzel• 4 years ago

Please tell me you have a YouTube channel!?

mortenlarsen2• 4 years ago

I don't. I have thought about it a few times.

japoneris• 4 years ago

2 desktop computers shared with my familly when i was a child. My first PC was an hp. The graphical chip broke. 6 years. Next, an asus laptop. Still alive but too heavy to be used as a laptot + battery ko 2016, an asus: very thin, 16go of memory. Still alive but sometimes freezing. A thinkpad, gift from a previous company. 2 cubes / e-pc 2 raspberry.

comprambler• 4 years ago

Far too many

My Primary Home Laptop: T460s w Xubuntu, probably replacing with Ryzen Starbook

My Primary Home Desktop: Custom 10900X w 128G Ram W10 currently, moving to Xubuntu/KVM

SO Primary Home Desktop : Custom I5 8600 w 16G Ram W10

My Work laptop: Dell Precision 3551 (W10)

SO Work laptop: T460s (W10)

Primary Media Machine: Custom I5 8400 (W10)

Office Media Machine: Optiplex 3050 SFF (Xubuntu)

RPis: 2X RPI4 (media) 2X RPI3 (one camera, one media)

Servers: Dell R210 (pfsense), Dell R420 (hyper-v), HP G8 (Rosetta@home), Custom Supermicro for storage (Silverstone make sexy rack cases)

Historical Thinkpads: 365XD, 390X, A31P, T60P, Z61T, X200s, X200T, X220s, T420s, T430s

Historical Desktops: Tandy 1000 (MS-DOS X.XX), Packard Bell 486DX2 (W3.11), Custom P2 333 (W98SE), Custom Core 2 Quad (W7 32bit), Custom i7 980X (W7 64Bit), Custom i7 3970X (W10), Custom i7 6800k (W10)

billconan• 4 years ago

10 computers (including 1 rasp-pi)

4 desktops 3 macbooks 1 rasp-pi 1 chromebook 1 pc notebook

t-3• 4 years ago

4 ready-to-go conventional computers (2 desk, 2 lap)

2 routers

7 not-ready-to-go laptops

2 ready-to-go handheld gaming devices which are also general purpose computers

1 not-ready-to-go handheld gaming device and general purpose computer

1 special-purpose handheld gaming device

4 cellular telephones

3 tablets

2 32-bit ARM SoCs

a shitton of microcontrollers, dev boards, and fpgas

primis• 4 years ago

Far too many: Retro (6) - PCjr (128k RAM) - IBM PC (640k + 8MB EMS) - SparcStation 20 (64M RAM, 4GB SCSI Drive) - NextStation Turbo (128 MB RAM, SCSI2SD Hard Drive) - XServe G4 (4 GB RAM, 500GB Drive) - PowerMac G5 (1 TB SATA Drive) - Xserve 2009 (32 GB RAM, 1.5 TB Hard Drives)

Laptops (4) - 1st gen Intel MacBook (4 GB RAM, 80 GB Drive) - Thinkpad T420 (16 GB RAM, 1TB SSD) - Surface Pro 3 (4GB RAM, 128 GB SSD) - 2019 i7 Macbook Pro (Work Provided, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD)

Desktops (3) - Ryzen 3rd gen build (48 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 4TB HDD) - Threadripper (Work Provided, 64 GB RAM, 1TB SSD) - Intel 3770k build (32 GB RAM, 1 TB Boot Drive, 64TB ZFS Cluster)

Misc: - Intel NUC hooked up to a CRT for MAME / SD TV Streaming (5th gen i3, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD) - Surface RT Tablet (collecting dust) - About 10 raspberry pi's with various use cases.

c7DJTLrn• 4 years ago

  * 1x MacBook Pro 2021 16in (work)
  * 1x MacBook Pro 2021 14in (personal)
  * 2x Raspberry Pi 3Bs (I think)
  * 1x Raspberry Pi Zero W
  * 1x TinyFPGA BX
  * Pixel 5
  * Self-built desktop (5900X, RTX 2060, 2TiB NVME SSD)

karmakaze• 4 years ago

Not as many as I used to:

  - MacBook M1 (provided by work)
  - Linux/gaming dual-boot PC
  - MacBook Pro 16 (i7)
  - Surface Go
  - Meta Quest 2
  - Android phone
  - Raspberry Pi
  - Atari 8-bit computers
  - Vectrex game console

Quite a few formerly used laptops and iMacs that should/may still work. Other devices are Roku sticks, early gen AppleTV (for AirPlay only), old phones, PS3, no smart TVs.

mythrwy• 4 years ago

3 laptops, one workstation and 2 servers. So 6 total.

