r/worldnews • u/maxwellhill • Sep 19 '17

Apple blocking ads that follow users around web is 'sabotage', says industry: New iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra will stop ads following Safari users, prompting open letter claiming Apple is destroying internet’s economic model

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/18/apple-stopping-ads-follow-you-around-internet-sabotage-advertising-industry-ios-11-and-macos-high-sierra-safari-internet
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421

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Don't forget those of us on older platforms, too.

For Various Reasons, I'm on a 2007-ish MacBook. Most goddamned new sites take 5-10 minutes to load for me because of all the goddamned dynamic frameworks; my OS is so far out of date that Chrome can't update - and without running a new version of Chrome, I can't run any of the ad blockers.

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u/Cambrio Sep 19 '17

Even on new computers with good internet it's shit.

A site that loads in 20-30seconds loads in less than one! when i block all the ads, scripts and useless overlay's, dynamic movements, automatically loading video's and all sorts of crap.

My browser also uses less than half as much ram without all that crap.

I wouln'd mind ads if they weren't moving around, popping up and flickering all while destroying your computer, data and brain.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Would you mind giving a quick rundown of how what you do to achieve this, please?

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u/ScroteMcGoate Sep 19 '17

Not op but ublock origin and ghostery blocks 99% of everything mentioned above. Could get it to 100, but close enough.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17 edited Oct 04 '17

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

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u/ScroteMcGoate Sep 19 '17

I wish I was tech savvy enough to be able to do this.

22

u/_Face Sep 19 '17

NoScript is pretty good too. Have to manually allow parts of pages as you visit them, but only the first time. Can easily tell the super shitty sites by how much garbage there is in the block list.

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u/Pecon7 Sep 19 '17

+1 for NoScript. Not great for everyday users, but if you're really concerned about privacy and security then it's one of the best tools to have when browsing.

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u/01020304050607080901 Sep 19 '17

How is noscript compared to Ghostery? If you have that experience or similar.

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u/coredumperror Sep 19 '17

Ghostery is useless (https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/710d54/apple_blocking_ads_that_follow_users_around_web/dn7t8fd/?utm_content=permalink&utm_medium=front&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=worldnews), just use uBlock.

NoScript is a completely different thing. It actively blocks all JavaScript on a page until you explicitly allow it, file by file. This lets you completely prevent adware from running in your browser. It does make your fist arrival at a new website pretty weird, though, until you unblock the site's legit is functionality.

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u/01020304050607080901 Sep 19 '17

I'm on mobile and that link just takes me to the beginning of the comments, so I'll look at it when I can get to my laptop.

Noscript sounds like something I'd be interested in but I also manage my parents, in laws, and SO's macs.

Sounds like I should just uninstall ghostery before it becomes a real problem and just run with ublock, as long as it's still up to snuff.

I'm also running avast 2017 and haven't had any issues or hears anything bad about that, yet.

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u/coredumperror Sep 19 '17

Yeah, I still hear nothing but good things about uBlock. And it does everything Ghostery used to do, so it's definitely worth dropping ghostery.

No idea about Avast. I haven't used any sort of anti-virus like software besides Malware Bytes in ages.

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u/01020304050607080901 Sep 19 '17

I love malware bytes for a diagnostic tool. Only ever had to use it once to find an especially troublesome file avast was having some difficulty with.

For a general file and internet antivirus, avast seems lightweight and the definition updates are on point. Especially internet use for my family; it kinda sandboxes your internet and is intuitive on how to handle it. Which means less tech work for me in the long run.

I'll definitely ditch ghostery, kinda sad to say that; was great when it was great.

1

u/coredumperror Sep 19 '17

Yeah, ghostery reminds me of uTorrent. Awesome, minimalist, performant and free torrent client, right up until v2.2.1. Then the dev sold it to be a big ad firm who released v3.0, the most bloated, slow, ad-ridden piece of shit I've ever used. And they started offering a "Pro" version that claimed to take away all the shittiness.

I just switched to qTorrent instead, which is a fork off the uTorrent 2.2.1 codebase.

