Apple Mac laptop

[mihit]

"Youtube etc wont work obviously."

In other words, you can pretty much forget about using the Internet, unless you want to take measures most people will never be sophisticated enough to take.

There are more websites than youtube you know?
In fact I probably only watch maybe a half dozen videos a month.

[mihit]

I deal with work fine too, if the website doesn't I don't need to do business with them.

Quite right. I hate poorly coded sites. Worse are the ones that serve a "mobile friendly" version with no option to switch.

[SteveHGraham]

If a website requires Flash, you don't use it. Therefore, almost all the websites you use work fine without Flash.

Do you see the issue here?

I put a Flash-disabler on my browser, and I have run into problems over and over, forcing me to enable Flash for many sites. It certainly looks like a lot of sites still use it.

[SteveHGraham]

There are more websites than youtube you know?
In fact I probably only watch maybe a half dozen videos a month.

Surely you are aware that many people like Youtube and watch it frequently. There are many, many useful videos there which you can forget about finding anywhere else.

I got sick of cable, so I have no pay TV here. Free Youtube is pretty much all that interests me, when it comes to video entertainment and info. Khan Academy, Keith Fenner, Welding Tips and Tricks, free MIT courses, Abom79, Paul Sellers, religious material that appeals to me...don't bother trying to find it anywhere else. It's not there.

[jcfx]

I put a Flash-disabler on my browser, and I have run into problems over and over, forcing me to enable Flash for many sites. It certainly looks like a lot of sites still use it.

I don't know what OS your using and how old your computer is, but I would suggest that you upgrade both your OS and browser
to a version that your computer will still support and see if you can do away with Flash.
If you can't with your existing setup then I think it's time for a new computer that will.

[spro]

This continues to be an interesting thread.

[mihit]

I get all that, and to each their own. We all choose what we're comfortable with.
If you're happy accepting the risks running things with known vulnerabilities (not to mention putting up with ads, and feeding the AI algorithms) then I would be the last guy to try and stop you.
I can't even credit who said it, but: "If you're not paying for the service, then you're probably the product"
Tracking cookies ahoy!

[spro]

Your replies are knowledgeable about how this stuff works. By that, I'm not disregarding the previous posts. Some things you mentioned a way above me. I want( screw what i want) perhaps we, anyway dialog about certain machines of the Apple format. There are items on craigslist which seem reasonable but they were used in dc which at that time, So anyway, thanks for continuing the conversation.

[spro]

There is another thing about how you talk in verse. You already "got it".
As a subset to this discussion, it is amazing that I worked in telecommunications for 30 years and wouldn't know a Nix until it byte me. Electronics have surpassed all the stuff I and others knew. Still, we maintained the basic structure of how the future would be. The readings and tests on cables requires certain meters to determine a difference, tons of work and guys going into huts or man holes. These old hand written logs were basics to the layout of fiber. As soon as I say that, no it wasn't. They went around or did it differently. Telecommunications was split around that time and forward layed the framework of what we know now. Gosh the older copper cables they cored out and ran/ pulled humongous fiber cable through them.

[spro]

To where this does not encompass the realm or work we did, forget it. In earlier times I was running wire on long frames. We had a chart, a specific menu which the smarter guys engineered each line. Different pads(plug in resisters/ coils. To balance the line because we had to check. Base check solder connections. I did many of these and they weren't wrapped or soldered right. No problem because younger then. The ceilings, you talk about ceiling height. I guess many don't. The heavy racks to support all the cable was a work in itself. It was all suspended a good 6~ 8 ' below.
Base band, intermediate frequency charts. Higher levels of frequency , more multiple combinations combining a thousand to hundreds thousands of individual calls separate . Each a separate carrier frequency And that required a precise timing between connections.

[spro]

Too bad i forgot the name. Multi frequency power generators but that isn't even right. We had banks of them because some would go off. I maintained them to their limits . Then they were sent off for repair. I even did that for a time but was boring. The writing was on the wall. This was over. The microwave generators and points between, Lost, yet the horns still stand as testimony to when we shot communications across the Potomac into Maryland. They shot back, no question it was all timed and wonderful men and a woman would help me as this technology was going down.
What I mean is thousands of communications were taking place during the transformation. There was always a back-up always extra ready

[jcfx]

Your replies are knowledgeable about how this stuff works. By that, I'm not disregarding the previous posts. Some things you mentioned a way above me. I want( screw what i want) perhaps we, anyway dialog about certain machines of the Apple format. There are items on craigslist which seem reasonable but they were used in dc which at that time, So anyway, thanks for continuing the conversation.

Spro, There are 3 desktop formats from Apple , the MacPro, iMac, and Mac Mini. I'm not going to cover laptops, had them don't like them,
but most of what I'm saying applies. I'll let others who have comments on Apple laptops chime in.

If you're looking at a used Mac, the Mac OS compatibility needs to be your first concern, Apple is company that makes both the hardware and the OS
unlike MS which is OS only ,I think, don't know if MS ever forayed into the hardware end other than the iPod killer Zune

SInce Apple produces both hardware and software, the software and web protocols makes pretty fast leaps that can leave the
hardware behind, call it planned obsolescence, case in point, my shop had an iMac from 2006 which ran Mac OS 10.6.8 ( aka Snow Leopard ),
I could upgrade to 10.7 ( aka Lion ) but 10.7 was the highest I could go on the 2006 iMac, more recent OS's won't install.
The built in power supply decided to give me a fire works show one night, so I replaced it with 2009 iMac, the replacement will run 10.6.1 up to
10.13 ( aka High Sierra ), it won't run 10.14 ( aka Mojave ) which Apples latest and greatest.
This site is a good resource for info on Mac models from day one to today - https://everymac.com/
The iFixit site is also good if you want to DIY , and it'll give a pretty decent difficulty overview of how Apple doesn't like you
messing with their hardware internals, click the repair guides link on the home page - https://www.ifixit.com/

I would recommend that if a desktop would suit your needs then look int iMac's in the 2010 to present range, it should give you
breathing room for future OS updates.

With used Mac's my modus operandi has always been to ditch the HD that came with it and replace with a new HD, do fresh clean install of the OS
and add the max RAM that it will support.