ComradePhil• 4 years ago

- Work laptop

- Personal laptop

- A mini desktop at home as NAS and media server

- A raspberry pi which runs Home Assistant

- I also have more specialized "computers": iPad, Nvidia TV Pro, PS4, PS5, phone, smart TV

kradeelav• 4 years ago

This is a fun question. Not including family machines:

- (medical, in body) - cochlear implant ~1992

- (work laptop) ~ macbook pro ~2016

- (personal laptop, new) system76 lemur running ubuntu ~2021

- (personal laptop, drawing/old) macbook pro 2009

- (junk) 2020 asus laptop that i'll likely try to sell - failed ubuntu install. if it won't even sell, i'll turn it into a server.

- (gaming) nintendo gamecube, nintendo wii, nintendo switch, nintendo DS, nintendo 3DS, PS3

meristohm• 4 years ago

14-ish: a desktop, two laptops, two tablets, 5 (?) old Android phones, 3 iPhones (hand-me-downs), game console (mostly we watch movies with it), plus older phones destined for element-extraction.

The iPhone I use is from 2015, and the other two are more recent but too large. All the other computers are older than 2014 (I think; I'm beyond caring about acquiring new computers these days, as everything I have meets my wants, in part because I'm decreasing what I want).

For all I go on about reducing luxuries, having 14+ computers is in some ways like Uncle Scrooge swimming in his money bin. On the other hand, as my perspective shifts I'd feel far richer if I was part of a tight-knit community (fewer than 150 humans, say) that took good care of the land, water, and air and respected the downstream and downwind communities. Easily dismissed as romantic by those of us (myself included) who have come to normalize the fruits of easy access to massive amounts of energy.

the_third_wave• 4 years ago

About 6 laptops of older vintages - Thinkpad T42p, a few HPs with Core2duo CPUs, all of these with 2GB to 4GB of memory, a few retrofitted with SSDs (the T42p with a PATA-SATA adapter)

A rescued (dead graphics card) "late 2009" 27" iMac (running Linux) with a rescued 24" 1900x1200 monitor which I currently use as my main workstation

A DL380G7 with 128GB of memory running all services as well as a few VMs with different OSs to run things for which there is no Linux-version, e.g. VAG ELSA (repair manual for VAG cars).

An Intel SS4200 in use as a backup server

A number of Raspberry Pi's in use for experiments and as media players

About 5 older Android phones in use as IP camera, media player etc.

Everything runs either Linux or FreeBSD, the Android phones also run Linux for the most part (the ones used as IP-camera run Cyanogenmod).

No new hardware insight, everything is either dumpster dived or repaired.

My wife has a newish Dell running Windows 10 issued by her employer, my 10yo daughter uses a school-issued HP running Windows 10 and my 17yo daughter a school-issued Chromebook.

hunter321• 4 years ago

One personal Mac I use daily.

One work laptop, also a Mac.

One iPad I basically never use.

One ChromeBook I literally never use, think it has a broken screen.

RattlesnakeJake• 4 years ago

* 2012 MacBook Air running macOS Big Sur. Used for general purpose web & document editing stuff these days.

* ~2011 Acer C710 ChromeBook running Ubuntu 21.10. Used for trying distros and development projects if I need a Linux base.

* Self-built Desktop PC - Core 2 Quad w/ 8GB RAM running Windows 11, somehow. Used mostly as an archive box due to the large HD and connection to an external backup drive.

And my wife has some Dell laptop she bought in college. I don’t know much about it because I haven’t had to do much to it besides put in an SSD.

JoeAltmaier• 4 years ago

Other than laptops and desktops (4 total) I have many custom devices I do embedded firmware consulting. Android touch-panel kiosk, pool pump controller, various phones and portable devices for testing code, auto-driving car network controller. A box full of development boards for small processors (Freescale, Nordic, STMicroelectronics) which run Linux or FreeRTOS or the like.

A closet with old Palm handhelds retooled to connect with some old Chinese Access Points, I forgot about those!

I recently divested myself of ancient computers, donated to a digital historian who restores that kind of stuff. Four (depending on how you count a multiprocessor cabinet, then 12)

pengo• 4 years ago

I've just sold my newest laptop as part of the sale of my business, which leaves me only:

- Dell XPS13 (16GB i7 but six years old) running Linux

- OneMix Yoga (7" micro laptop) running Linux

- Apple Mini (64GB i7) for music production

- Sony XA2+ phone running SailfishOS

- Blackberry Z30 phone as a backup

I will need to replace the Dell in the next year or so, and am considering both an M1 Macbook Pro and a Framework unless someone comes up with an open source ARM laptop running Linux.

