"You may not be able to play Doom on it" - NEVER tell Doom players they can't play it on something, they'll find a way 😂

Oh man cant wait for Linus to try the amish 30 day challenge

My grandfather hired Amish people to build the foundation of his home. His is the only one in the neighborhood that never leaked or broke down. While their lifestyle is different from the average person, they do have amazing workmanship!

15-20 years ago my dad called to cancel his AOL account, but he kept getting bounced to a Customer Retainment Specialist to hard-sell him to keep his subscription. Eventually Dad said that he had a religious awakening and disavowed all modern technology. Without skipping a beat, the AOL rep asked if he would like website hosting so he could evangelize to all the heathens who were addicted to their "English" computers.

"The Amish have computers... And they're using Linux!" Need to be on a t-shirt or coffee mug. Perfect gift for the Linux fan in your life.

“The sinful touch of Bill Gates.” Best. Line. Ever.

Turns out the Amish are the real Linux gigachads

Amish worker: Using a spreadsheet to make plans for the winter. Me, running my entire Steam library through Proton: "You and I are not so different".

These people may not have tv or internet but the families in my area have some seriously high tech farm operations. One group has organic chicken houses that require only one person to run. Egg gathering feeding watering and even cleaning is all done automatically. Ive been lucky enough to do some work in and around one of these farm and they game me a tour and I was really surprised at how much tech they were using

Funny thing is, the Amish in my area explicitly disallow those Word Processors because they’ve seen them be hacked. I’m working on an e-Reader based one for them.

I actually come from an Amish family. While my whole extended family is no longer Amish we still maintain a lot of the values. I was a farmer growing up and now I'm a programmer. We talk about technology at a philosophical level a lot in my family. My aunt and uncle could be considered "progressive Christians" who don't just agree with progressive tenants but fight for them. They're activists. In my immediate family most of us are scientists or engineers working in the public sector. Amish people generally are very smart in their work ethic and use of technology. It's important to understand the mindset doesn't go away even when Amish people leave. It's understanding this mindset that I think is way more important to getting to know Amish.

Honestly I gotta respect them for intentionally choosing which technologies to accept into their communities. Can't comment on how well that's working for them but it's a very compelling idea.

You guys have to get hold of one of these to show it off to the world.

"You might not be able to run DOOM on it". I feel like this is a challenge for Anthony to take on. Lets go LMG, make it happen!

As a Mennonite actually, and someone who has lived near, and worked with Amish, I find this video quite interesting actually. It is by far one of the most accurate videos I've seen about the Amish, especially considering it's from a group of Canadian writers. One thing I liked is that you did outline that it can change per area and that is definitely true. Amish can be very different depending where you are and a lot of the finer detail rules, especially concerning technology, are up to the individual communities. And it definitely is true that a loop-hole exists for pretty much everything if it's in the name of business lol

I would love to see LTT do a close look at one of these devices. I feel like you are one of the few creative teams on this platform who could approach this aspect of their culture with the respect it deserves.

I heard they haven't even paid their phone bill in 300 years.

“Been spending most our lives living in a Amish paradise”

Fun little known Fact about the Amish My father in law sells furniture to them and he discovered that they have a closet where they keep things they're not technically supposed to have. Items like mirrors, phones, and televisions.

Where I live the Amish and Mennonites use Ebikes, solar electricity, electric washers and dryers at laundromats, and some of them use the latest Android phones and iPhones. It's wild lol.

I feel like they would greatly benefit from the next one having an e-ink display, solar on the back of the screen, with a swappable battery or a battery chemistry that favors longevity over power density (brass-iron comes to mind), rigidized construction and passive cooling (not like they actually need or even want too much computing power anyway). They honestly might never even need external power to recharge it if it is built well.

in 2010 or so I was driving on a two lane highway and hit a deer going 50mph or so. No cell service and the car was totalled. I had to walk down the road to the nerest house to use the phone. In the yard was a high sign advertising Amish fireplaces and sheds. I strolled down the driveway and walked up to the door... to my surprise they had lights/electricity. When I got up to the door it was the the sort of door with an encased window so I could see right in (no blinds or anything). To my surprise there was a large 55+ inch projection/DLP tv which was tuned in on some... Adult material. SUPER AWKWARD! I still knocked and the dude frantically turned it off and came to the door ( I stepped back a bit as to not see what exactly he was doing ). I explained what happened and he showed me to the phone. Made my call and thanked him... he then wanted to shake my hand hahahaha I didn't though for obvious reasons. Hope he didn't think I was rude... but yeah... I know what you were doing Amash guy. lol

I grew up in a mennonite community till I was 8 We had a TV (Cause Dad bought a motorcycle and crashed it while drunk almost immediately, so mom demanded a toy of her own) and later, a NES.

