SmallComputer.us

Brendan Kidwell / "progo"

This is the self-summary page that I can announce whenever I do public speaking. My main web site's address is glump.net, but that's harder to get right when speaking it aloud.

I'm a computer programmer in Jersey City, New Jersey (just outside New York City). I work for Abt Associates Inc., a policy research firm that helps clients improve quality of life and economic well-being of people all over the world. Please note that when I do public presentations about computers or information security, my opinions are my own and don't reflect any particular positions of my employer.

On the side, I occasionally post computer-related howto articles on my web site, and work on free and open source software projects.

I don't use Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, but you can follow me on the "fediverse" federated social network at this address: @progo@noagendasocial.com .

photo
          of Brendan

Why did I choose the domain name "SmallComputer.us"? I tend to prefer buying and using small, low-powered computers because they run cooler, are simpler to manage, and cheaper to replace if something bad happens to them when I carry them around outside my home.

My main computer is currently an HP Stream 14 (model number 14-ax010nr). It has only 32GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. I'm running Linux Mint 19 on it with the Cinnamon desktop environment. What I love about this computer is that it only weighs a couple of pounds, runs silent because it has no fan, and the battery lasts 11 hours! I have an application server / file server at home, where I run any big tasks that don't fit on my netbook.

As I'm writing this in March 2019, I recently moved my phone number and wireless Internet service away from a smart phone to a Kyocera Cadence LTE flip phone. After years of using various smart phones, I've decided they don't work well for phone calls and texting. The Cadence is truly pocket-sized, has a real keypad, and shares its Internet connection to other devices via USB, Bluetooth and Wifi; so it does everything I need a phone to do.

photo of HP Stream 14
          computer  photo of
          Kyocera Cadence LTE phone
HP Stream photo credit: laptopmag.com (used without permission)
Kyocera Cadence LTE photo credit: pcmag.com (used without permission)