For example, I only buy/use old high-end (for their day) business class laptops and put linux on them. They work for everything I need to write and surf.
I also bought an iPhone that was already a few years old and plan to keep it until it stops getting security updates from Apple. I also moved from Android to Apple not because I like iPhones better (I don’t, really), but because the years of security updates (versus maybe one or two, on Android) matters to me.
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That’s exactly what I do as well. My laptop is an X280 I got off lease running Debian, and my phone is first gen iPhone SE I’ve been using for over seven years.
I have a Pixel 3a that has CalyxOS on it and it still gets updates. I see no need to replace it until that changes.
No new phone for me until they make a pixel with a headphone jack
If you want years of security updates, you might want to look into things like Fair Phones. They make repairing easy and promise more years of support than both apple and mainstream Android manufacturers.
I don’t do subscriptions.
I also stopped buying the latest flagship android phones, and no longer upgrade my computer every few years.
I simply live without most things. I have a ten year old laptop and a discount Android phone from about four years ago, and that’s it. No television, no console, no smart watch, no subscriptions to anything other than my internet connection which is also the slowest available.
I can stream YouTube, which I also use for music, I can do banking, I read the news. I don’t feel like I am missing out.
This is tired advice that probably everyone here already knows… but building your own PC saves a huge amount over buying a prebuilt from Dell, Alienware, etc.
Not mentioning that you can easily be sure that you can save money by choosing your components right.
Buying prebuilt often skimps on graphic card. But putting in in more memory and cpu to make seems like a better choice.
An other example is pay for midrange(or higher) for a power supply mean you may not need to upgrade for really long time.
Build your own PC because it’s fun and because you get to control every piece that goes into it, but the massive price advantage that you used to get by building your own is long gone. There is a small financial benefit to do so, but it’s definitely not a “huge amount”.
yeah, not to mention the support and warranty you get with a prebuilt can be more than worth the small price premium for someone slightly less tech savvy.
I found this to be true these days, as well. I started building and repairing desktop and laptop machines a long time ago, and I don’t bother building them new anymore due to cost.
I remember going to computer shows back in the day where the parts were way cheaper than what you could get with a pre-built. It was to the point where you’d question if this stuff was legit or possibly stolen. It just happened to be that these parts were coming straight from the vendors in China and weren’t being marked up crazy. Those were fun days. Now everything is very serious.
The issue seems to be that the build-it-yourself market caters almost exclusively now to the gaming crowd. If you want a gaming PC then you can still get a good deal building it yourself, but if you just want an inexpensive computer it’s going to be tough to beat a prebuilt.
The last time I built a PC for myself was 2012 and I’ve been looking at replacing it. I have to say the state of the DIY market today compared to 10 years ago was a bit surprising.
You are right. I’ve been browsing sites for PC parts the last several years, just for fun. And it never dawned on me that almost everything on them was trying to sell gaming-relevant components.
I’m currently using a refurb sub-400 Eur laptop (R5 3500U) I’ve bought in Poland as my daily driver portable machine, which I’ve done a good number of DIY upgrades to it: for example, even if the motherboard had a SATA Slimline port, it was completey unused (probably as a carry over from an older design) and the case had no accomodation an optical drive (the space normally reserved for an ODD was filled up with plastic reinforcements), yet I’ve managed to find a way to free up some space and use the PCB of a Slimline to full size SATA to install a SATA SSD I’ve had lying around from a dismissed computer.
Also, a few years ago I’ve built a very cheap hackintosh out of a Dell Optiplex 755 for my family, who was unsure whether to keep using PCs or switch to Macs at the time. The PC used a LGA 771 to 775 modded quad core Xeon x3363 as a CPU, a Nvidia GT 210 “GPU” (in quotes because we all know just how underpowered it was, but I’ve been able to get it essentially for free and I was only looking forward to use it as a display adapter as the onboard graphics was completely unsupported by macOS and that PC had no HDMI out otherwise anyway) and a DIY’d USB DAC salvaged from a broken pair of headphones a friend of mine was throwing away as its speaker out (all I did was desolder the headphones from it and solder a 3.5mm jack in their place - macOS had serious audio quality issues with the onboard audio on that chipset, so using a USB DAC instead was highly recommended). The final build was running High Sierra, which was a few releases behind at the time as Big Sur had just been announced, but it was surprisingly usable especially considering all the DYIng and how some of the components had 10+ years on their back!