(Edited for layout)

kingrazor• 4 years ago

I currently have 5 computers:

-A Nehalem i5 desktop that I built in 2010 and used as my main PC until 2021. It's currently running Windows XP and being used to play my old RTS games

-An Ivy Bridge i7 desktop that I'm using as an ESXi server for a home lab

-A Comet Lake i5 desktop that is now my main rig, built in Jan of 2021

-A Lenovo Thinkpad T420 currently being used as a dedicated podcast recording machine

-A Dell Optiplex 7010 hooked up to my tv for watching movies, tv shows, streaming services, etc...

filchermcurr• 4 years ago

Hmm. I'm not even sure anymore...

  - Main machine is a 2018 Mac Mini with an extravagant 64 GB of RAM.
  - Home server is an i7-4790K running Gentoo. This is for things like seeding Linux distros, serving media throughout the house, a secondary NAS (when I went with bigger drives in my other NAS the old disks went here), IRC client, MOO client, Wireguard... servery things.
  - NAS is an old Synology DS1515, not even plus.
  - Laptop is an M1 Macbook Air.
  - Raspberry Pi 3 is running PiHole.
  - A second or third generation i5 behind my desk running Windows 10 for when I need to do Windowsey things.
  - Thinkpad X200 Tablet for running older Windowsey things on period-accurate hardware.
  - Thinkpad T500 that I use for making ISOs from old backup CDs or generally any time accessing an optical disc is required.
  - 2012 Retina Macbook Pro that my nieces and nephews use when they come over. (Monterey works great!)
  - Asus Transformer Something Or Other sits on my desk running Creatures Docking Station in tablet mode. This is for decoration. I like to watch the Norns livin' like Norns while my mind wanders.

And then of course the not-quite-computers-to-me things:

  - iPhone 13 Pro
  - Apple TV 4K
  - iPad Mini (whatever the last one is)
  - Apple Watch (im a sheep) 
  - iPad Air 2
  - iPad Air 1 (I use this as a cookbook in the kitchen. It's filthy.)
  - Kobo Libra H2O

That's probably it! Nothing else springs to mind at least.

t0bia_s2• 4 years ago

One main desktop PC workstation. And ThinkPad x201, which I use twice in a year.

No IoT (never will be) at home. No tablet, one degoogled phone. That's it. I like simple setups, no dust collectors.

tapoxi• 4 years ago

The Gaming Laptop: Alienware M15 R4 (2021)

The "I like to use Linux occasionally" Laptop: Dell XPS 13 Developer (2017)

The Work Mac: MacBook Pro (2019)

em-bee• 4 years ago

a self-built desktop with two monitors running linux for work and games that is now 4 years old, replacing the previous lenovo desktop that was in use for 8 years.

thinkpad t420 running linux serving as a tv station and for school work.

a thinkpad x230 for windows work and games

a macbook pro 2012 now only used occasionaly running macos and optionally linux

a GPD pocket 1 running linux for all my important work stuff. (small enough to carry around when travelling, so i have a device to do work just in case i need to do stuff that's inconvenient on the phone. i may eventually replace that with a pinephone with keyboard extension, because that's much cheaper and it's really the keyboard and the laptop form factor that makes the difference)

a one mix 1s running linux that was really supposed to replace the GPD pocket when the GPD battery died. the one mix battery died too, and in the mean time i was able to replace the GPD battery but not the one mix one.

there is one more thinkpad running some old version of linux that is still booting but so old that it's not really practically usable. there are also two OLPC XO's that were the predecessors of the GPD pocket that should still boot.

two working phones running /e/. one in use and and older one as backup

one thing i never had, because i never found a use for that form factor, is a tablet. a device either needs to be small and easy to carry, or it better have a real keyboard.

i do want to get rid of the desktop and instead get another laptop because it's just more flexible

HeyLaughingBoy• 4 years ago

Are you counting embedded processors? If so, that number goes into the dozens.

