I have this idea that I can create node with old hardware to run erlang/elixir. the applications in my head are infinity... this gives me hope. I mean, imagine to release guides and everyone can make nodes and we interconnect them around the world! To what purpose? The beginning of a dyson computational network! Let us dream!
Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
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Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#42I would have kept the same hardware forever too, but for some reason my tools seem to take more and more resources every year. Silly example is gmail, which loaded in 1s on my 2011 MacBook Pro when new, if it load it again today (I just tried) it takes 35 seconds before I can click anything. Another might be everyone’s favourite software to hate on: Teams. On my 2011 MacBook Pro: fans squealing, UI of the OS becomes…
My first iPad, I believe it was the third generation: I would have never used it if it were as slow as it has become today. It also lost some synchronization options, though I don’t recall what it was.
That being said: I kept my 2013 MacBook Pro retina until a few months ago, one year after a battery replacement which ended up breaking other parts and becoming to expensive to fix. Otherwise it ran perfectly fine and the high quality screen was almost on par to current screens.
Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#43Cool story and congratulations on your work. ------- I gave my 2010 macbook pro to my parents when I got a new one in 2015. They still use it to surf the internet and sometimes for netflix before bedtime. Its battery is so swollen that the lid cannot close anymore. I also bought apple care but never had any chance to use it. Very impressive for a computer without any hardware failure for 12 years.
Yeah, I would get that battery replaced... if it ruptures, that's a metal-air fire that you do not want your parents to deal with....
Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#44Awesome! My main laptop is still a 2011 Thinkpad X201. It's a beast, been all over the world and dropped countless times but it still works perfectly fine.
It's missing a couple function keys (which I never use) and I finally replaced its battery this year after growing annoyed of having only 30 minutes to an hour of battery life.
I love my little Thinkpad. Keeping up with shiny tech can be fun, but there's also pleasure in using and maintaining your timeworn tools.
Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#45Cool story and congratulations on your work. ------- I gave my 2010 macbook pro to my parents when I got a new one in 2015. They still use it to surf the internet and sometimes for netflix before bedtime. Its battery is so swollen that the lid cannot close anymore. I also bought apple care but never had any chance to use it. Very impressive for a computer without any hardware failure for 12 years.
That battery is a fire hazard.
Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#46I still have a 2008 Mac Pro (tower). At the time it was possible to order the bottom of the line system and add your own memory, video and drives, just like a "normal" PC. I think it cost about $3000 new which was still the most I'd ever paid for a computer. Picked it up from an Apple store. I used it as a home workstation for work and music and a gaming rig by dual booting to windows -- which no longer works. Did a…
https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/MODELS.ht...
You can check out:
Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#47The recent Raspberry Pi models (4/400) have the potential to really expand computing globally. They're the first ones that have enough CPU power and RAM to do virtually everything you'd ever want to do with a desktop computer, with the exception of playing the latest games (and perhaps ML? I don't know much about it), but they cost $45 and run from a USB power supply. It's amazing how much you can do with them.
The only fly in the ointment is the lack of SATA or NVMe on the base model. I think there are riser boards out there for that, but it's all very boutique.
Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#48The flipside of this story is: if you're buying a new machine, get rid of the old one! The sooner the better, both for you (if you can get some money for it) and for the environment (the newer your machine is when you get rid of it, the more likely it is to prevent someone else from buying a new one).
The amount of time it takes to dissemble, photograph, describe, list on a site or two, answer email or sms questions, package, and finally ship spare PC components. Yeah, no thanks, it can keep collecting dust.
Just donate it then.
Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#49That's a very nice lifetime for a build; you should be proud. Though I can't imagine using a 5400 RPM HDD today. 7200 RPM or bust, I'm spoiled…
> When was the last time you gave something extra life instead of throwing it away?
Ugh, unfortunately I'm at "throw it away", basically.
My current build, built in 2011, won't stay powered up. It gets anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours (and sometimes days) and then inexplicably power-cycles.
A tech thought it was bad RAM, but the DIMM he pulled checked out under memtest, and removing it doesn't change the symptom.
Given the behavior, it's probably one of the PSU or mobo, the problem is just which. I lack a competent tech or the parts to hot-swap with. The problem with replacing the mobo is that it then causes the replacement of the CPU and RAM, as the sockets for both have since changed. (Unless I find an older mobo, but it's 11 y/o, so probably not.) What with the chip shortage, it's going to be fun to find parts. I'll probably jump to AMD, too.)
The mobo (an ASRock) is not a high quality board for what it should have been, and in addition to the power cycling problem had other flaws since day 1. The PSU impacts the case fans. Newegg regened on the GPU so it never got that. And now it doesn't turn on. I will probably salvage the HDD in it (its on its second), and … I don't really know what else I can take. The DVD drive, I suppose.
Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)
#50All the computers I've owned and used are still in working condition, except for one. The oldest ones all have had their hard drives replaced, the oldest desktops all had GPU upgrades. Upgrade one, and shift the rest down the line. Only a few machines got RAM upgrades. One dead GPU got replaced on my previous PC. A dead PSU was replaced on my current machine with one from the PC that I'm not fixing. The dead PC was also a donor for upgrading two laptops to SSD, it only has the broken main board with CPU left in there. I also repair my headphones whenever needed using spare parts from broken ones of the same model.
It's enjoyable to keep things working.