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I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

solar.lowtechmagazine.com

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Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#221

Post by gotoeleven »

flangola7 wrote: post #211
redroyal wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That issue can’t be solved by reusing laptops or sorting cans from cardboard. The argument that every little helps is totally flawed. Fantasy, make believe. The other 8 billion people simply don’t care and why would they? 50 years from now they’ll all be dead. Since when did people care about future generations and the good of humanity? It’s a very recent western fashion. The only thing that truly motivated the vast…

This is lazy defeatism and an immediate disqualifier I use in the selection of both friends and employees.

How much climate change do you think has been allayed by sorting garbage into 3 kinds of trash cans and drinking from paper straws?

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#222

Post by liamN »

redroyal wrote: post #203
quadrifoliate wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I lose any hope for us as a species being able to reverse climate change if the top comment about an article that goes quite deep into meaningful ways to “reduce, reuse, recycle" is that this is virtue signaling, and that we should buy Macbooks every year instead because they are "expendable tools". Guess what, their impact on the environment is very much noticeable. There is no way we are going to reverse or e…

That issue can’t be solved by reusing laptops or sorting cans from cardboard. The argument that every little helps is totally flawed. Fantasy, make believe. The other 8 billion people simply don’t care and why would they? 50 years from now they’ll all be dead. Since when did people care about future generations and the good of humanity? It’s a very recent western fashion. The only thing that truly motivated the vast…

You're falling prey to the fallacy that just because 1 person's actions can't make a world of difference on their own, those actions aren't worth taking. By your logic, you may as well not vote either, because everyone else is voting. Every little bit DOES count, because the more people believe they can make a difference, the more of a difference they will make collectively. You have to lead by example. Rolling over and dying because you dont think you can make a difference makes you part of the problem.

New tech certainly would help, and it isnt/shouldnt be on the shoulders of just individuals to make all the change. But Im not going to use that as an excuse not to change my own behavior for the better.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#223

Post by sfuller808 »

lwkl wrote: post #96
marcel_hecko wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"ThinkPad® X260 will go as long as you do with over 21 hours of continuous battery life". Thats a quote from Lenovo website from 2018. I can confirm this was in practice the case with extended battery pack.

Doing what kind of work? And with what kind of screen brightness? I like Lenovo laptops but I never got that kind of battery life on them I got maybe half or sometimes only a third of what they advertised.

[dead]

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#224

Post by DyslexicAtheist »

redroyal wrote: post #37

“Laptops don’t change” Really? because a few years ago battery life was maybe 7 hours and now it’s 18. And with faster processors, thunderbolt 4 and USB C charging, wifi 6, better screens and lighter. I keep hearing this argument for not buying a new laptop every year and it just doesn’t hold water. I say buy the latest MacBook, expense it, factor it in as a monthly cost. These are expendable and essential tools. The…

>> “Laptops don’t change”

> because a few years ago battery life was maybe 7 hours and now it’s 18

seconded for linux as well. a few years ago battery life was maybe 4 hours, and now it's 1.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#225

Post by Shekelphile »

zokier wrote: post #54
wyldfire wrote: post #14

I often buy a ~one generation old phone for this same reason. It's just so much better value to buy someone else's phone. The folks who keep buying the newest generation tech often seem to take really good care of their gear - perhaps because they plan to resell it later. I haven't done this as much with laptops because I do tend to keep those for such a long time that I can reasonably amortize a bigger investment ov…

But the biggest reason (for me) to replace phone is to get security updates; buying used is counter-productive to that end

If you buy a two year old phone then there's plenty of support left for apple and samsung devices in that time. At least 3-4 years for apple, 2 for samsung.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#226

Post by bloomingeek »

flangola7 wrote: post #211
redroyal wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That issue can’t be solved by reusing laptops or sorting cans from cardboard. The argument that every little helps is totally flawed. Fantasy, make believe. The other 8 billion people simply don’t care and why would they? 50 years from now they’ll all be dead. Since when did people care about future generations and the good of humanity? It’s a very recent western fashion. The only thing that truly motivated the vast…

This is lazy defeatism and an immediate disqualifier I use in the selection of both friends and employees.

I agree, all branches of science should invent ways to recycle almost anything. We know we have a waste problem, yet society doesn't demand enough to have ways created to deal with recycling. Forget Mars and looking at the Titanic till we find ways to deal with real world problems.

Burying our heads in the sand will hurt future generations!

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#227

Post by DeathArrow »

I can use old laptops because I can't run what I need, but at least I won't buying new cars as old cars seem to have a better bang for the buck.

I like my actual car because is quite reliable and if something breaks, it's easy to fix. Also, being Diesel it's also cheap to run.

My next car will also be an old Diesel. Probably I should buy more cars at some point because they'll forbid new cars with internal combustion engines and it's good to have backups.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#228

Post by alxmdev »

redroyal wrote: post #37

“Laptops don’t change” Really? because a few years ago battery life was maybe 7 hours and now it’s 18. And with faster processors, thunderbolt 4 and USB C charging, wifi 6, better screens and lighter. I keep hearing this argument for not buying a new laptop every year and it just doesn’t hold water. I say buy the latest MacBook, expense it, factor it in as a monthly cost. These are expendable and essential tools. The…

> I say buy the latest MacBook, expense it, factor it in as a monthly cost. These are expendable and essential tools. They pay for themselves

Yay, another top comment that steamrolls the posted article. I say don't buy the latest Macbook: instead repair, refurbish, and get true lifetime use out of these expensive devices. They're expensive to manufacture, expensive to buy, and expensive for our planet and people to just throw them away every year.

They're not expendable at all, here is just one example of the human sacrifice involved in their manufacturing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_Samsung

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#229

Post by HWR_14 »

redroyal wrote: post #37

“Laptops don’t change” Really? because a few years ago battery life was maybe 7 hours and now it’s 18. And with faster processors, thunderbolt 4 and USB C charging, wifi 6, better screens and lighter. I keep hearing this argument for not buying a new laptop every year and it just doesn’t hold water. I say buy the latest MacBook, expense it, factor it in as a monthly cost. These are expendable and essential tools. The…

> buy the newest MacBook, expense it

Obviously if the cost (to you, because your company will pay for it) drops to zero, you should consume a new laptop every year. It costs nothing and if nothing else the battery is newer!

Of course, that logic applies to almost anything (take free stuff) even if it is objectively stupid. Your company will pay for your laptop but not part of your electric bill for your home office, just buy a new MacBook every two days with a fully charged battery!

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