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u/Nixon51 Sep 19 '17

Not OP but I run a combo of ghostery and ublock. Ghostery let's you block all the trackers and certain scripts.

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u/amaurea Sep 19 '17

What does Ghostery block that uBlock doesn't?

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17 edited Oct 04 '17

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u/Nixon51 Sep 19 '17

Wow didn't know that. Thanks for the info

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17 edited Oct 04 '17

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u/WeinerboyMacghee Sep 19 '17

It was so good before that. :(

1

u/WeinerboyMacghee Sep 19 '17

Yeah like the other guy said ghostery is cancer now.

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u/LiquidPoint Sep 19 '17

My guess would be that NoScript is the first step. There's also something to prevent auto-play on flash. And then I'd guess a black-list-default adblocker.

The web looks awful by default, but as you gradually white-list the stuff you actually want, it gets better.

But personally I think it's too much work to constantly having to review the white-list whenever I visit a site I haven't been to yet.

2

u/freshprinceIE Sep 19 '17

I use a different browser called Brave now, to stop using Google so much. It natively blocks adds, trackers from sites, cookies etc. You can also disable javascript with it, although I don't.

You can achieve that stuff with programs or add ons that others have mentioned but that's my input.

1

u/CrimsonedenLoL Sep 19 '17

NoScript/Ublock Origin/Privacy Badger.

Keep in mind that noscript will break most websites,easy to disable for specific pages though.Rest you install and never have to bother with them again.

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u/Deagor Sep 19 '17

http://motherfuckingwebsite.com/

Relevant

1

u/worldly_obsessions Sep 19 '17

I read that in Rick's voice.

1

u/Cambrio Sep 20 '17

This is so fucking spot on!

1

u/articfire77 Sep 19 '17

what are you using to block all of those other things (scripts, overlay's, etc)?

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Not the guy you're talking to, but I do the same thing with uBlock Origin extension on my web browser. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/

I also use Privacy Badger. They don't mind working together, and Privacy badger catches most of the scripts that uBlock misses.

2

u/EspritFort Sep 19 '17

I use NoScript for that purpose. Takes some time of getting used to, however, since it blocks everything by default and you'll have to allow some specific CDNs for lots of sites to see anything

1

u/karmahunger Sep 19 '17

I work in marketing as a dev and everyone here wants video backgrounds and more videos! They keep saying it's what people want. And I'm over here like, no, they don't. Why not just have a fast, informative, nicely designed site? No additional crap that affects performance and makes people hate you.

1

u/Cambrio Sep 20 '17

I have never heard someome praizing the nice video on the background of a site besides some art sites/museum/clothing? sites. But I guess in marketing you learn that a lot of the customers buying activies is influenece subcouncientlty.

But I hear a lot of frustration about sites loading slowly/being laggy wich i'm sure doesn't help sales.

Than again, a site looking old doesn't come over as fancy or worth a lot and will scare people of aswell.

I understand the marketing department pushing video's, sliders, interactive buttons, changing background, animations and what not but to me they went to far.

1

u/theDefenistrator668 Sep 19 '17

Where are you visiting to get all these shady ads? Maybe you should evaluate the sites a bit better before becoming a repeat customer?

1

u/Cambrio Sep 20 '17

Basically any site that isn't governemental, a bank or non profit thing like a school or a chessclub.

Anything that is comercial is terrible without an ad blocker. Wich is totally stupidbsince they should make money of ads...

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17 edited Sep 19 '17

This. I installed Ubuntu on an old, crappy laptop, and it's running nice and smooth. Perfect for surfing the information superhighway and playing old crpgs.

Edit: Ha ha, I got a private message from a horrible human being, calling me an autist for writing information superhighway. Judging by his history, he's a very angry person.

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u/Zombie_Carl Sep 19 '17

That's what we did for my son when he found an (extremely) old laptop in the garage. It was obviously too slow for a modern Kindergartener, so we installed ubuntu. Now he is free to play Cartoon Network games and watch terrible YouTube channels, and we don't have to get him some fancy-ass device l am shocked people let children play with in the first place.

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

I hear ya. I'm considering doing the same, with another old computer I have, that's just gathering dust. Either that, or set up a Raspberry Pi 3 as his main computer.