rapjr9• 4 years ago

Probably a hundred or more, and double that if you include anything with a microcontroller in it like car, music keyboard, monitors, music effects processors. 10's of old laptops dedicated to specific tasks (weather station, media players, secure service access, different OS's) or as backup for when one fails. Five or so primary computers used for everyday stuff. Security systems. Raspberry Pi's dedicated to specific tasks or for general exploration. Macbooks for music/audio systems. An old SGI Iris workstation (booted last time I tried it 10 years ago). 10 tablets of which I use maybe 3 regularly. 20 smartphones, dedicated to specific tasks (media players, sensing systems, emergency calls, life management). Some hardware video editing systems with powerful processors in them. Digital audio and video recorders that are basically custom computer systems. A rented virtual server. A Synology NAS. 10 Android TV boxes (mostly junk but they run). Some Amiga's. Because a lot of these devices are old I'll often have a few backups to swap in to keep things running. Also because most everything is old it is cheap which is why I can afford so many.

comp_ed82• 4 years ago

I currently have the following linked up to my room LAN and my KVM switch:

-iMac 2009 running ElCap

-Mac Mini (2006) running Leopard

-AMD Athlon II X4 8GB Windows 10 gaming machine

-Dell Latitude CPiA (Pentium II) for bare metal DOS stuff

-Nehalem era Xeon file/VM server running FreeBSD

-Celeron D2550 based file server running Ubuntu

-Dell Vostro (Core2 era Pentium) running LibreElec as an HTPC linked to my 50" plasma TV

-Some old Roku player linked to the same TV because some streaming services aren't available on the main HTPC

-A janky old Windows box I'm too embarrassed to give specs on that I use as a gateway from the landlord's Wifi (he said no to Ethernet across the house) to my room LAN

I also have 3 Android phones, 1 Android tablet used as an ebook reader and alarm clock, 1 Windows phone used as a backup ebook reader, and an old Nokia E72 Symbian phone that used to be my primary phone before 2016. I think I have a Java capable flip phone somewhere, too.

I have spare motherboards and RAM for 6 more machines, but lack the power supplies and cases to build them out.

MrDresden• 4 years ago

Actively use 7 (3x Pi's, 1x Linux tower, 1x Linux laptop, 1x Android phone, 1x Android tablet).

Have in total 13. Sometimes use then for short time limited bursts.

tluyben2• 4 years ago

1000s but I work or play weekly on about 20 of them.

schwartzworld• 4 years ago

People know I like old devices, and I often save other people's abandoned machines. If I can find a home for them I do, as was the case with a 2013 MacBook air I just got rid of.

I have a few old laptops of various makes, a g3 iMac (graphite), a really old windows desktop that I'll never use, and a stack of raspberry pis.

mangoTangoBango• 4 years ago

-M1 MacBook Air connected to a 32”4k monitor + external kb/mouse

-iPhone 13 pro

That’s literally it at home. Have an old dell t3500 at work with a newer gpu and ssd to get work done including stats and embedded dev, but that’s it.

Minimalism is where it’s at.

jjmiv• 4 years ago

- One desktop I built for gaming - lenovo laptop that runs windows and Linux - two Chromebooks - pi cluster(6) for services/workloads - pixel 4 and a couple iphones(3) - kids Kindle fire - two reading Kindles - mbp for work

timbit42• 4 years ago

Around 60. Five are Linux PCs used daily. 15 are older PCs between 5 and 10 years old.

40 are vintage, all but two produced before 1990 (mostly Commodore Amigas (A500, A3000, A1200), 8-bits (VIC-20, C64, C128), Atari 8-bits (400, 800, 800XL, 130XE), Apple IIgs, Apple IIe Enhanced, Sony MSX 2+, Amstrad CPC 6128 Plus, Tandy TRS-80 Model 4, Tandy Color Computer 3, 11 Apple Macs (iMac G3, LC475, IIfx, Mac Plus, Mac Classic, Mac Color Classic, LC3, LC575, Centris 650, Power Mac 7200, Power Mac G3), Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128, Acorn BBC Master 128, Tandy 1000HX, Timex-Sinclair 1000, TI-99/4a, and more). That's all I can remember right now.

erik_seaberg• 4 years ago

- Intel MBP (supplied by IT at work)

- Windows gaming desktop (store-bought because my tools and parts were stored out of state)

- Windows laptop for girlfriend’s remote class (barely runs Zoom but desktop has no webcam)

Been thinking of building a new gaming/Plex? rig if everything is back in stock.

marssaxman• 4 years ago

One: a ThinkPad 460s, running Ubuntu.

mikewarot• 4 years ago

Headphones with BlueTooth, Amazon Show, Amazon Echo, Optical Wireless Mouse, Smartphone, Raspberry Pi Zero W, Raspberry Pi Pico (x5), Tablet, Laptop, Desktop, File Server

Oh, cnc router, 3d printer. Smart TV.

