4 ms·

I treated myself to the 2019 Kindle Oasis and compared to my two year old Kindle Paperwhite (which has been donated to a grateful family member) it is miles ahe

I treated myself to the 2019 Kindle Oasis and compared to my two year old Kindle Paperwhite (which has been donated to a grateful family member) it is miles ahead. The larger warmer screen is just incredible and I have no regrets. On the other hand I am quite happy driving a 15 year old car and would not spend money on a brand new fancy car even though I can afford it. No Tesla or BMW or Merc for me. It's different strokes for different people.

castratikron 7y ago
A couple years ago I bought an almost new video iPod circa 2005. It was my first Apple product so I didn't have the cable to charge it. I went to a Sprint store near my apartment and asked if they had a cable. They told me that they didn't carry "budget items" and that maybe I should try the Walgreen's next door. Ten short years this iPod was center stage at an Apple keynote and considered the best in the world, and it still worked just as well as it did when it came out. It just goes to show that the value of tech is relative to the times. I'm waiting for the day when I can pick up a cheap Tesla that "only" goes 200 miles and "doesn't even drive itself". I'm already seeing Craigslist ads for Teslas where they have to state no autopilot. No car ad five years ago that would have to say that.
- steelframe 7y ago
  > I'm waiting for the day when I can pick up a cheap Tesla that "only" goes 200 miles and "doesn't even drive itself". I just sold my first-generation 2016 Model X to a dealer at 80% of its original cost 3 years ago, which to me indicates a profound level of delusion in the marketplace about the long-term reliability of Tesla vehicles. Going through my own personal experiences and following stories of what Tesla owners have had to go through when they needed repairs, I've finally accepted what my friend said long ago about Tesla cars being repair-hostile: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 Speaking as someone who has gone through 3 years of repairs with a brand new Tesla (fortunately all being under warranty), if your objective is to buy a car that will be reasonably reliable and easily and cheaply repaired as its aging parts break, an old used Tesla would be the absolute last car I'd ever consider.
  - castratikron 7y ago
    The Model X is a luxury vehicle. Luxury vehicles have always been expensive to maintain. Example: Front strut for a 2016 Ford Fusion, $92 [1]. Front strut for 2016 Mercedes S550, $1,406 [2]. So I'm hoping the Model 3 will be different since it's a high production vehicle. [1] https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Ford/Fusion/Monroe/Shock_Absorber_and_Strut_Assembly/2016/SE/TS72638.html https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Ford/Fusion/Monroe/Sh... [2] https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Mercedes_Benz/S550/Bilstein/Shock_Absorber_and_Strut_Assembly/2016/4Matic/BIL44240004.html https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Mercedes_Benz/S550/Bi...
eisa01 7y ago
I will pick up a new Kindle as soon as they release a Type-C version, that will probably last a while as my current Kindle has that is getting flaky page turn buttons (basic 2013 edition)
agumonkey 7y ago
That's it, there's good new and good old. That's something we need to know. Very often a new version of a product is not better. Just made shinier and with now less expensive parts that may or may not be as good as the first gen.
paulryanrogers 7y ago
Sometimes waiting can lead to lost opportunities. I bought a used original Kindle for text to speech. Newer models dropped the feature. (I think only the Fire tablets still have TTS, but only as part of accessibility.) Sure they can still be had used, for now. Once all break or Amazon drops support then it'll probably never come back. Multiplayer games suffer from a wave-like network effect. If you wait too long to try the game the community may have moved on. Only the hardcore remain, and they may not be the nicest members.
- ianai 7y ago
  Blows my mind that a feature as useful as TTS would be removed. Just screams abuse of market power.
paggle 7y ago
Even a ordinary new car like a Toyota Corolla will be vastly safer than your 15 year old car, even if the old one is a luxury brand.
- ianai 7y ago
  Agree. I was driving a 2003 car around until I got a rental for a couple weeks. The new features in cars make it worth it to be current: rear back up camera and “adaptive” cruise control. They have both saved me countless near misses and probably spared me an accident in just the last two years. I’m also able to parallel park comfortably too.

castratikron 7y ago

A couple years ago I bought an almost new video iPod circa 2005. It was my first Apple product so I didn't have the cable to charge it. I went to a Sprint store near my apartment and asked if they had a cable. They told me that they didn't carry "budget items" and that maybe I should try the Walgreen's next door. Ten short years this iPod was center stage at an Apple keynote and considered the best in the world, and it still worked just as well as it did when it came out. It just goes to show that the value of tech is relative to the times. I'm waiting for the day when I can pick up a cheap Tesla that "only" goes 200 miles and "doesn't even drive itself". I'm already seeing Craigslist ads for Teslas where they have to state no autopilot. No car ad five years ago that would have to say that.

steelframe 7y ago
> I'm waiting for the day when I can pick up a cheap Tesla that "only" goes 200 miles and "doesn't even drive itself". I just sold my first-generation 2016 Model X to a dealer at 80% of its original cost 3 years ago, which to me indicates a profound level of delusion in the marketplace about the long-term reliability of Tesla vehicles. Going through my own personal experiences and following stories of what Tesla owners have had to go through when they needed repairs, I've finally accepted what my friend said long ago about Tesla cars being repair-hostile: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 Speaking as someone who has gone through 3 years of repairs with a brand new Tesla (fortunately all being under warranty), if your objective is to buy a car that will be reasonably reliable and easily and cheaply repaired as its aging parts break, an old used Tesla would be the absolute last car I'd ever consider.
- castratikron 7y ago
  The Model X is a luxury vehicle. Luxury vehicles have always been expensive to maintain. Example: Front strut for a 2016 Ford Fusion, $92 [1]. Front strut for 2016 Mercedes S550, $1,406 [2]. So I'm hoping the Model 3 will be different since it's a high production vehicle. [1] https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Ford/Fusion/Monroe/Shock_Absorber_and_Strut_Assembly/2016/SE/TS72638.html https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Ford/Fusion/Monroe/Sh... [2] https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Mercedes_Benz/S550/Bilstein/Shock_Absorber_and_Strut_Assembly/2016/4Matic/BIL44240004.html https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Mercedes_Benz/S550/Bi...

eisa01 7y ago

I will pick up a new Kindle as soon as they release a Type-C version, that will probably last a while as my current Kindle has that is getting flaky page turn buttons (basic 2013 edition)

agumonkey 7y ago

That's it, there's good new and good old. That's something we need to know. Very often a new version of a product is not better. Just made shinier and with now less expensive parts that may or may not be as good as the first gen.

paulryanrogers 7y ago

Sometimes waiting can lead to lost opportunities. I bought a used original Kindle for text to speech. Newer models dropped the feature. (I think only the Fire tablets still have TTS, but only as part of accessibility.) Sure they can still be had used, for now. Once all break or Amazon drops support then it'll probably never come back. Multiplayer games suffer from a wave-like network effect. If you wait too long to try the game the community may have moved on. Only the hardcore remain, and they may not be the nicest members.

ianai 7y ago
Blows my mind that a feature as useful as TTS would be removed. Just screams abuse of market power.

paggle 7y ago

Even a ordinary new car like a Toyota Corolla will be vastly safer than your 15 year old car, even if the old one is a luxury brand.

ianai 7y ago
Agree. I was driving a 2003 car around until I got a rental for a couple weeks. The new features in cars make it worth it to be current: rear back up camera and “adaptive” cruise control. They have both saved me countless near misses and probably spared me an accident in just the last two years. I’m also able to parallel park comfortably too.