Best is to not use newer technology :)
be careful of security updates duration and ban connected objects.
don’t do online subscribtions but go to your local library, media library or even store,- laptop : still in use since 2011, just changed hard drive for SSD and added some RAM 5 years ago,
- smartphone : had to change last year my 2017 S7 (gave it to someone, still running perfectly) for a new one only because I needed an app on android 10, and mine stopped updates till 8.0… So I discovered that manufacturers garantee security updates for only 2-3 years, except for Apple, Google and High-end Samsung (5 years). Avoid Chinese brands (Redmi, Xiaomi, Honor…). I choose a used Xcover because of 5 years support, removable battery, and screen size that can fit in my pocket.
Stop buying battery-powered things when the wired version is perfectly fine. Might not work for all devices, but your mouse and keyboard will always rest on your desk… why the need to power it with batteries that will eventually fail? Let alone the added cost of batteries, and the bluetooth module that those devices would need to communicate.
And if you do need something that runs on batteries (like a flashlight) try to get one that uses 18650 lithium batteries. 18650s were/are used in laptop packs and a ton of other things so they are very easy to find and last for years even used. One old laptop pack can provide 3-9 cells. Just be sure not to use damaged ones.
Plus, added reliability!
I want to upgrade my basement TV which is now 15 years old but the picture quality is fine at 720p/1080i and it has no problems. Its a Samsung along with the 8 year old one in the living room. No smart features or internet connections.
Years ago (before any TVs were “smart”) I bought a high-end, brand new Samsung TV that turned out to be a piece of junk. Samsung wouldn’t honor the warranty, and was just a ass on their customer service (I’ve refused to own or buy anything Samsung, ever since), and a local TV repair guy I paid too much money to couldn’t fix it. So I junked it and bought an off-brand mid-range TV that I’m still using now after maybe 15 years? When it dies, since I refuse to own a “smart” TV (and they are all “smart” now), I’m going to replace it with a big dumb monitor, a little computing box good enough to run streaming services off the web, and a wireless keyboard, -or-, just buy non-smart TVs at garage sales.
Yeah aside from a few “hospitality” models of TVs they are all smart. My plan is to buy a smart TV and never connect it to the internet. We have a latest gen AppleTV box in the living room that works great.
I do buy new tech occasionally but use it for a very long time. For example I bought the iPhone X when it was new, but am still using it and have no issues so no need to replace or upgrade it. I also built a Computer about a decade ago that I only just some months ago replaced with a new build, which I also plan to use for a long time (with the occasional opportune upgrade of course).
Besides that, I generally use my things until they break not just until they are no longer current gen tech. Most stuff works just fine even years later.
I buy my phones refurbished and about 1 years old. I buy above minimum specs so that things last longer as I tend to hang on.
I can’t bring myself to buy a tablet, so I’m still printing papers and using 3-ring binders for my music. My desktop is due for an upgrade. My laptop is a boat anchor but I won’t replace it until it dies. I use an Epson Eco-tank printer which is awesome for ink cost.
Yes, I’ve been buying above-minimum specs for many years now, specifically to make sure the machine will last me another several years, at least.
I watch netflix on my ipad2
I recently got an Amazon Warehouse deal for a Moto G42 in decent condition for 158 Euros (incl. tax). I know this device has only 2 years official firmware support left but I put LineageOS on it and couldn’t be happier. I don’t need high end devices as long as I have a headphone jack, microsd slot and huge battery. Also my old and trusty Lenovo Thinkpad W530 from 2013 is still good enough for me with Linux. The only thing I don’t like is that I had to disable hyperthreading for security reasons cause it has a vulnerability and Lenovo won’t fix it anymore. But tbh I only notice a difference when compiling things and that doesn’t happen too often. I plan to use my devices until they’re broken beyond reparability.
I have never paid full price for an Apple product. I’ve had 3 macbook pros and 5 iphones, all from work. Once I get a tech refresh for a new device, I hand the old one down to my wife. I pay 30% of the iphone price because my employer pays for the plan, and it’s unlocked after 3 months.
A somewhat wealthy relative was throwing out “junk” and giving away anything you’d be interested in. I found two 4TB external HDDs that were used for their home cctv, and an older “defective” magic mouse that ran on batteries. I cleaned the battery contacts and it worked again.