That's just me, not my whole household.

tomcam• 4 years ago

Including the whole family, 21. Add tablets and it’s closer to 40

synicalx• 4 years ago

For me personally;

1x 13" M1 MBP with 16GB/1TB best device I've ever owned. I do everything on this from dev work, to browsing, photo editing, fiddling around in Logic Pro, and even some light gaming. And I can do all of that (probably at the same time) while running on battery, for hours on end.

1x Windows "gaming" desktop I built a few months ago. i5/16GB/6700XT/2TB NVMe/8TB rust. It's ok, I thought I'd use it a lot more than I do and I'm DEFINITELY not getting my money's worth out of the 6700XT playing HOI and Factorio.

1x Ex-business Optiplex micro, i5/16gb/512SSD + 2x 4TB USB disks running Ubuntu. This is my main linux machine that doubles as a light home server running Plex and a few other little things.

1x iPad mini from last year, mostly just for reading and media. I do use my knockoff Apple Pencil to jot down some notes as well. Also makes a neat little secondary display for the MBP if I'm away from my desk and want some more screen.

1x Heavily refurbished Thinkpad T470 running Arch (btw) i7/16GB/256GB. Barely gets used despite the amount of work I put into refurbishing it. The poor old i7 (dual core version) really struggles with some stuff, even basic things like Youtube over 1080p nearly kills it.

I feel like I've hit a good equilibrium of devices, I can fit it all onto one desk with a USB-C monitor and a keyboard/mouse that I can switch between devices (including my work laptop). Nothing other than ye olde Thinkpad ever goes unused for more than a day or two at most, and everything except the gaming PC was all purchased refurbished or secondhand.

Media stuff;

1x Apple TV 4K which is currently in direct competition with a Fire TV 4k that I got for free. I'm trying to work out which I should keep, the Fire TV does almost everything the ATV does but the remote is just... awful - so cheap and nasty feeling.

1x Lobotomised Sony "Smart" TV. After the first year of owning it, it started lagging when switching inputs, navigating menus etc. I popped the back off and yanked the wire antennas for its wifi radio and now it performs twice as fast.

stazz1• 4 years ago

Lobotomised Sony "Smart" TV ... popped the back off and yanked the wire antennas for its wifi radio and now it performs twice as fast.

Surgeon of the year.

Smithalicious• 4 years ago

Not that many all things considered. Desktop, laptop, phone, old phone that hasn't seen the light of day in years. TV is also a computer I suppose though I only use it as a dumb display with an HDMI cable. A tablet, too.

4 computing devices that see regular use as such, 2 that don't for a combined 6.

xavor• 4 years ago

1 desktop 2 laptops 2 tablets 2 smart TVs 1 smartphone 1 Raspberry PI

simondebbarma• 4 years ago

Desktop - AMD Ryzen 5 3600 || GTX 1600 || Dual Boot Linux + Windows

Laptop - LG Gram 14

Phones - iPhone 13 Mini || Nokia 5.1

Tablets - iPad 10.2 || Kindle 7th Gen

VR - Oculus Quest 2

IoT - Raspberry Pi 4

Console - Nintendo Switch

3D Printer - Ender 3

These are computers I use regularly that are personal, so 10 in total. If you count devices that other family members own or those that are unusable, the total quickly doubles.

gabrielblack• 4 years ago

Too many:

- 2x MacBook pro

- 1x Old Mac Mini

- 1x iPad

- 2x Nvidia Jetson (NANO, TK1)

- 1x Dell XPS

- 1x Dell Subnotebook

- 1x Lenovo X220

- 1x Asus eee 900

- 2x Linux server x64

- 2x Compaq Alphaserver DS10L (Alpha)

- 1x Sun Netra T1 (Sparc)

- 1x IBM 9114-275 (Power4)

- 1x HP Integrity RX1620 (Itaniun2)

- An unknown number of Raspberry, almost every model since its birth, I honestly don't know how many: I need an inventory

- An unknown number of more exotic stuff, network apparatus, microcontroller and development boards : I also need an inventory

- more machine incoming

- all the machine are in working conditions

- more vintage stuff, like a 386 Pc, is stored somewhere

maykut• 4 years ago

Somehow, I ditched all x86 computers last month. Unintentionally, they were old and rusty and I already have a decent Mac mini desktop. Sold some and donated others with boxful extra old hardwares. Maybe in Christmas I can buy a x86 again but nowadays everything is OK.

Base model Mac mini M1, iPhone SE 2020, Raspberry Pi B+ for Pi-Hole, Raspberry Pi 3B+ for home development server.

Dell Latitude 6220 laptop and 2 Android phones, wifey's.

Ask HN: How many computers you got?

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