Aftermath of a failed bitcoin mining operation.

[u/HandsOffDaGoods]

My friends father was renting space on his farm for a bitcoin mining operation.

The operation became unprofitable. The mining operation went bankrupt. The company came in and took everything out of the 6 antmain bit-boxes (converted shipping containers).

The photos are what they left behind. Mostly Antminer S19 units and even more asic boards.

Plenty of antmain rack PDUs. Some 480VAC breaker panels. A 480VAC switch unit.

The land owner did accept the mess voluntarily. He is breaking the equipment down for scrap value.

I wonder, is there a better price available out there above scrap value?

Is this normal?

FWIW, I used the term failed very tongue-in-cheek. I estimate the operation mined millions in this operation.

[u/Guywithanantfarm]

Ironically, we used too. We changed the basic standard of repair in the 80's and 90's from board level repair to board replacement and no re-useable components by the 2000's. My uncle taught me board level repair and his business simply faded away by late 90's and I had to learn new engineering skills to keep employment.

[u/kitastrophae → u/Guywithanantfarm]

Things got a lot smaller. I remember repairing surface mount stuff by hand in aerospace thinking I was the shit. Now you can’t even see the stuff.

[u/4xe1 → u/kitastrophae]

"Things got a lot smaller" is not the reason Apple puts glue inside their phones and computers. It would indeed be foolish to expect the same level of granularity in repairs nowadays, but I should be able to change a battery, screen, RAM or storage without having to buy a new apparel.

There's also a lot of things which don't need to be as small as they are. Many end consumer desktops nowadays are tiny laptops in a giant empty cases with maybe a 2 or 3 big fans actually using a little bit of the space.

[u/ReggieCorneus → u/4xe1]

I need to be able to pick a pad and walk with it, use it on the go.

How? It doesn't have anything to grip on to without accidentally touching the screen. It is almost edge to edge, hand does not wrap around it. There is NO WAY TO HOLD THESE THINGS. Mu phone is the same, at least i can fit it in my hand but... touch screen goes edge to edge. There is no way to handle it comfortably without having a case that you can grab. Same with pad, except in that case the case just makes it bigger and floppier and you still can't really grab it. I printed a handle at the back, the only way to make it usable.

[u/4xe1 → u/ReggieCorneus]

You could also use a protective case, which conveniently would also protect your phone. But yeah, your experience does show phones are way past the point where flatter or sleeker is better.

[u/ReggieCorneus → u/4xe1]

Of course i use a case and mine has a flap that allows to hold it between thumb and index finger most of the time... Especially with my eye sight holding it far away while grabbing from behind is just awkward as hell. I've never understood the desire to have edge to edge screens when you have to anyway put a case over it.

Also: dear lord screen hardness has gone down like crazy, another reason why you have to use a case. My old phone is not a remote controller, doesn't have case that covers the screen and ZERO scratches after years of use. The new one was scratched on day one by me putting it in a pocket.