Can confirm, I live in central PA and this is very common. In my area some of them use smartphones for business.

And now you've got Weird Al stuck in my head. Thanks...

I'm now picturing a movie where part of the plot involves needing an air gapped computer, so they go to a nearby Amish computer store.

I am waiting for “Unboxing a NEW 5 years old PC” on LTT

Im from Lancaster and I’m surprised how much you got right. I miss driving for the Amish they paid really well!

I didn't expect to learn so much about how the Amish approach technology today... or that I would find myself agreeing with them on some level.

I also want cool custom tech with less features, specifically without any kind of tracking, telemetry, analytics or however you want to call it.

Honestly, it sounds like a pretty good idea to be mindful about what new technologies you integrate into your life, and how.

I hired an Amish company to fix/update my barn on a farm I used to own. I was surprised when he gave me his card with an email, but shocked when he sent me a full 3D rendered plan of my barn in CAD! They stayed on budget and finished early...best experience I've ever had with contractors!

Lots of Amish sects have a handful of cellphones, computers, a saw mill, etc. Just a couple things. They are owned by the community and shared.

I work for a company that manufactures automated assembly lines for various products that I won't get into detail here but it was surprising to learn that one of our biggest customers is an Amish company and that apparently there are Amish communities that are completely okay with using electronics, computers, and even the internet but they're only allowed to use it solely for work. When they clock out for the day it's back to being regular Amish. It's odd to think about when I'm in a Teams meeting with the employees of the Amish company or sometimes they visit the warehouse for some of their more highly customized assembly lines for verification.

“I’ll just get your moms photo from mail” never gets old

I liked how it worked in the movie The Village . Most town's folk had their life simple way of life but one or two members of the village stayed up to date with the outside world.

This was actually a really interesting video. Bit of humour without stooping to mockery.

Awesome... Some of those specs are not bad. Perhaps I should do tech support for the Amish. If they only use a few select models of PC they would be easier to maintain.

When I was younger I lived rather near an amish community and frequently saw TV ads for transforming furniture intended to hide or disguise anything technological in the house on a moment's notice. Didn't understand the point back then, or what the amish were

One of my favorite quotes paraphrased: "In the 90's/00's we used the internet and computers to escape from reality. Today we use reality to escape from computers and the internet."

0:55 Yo! The word processor was an actual physical thing and not just a software from the start??? Makes sense!

technology use like this is a lot more common in Mennonite Communities. The Amish I grew up around only allow electricity for medical emergencies.

The computers also can run off dc batteries from your DeWalt tool set. The issue isn't the technology, it's being tied into the grid. Early adapters of solar, they have 24 VDC freezers, pumps, house lighting, washing machines, blenders, you name it. Funny, it seems they are more productive without KZfaq and social media. I had a black bumper boss who had his work computer situated so there was a window to the shop behind him, so anyone passing by could see he wasn't up to mischief.

It does occur that if you've got any kind of spreadsheet software that supports formulas - then you have the means to make rudimentary games. At which point it's just a matter of time.

I won't lie this is legitimately fascinating, I mean I kinda knew some of this but I still feel like I did actually learn something today.

I worked for Verizon and sold plenty of phones to the Amish folk. They ALWAYS chose the same basic Samsung flip phone that had the easy to read big number buttons. The profit margins on those things was sic though so I banked plenty of commission off of those often beautiful Amish ladies.

Seems like those Amish Bishops would have to become quite familiar with what's available in order to decide what they don't want included.

The way the world and tech are going the Amish seem to have been correct all along.