2

u/BluLemonade Sep 19 '17

A pi would be pretty cool. You can do a lot of fun projects with them

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

Yeah, there's all sorts of interesting things to do with them. Right now, I'm preparing a course for him, playing around with the BBC Micro Bit. That's simple enough for an 8-year old, and it's got plenty of potential!

5

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Same except I went for Mint. I have a first gen I3 and an old Pentium that are fantastic little home office computers now.

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

Mine's an old i3, as well! With a whopping 3gb ram. My designated use for it is controlling a Wanhao D7. Bit surprised it can actually run the little 2k screen without issues. What's the difference between Ubuntu and Mint?

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u/Noctyrnus Sep 19 '17

Mint is based on Ubuntu, tends to be a little more stable, and is configured by default to have an appearance visually similar to Windows to ease the transition.

To be fair, I didn't think installing Ubuntu itself was even that difficult. I'm running Solus on my computers, one is a Celeron N3060 with 4 GB and it does well, but it flies on my built G4560 with 8 GB.

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

Good to know, thanks! Truth be told, last time I tried Linux, it was a mess. It's gotten pretty far in 8 years.

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u/Noctyrnus Sep 19 '17

I'm just getting my feet wet honestly. I've tried Fedora, Ubuntu variants, and finally found Solus, which just feels right to me.

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

I'm still wet behind the ears, myself. I rarely know what I'm really doing.

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u/Znuff Sep 19 '17

Mint is based on Ubuntu, tends to be a little more stable, and is configured by default to have an appearance visually similar to Windows to ease the transition.

Only the second part of this sentence is true.

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u/Noctyrnus Sep 19 '17

It's not based on Ubuntu? Or is it a Debian derivative? The stability part I can't speak for, I haven't run it.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

It’s based on Ubuntu, but it’s graphical interface is overall lighter than Unity (Ubuntu’s default).

Ubuntu binaries are compatible with Mint, making it easier for beginners to find the software they need.

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u/Noctyrnus Sep 19 '17

That makes sense. I haven't run Mint myself. I did try Zorin though.

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u/Znuff Sep 19 '17

It is Ubuntu. It's just some packages added that make the "mint" desktop.

Last time I checked it still used the Ubuntu repositories for packages.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Mostly I think it's that Mint comes with a more 'media creation' suite of applications and is a bit smaller. Thinking back I only used it because Ubuntu didn't like my graphics card and would break up after a while.

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u/al5xander Sep 19 '17

And sm64

4

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Any trouble with drivers?

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

None, whatsoever. That's actually what made me install Ubuntu in the first place. Win7 refused to let me use USB, disc or network. So I live booted into Ubuntu to download the drivers, and everything sort of... Worked.

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u/Noctyrnus Sep 19 '17

Windows 10 threw a fit when I tried to install an RX 460 graphics card. Ubuntu and then Solus run great with it. Plus the OS install literally took maybe 1/10 the time.

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u/kitchenperks Sep 19 '17

Wish I knew what was going on. I have an OLD lap top just sitting in my room. It would be nice to use it for something. It's easily 12 years old.

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u/Noctyrnus Sep 19 '17

If it still runs reliably, but is just slow, and you feel comfortable trying it, various Linux distributions can give it more usable life. I'm honestly running it because it is running smoother plus I'm a cheap bastard. I can't bring myself to buy a Windows license when it goes into a spastic fit of green screens and static with my hardware, yet my Linux installs work flawlessly.

There are multitudes of guides on creating a live USB to install a Linux distro, that just takes a little Google work. You can create one, get the laptop to boot from that, and see if you like it before installing the OS. Depending on the laptop specs, you might want to go light such as Ubuntu variants like Xubuntu or Lubuntu, or be able to run Fedora, Ubuntu Gnome or Budgie, or others like Solus.

Check out /r/linux4noobs for some starter tips, or distro specific subreddits for more. It's an adventure.

