Joey Hess is a developer in rural Tennessee with similar problems that we city folk don't have to think of (running everything off a 12V DC battery, collecting your own water). http://joeyh.name/blog/entry/notes_for_a_caretaker/ is a good place to start for some of the things that need to be taken care of.
Came in to this post thinking of Joey as well. I use multiple utilities he's written. All on a small laptop and solar power. I don't know how much has changed since '12, but there is a nice summary of his infrastructure here: https://usesthis.com/interviews/joey.hess/
Like Joey I hate fans in my machines. I am a long term ThinkPad user. My main machine is still a T420s (the s model is a bit lighter than the regular T420) however I would love something like the Yoga 3 Pro but with a ThinkPad design. The Core-M is fine for my local computing needs the only thing lacking from the Yoga 3 Pro is a TrackPoint as I can't stand touchpads.
My ideal machine would be something along the lines of - fanless Intel CPU, 14" 1080p or better IPS display, excellent backlit keyboard with TrackPoint, 12+ hour battery life for 60% screen brightness and wifi, 3+ USB ports, 512+GB fastest local storage possible (so PCIe x4/M.2 or something). I don't care for anything else although I would take an HDMI or DP out and Bluetooth if possible :)
Unplugging the fan and keeping an eye on CPU temp seems to do ok with my Yoga 11gs. Tends to run under 60 C except for the odd compile or 3d game. I've noticed the CPU throttle back when it accidentially got critically hot a few times.
(I'd rather disable the fan in software so I could turn it on as needed but have not gotten that to work.)
Yeah this is what I do with my T420s using tpfancontrol. Set it to zero rpm and keep an eye on the cpu temp with an alert at 65C but only gets that hot on the odd occasion. Now I don't have Flash installed all is good when browsing :)
He mentions that his home server and internet gateway is a Sheevaplug with a wireless dongle and dialup modem. Presumably he doesn't have a landline where he lives. Can anyone comment on getting dialup access via a cell phone connection? Is that one way his setup could work?
There is a landline. Cell service is still unavailable.
I could probably get fiber to the house here now, but running the gear would use more than my total current power budget. Also, I kind of like a more measured pace in the webpages I read.
Thank you for the reply! I was under the impression that your home was occasionally mobile as well so that's why the fixed land line solution wasn't immediately obvious.
A relative owns some property in northern lower Michigan that had a phone since there were party lines but only got decent cell coverage sometime after 2000. So I'm not sure a landline is less likely than cellular in rural areas.
I think DSL still isn't an option, so LTE is probably the best choice there at this point (it isn't super isolated, there just aren't enough people on the road to bother putting in a close enough box).
I did that via a Nokia back in 1998. There might be a flipphone or two that could still be used in that method. I don't recall having to use any special software.
