DaVinci Posted December 13, 2016 Posted December 13, 2016 I would like an offline computer that I never have to worry about anything happening to, but that seems to be impossible as no program comes on a disc anymore, or it needs an always on internet connection. Does anyone have a 2016 computer that is entirely offline?
shirgall Posted December 13, 2016 Posted December 13, 2016 I would like an offline computer that I never have to worry about anything happening to, but that seems to be impossible as no program comes on a disc anymore, or it needs an always on internet connection. Does anyone have a 2016 computer that is entirely offline? Yes, but I suspect that the computers I have like this are not doing the sorts of things you probably want to do. Networking, both for computers and for people, is just so darned useful that it's usually worth the risk.
DaVinci Posted December 13, 2016 Author Posted December 13, 2016 Yes, but I suspect that the computers I have like this are not doing the sorts of things you probably want to do. Networking, both for computers and for people, is just so darned useful that it's usually worth the risk. All I really want for an offline computer is to have Office and maybe Photoshop. Of those two Photoshop seems to be the more problematic in terms of needing an always on connection. This seems like a gap in the market, but maybe I'm in a minority of users. I appreciate the response Shirgall
Tyler H Posted December 13, 2016 Posted December 13, 2016 You want one that just stays offline or one that was never online? The former seems fairly simple so I gather it's the latter.
shirgall Posted December 14, 2016 Posted December 14, 2016 All I really want for an offline computer is to have Office and maybe Photoshop. Of those two Photoshop seems to be the more problematic in terms of needing an always on connection. This seems like a gap in the market, but maybe I'm in a minority of users. I appreciate the response Shirgall Office and Photoshop constantly get updates for new features and fixing functionality these days. It's not like the old days where I had to walk to every desk with a floppy to do a rolling update.
rosencrantz Posted December 14, 2016 Posted December 14, 2016 Does anyone have a 2016 computer that is entirely offline? Any Linux should be able to do that. Get a LTE.
DaVinci Posted December 14, 2016 Author Posted December 14, 2016 You want one that just stays offline or one that was never online? The former seems fairly simple so I gather it's the latter. If I have to get online to download something like Office and then unplug it forever then I would be okay with that, but yeah, I would prefer a computer that was never online. Office and Photoshop constantly get updates for new features and fixing functionality these days. It's not like the old days where I had to walk to every desk with a floppy to do a rolling update. I certainly see the appeal of getting new features, but I also would like to keep internet browsing/connectivity and work separate. I think this is some of the appeal of the iPad. You can surf the internet but you can't do much work. Except the opposite device isn't available. An all in one computer, plug it in, and get to work. No internet needed.
shirgall Posted December 14, 2016 Posted December 14, 2016 Any Linux should be able to do that. Get a LTE. And the ironic thing about that is that my job is all about working on Linux (at Microsoft!) and I cannot do my job without constantly available huge pipes to the Internet all day long...
rosencrantz Posted December 14, 2016 Posted December 14, 2016 And the ironic thing about that is that my job is all about working on Linux (at Microsoft!) and I cannot do my job without constantly available huge pipes to the Internet all day long... Yeah, but I understood daVinci wanted an installation DVD which is easy to obtain with Linux
DaVinci Posted December 14, 2016 Author Posted December 14, 2016 Yeah, but I understood daVinci wanted an installation DVD which is easy to obtain with Linux I assume you are being sarcastic. I've thought about going the Rasperry Pi route. Aren't those Linux based? Can I run Office on one of those?
rosencrantz Posted December 14, 2016 Posted December 14, 2016 I assume you are being sarcastic. No. 1) Go to xubuntu.org2) Install it on your computer 3) Add features you want 4) Create your own distro, using uck or something similar 5) Burn it to a DVD 6) Install it on a computer 7) Done. 1
neeeel Posted December 14, 2016 Posted December 14, 2016 I suppose you could have 2 computers, one online, one offline, use the online one to download updates, put the updates on disk, and install to your offline computer via the disk?
shirgall Posted December 14, 2016 Posted December 14, 2016 I suppose you could have 2 computers, one online, one offline, use the online one to download updates, put the updates on disk, and install to your offline computer via the disk? Sneakernet lives!
Tyler H Posted December 14, 2016 Posted December 14, 2016 I imagine the purpose of being entirely offline is to avoid prying eyes. Is this the case?
