I really like how LibreLeah is looking to get AMD CPU laptops into Minifree's
inventory. A few words of caution before jumping in with them, certain
mid-range laptops have poor battery life. Up to three hours if you are lucky,
so please try to find a device that lasts a little longer, if possible. The
other issue is graphics. AMD really needs to sort out their graphics driver
so that in the event you need to plug in your laptop to an external monitor
(when using Trisquel, for example) to work on something, you are SOL. (I
write to AMD ongoing about this issue, and will be sending another letter
soon.) One of my favorite OS experiences was when I had the Lenovo X120 and
then the X140E, running Trisquel 6. I had long battery life and a super cool
OS that did most of the things I needed before life got more complex, like
sometimes needed multiple monitors.
I think Technoethical had an ASUS netbook or chromebook thingy that was
converted to something Libre friendly that had no Intel CPU, very cool. If I
am not mistaken, Nvidea also makes CPU's for some laptops. And there is also
VIA, and Lemote. Such slim pickings out there in terms of CPU manufacturers.
The mobile phones running Replicant are an exciting development though. It is
a pity that there is not wider availability for such devices for North
America. You need to start somewhere, though.
There was one fellow who complained about a laptop glitch for Minifree and
LibreLeah had the policy of sending another machine and the first one would
not need to be sent back until the new one arrived. I like that policy. I am
guessing Technoethical would do the same.
Running a small business is really tough, especially when you start. You
really need to promote yourself and post testimonials on your site and all
that stuff. The emotional ups and downs are almost too much at times. If you
can survive this part, you may thrive down the road. Try to hang in there.
You guys are doing important work and I look forward to buying from both of
you at some point.
I will say this about Paypal and payment. Paypal sucks, they also
delayed/froze payments for my business. This is a general policy of theirs.
Sometimes I called them up, yelled and begged, hung up and then tried a
different rep. Eventually, if I plead and beg hard enough, they release funds
in a more timely manner. However, if you already have a large pool of cash,
they will release funds faster. If you are struggling, they will scrutinize.
Go figure. Also, Paypal claims percentages instead of a standard fee. Like
they stored my products, marketed them, and helped fabricate. Not. Paypal is
a monopoly who does as they please and they answer to no one. There really
needs to be more (viable) payment options out there. Unfortunately, Paypal
rips you off the least, which is a sad statement. In terms of bank transfers,
those are expensive. For most banks, you need to have a balance of 20K +
before wire fees are waived. Not many have that kind of bank balance. Credit
card companies are a racket who charge rates not much different from your
local Mafioso. Consumers and business need to presure their elected
representatives to keep the banks and entities like Paypal in check otherwise
the exploitation and practise of strangling small business (and customers)
will continue and get worse.
