11–14 of 14 posts
Just set up some sort of basic sync (whether iCloud or 1password or Bitwarden or Chrome/Firefox) between them so you don't lose data or logins. But that's more just a backup thing than anything to do with the hardware.
You shouldn't be risking data loss over hardware failures, old or new.
If you don't need the hardware anymore, donate them. Someone will make use of it or its parts.
5 years can be enough. 1 year can be enough.
If a new one comes out that is really appealing and I really want it, why not buy it?
Am I really going to work all day to just put money in the bank for some nebulous future that may never come?
And do I really care that much about my e-waste footprint? No!
I believe in only buying things I really need and using them until they are no longer usable. Then I sell them for a really low price to give them a second life in another household. Leaving devices lying around unused until they become electronic waste is a sin against the environment.
Support your community, friends! Give or sell cheaply your old useful goods.
I use Ubuntu LTS on my older hardware. My file and password management strategies are not tied to a particular machine, OS, or vendor. When I buy a new machine, I configure it by hand rather than loading it up with cruft from an old one. Good luck.