Computers for survivalism
Something I never thought about.
I would presume the only use you’d have for it if the SHTF is online communication. And, if the SHTF, I’m guessing there wouldn’t much access to the internets. But, if such communication was available, I’d just take my smart phone instead since it would do all the communicating I’d likely need. And I have a hand-crank charger for it.
January 20th, 2012 at 11:40 am
I have a HUGE library of ” skills ” from blacksmithing to medical info on disk/drive that would be nice to access in a long term SHTF situation so it is an issue i have given some thought to and preperation for .
January 20th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Eliminate the DVD drive, add a hand crank charger, get an offline copy of Wikipedia, use the LUbuntu distribution for better battery life and stock up on all kinds of manuals and guides.
I figure the main purpose of the system would be to provide informational material in a lightweight form, eliminating the need for paper books.
I would keep the wireless modem and ethernet cable just in case, but they wouldn’t be the primary reason I carried the device.
If you really want to be able to access DVD or hard drives get a USB to SATA or IDE converter, they are compact and lightweight and will give you access to any drives you may encounter.
January 20th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Excellent point, Farm.Dad.
January 20th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Why bother? If the SHTF, then that would mean a few things… no power, no internet, etc.
So in that case, why bother with the computer? Are you gonna tally up your supplies of canned tuna in excel by candle light? 😛
January 20th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Computers have a number of very useful abilites beyond communication and entertainment. For example, all of the manuals and encyclopedias you can store on a smart phone would be greater than the total number of books you’d ever be able to store, and you can access that information much more easily, with interactive graphics and charts. This does not require internet.
Also, I’m quite fond of software like Quickload and Quicktarget. I haven’t used reloading manuals in years, because I can use this software to get an relatively accurate calculation as to what pressures, velocity, and performance I’ll get with a given load and tailor every aspect, from bullet weight and barrel length, to muzzle pressure. There’s also legions of other softwares out there, like RCBS Load, that contain thousands of complete reloading manuals from decades past that you can access. This could come in handy if you suddenly can’t find the right powder or primers for your survival guns.
Hand cranks are nice, but a Dyno-hub for your survival bicycle might be even better. These things have been around since the 50’s, and they can power a whole hell of a lot more than a headlight these days. Hook your laptop or cellphone up to a rack, and suddenly, your everyday transportation in a world without gas can be used to charge your a world of information far beyond what’s available in books alone.
January 20th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Yeah, but if that device’s drive crashes, or it gets wet, etc. You are SOL. At least if you get a book wet you can generally still read it, and I’ve never seen a book crash.
January 20th, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Yeah, mine is a library. I have a ton of knowledge in PDFs on my iPad for that reason. I’ve seriously considered getting a nook/kindle style eInk one, loading it up with a few gigs of Field Manuals, survivalBlog archives, Foxfire books, etc PDFs and then putting it in a faraday cage with a solar charger.
January 21st, 2012 at 11:05 am
And if SHTF starts off with an EMP…?
Computers have a very long technological “tail.” Better have you some books, too, along with The Usual Supplies. Books and plenty of pencils and paper.
January 24th, 2012 at 4:25 am
We don’t prepare for one specific catastrophe, and we don’t assume when prepping that the worst case scenario is the only case. if it was, we’d just say “Oh, well, the Mayans were right about this December” and not bother prepping.
A computer will take up fairly little space, and you already have one. Therefore, why not spend a little now to make it useful after TSHTF? Beside it’s utility as a reference tool and library for all the items you didn’t have shelf space to hang onto “just in case”, it would also be valuable for inventory control, scheduling, and any of the other myriad things we used computers for before Al Gore invented the Internet.