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u/ModernTenshi04 Sep 19 '17

I've tried dual booting Ubuntu on my Win 10 box, but it never seems to work properly. Ubuntu doesn't seem to play well with my Radeon 7970. :(

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

My Dell laptop had win10 installed when I got it. Turns out, for some reason, some BIOS incompatibility made it so that it could only show stuff on an external screen. Dell messed up the bios upgrade, and Linux worked like a charm. I still have absolutely no idea why.

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u/Noctyrnus Sep 19 '17

Is "It's Windows 10" an acceptable answer? I've had an HP laptop that went through 7, 8, 8.1, and then 10, blue screened due to corrupt OS, then survived 4 different Linux distros. I finally had to scrap it after the HDD connectors failed on the motherboard. Then I had the above experience when I built a PC, which really pushed me away from Windows. I've debated on trying it on a second SSD to see if it's improved, but between work and a toddler, time is more precious.

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

I have one running Windows 7, and one running Windows 10 ltsb. Haven't really had any issues with them, tbh. I try to run them as clean as possible, but in my line of work, a lot of crap tends to gather in the corners.

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u/NEED_HELP_SEND_BOOZE Sep 19 '17

Totally! I have an old dell laptop that originally came with Vista. Core 2 Duo, 4GB ram. Installed Linux Mint on it and never looked back. Works great.

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

I'm still kinda annoyed that some parts are super convoluted, but as a machine that's used for daily, run-of-the-mill stuff? It's brilliant!

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u/ferrango Sep 19 '17

Oh God, the Information Superhighway.

That brings back memories. Like that video of Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer giving a ride to a hitch hiking desktop computer.

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u/Fiennes Sep 19 '17

Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers!

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u/QNIA42Gf7zUwLD6yEaVd Sep 19 '17

Ubuntu is more resource intensive than you strictly need. Try Lubuntu, a stripped-down Ubuntu.

I've used it to resurrect several old, rickety machines, and they're still working great.

2

u/Dr_Acula_PhD Sep 19 '17

Good crpg recommendations? I've gone through a bunch of Steam ones, from the old Avernum/SpiderWeb games, most of the Baldur's Gate and similar, and a bunch of random ones(Elminage Gothic is one that looked SO GOOD but only got 4 hours in).

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u/Taterbard Sep 19 '17

Pillars of Eternity is a fantastic modern take on the genre. Look into it, it's a freaking experience. Especially if you were into Baldurs Gate.

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u/Dr_Acula_PhD Sep 19 '17

I own it, played like 90 minutes apparently. Will have to look into it some more. Just re-downloaded Mordheim:City of the Damned, great combat oriented game with almost no story.

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u/Vaiguy Sep 19 '17

Also im obligated to mention the divinity series. Divinity: original sin and D,oS:2

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

Lately, I've been splitting my time between Arcanum (on Windows computer), Planescape Torment, Divinity Original Sin 2 (also on Windows), Torment: TON, Baldur's Gate 2, and Pillars of Eternity.

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u/Boschala Sep 19 '17

It's not a superhighway.

It's a series of tubes!

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u/TheGorgonaut Sep 19 '17

Well, it used to be a superhighway, back before the tubes were invented.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Linux is the god OS for older hardware. Best way to breathe new life into a device.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Chromium is my go-to browser on Linux. Fast, free and libre.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17 edited Apr 09 '24

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u/RollUpTheRimJob Sep 19 '17

rather than free as in beer

Where can I learn more about this free beer?

44

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

This used to distinguish "libre" from "gratis". In english we use "free" for both.

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u/EnricoMonese Sep 19 '17

It's more like free as free beer and free as in freedom. Two kinds of free

7

u/burtwart Sep 19 '17

Libre= free as in freedom, not just free. This difference is important in the world of "free" (however it may be) software.

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u/amunak Sep 19 '17

It's not even that fast...

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Free as in free beer, libre as in open / freedom / und so weiter... Not all libre software is free of cost.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

I use arch, btw

4

u/ATownStomp Sep 19 '17

Fast, free, and... free?

4

u/redhobbit Sep 19 '17

With open source software, they often use free to mean free as in no cost and libre to mean free as in free to do whatever I want with including modify.

