Obviously I can't speak for op, but... spellcheck and copy/paste alone make paper more difficult to work with.

Basically, writing involves a lot of re-writing and revision. Electronic documents make that easier.

That's a fair point, although I'd just cross them out and write a clean version afterwards. Writing with pen is faster and easier than anything else, I have found that out. I can easily draw schemes and charts at any place, any page. It's just a lot easier than using a computer -- unless I'm using a pad and write on it.

It certainly depends on the kind of writing too. Very technical writing should benefit from a computer. Poetry... probably not as much.

> The main practical win is that cmd args show up in `ps aux` for anyone on the system to see, whereas stdin keeps it off that list.

For those interested, re-mounting /proc with hidepid can prevent this:

    `mount -o remount,rw,hidepid=2 /proc`

> I don't know how sleep/wake works from a text mode TTY machine if that's what you mean.

Usually, I expect, by just issuing a command... e.g. `systemctl suspend`

Old thinkpads are usually pretty good.

If you're looking at a chromebook I suggest doing research on the specific model first. Esp. by looking here... https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/docs/supported-devices.html

Old MS Surface tablets are also decent options IMHO... https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/wiki/Supporte...

I'm presently writing on a Surface 3 w/ x7-Z8700 atom that's running Ubuntu Noble and vanilla 6.8 kernel. They're about $50. Everything works rather well (including gfx/audio/sleep/hibernate), except the camera, which I haven't bothered with. I'm quite happy w/ it tbh.

One thing to note w/ this model is you'll need the OEM keyboard to install linux since there's only one usb port; which will be required by the install media. Once you've installed though you can use any bluetooth or usb keyboard you want. Another thing is any micro-usb charger should work but I wouldn't rely on just 1amp, go w/ a 3amp.

Anyway, happy hunting!

I'll also "Ssh + GNU Screen + emacs" occasionally on my phone and I'll be honest... it's way better to throw a bt/mini keyboard in the mix.

After that you can have a mostly normal desktop experience w/ the addition of a tablet. How long can a person stare at a screen that's only six inches?

So, ultimately I'd suggest using a tablet and [mini]keyboard with the phone as a hotspot instead; unless you're a die-hard masochist. Of course it's a slippery slope and a full laptop might be ideal for most users.

Phone displays are just too small.

> I've been wanting to build something in this space.

Did you have something specific in mind?

Interesting, what got you interested in having a mobile setup btw?

> Did you have something specific in mind?

I'm still brainstorming on this topic, would love any ideas. But one habit I am noticing amongst my friends and I is assigning a task to an agent, then moving onto the next task while the agent works on the previous one (this can be in codex, claude etc). All of this doesn't need to be on the laptop, infact it could be done through whatsapp or telegram. Let's say I have an ongoing chat with the agent, me giving instructions, getting a diff, reviewing and then hit to commit. Would be useful when I am away from my desk.

Another thing could be an information assistant, to keep me in the loop with what my agents are upto by summarising their performance and current active tasks and letting me butt in when they're stuck somewhere.

As you can tell I am still thinking it through :)

> what got you interested in having a mobile setup

Over time the need to quickly address administrative and operational issues while on the road converged with marathon coding sessions. So, I'd say it was organic and more "evolutionary" than "revolutionary". More often than not, I think advances tend to happen in that fashion.

Perhaps that's something to consider while you brainstorm. IOW, it may be good to compromise between a more grandiose vision and a mundane, but tangible delivery... then iterate.

Is this hedging bets a little? Sure, but I've grown into a somewhat risk averse developer so I like playing "small ball". Whether or not that's the best approach, I can't say.

I've had some fun conversations failing to explain why someone needed to try a multi monitor setup. It seems one could just get used to small screen. I normally use a redmagic phone. Today I had to test a website on an older iphone and got some claustrophobia vibes from it. No idea how I've ever used it.

I did some experiments with this https://synesthesia.go-here.nl but was to lazy to sufficiently learn it. I never got around to writing a code viewer.

Interestingly, this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_T2#Security_vulnerabilit...

reads as though it is possible using "checkra1n". But again... it might be easier to just buy something else :-/

> If that doesn't work either then it's a paperweight and you can sell it for parts

C'mon! It can't be that dire... at worst you should be able to reinstall or reset to factory defaults somehow. Granted the data may be lost, but the whole is still more than the sum of its parts :-)

Trust me it’s impossible. All Macs are iPhones are like this nowadays. You can’t do anything to bypass the activation lock.

I find "impossible" hard to believe. Perhaps it's so difficult that it's not worth the opportunity cost though.

You may have to remove the disk or use a JTAG programmer, or heck... maybe even re-solder something.

The more nuanced question in these situations isn't "is it possible" but "is it economically viable".

I think "control" is a far too fatalistic description. Can people be manipulated, of course. Some more easily than others, sure. But... "astra inclinant, sed non obligant"

One of my favorite Show HN: HN dark mode in 2 lines of code...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32719488

It also solves the "Why no light mode?" problem ;-)

Just ask AI how to mirror w/ wget. But, beware that if the site relies on javascript, wget may not be enough. In that case you'll need to program some kind of headless browsing. Didn't the internet archive (archive.org) take care of everything for you already though?