Frugality seems to have another aspect I wasn't aware off. The word itself ultimately derives from the Latin frux, meaning "fruit" or "value," and is a distant cousin of the Latin word for "enjoy" (frui). So enjoyment, albeit at some distance, accompanies the notion of frugality, which means the real frugality test must fail if there's no joy.
I consider my Raspberry Pi's beautiful in their transparent Pi-Hut open cluster enclosure, and even my HP Mini's, lacking any looks at all, give me joy by knowing of their steely sturdiness, 3W power need when idle and their durability. I fully expect them to stay operational for at least another 10 years, and with some replacements (storage, memory, fan) probably a lot longer. And my RPI Zero's, well, I'm sure they will live forever.
Enjoying this "frugal tech" feels more of a goal for me than the mere low cost of first buy. In some cases this joy even cost me a lot more in the end than anticipated, e.g. when I bought an expensive UPS to protect the easily corruptible micro SD-cards of my RPI's. I like the crazy fact that my RPI's of less than 20 Euro's each are now protected by a much more expensive device I probably wouldn't have acquired if RPI's were lacking in my network.
My RPI's and my HP Mini's are displayed in full and prominent sight instead of hiding behind a monitor or else. I enjoy looking at them. My laptop lies in a drawer when I'm not using it.
I consider my Raspberry Pi's beautiful in their transparent Pi-Hut open cluster enclosure, and even my HP Mini's, lacking any looks at all, give me joy by knowing of their steely sturdiness, 3W power need when idle and their durability. I fully expect them to stay operational for at least another 10 years, and with some replacements (storage, memory, fan) probably a lot longer. And my RPI Zero's, well, I'm sure they will live forever.
Enjoying this "frugal tech" feels more of a goal for me than the mere low cost of first buy. In some cases this joy even cost me a lot more in the end than anticipated, e.g. when I bought an expensive UPS to protect the easily corruptible micro SD-cards of my RPI's. I like the crazy fact that my RPI's of less than 20 Euro's each are now protected by a much more expensive device I probably wouldn't have acquired if RPI's were lacking in my network.
My RPI's and my HP Mini's are displayed in full and prominent sight instead of hiding behind a monitor or else. I enjoy looking at them. My laptop lies in a drawer when I'm not using it.
Statistics: Posted by HanDonotob — Mon Aug 04, 2025 3:56 pm