Permacomputing
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 2:27 pm
This page from XXIIVV discusses the concept of permacomputing, a concept I didn't know had a name, which I've been thinking about off and on for the past couple of years.
"Permacomputing is a design practice that encourages the maximization of hardware lifespan, minimization of energy usage and focuses on the use of already available computational resources. It values maintenance and refactoring of systems to keep them efficient, instead of planned obsolescence, permacomputing practices planned longevity."
It doesn't take long to figure out ways in which this could be relevant to you, whether you're interested in upcycling ewaste, or plan to work on a tight technological budget, or spend time in remote locations where energy availability is a concern, or a future where one is cut off from society - or society ceases to function in an organized manner - or just find it engaging to think about computing differently. Or maybe, like me, the observance of releasing shiny new things that all do the same thing and are used for 2 or 3 years has grown stale for you, and the idea of using something really old in new ways for a really, really long time - in contrast - is beginning to excite you.
I'm not a highly technical person or a programmer, I don't think I could consider myself as practicing permacomputing any time soon, as permacomputing is a design philosophy - a way of approaching programming and hardware design with the intention of doing more with less - less energy, fewer hardware resources - and making parts interchangeable and reusable across many types of systems. What I'm personally involved with is upcycling and extending the lifespan of electronics, but permacomputing excites me, because it could help me achieve those aims.
Some of the jargon I don't understand because CS is not my field, but I resonate with the ideas, mindset and philosophy written out here. For example:
"Figuring out how to make the best possible use out of the millions of devices which already exist. Salvage computing believes that the end of a computer product's lifecycle should be seen as a moment of celebration, a moment when its socioeconomic context can finally be reclaimed. Scavenge-friendly electronics are parts that are no longer manufactured, but that are available by the billions in landfills. Those who can manage to create new designs from scavenged parts with low-tech tools will be able to preserve electronics. It does not advocate for going back in time, despite advocating for a dramatic decrease in use of artificial energy, but trusts in human ingenuity to turn problems into solutions, competition into co-operation and waste into resources."
I often think about this, sometimes in tangent with the idea that old operating systems don't need to be obsolete (OS X Mavericks is being maintained to a degree by fans). I'm no programmer, but I am curious if programmers have not yet totally maximized efficiency in currently available machines, something that could be looked further into with more intensity rather than continually necessitate faster hardware. Like the author says with the words "trusts in human ingenuity," I'm excited about the idea that there is a lot of room to maximize the output of the old systems we can already source nearly for free.
I think some of the 2009-2013 ThinkPads are very good examples of computers that could be lifetime machines - everything in them can be replaced cheaply, and the core I processors are powerful enough to basically run anything a modern web browser could hope to run. The T430, for example, is a fairly affordable machine that I think is not overvalued, you can occasionally find them (at least here in the U.S.) in fine condition for $40, and nearly anything - from the screen to the keyboard to the CPU - can be fairly easily replaced with not too much effort at all.
I'm also interested in the idea of low-powered computers, and I think cyberdecks or something similar based on Raspberry Pi 5 could serve as a great permacomputing base.
Definitely worth a read!
"Permacomputing is a design practice that encourages the maximization of hardware lifespan, minimization of energy usage and focuses on the use of already available computational resources. It values maintenance and refactoring of systems to keep them efficient, instead of planned obsolescence, permacomputing practices planned longevity."
It doesn't take long to figure out ways in which this could be relevant to you, whether you're interested in upcycling ewaste, or plan to work on a tight technological budget, or spend time in remote locations where energy availability is a concern, or a future where one is cut off from society - or society ceases to function in an organized manner - or just find it engaging to think about computing differently. Or maybe, like me, the observance of releasing shiny new things that all do the same thing and are used for 2 or 3 years has grown stale for you, and the idea of using something really old in new ways for a really, really long time - in contrast - is beginning to excite you.
I'm not a highly technical person or a programmer, I don't think I could consider myself as practicing permacomputing any time soon, as permacomputing is a design philosophy - a way of approaching programming and hardware design with the intention of doing more with less - less energy, fewer hardware resources - and making parts interchangeable and reusable across many types of systems. What I'm personally involved with is upcycling and extending the lifespan of electronics, but permacomputing excites me, because it could help me achieve those aims.
Some of the jargon I don't understand because CS is not my field, but I resonate with the ideas, mindset and philosophy written out here. For example:
"Figuring out how to make the best possible use out of the millions of devices which already exist. Salvage computing believes that the end of a computer product's lifecycle should be seen as a moment of celebration, a moment when its socioeconomic context can finally be reclaimed. Scavenge-friendly electronics are parts that are no longer manufactured, but that are available by the billions in landfills. Those who can manage to create new designs from scavenged parts with low-tech tools will be able to preserve electronics. It does not advocate for going back in time, despite advocating for a dramatic decrease in use of artificial energy, but trusts in human ingenuity to turn problems into solutions, competition into co-operation and waste into resources."
I often think about this, sometimes in tangent with the idea that old operating systems don't need to be obsolete (OS X Mavericks is being maintained to a degree by fans). I'm no programmer, but I am curious if programmers have not yet totally maximized efficiency in currently available machines, something that could be looked further into with more intensity rather than continually necessitate faster hardware. Like the author says with the words "trusts in human ingenuity," I'm excited about the idea that there is a lot of room to maximize the output of the old systems we can already source nearly for free.
I think some of the 2009-2013 ThinkPads are very good examples of computers that could be lifetime machines - everything in them can be replaced cheaply, and the core I processors are powerful enough to basically run anything a modern web browser could hope to run. The T430, for example, is a fairly affordable machine that I think is not overvalued, you can occasionally find them (at least here in the U.S.) in fine condition for $40, and nearly anything - from the screen to the keyboard to the CPU - can be fairly easily replaced with not too much effort at all.
I'm also interested in the idea of low-powered computers, and I think cyberdecks or something similar based on Raspberry Pi 5 could serve as a great permacomputing base.
Definitely worth a read!