I toured an amish food production facility in 2013 in Ohio. "Walnut Creek" foods. The people working in the facility wore Nike shoes along with their traditional Amish attire. They were using modern conveyor belts. They were manually opening #10 cans of Sysco sliced peaches and putting them into their own large glass mason jars, using a computer to print high-quality brand labels, slapping their label on the jar, marking it up sever hundred percent, and calling it a day. However, they did have an exceptionally tight-knit community, with most members of the community coming to the tows singular restraunt and eating together as a community. It reminded me more of a Disney experience than it did a genuine "Amish" experience, but every since then, the illusion has been somewhat broken for me. Sadly, none of this disingenuine behavior comes as a surprise to me.

I would have been really disappointed if they were not using Linux. It makes total sense.

@4:54 The utter dedication to slip in a mere 2 to 3 second joke. Whether time was taken to have the subject pose (or maybe it was already a previously taken photo) and then having to record the printout, or whether it was rendered in a 3D animation software program...

Darn, the Amish word processor got more powerful specs than my PC! 😭

i love my amish customers. it makes me smile when i see them use a flip phone.

y'all should buy a classic to review, and then try to get it to run doom

I used to live in ahmish country, and when I'd buy a cart of groceries, the guy with that beard and hat would ask me to add up my own groceries with his lil solar calculator... fun times!

I'd like to find one of these. I noticed the available CAD software for one system featured in the video. That would be incredibly handy for designing barns and such, especially when they need help from the "English" for things like building code compliance. Blueprints are worth their weight in gold.

This was a really well written script. Well done on how you approached the topic!

I live in the middle of Amish country. Truth is they have plenty of ways around “the rules” set by the church/ community. Some use these computers, others have a full blown state of the art business. So long as the house is tech free. Also, steel wheel tractors and equipment. 😂

There is a lot of surprises and strange thinking in some of these communities they don't connect to outside grids for individual homes but shared phone's and business connections they get the community to ok

Where are used to live, the Amish coops had run their own fiber optic. That was in 2012 2013, one of my coworkers was able to get access for a very reasonable price, but I'm sure he had to agree to some purpose and use guidelines.

Using Fax instead of Email is the standard here in Germany. Wasn't aware that it requires explicit effort to implement that...😎

That's incredibly overcomplicated for just wanting to avoid distractions. I mean, you have emails, but at the same time, your emails are made to not work with the computers, and only a printer.

I'd love to live without an ECU/ECM and OBD equipped vehicle. I miss the days when timing, idle speed and combustion mixture were controlled by screws, chains and wires. I can't even change my own battery without ripping out the air system and taking it to a garage or dealer to reset all of the engine parameters after the swap. (Trick for this. If you have a second vehicle or a trickle charger, jumping to the battery leads while you have the battery out should be enough to save your settings. This is particularly easy if your vehicle was designed with secondary lugs for running equipment like air pumps and power inverters.

The sound at 2:50-ish of the bars closing was really crazy with my headphones!

How interesting! Thanks for sharing this!

I've actually done some tech support for a Mennonite family that had a feed company. they used windows computers that could run on feed batchers, and used libreoffice for any office-type stuff they needed. I had to make a small network for the two machines to comunicate and I even set up digital fax for them. It was interesting to say the least. Still not sure what their reasoning is on the way they adopt tech.

they also use PCs to run CNC equipment in their woodshops. they shop for them at the IWF in Atlanta. Most machines power comes from basic steam/water power.

Actually I like the way of thinking that you only implement technology if it's really needed and additionally not destructive. Technology is definitely advancing faster then humans can comprehend it and use it responsible.

The amish using linux is a rare W for them

I envy the Amish.

My buddy Jerry works with the Amish running their website. It's really weird to read it because it's all third person, because it's not really "their website". You basically have to put all your orders in like a month in advance so at the end of the month he goes through and processes it all, print out the orders, and then has to drive all the way out to the boonies to deliver the order manifest.

that was enlightening thanks for covering this topic! :D

Yes but they install and maintain Arch Linux by hand 💪

Wild that the latest Plain-compliant computer has a faster CPU than me lol. Good on them tho! To be fair, they’re not restricted by LGA1151 and Intel prices :,)