DaVinci Posted December 16, 2016 Author Posted December 16, 2016 I suppose you could have 2 computers, one online, one offline, use the online one to download updates, put the updates on disk, and install to your offline computer via the disk? That sounds good, but do PC's even come with burners anymore and is burning updates to a disc something that you can actually do? It's been a while since I built my own computer or bought one. I imagine the purpose of being entirely offline is to avoid prying eyes. Is this the case? Yeah, I don't need everyone to have a backdoor to my computer, but I also grew up during a time period where if you had a computer it was offline. You used it to do work, and not get online. I had a computer for about 3 or 4 years before it was ever hooked to the internet, and I've worked on computers in the past for things like music and video editing that were built just for that purpose with no internet access. It's nice to just do work on a computer.
neeeel Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 That sounds good, but do PC's even come with burners anymore and is burning updates to a disc something that you can actually do? It's been a while since I built my own computer or bought one. Well, usb sticks. Or external hard drives. or whatever. Not sure about whether you can install updates offline. I would imagine that some at least, expect and need an internet connection to be present.
DaVinci Posted December 17, 2016 Author Posted December 17, 2016 Well, usb sticks. Or external hard drives. or whatever. Not sure about whether you can install updates offline. I would imagine that some at least, expect and need an internet connection to be present. That makes sense. I appreciate the response.
shirgall Posted December 17, 2016 Posted December 17, 2016 The bootable USB stick with carefully curated and managed code is the point of Tails, a Debian-based Linux distribution worth considering.
DaVinci Posted December 17, 2016 Author Posted December 17, 2016 The bootable USB stick with carefully curated and managed code is the point of Tails, a Debian-based Linux distribution worth considering. I'll look into that. Thank you for the suggestion. I guess I have my homework cut out for me.
Rventurelli Posted January 29, 2017 Posted January 29, 2017 A little off topic, however, I remember reading news some years ago (Perhaps seven?) that the Russian Secret Service, the FSB had switch back to typewriters so their information could not be stolen.I always found typewriters to be so fascinating. Never had one though.
shirgall Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 A little off topic, however, I remember reading news some years ago (Perhaps seven?) that the Russian Secret Service, the FSB had switch back to typewriters so their information could not be stolen. I always found typewriters to be so fascinating. Never had one though. Typewriters also have a "fist", a fingerprint of sorts, that could be used to connect typewriters and documents typed with them, much to the chagrin of spies with typed coded messages.
Rventurelli Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Typewriters also have a "fist", a fingerprint of sorts, that could be used to connect typewriters and documents typed with them, much to the chagrin of spies with typed coded messages. But you would have to physically have the typewriter to make the connection.
shirgall Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 But you would have to physically have the typewriter to make the connection. Many great stories of the Cold War are all about just that.
Rventurelli Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Many great stories of the Cold War are all about just that. While I still have the sensation that I was born way too late... In some ways it was kind of perfect timing, in the sense that I was not aware of anything important during the "end of history' period, of 1991 to 2001.
shirgall Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 While I still have the sensation that I was born way too late... In some ways it was kind of perfect timing, in the sense that I was not aware of anything important during the "end of history' period, of 1991 to 2001. Admittedly the "typewriter" stuff was certainly earlier. There's a show called "The Americans" which covers the era of my early memory.
Toys4 Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 Is there anyone family or friends that can give you an older computer with older programs or could you get one yourself? I have two laptops that I use. I have one laptop that I bought in 2006 I keep it at home it doesn't have acess to the internet because I don't have wifi in my home but it has the basic microsoft programs from 2007 and I prefer that layout and I use Microsoft office on that one may, I don't have power point. And I have a laptop that I bought in 2016 I use that one when I go to the library and use the wifi to go on the internet. Maybe a slightly older computer like the one I mentioned first is the way to go. EDIT: oh and I forgot to mention the both have a CD drive. the one from 2006 is a Dell and the one I bought last year is a HP.
Gloria Posted February 8, 2017 Posted February 8, 2017 I totally understand your interest in this. I have the same interest for different reasons. My youngest son downloads much like a kid would have climbed trees 30 years ago except scraped knees come in the form of viruses. Impossible to stop and other than a pile of dead laptops , not sure I want to stop him. Anyway, newegg.com sells plenty of re-furbed Windows 7.0 machines . Thankfully I bought 7.0 and Office when it was still available on disk. The huge problem is when you go on line. I have not figured out a way around that. So lets say you use this solitude machine to do your work. Even if it can burn your work to a drive you then need to take that media to an online computer (and newer online computers don't come with drives anymore ) so it can be submitted to whomever is to receive the work , i.e. email, etc. It's impossible for kids. Teachers want Google docs submission, etc. Browsers going stale is another issue. I swear there are bugs that can blowout wireless cards too. Good luck. I keep a typewriter in my prep closet LOL 1
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