There's something amusing about taking pictures of an Apple Store with a phone that was already 6 years out of date at the time! Of course, I'm writing this on a computer that's 5 years out of date -- I don't buy into Apple's marketing hype or the need for shiny new things. I did appreciate how colorful things were in the iPhone 12 era, but that's mostly gone now. I've gotten into the habit of buying used/refurbished stuff these days since it feels like such a waste (of money and resources) to constantly buy new tech. That's all beside the point, but I don't have much to say about Apple Stores themselves -- they're always a bit boring.
Ha, 5 years out of date? That's nothing! I know I've said this before, but I'm still happily using an 18 year old Core2 Duo desktop from 2006 smoothly running a modern version of Linux. It really goes to show how modern computers get obsolete not by technical restrictions, but by inefficient operating systems from Microsoft and Apple which fool people into thinking the hardware is obsolete when it surely isn't. Now, of course, if I was playing modern video games, doing HD/4K video editing, CAD, or something like that, I would need a faster computer, but for regular everyday stuff, that 18 year old computer is still very smooth operating and the only hardware upgrade I've done to it in the entire 18 years I've had it is to add an SSD.
ReplyDeleteNow, I will say from an environmental perspective that a modern processor will probably use less energy during low-power computing than my old Core2 Duo which only had limited power scaling options. Something like the passively-cooled Intel processor in my modern laptop uses a fraction of the power as the Core2 Duo. So, from that perspective, getting a new computer with something like a passively-cooled processor or even a mainstream desktop processor might use quite a bit less power, especially when the CPU isn't being pushed, but I don't see a need to get rid of my computer as long as it is doing what I want it to do.
The five year long-term support cycle for the version of Linux Mint I'm running will be up in sometime in 2025 so I'll try to upgrade it to the latest version that's out at the time. We'll see how that goes. I suppose if it doesn't go well, it might be reason enough to upgrade the hardware, but I don't see any reason why installing the newest version wouldn't go well.
Of course, if people updated their hardware as often as I do, even fewer computer stores would exist than what exists now, though there aren't very many left anyway. At least we have MicroCenter! I have no use for an Apple Store other than to laugh at it, lol.
If I was on a desktop, I would probably be fine with an old computer like that, but it's hard to keep a laptop going that long! Pretty much the only reason I upgraded from my 2015 Macbook was that the battery had gone bad for a second time, and upgrading to a newer refurbished one was easier than (and about the same price as) getting the battery replaced again. The Framework Laptop is quite appealing for that reason, but the 16" one wasn't out yet when I bought this (and buying one with similar specs would have been like 3 times the price -- it's amazing how cheap refurbished computers can be).
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