Two years ago, I was in Amish country as I was helping a friend turn planks into flooring. We used an Amish company that had very up-to-date modern electric machinery. However, everything was powered by a generator (no grid connection). The owner/operator did have some sort of a cell phone, and there was also what appeared to be a landline in the shop's office. There was also a computer that looked generic on a desk. The houses in the area all had fairly large solar arrays, and there were curious little booths on the edge of some properties right next to the intersection point between the driveway and the road. It turns out that these were for telephones. The owner had a car, but he hired someone to drive it. His business was booming, and he told me that his wife owned a successful restaurant;/catering business. All in all, they were doing quite well; they had all the conveniences without the distractions. I also asked about health insurance. They didn't have any, but the community would pay for any necessary hospital visits. There was no shunning of modern medicine. The owner was obviously bright and hard-working. However, his education was very limited, especially around science topics. This was during COVID, and despite its toll, he couldn't conceptualize the whole idea of a virus and relied on what his elders had told him. All in all, a fascinating culture with some cons but also some pros. At least based on my "English" understanding.

More important question, do they rely on POTS? Or they already setup their fax machines with ATAs replying on SIP providers that support fax (aka FoIP). Cause providers everywhere are currently in the process of eliminating what little of POTS remains, so they'd be hooped in short order.

This is the most fascinating video I've seen in quite a while! I really didn't see Linux coming lmao

It depends on the communities. You have the new order Amish who are open to technology in most cases. Then you have the old order Amish and swartzentruber Amish who are no technology this that because it’s too “worldly”. Again it varies from communities

Genuinely pretty interesting to see stuff like this. I can't say I don't appreciate that these computers have to, at least to some degree, actually compete based on durability and longevity. It's nice to think about compared to the planned obsolescence of something like a chromebook.

That's really interesting and it makes a lot of sense, given their particular beliefs and needs. It is essentially similar to business packages, they only want what they need. Be interesting if you guys can get your hands on one, so we can see it. I don't honestly mind the Amish, they just live their lives as they see fit. I know they give their young people choice, to live amongst technology or go back and live within that community. They do no harm, and don't make the world worse. In fact you tend to forget they exist, as they ever have any drama...Well not that we know of. So fair play to them, it's pretty cool honestly.

They use a lot of technology as long as there are no wires visible

Uhm. We need LGR to get his hands on one of these!

I'm surprised no mention that "distraction free" computers are seeing somewhat of a resurgence.

Those physical word processors, and electronic typewriters, both are still made to this day.

That was seriously very interesting! I didn't know that they had computers!

well now you need to get one to review it and have Anthony try to break its OS

Very interesting! I love these little educational vids 👍

I used to repair ultrasounds. I had to go to an Amish midwife's house to repair an ultrasound once. She used it from her basement. I ended up getting her a used ultrasound that was newer and better than the old (from the 80s) ultrasound she wanted fixed. So, they definitely use modern medical equipment. Lol

My great grandfather was Amish so maybe that’s why I use linux

as a person that grew up not in but around both amish and meninights. i can conferm these things.. and yes both have adopted technologie to adapt to the "outside" world around them. this also includes both having tablits and card readers for there busniess to accept cards. i also have seen these people do having Debit cards and meninites having there own vehicals to drive to fast food joints like Mcdonnalds

Imagine asking an Amish what OS do they use as a joke and getting Arch btw as a response 😂

I live in Amish country. Like, very amish. Its not uncommon to hear Pennsylvania Dutch randomly in home depot or Wal-Mart. I never knew this.

Their restrictions on what technology they use or don't use seems completely arbitrary to me.

ARMish architecture

3:48 That 'Plainbook' in the picture is just an old Dell Latitude D630 or similar model

As someone who has lived near multiple communities of plain people in my life, I'm glad the term has caught on with media. It's easier for most people to understand, and it's something those communities feel comfortable calling themselves. (FTR, I'm a nonbeliever myself.)

This videos comment section should be interesting...

Would love a main channel video about an Amish pc!

If we're simplifying it more than it's reasonable to do, a light switch is a computer, an analog one but one nonetheless. I have a Heidelberg platen, commonly known as a windmill, it's pretty much run by an analog computer. One single motor to feed the paper, ink the plate, maintain the quantity of ink in the rollers, press... There's even a thing that throws an error if paper doesn't feed and an emergency stop...

The quickest, most interesting video I've seen in awhile. Thank you!