Whatever you decide for your laptop, I'm a proponent of a barebones off-site setup if you're trying for 3-2-1 backup or similar.
I use a raspberry pi 3 with a single HD (ZFS) retaining some number of daily/weekly/monthly snapshots. Daily rsync, everything over WireGuard+VPS (TailScale would work too).
Others mentioned virtualization
I have had issues with COW filesystems (btrfs), as COW does not always play nicely with VM drives (extreme fragmentation and very poor performance).
Maybe there's some interplay between amd64 and x64 architectures.
AMD64 and x64 are the same thing. Do you mean AMD64 and x86? There is definitely interplay there, as AMD64 implements the x86-32 instruction set.
Same
rsync to a pi 3 with a (single) ZFS drive at family's house. Retain some daily/weekly/monthly snapshots.
I have a (free) VPS with static IPv4 which is how I connect everything.
Both the VPS and the remote site have limited network speed (I think 50Mbps for VPS), so the initial sync was done sneakernet (well..."airplane net"). Nightly rsync is no problem bandwidth-wise, and is mostly just any new videos I've uploaded to my local Immich instance.
I just wish we'd have neither inflation nor deflation.
Some tech has followed this pattern. For example: entry level Mac laptop in ~2000 was the iBook, priced at $1599 ($3k+ in today's dollars). The current entry level Mac laptop (M4 Air) starts at $999
cheaper in absolute dollars, and way cheaper in relative dollars.
(Macs are just an example since Apple doesn't have a very extensive product list, so there's only one "entry level" laptop to choose from. And yes it's fair to ask if the relative specs have just gotten worse, but I think this is also the opposite
the iBook was iirc criticized as being underpowered, whereas the M4 Air is afaik well regarded.)
My comment from another thread: https://startrek.website/comment/16491624
tl;dr: tiny production, would be astonished if they got $6k out of it, and that's not counting time, props, transportation, etc.
Compensation for engineers in the Bay area will average much higher than $200k, and that's not counting benefits (medical, etc.). So cost to the company will be way higher than 200k/employee.
For a project that has hardware, there will be large expenses associated with that
custom silicon has huge setup costs, for example.
You mentioned ham radio
definitely fun! It's a process to get into it though, as you need to study/pass an exam, and then you need a radio. Radios range from cheap ($25 or so) in the VHF/UHF ("walkie talkie"-style) to more expensive for an HF rig ($1000 range for 100W HF). If you want to get into low power ("QRP") it can be much cheaper. You also need a fair amount of space for a good antenna setup...
There are tons of different communication modes, some without a computer and, like you mentioned, some that use computers. wsjtx and fldigi are popular programs.
Good luck!
They specified 1 significant figure
at that level it's the same.
This is the same argument used for blaming the cost of college on government loans for education, for $$$ housing prices in cities that offer low income subsidies, for food prices due to food stamps...
That's because you're thinking of trucks used first and foremost for heavy duty "truck stuff." That is not the only market for trucks, at least in the US: https://www.thedrive.com/news/26907/you-dont-need-a-full-size-pickup-truck-you-need-a-cowboy-costume
According to Edwards’ data, 75 percent of truck owners use their truck for towing one time a year or less (meaning, never). Nearly 70 percent of truck owners go off-road one time a year or less. And a full 35 percent of truck owners use their truck for hauling—putting something in the bed, its ostensible raison d’être—once a year or less.
Richard P. Feynman
I think the same is true for a lot of folks and self hosting. Sure, having data in our own hands is great, and yes avoiding vendor lock-in is nice. But at the end of the day, it's nice to have computers seem "fun" again.
At least, that's my perspective.