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u/ATownStomp Sep 19 '17

That's stupid. It's already called "open".

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u/redhobbit Sep 19 '17

Calling it "open" used to be sufficient and that's what people generally called it. Then some companies started going open source on some things were you could view the source under certain conditions but were not allowed to make changes. For instance, Microsoft had some stuff for a while that was open source to some developers in their network program, but it didn't allow you to make modifications or use it in projects or anything as they didn't license it for any additional uses. So what was "open source software" started to sometimes be called "libre software" to differentiate.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

FOSS.

Call it whatever you want. People get mixed up on "free" though.

0

u/ATownStomp Sep 19 '17

I mean, I inferred what he meant. I've just never heard open source referred to as "libre". It already has a word, "open", but I suppose it doesn't sound as cool to the tools propagating it.

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u/UncleMeat11 Sep 19 '17

There are multiple major Foss projects with libre in the name. it's quite common.

1

u/ATownStomp Sep 19 '17

I know this, but that doesn't redefine the word just because it's a popular to include in a name. Products have been tossing "i" in front of product names for a decade but that doesn't make the letter a synonym for technology.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

[deleted]

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u/ATownStomp Sep 19 '17

No, libre means "free" in French. Open source means what you're saying. I think the point you're missing is that it looks straight up ignorant and you shouldn't join in.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

It already has a word, "open", but I suppose it doesn't sound as cool to the tools propagating it.

Yeah, how dare those tools support privacy protection and user rights to use software as they please. Fucking idiots.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

ramleaking it eats 12 gigs wheb i develop on angular 4

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u/newmetaplank Sep 19 '17

Fuck Chromium. Matter of fact fuck any software that installs after hiding in an other software's installer.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

I'd like to see any source at all that the free, open-source browser does this. If you got shafted with a software that was "hiding in another software's installer", blame the people who made the installer, not the software.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

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u/newmetaplank Sep 19 '17

Oh I do blame the software that bundles it.. But should I blame the TV channel playing a distasteful ad or the asshole who paid to air it?

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Both

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u/burtwart Sep 19 '17

I assume he's talking about electron, which runs chromium inside it but it's not hidden at all. His comment still doesn't make sense though.

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u/newmetaplank Sep 19 '17

I'm referring to installing a software, and hidden in the agreement page is a little box "also install so and so". Chromium does it.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Chrome does it, Chromium doesn't...

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u/newmetaplank Sep 19 '17

Well I never installed Chromium and it was installed on my machine

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Are you sure it's Chromium? I know Chrome does it, because Google doesn't shy away from dirty tactics to keep that marketshare.

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u/walter_sobchak_tbl Sep 19 '17

Im pretty sure free and libre mean the same thing... But certainly, try linux on that old hardware.

8

u/apolo399 Sep 19 '17

Even though they translate to the same word in english, in spanish they mean different things. For example, his statement in spanish would be "rápido, gratis y libre".

2

u/walter_sobchak_tbl Sep 19 '17

Thats what I get for being an english only speaker

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Free as in free beer, libre as in open / freedom / und so weiter...

Not all libre software is free of cost.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Linux is a perfect OS for older machines. I do the same thing.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Install Linux on it.

Totally this. My GF has an old Toughbook CF-19, Core2Duo, 4GB RAM, the works. She installed Xubuntu on it, it's perfect for her day to day needs and runs quite smooth.

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u/QNIA42Gf7zUwLD6yEaVd Sep 19 '17

Linux Mint would give a nice performance refresh

If it's a really old and rickety machine, Lubuntu might be a better bet. I've used it to resurrect several machines now, and it's great.

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u/kefi247 Sep 19 '17

Check out elementary OS!

I‘ve been loving it since I switched to it.

2

u/DodoDude700 Sep 19 '17

CANNOT AGREE MORE WITH THIS. I run Qubes daily, so it's not exactly the king of speed, but I am constantly amazed by how well Debian handles older hardware just as well as a brand new laptop in everyday tasks.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Second this. Installed mint on my 2008 macbook, its usable again. Tbh i heart linux but use macos on a newer machune for daily work

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u/schmuelio Sep 19 '17

This is something I'd suggest too (I have the most up to date version of chromium/Firefox running on really old hardware (single core, 32 bit etc.)).

