PorcFest XIII

Current mass-produced laptops are designed as efficiently as possible, which is an extremely environmentally responsible thing to do. However: they are also designed with built-in obsolescence, which most certainly is not. The efficiency with which they are made and assembled means that their individual parts cannot be reused, and economically-effective repair is just as impractical. Add to that the fact that the typical OS is ripe for virus-pickings, and chances are extremely high that any given perfectly functioning laptop is extremely likely to end up in landfill in under two years.

We also have some serious concerns over privacy and personal security, which, thanks to Snowden's revelations, has clearly now moved out of the previously murky and uncertain realm of "speculation" or even "paranoia". But this lack of security - the lack of control and rights we have over our own hardware that we paid for - is actually *built-in* to every Intel processor manufactured since 2009.

This talk therefore describes how designing computers with "Computer Cards" - similar to "Memory Cards" but a fully-functioning computer - can not only improve personal security, but saves people money long-term, stimulates local economies, and many many more benefits at the personal, local, national, and international economic levels.