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> Are you sure about that 250$ number? Because I don't think that's a very realistic number. I'm not a student but it's pretty close I think. I invested $350

by nickjj 6y ago

> Are you sure about that 250$ number? Because I don't think that's a very realistic number. I'm not a student but it's pretty close I think. I invested $350 into a Chromebook that runs native Linux[0] about 4 years ago and it's still going strong as a secondary machine I use when I'm away from my main workstation. It has a 13" 1080p IPS display, 4gb of memory, an SSD, a good keyboard and weighs 2.9 pounds. It's nothing to write home about but it's quite speedy to do every day tasks and it's even ok for programming where I'm running decently sized Flask, Rails and Phoenix apps on it through Docker. If I had to use it as my primary development machine for web dev I wouldn't be too disappointed. It only starts falling apart if you need to do anything memory intensive like run some containers while also running VMs, but you could always spend a little more and get 8gb of memory to fix that problem. I'm sure nowadays (almost 5 years later) you could get better specs for the same price. [0]: https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/transform-a-toshiba-chromebook-cb35-into-a-linux-development-environment-with-galliumos https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/transform-a-toshiba-chromeboo...

headmelted 6y ago
Right, except that when you stop using the Chromebook every day or move on to something better, will it have residual value or just go to landfill? I love Chromebooks, don't get me wrong, but the problem I've come to realise over time is that many are specced and priced just about at a point where they'll quickly move into obsolescence not long after purchase - at which point the only thing keeping them out of the ground is your willingness to tolerate them after the updates have stopped. The Mac will still be worth a good chunk of money to someone. I have a Chromebook Flip here that I adored for several years that I couldn't give away now.
- nickjj 6y ago
  To answer your question accurately will depend on how long it ends up lasting for. For example if it works well enough for another 4 years, now we need to ask the question on whether or not you could get reasonable value out of an 8+ year old Mac. I never sold one so I'm not sure. My gut tells me it's going to be worth way less than what you bought it for even if it's in good condition. But more generally, yeah I have no intentions on re-selling this thing if I decide I'm done with it before it physically breaks. I'd probably donate it or give it away for free (if someone wanted it). I don't see that as too bad tho. If I can get 7-8 years out of $350 device I'm pretty happy, especially if the next one costs about the same. It's a tough comparison tho because a decently decked out MBP is going to be like 8x as expensive but also have way better specs.

by nickjj 6y ago

headmelted 6y ago

Right, except that when you stop using the Chromebook every day or move on to something better, will it have residual value or just go to landfill? I love Chromebooks, don't get me wrong, but the problem I've come to realise over time is that many are specced and priced just about at a point where they'll quickly move into obsolescence not long after purchase - at which point the only thing keeping them out of the ground is your willingness to tolerate them after the updates have stopped. The Mac will still be worth a good chunk of money to someone. I have a Chromebook Flip here that I adored for several years that I couldn't give away now.

nickjj 6y ago
To answer your question accurately will depend on how long it ends up lasting for. For example if it works well enough for another 4 years, now we need to ask the question on whether or not you could get reasonable value out of an 8+ year old Mac. I never sold one so I'm not sure. My gut tells me it's going to be worth way less than what you bought it for even if it's in good condition. But more generally, yeah I have no intentions on re-selling this thing if I decide I'm done with it before it physically breaks. I'd probably donate it or give it away for free (if someone wanted it). I don't see that as too bad tho. If I can get 7-8 years out of $350 device I'm pretty happy, especially if the next one costs about the same. It's a tough comparison tho because a decently decked out MBP is going to be like 8x as expensive but also have way better specs.