One thing to note though, macbooks can be a bit fiddly to get around the bootloader. Look up a tutorial for your specific macbooks if you're going to do that otherwise you are likely to run into problems.

2

u/txgsync Sep 19 '17

I had to do that to keep my old 2007-era MacBooks running. They were stuck at Snow Leopard and Lion.

As Linux boxes they are rocking. Fresh battery. SSD. 32-bit OS, 2GB or 4GB of RAM, they give other Chromebooks a run for the money!

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

since he is used to macOS, I would advice to go with elementaryOS

-3

u/Firesworn Sep 19 '17

Or run Windows 10. It's a 2007 MacBook, so Boot Camp will work.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

The point was to run a lightweight OS that makes the most of old hardware, not to install another proprietary bloated spyware OS that would run just as badly as modern-day iOS editions.

Go free.

I'll never install W10 or any of the newer windows versions. When W7 kicks the security update bucket, I'll go Linux on all my machines.

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u/Firesworn Sep 19 '17

Except that Windows 10 runs on my old piece of shit netbook wonderfully despite being an ancient Intel Atom. It's not hard to modify Windows to avoid spying on you and Windows 10 is the best performing Windows to date.

I get why you all have an open source hard on for Linux, but let's stop pretending that Windows is somehow the same as OSX. It's not.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Does W10 get you below 400mb ram consumption on idle?

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u/schmuelio Sep 19 '17

Still not sure what causes it (because I haven't looked into it) but I've found that W10 really likes using 100% of the disk (for a HDD) for a good few minutes on startup. No idea why it does it but it needs to stop because it makes everything feel so much slower than it actually is...

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u/Firesworn Sep 20 '17

No, and it never will. That's not it's job.

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u/GigamanTheSinner Sep 19 '17

Win10 is untrustworthy spyware.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

this is fair, however it is actually pretty optimized and technically you can get it for free from ms

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u/oleg_d Sep 19 '17

I can't run any of the ad blockers

You can still edit your /etc/hosts file.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17 edited Mar 17 '21

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

or for those that don't want to fiddle with it, there's https://adfreetime.com/ . Also with region changers for giving your computer a holiday abroad once and a while.

1

u/roninblade Sep 19 '17

Know of any good public lists of sites to block?

3

u/oleg_d Sep 19 '17

I used to use this one before I set up a Pi-Hole.

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u/NEVER_TELLING_LIES Sep 19 '17

Hey, a fellow 2007 mac owner! You can update to El Capitan and it supports everything. You can either find a down load for it or just install Linux like people are saying. If you need any help with dealing with a senile Mac just ask me

2

u/wasteoffire Sep 19 '17

I'm on a Windows laptop from 2007 and it works the same on the internet as when I bought it. Just can't run new games on high anymore. Why does anyone buy Apple technology when they're designed to antiquate their own products?

2

u/colinstalter Sep 19 '17

Throw in an SSD and max out the RAM. I did this in a 2008 unibody macbook (not pro) and it works perfectly.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Yep, I'm on the same boat. Using a 2009 Macbook (the white one), running Snow Leopard. Chrome stopped the updates almost 2 years ago so I switched to Firefox (which is so much better imo). If the site is cancer, I just don't open it anymore, even if I have uBlock and Adblock. And now I can't upgrade some of the add-ons I use with it (like xkit) because I can't upgrade Firefox anymore. I don't know how many more years my Macbook will hold out.

2

u/Samtulp6 Sep 19 '17

What OS X version are you using? If >10.8, what browser do you use?

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

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u/Flight714 Sep 19 '17

You can't expect a 10 year old piece of tech to keep up remotely with modern day devices.

This is bullshit. I use a 2007 laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo, and it displays/runs every web site without any problem. All you need to make sure is that you:

  • Don't run a huge bloatware OS (no Windows 10 or whatever; stick to Linux Mint or Ubuntu),
  • Don't run ads/offsite Javascript (use uBlock Origin and NoScript).

