Agree. I could afford "better" but the Neo suits my needs perfectly and I don't like expensive laptops that are prone to damage and theft. Dollar for dollar it is the best computer I've ever bought.
I (reluctantly) gave up on the Mac several years ago. Being on a PC might initially seem clunky and unrefined but it is actually very freeing to be able to choose my manufacturer, the OS, components, have tons of ports available, compatibility with older hardware (especially low res monitors). Standards and modularity are a beautiful thing.
I paid a little more and waited a couple weeks to receive a Delta single handle faucet for my kitchen back in 2020, rather than just buying what was available on the shelf at Lowe's. Model: #400LF-WF. The reviews at the time said it was basically the same faucet made back in the 60s. I'm glad I did - it has been an excellent faucet.
I agree with your overall point but I'm starting to regularly see older M series MacBooks on sale for around 600 or 700 dollars brand new. Maybe they are using the strategy of selling older hardware for less like they did with the iPhone SE.
The job market is scary. I can afford a better house right now but am scared shitless I won’t be able to keep my income up. So we stay in our small old house for now, maybe forever.
I thought they were just a web portal and email service. It is amazing they still offered ISP services this long.
They had some pretty unscrupulous business practices back in the day with their free trial CD mailers. My cousin worked in their call center ages ago and would sometimes convince even people who didn't have a computer to pay for the service.
MacOS is unusable to me now. I had to switch back to Windows. There is something about the iOS aesthetic on MacOS that looks like they just smeared Vaseline all over everything and this new glass design doesn't help.