lifespan_maximization.mdwn (1746B)
1 **Lifespan maximization** is the extension of [[hardware]] lifespan by the 2 users. It may be supported by [[planned longevity]] from the manufacturer's 3 side, but it rarely is. 4 5 [[Fabrication of microchips|IC]] requires large amounts of energy, highly refined machinery 6 and poisonous substances. Because of this sacrifice, the resulting 7 microchips should be treasured like gems or rare exotic spices. Their active 8 lifespans should be maximized, and they should never be reduced to their raw 9 materials until they are thoroughly unusable. 10 11 Broken devices should be repaired. If the community needs a kind of device 12 that does not exist, it should preferrably be built from existing components 13 that have fallen out of use. Chips should be designed open and flexible, so 14 that they can be reappropriated even for purposes they were never intended 15 for. 16 17 Chips that work but whose practical use cannot be justified can find 18 artistic and other psychologically meaningful use. They may also be stored 19 away until they are needed again (especially if the fabrication quality and 20 the storage conditions allow for decades or centuries of "shelf life"). 21 22 Use what is available. Even chips that do "evil" things are worth 23 considering if there's a landfill full of them. Crack their DRM locks, 24 reverse-engineer their black boxes, deconstruct their philosophies. It might 25 even be possible to reappropriate something like Bitcoin-mining ASICs for 26 something artistically interesting or even useful. 27 28 Minimized on-chip feature size makes it possible to do more computation with 29 less energy but it often also means increased fragility and shorter 30 lifespans. Therefore, the densest chips should be primarily used for 31 purposes where more computation actually yields more.