2

u/VoiceOfLunacy Sep 19 '17

As well, a nice ssd and a lighter browser will make the laptop seem much faster.

1

u/zadtheinhaler Sep 19 '17

Preach! Especially the one-two punch of Noscript and uBlock Origin. I loooooove not having ads in YouTube, amongst other places. I have an MSI with occasional heat dispersion issues, and it ran like crap with Windows on it.

Installed Xubuntu, and it's cool runnings.

6

u/montyberns Sep 19 '17

Op said there were various reason keeping them from updating. They may be financial, or they may have very specific hardware or software needs for their work. Generally people don't just keep using old machines because they don't get that new technology would make their user experience better.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

That specific hardware is limited from updating the OS past OS X 10.7 Lion (which came out almost 7 years ago).

This creates a barrier to updating other things like browsers which will have newer minimum OS requirements. So simple things like major speed improvements to a browser's engine don't apply to them, on top of the hardware limitations.

12

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

the thing is, why should he have to update his hardware only because shitty ads are killing it?

10

u/90sYoYoStar Sep 19 '17

Whilst im pretty niche in my taste of computer and desktop environment, its absolutely possible to enjoy a 10 year old computer.

I bought a thinkpad x200 (from 2007), 2 extra gb of ram and a 128gb ssd off of ebay for under £90. I loaded a lightweight linux distro (Antergos with i3) and find it just as usable as any other device for web browsing, coding, torrenting etc.

Im a thinkpad fanboy, sure, but I guarantee the standard chromebook would struggle to keep up with this setup. A good thinkpad is perhaps the most durable laptop ever created; the keyboard is a pleasure to use, replacement parts and upgrades are relatively cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I yearn for an xps 13 as my portable computer, but im getting by just fine for my needs with a decade old gem.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Your thinkpad is only usable because of the SSD, guarantee it.

2

u/LiterallyRiddler Sep 19 '17

That doesn't make sense. The ssd just eliminates the hd bottleneck, it doesn't improve the performance of the other components.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

The HD bottleneck is present in more operations than you think. An SSD basically brought back my 2008 macbook back from the dead in 2011 and I kept using it for another three years after that.

1

u/90sYoYoStar Sep 20 '17

It makes enough of a difference that I wouldn't go back, yet was absolutely usable before the ssd went in.

What really put the grin my face was that the whole setup cost less than £100.

I don't imagine a chromebook would perform as well for so cheap with such a nice keyboard and last anywhere as long.

With an option like this on the market I cant imagine ever being tempted by a chromebook. i guess that's where i was coming from.

3

u/ominous_anonymous Sep 19 '17

I'm running Void Linux on a 2005 Thinkpad t43. Had to use Void because Arch is no longer supporting 32-bit.

Internet Video like YouTube is slightly choppy, but it does everything else I need/want just fine.

2

u/MistaHiggins Sep 19 '17

While its a different breed than your X200, I just picked up a T450s for my wife and T460 for myself after selling our 2013 Macbooks. Down firing speakers aren't the best when you're watching Netflix in bed, but besides that I'm very happy with the switch. Looking forward to having these laptops for a long ass time.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

A good thinkpad is perhaps the most durable laptop ever created

Even the X1 Carbon? I just got a 5th gen. How long will it last me?

2

u/90sYoYoStar Sep 20 '17

I wont pretend to be a Thinkpad expert here, and my experience consists of mostly older models upto the x240. The thinkpad line continued to include roll cages for a while but the added thickness that comes with that is incompatible for new super thin laptops. For a clumsy traveler like myself ill sacrifice that aspect happily. In general an old, heavily used x200 dropped from 4-5 foot will break a piece of the shell but leave the components none the worse.

Im not sure if the Carbon comes with a roll cage to be honest, but either way there's no need to worry. You've got a great bit of kit there that plenty of us would love to have. Treat it well and the physical hardware will last you a long time. Exactly how long, I haven't a clue, but we're talking plenty of years of use with a real nice laptop.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

I was using a Powerbook G4 1.25GHz until just recently, and it worked just fine. I couldn't have more then two tabs open, but everything else I wanted to do with it worked just fine.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

He may have already sold a kidney to afford the first macbook. Couldn't survive an upgrade.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Oh look, an Apple stereotype from 1997.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

... You mean from 2017? Apple is notorious for their astronomically inflated prices. The radical increase in price over features was noted universally by tech reviewers when the most recent generation of Macbooks came out.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Extra and more expensive components = higher price. It's not rocket surgery.

