the form factor is easy to get around

Why did you just ignore everything I wrote, but you still replied to me? No, it isn’t easy to get around. You can use a server to game, but the server mainboards and CPUs expect and work with differently configured memory (registered DIMMs). All the AI infratructure uses that type. You can’t use that memory in a normal PC. Wikipedia reference if you’d like to read about it, but a relevant quote:

[…] the motherboard must match the memory type; as a result, registered memory will not work in a motherboard not designed for it, and vice versa.

You would have to un-solder all the chips and remanufacture new memory modules, and nobody is doing that, especially not at scale. It might be an actual buisness model to do that once the bubble pops, but it isn’t a problem that’s “easy to get around”.>

It no longer works as a shortcut, but the actual bypass still works. In practice the command line you have to enter just got a bit longer is all.

At least last time I needed it, to that still worked fine. It’s been a few months.

You can’t put the kind of memory used in servers (registered ECC dimm) into normal/personal computers. It’s not just that the ECC won’t work, they don’t work at all.

That’s different with unregistered ECC dimms, those will work (at normal spec speeds), but the ECC part will just be unused. These are in the minority though for servers, in practice they are more used in workstations.

If you got that kind of money to spend on a laptop, sure. I really don’t.

Edit: to be clear, I know this is a stack of Mac’s in OPs picture, but the development that the entry models have basically no ports at all is a more recent development. Having to pick the pro just to be able to connect your stuff without dongles or hubs is a bit insane considering the price (and price difference).

Stop using “the cloud” to store your passwords. Unless you control said cloud, you have to trust someone to not fuck up their security that you now depend on. Everyone eventually does.

The difference is also, that someone who’s job is storing other people’s passwords is by definition a target. So is the fuck up, someone will notice. If you host those yourself, or you rent a place where you can host them for yourself, that is just one person’s server. The interest and possible gain for someone gaining access is so small, it’s even unlikely. So when you inevitably fuck it up, the chances someone notices before you do are relatively small.