I understand your point but I can't see a decade old laptop to be the right tool for the job unless you really don't use photos, videos, imag editing of any sort (adobe suite), office, etc. and your job is just on the terminal.
Of course there are (obsolete) alternatives to all these commercial "ecosystem" sofwares. I feel that some people don't upgrade (latops, phones) under the excuse that "it works for me, is the right tool for the job". Or worse: are simply afraid of learning new things and using new software.
I have a feeling that many reader feel like not updating the hardware is a sort of protest against big companies. It isn't as Apple is continuously selling more phones and laptops. My guess is that the younger audience wants to be updated, the older not so much.
This is entirely fine for a subset of people but not fine if you want to be competitive in the IT business.
If you do commercial work you need to be up to date and in line with your team and company demands. If time is important, a faster processor and software optimised for it, can save you many hours. This to me is worth fare more than the price of the hardware.
Of course there will be exceptions of coders being as efficient or more efficient with basic software and older hardware but why limit yourself?
Sure, if it meets their needs all is fine. But why limit knowledge but what you need/ed a decade ago when there is so much more in the new processors, software etc.? to save money? For what ?
My point is that the article seems to suggest that is a good idea to stop buying new laptops. It isn't.
Thanks for the hint. I am aware of this afecionados community. More power to them but none of this will make your old Mac grow an M1 processor.
My previous laptoop was an Macbook pro intel 64gb ram full specs. The M processor is much faster, even with just 16GB ram. Now if going strong means use the terminal, Vim etc. all is good.
If you use a laptop professionally you do want the latest updates from apple, not a Github repository.
going strong? you don't have security updates since..a decade. The browsers (I have such a machine too, for museum purposes and occasional fun) won't load most of the sites and will be super slow. I absolutely accept and respect whomever wishes to live in the past but technology is in the now. I do not understand people talking about "saving money". New hardware allows you to be faster and more efficiently. That is worth so much more than the machine cost.
You can do plenty of useful things without a computer too :-) but that is beside the point.
For business use you do need a browser. Fast, with security updates etc. For some people doing web development having access to professional products e.g. Adobe suite is a must too. And no, you can't do that on linux.
the key is "with linux". Try developing iOS apps or do anything within the apple ecosystem (e.g. check your photos?). Not viable for 99.9% of mac users.
Thanks for sharing. I feel that this is the point of the article too "if you don't need a high end machine...." but if you do you can't really afford to change your laptop after 10 years when most of the software won't run anymore and no securities updates are circulating for 5+ years.
I find this type of advice (change your laptop only every 10 years to save the world) irresponsible to say the least.
Imagine visiting a medical doctor with obsolte X-Ray technology, lab analysis tools etc. I wouldn't feel comfortable with that regardless of the money they saved or the illusionary "save the world" green footprint.
Of course none of this matter if one doesn't require the latest technology or software (e.g. Adobe etc.).
I understand. Just talking about weight a Macbook 16" is 2 Kg. So it would be much lighter, more integrated then carrying around all these pieces. If you go in a business trip you need the integration and battery of a laptop. Allright, this is not a 17" inches but you can easily increase the text size if needed.
Of course to each its own and is perfect that this solution works for you. But suggesting that is a lighter alternative to a real, modern laptop is incorrect. As it is the article that seems to advocate using obsolete browsers, obsolete editors and no modern software for the sake of saving money or the World.
The truth is that whomever depends on a computer for paid work needs performance. New processors (like the apple M1) are much faster than a 6-7 years old laptop. And, if the green cause is important, much more efficient energy management and longer battery life.
If you need power and quality (think images/video editing) you can't work with software and hardware of a decade (of two decades ago).
I don't think cow anology is very appropriate. Technology is moving fast (well not as fast nowadays but still pretty fast) and if you don't update your tools your work will be as obsolte as your hardware. If any of your hardware is touching the internet running obsolete stuff is a big security risk. Vivaldi browser ? Notepad? seriously...
well said! I read it but the "only using webrowser as light as possible and notepad for text, thats it" gives it away. I am just surprised how many experienced coders don't realise that technology is moving fast and, if you use obsolte hardware, your work and code will be as obsolete.
Imagine having to do any testing for a mobile app or a new website and you go like "oh sorry I only use a light web browser" or having to code anything more complex than 90s cgi scripts "oh no I use only notepad" .
Or receiving an excel or word document to edit, notepad is not going to cut it.
I don't want to sound dimissive but if you code anything more than 90's stuff an 11 years old desktop won't cut it. Especially if you have an apple computer. Such a model is not just obsolete but would open a lot of security issues.
Invest in a laptop? With the current prices pretty much everyone that uses a computer professionally can afford a laptop.
I can't really make up if this is a joke or not. Assuming it isn't, seriously ? If someone needs a laptop the pre-requisite is to be portable. This solution is not a laptop replacement. Why not simply move around with your desktop ? Actually this is what is suggested, monitor et al.
Hello from Switzerland :) We are not in the EU not just "technically" but as a fact. None of these agreement covers the exchange of private emails or metadata with the EU.
No offence but as an "expert" there is no excuse to run a webpage/blog etc. with no https.
With Vercel, Netlify and many others offering free stating hosting and let's encrypt https certificate there is no excuse to run a site without an SSL certificate.
To me the moral of the story and that you should never ever follow instructions by an alleged bank calling you asking to confirm informations and, even worse, give them codes over the phone. Especially if you are an "expert".
The most unbelievable part is falling for the idea that if you had called back your whole account would be on hold. That was such a smoke bomb that was easily detectable.
If this seemed plausible as your dislike your bank and don't like the service why not take your business elsewhere?
From your own story, if anything, Wells Fargo prevented this from becoming a much bigger problem and acted very promptly to your request.
you are welcome! enabling SSL should just be a click on github and is very convenient. I appreciate that your site is different and not like everything out there. Probably just adjusting the font color would go a long way in terms of readability but hey...it is your site so if you like it and gives you joy as it is perfectly fine :)
interesting article! some feedback: it looks like you host your blog on github pages .Please add an SSL certificate, it is free and would eliminated the annoying browser warning.
LCARS CSS is nice and original, perhaps you can change the font/contrast to achieve something more readable (just in case here are some ideas https://www.thelcars.com/themes/ )