[FFmpeg-devel] Hardware purchase request: AVX512-capable laptop

[Lynne]

Jan 6, 2024, 17:13 by dev at lynne.ee:

> Jan 6, 2024, 12:10 by remi at remlab.net:
>
>> Le lauantaina 6. tammikuuta 2024, 12.38.28 EET Lynne a écrit :
>>
>>> Emergencies could happen, but progress must always happen.
>>>
>>
>> Laptops are more prone to breaking, and as already noted less serviceable. The 
>> whole premise is that your current laptop broke after just 2 years, while the 
>> normally (fiscally) expected lifetime of a laptop is 3 years.
>>
>> Don't get me wrong! I don't deny that emergencies of that sort do happen to 
>> software engineers. Considering the "running cost" of a skilled software 
>> engineer, many employers will want to minimise the risk that they get bogged 
>> down by lack of a development computer, and the inability to carry a laptop 
>> with them on business trips.
>>
>> But then, whose emergency would are they exactly? If an entity has dire needs 
>> of your continued ability to work, then they should take the measures and 
>> costs. That's just not something that the FFmpeg foundation should bare. 
>> Except maybe for Michael, I think the project will do just fine if any 
>> developer is out of a computer for a week, to be honest.
>>
>
> A fire would put me out for much more than a week tbh.
> Other than that, occasional trips, during which reviews still have to be made.
> Plus, power analysis of whether AVX512 helps on current-gen mobile devices.
> I don't see this as being too big of a thing to ask for, considering how much we
> have and how much we receive each year, and how very rarely requests are done.
> Nor something that deserves a lengthy article on the benefits, ergonomics,
> and ongoing maintenance of desktop versus mobile systems.
>

As for whether this is a lifestyle choice, we generally pay for anything
that involves conferences, from train tickets, planes, parking, and sometimes
for location/stand rent. I'm asking for a useful bit of permanent hardware.