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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)

#261

Post by Tijdreiziger »

exikyut wrote: post #132
Nition wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this isn't your main point, but for GMail there's always "Basic HTML view": https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/1pq68r75kzvdr/?v%3Dlui

To be pedantic, the correct URL is technically https://mail.google.com/mail/h/ , which then expands in practice to https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/ and then gets the jumble of characters near the end added on which appears to be an everything-compliant cache-busting mechanism. When typing the URL manually the "/" after the "h" is required; "mail.google.com/mail/h" will not work.

Wow, it's insanely fast. Incredible.

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#262

Post by aembleton »

> When was the last time you gave something extra life instead of throwing it away?

My phone. Its a Xiaomi 9T that hasn't had any updates for over a year, so I moved it to a custom ROM - Arrow OS. Still tempted to buy a new Samusung S22; but I'm trying to keep this running. Main problem now is that it sometimes fails to charge because the USB-C port is wearing out.

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#263

Post by facorreia »

guywithahat wrote: post #245
Jonanin wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are the import taxes so high?

They tend to have very left-wing/socialist friendly governments, and instead of just building better products locally the governments have decided to just keep you from buying foreign things. Electronics are particularly hard to make and a desirable market, so they tend to have high tariffs or other limitations. Famously in Brazil they had a very inward facing economy (propped up mainly by the socialist candidate Lul…

Restrictions on importing computer hardware and software in Brazil were put in place by the extreme right wing military dictatorship.

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#264

Post by gregmac »

DocTomoe wrote: post #164
gregmac wrote: post #154

I realize different context, but I'm curious how many other HNers do the same as me: I haven't had a fully new personal desktop computer since ~2001. Since I originally built it, it's undergone dozens of upgrades: close to a half dozen motherboards, a few more CPUs, several GPUs, lots of RAM, drives, etc. I think 3 cases, and at least that many power supplies. But it was never all at one time. I definitely did a coup…

We're in serious "Ship of Theseus" territory here. Personally, I think the moment you switch mainboards, you have a new computer (even if mostly consisting of 'old' parts).

Absolutely -- it's like the PC of Theseus. I'm mixed on the motherboard thing. There's at least one instance where I changed only the motherboard, and so that didn't really feel like a "new" PC.

I think it was AMD AM3 to AM3+, enabled because AMD retained CPU socket compatibility. I needed a new board for another system, so instead of buying a new "old" board, I bought one for my main PC that was still compatible with my existing CPU (Phenom II ?), then used the old board for the other system. I later upgraded to a faster, newer generation CPU.

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#265

Post by tekknik »

facorreia wrote: post #263
guywithahat wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They tend to have very left-wing/socialist friendly governments, and instead of just building better products locally the governments have decided to just keep you from buying foreign things. Electronics are particularly hard to make and a desirable market, so they tend to have high tariffs or other limitations. Famously in Brazil they had a very inward facing economy (propped up mainly by the socialist candidate Lul…

Restrictions on importing computer hardware and software in Brazil were put in place by the extreme right wing military dictatorship.

Well clearly one of you is wrong, but neither of you provided anything to prove your case. Which is it?

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#266

Post by jjav »

rompic wrote: post #208
jjav wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, in that it's not a benefit to hobble yourself with bad tools that hold you back. But... the worthwhile upgrade cycle has become ever longer. Back in the early 90s it always felt that last years CPU was unimaginably slow. But over the last decade and more, there's hardly a convincing reason to upgrade very often other than marketing or perhaps cutting-edge gaming (don't know much about gaming). My primary serv…

Maybe related in case you are charging the macbook from the left side: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363337/how-to-find...

The two right-side USBC ports died entirely. If I plug anything in there, the machine immediately reboots.

So the left-side ports are all that remain in working condition.

This machine is to me the depth of how low Apple quality has fallen.

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#267

Post by opan »

DocTomoe wrote: post #164
gregmac wrote: post #154

I realize different context, but I'm curious how many other HNers do the same as me: I haven't had a fully new personal desktop computer since ~2001. Since I originally built it, it's undergone dozens of upgrades: close to a half dozen motherboards, a few more CPUs, several GPUs, lots of RAM, drives, etc. I think 3 cases, and at least that many power supplies. But it was never all at one time. I definitely did a coup…

We're in serious "Ship of Theseus" territory here. Personally, I think the moment you switch mainboards, you have a new computer (even if mostly consisting of 'old' parts).

Agreed, the motherboard is what the computer really is. Maybe if I knew more about ship(building) I would have a similar opinion on the Ship of Theseus.

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#268

Post by lbschenkel »

w10-1 wrote: post #119

Give yourself extra life. Buy the best tools you can. Don't let virtues learned by necessity become the vices that suck up your lifetime. You'll never get the time back that you spend working on unimportant projects, sustaining old builds, placating unhappy people, working on slow computers, etc. Unless it's the fastest way for you to deliver whatever good you have to the world, put it aside, especially if you've inv…

As a Brazilian who later emigrated, I believe you may be underestimating how expensive things can be in a developing country. A nice desktop may cost a year of wages. When I lived in Brazil I could do way more with less, out of necessity.

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#269

Post by lasfter »

alxmdev wrote: post #73
lasfter wrote: post #44

Awesome! 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 plea…

What replacement battery do you use? I'm looking for a backup for my X220, but all the aftermarket batteries have terrible reviews and I'm afraid the $90 original Lenovo ones are degraded after 10 years and not worth the money.

The one I bought doesn't seem to be available any more (and the reviews are gone... strange). But I saw several other ones at similar pricepoints and with similar reviews.

To be frank though, I do not expect this battery to last 10 years. I'll be happy if it maintains its 4-hour charge over the next couple years. If you're operating on that kind of timeline you might be out of luck.

Re: Tell HN: I used the same computer since 2007 (with minor upgrades)

#270

Post by lbschenkel »

tekknik wrote: post #265
facorreia wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Restrictions on importing computer hardware and software in Brazil were put in place by the extreme right wing military dictatorship.

Well clearly one of you is wrong, but neither of you provided anything to prove your case. Which is it?

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol%C3%ADtica_Nacional_de_Info...

- The law is from 1984

- Military dictatorship ended in 1985

- First election post-dictatorship happened in 1989

- Lula, the first left-wing president post-dictatorship, was elected for the first time in 2002

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