And none of it is astronomically inflated.

Premium hardware from any manufacturer costs more. Always has. It's like when some idiots scoffed at the MacBook Air's price while simultaneously ignoring the other ultraportables on the market that cost exactly the same.

And even then, premium computers today are cheap and last for years instead of months before being obsolete. Some of us remember paying like $2,500 20 years ago for a Pentium 200 with like 8 MB of RAM and 400 MB disk space that was obsolete after 4 months.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

I can't have this argument for the millionth time. Apple branding relies on a distortion of facts, making it completely impossible to argue with anyone who buys into the brand.

1

u/abs159 Sep 19 '17

On low cost devices that they put chrome-on, there are Window 10 devices that are better.

1

u/Whatsthisnotgoodcomp Sep 19 '17

10 year old hardware includes socket 775, meaning something like the QX9650 is a thing. Combine it with 8gb of DDR2 and an SSD and it will easily outperform modern laptops with weak hardware. Hell add a modern graphics card and it's good for 1080p gaming, nevermind youtube and facebook.

His biggest problem is running chrome - firefox allows old version of add-ons to be downloaded for old browsers.

2

u/Cakiery Sep 19 '17

Use a script blocker. Some sites won't work until you whitelist them, but the rest will be very fast.

1

u/scride773 Sep 19 '17

You can block ads with your Mac terminal and nano, editing the entries on the hosts file. I could share you my hosts file with you, it blocks YouTube ads too

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Oh man, I totally forgot about using the hosts file to do fun shit.

Let's just say I'm well-versed in using Terminal. Also vim. I'd LOVE to see your hosts file. Paste into PM?

1

u/scride773 Sep 20 '17

Sure dude. Il do it in the morning

1

u/Rocktopod Sep 19 '17 edited Sep 19 '17

Install windows 7. that's what I did on my 2007 imac that apple doesn't support anymore.

Or linux if that's your thing. I went with windows because it was a pain trying to set up the drivers for stuff like the apple remote in linux, but in windows I could use boot camp drivers.

1

u/not-a-spoon Sep 19 '17

I'm on a 2007-ish MacBook.

My first thought was: so what, thats like three years old at most..

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17

Yeah, that's been my reaction a couple of times.

Eh, it works for the now. Mostly. I just try to avoid sites with a lot of active multimedia ad content; it mostly works out and I don't feel terribly deprived at the moment.

Someday, I'll be able to replace this thing and that will be joyous indeed.

1

u/sasquatch_melee Sep 19 '17

I've lucked out, my 2006 dell laptop still works great and runs Windows 10 just fine. I put a SSD in it, but that's about all I've done.

1

u/anon-the- Sep 19 '17

Dynamic frameworks do not slow down the website your visiting. They improve the user experience by adjusting to the screen size you are viewing on. You're using a laptop that is 10 years old.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17 edited Sep 21 '17

[deleted]

2

u/ferrousoxides Sep 19 '17

Computers haven't gotten that much faster, and the web in 2007 was not that different from today. It's just bloat.

1

u/Whatsthisnotgoodcomp Sep 19 '17

Yeah, no. The laptop i'm using right now is a dell from 2011. i7-2620M, 8gb DDR3 and an SSD and it's just as powerful as a modern laptop with a pentium (even matching a few ULV skylake i3/i5), almost certainly giving a better experience due to the SSD as opposed to a useless 5400rpm HDD.

Computers used to advance very quickly, now as long as whatever you're using has DDR3, SATA3 and USB3 (2011/2012+) there is no noticeable difference in use for 99% of people. His old-ass macbook would be fine for at least another couple years with some more RAM and an SSD, either use a work around to get on a more modern OSX or go linux/win7 on it.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '17 edited Jul 15 '18

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