This statement simply isn’t correct. I can procure much faster chips as a consumer, even at the low end. This isn’t the fastest single board computer either, not by a long shot. Like I said in another comment, it’s only about as fast as a 2010 Macbook Pro. That’s not “very fast” by any metric.

I’m using a Core i3-N305 based single-board computer (Odroid H4) for my Plex server and it performs easily twice as well at just 3W more - while being x86 and fully compatible with any relevant OS without having to modify boot loaders and drivers or worry about incompatibilities. Reducing its power draw to the 12W of this chip would still easily outperform the Rockchip and would allow for a smaller heat sink. Best of all, MSRP is nearly the same compared to the CM3588 with the RK3588 (admittedly without RAM). You’d have to do something to the rear IO to make it slim enough for use in a laptop project, but that’s trivial on a project like this.

Huh, it uses the same Rockchip SoC - but they are dishonestly claiming that it’s “very fast”. Not a good look.

This is a highly impressive project, not just for a high school senior, but it should be stressed that this is nowhere near as powerful as a similarly priced modern laptop. This is a legendary school project, impressive enough to open doors to universities and lay the foundation for a successful career in the computer industry, but not really something you should try and build yourself if you’re looking for a laptop in this price range.

A Geekbench 5 single-core score of 492 and a multi-core score of 2019 points are about comparable to a Macbook Pro from fifteen years ago. There is a small NPU present on the chip, which the old Macbook doesn’t have, but if that’s not important to your use case (which is very likely), then this device is not suitable for anything but the most basic tasks and will feel sluggish with any current software. There’s a reason the video barely shows the device in use, because it just wouldn’t be very pleasant to look at.

Or not being able to play a board game, because it says “ages 9 - 99” on the box.

I’m not sure about this. Ever heard the phrase “the past is a foreign country”? Living through time would be like immersing yourself into a new country every couple of decades. You could even lessen the blow (and would probably have to in order to remain anonymous) by frequently moving around the world. People tend to give newcomers a certain amount of slack and with the enormous amount of knowledge and experience you would gain over time, you can easily and quickly immerse yourself in any new environment and adapt to whatever is “it” now.

I would only accept this kind of deal with the Devil if I had the power to turn people I care about into fellow immortals, which comes with its own pitfalls I’m well aware of (imagine holding a grudge for thousands of years), but still.

Probably, but it depends on the person. I stopped caring about some relationships that ended after a year, but I’m still thinking about others decades later.

Then again, you have billions of years to come up with a solution to this problem.

Not everything is on the Internet. Even most information from as recent as the 1980s isn’t. A not insignificant percentage has been digitized (this is an ongoing effort), but this doesn’t mean you can just google it or access it through a website.

If you know where and when your ancestors lived, hit up local, regional and national archives. Church and municipal records, national surveys, newspapers (useful for announcements of births and deaths alone), school and university records, etc. You’d be surprised by how much you can find this way. If you’re living too far away to visit in person, give them a call. Archivists are very helpful people by nature and occupation.