3 ms·

People here are jumping through hoops to justify these purchases. I don’t get it. It is completely OK to want to have nice things in your life. It is OK to inv

by n8cpdx 3y ago

People here are jumping through hoops to justify these purchases. I don’t get it. It is completely OK to want to have nice things in your life. It is OK to invest in yourself. It is OK to place a high value (2021 vs 2023 Mac) or any value (2014 Mac vs 2023 Mac) on your time. Maybe the shocked reactions are a result of currency conversions, but when you factor in trade in value, the M1 to M3 upgrade isn’t much more expensive than an iPhone. Over the course of two years, the Mac is no more expensive than a gym membership (actually quite a lot less depending on the gym) and probably gets a lot more use. But there I go justifying again. If personal computing is your hobby or your passion, you should spend your hard-earned money on what you want.

smolder 3y ago
It's not about about having "nice things" or affordability for me. I try to minimize upgrades mainly out of concern for e-waste and other externalities of manufacture, and because setting up the environment on new hardware is a time sink. Picking appropriate hardware for a use case is also part of that. I won't buy a threadripper workstation to game & watch YouTube on, for instance. It's okay to be passionate about responsible spending, too.
- toast0 3y ago
  > and because setting up the environment on new hardware is a time sink If you replace your laptop, don't you just restore a backup and you're ready to go? Wipe the old machine and sell it and you're net the same amount of ewaste.
  - smolder 3y ago
    Essentially, yes, I'd transfer the account or restore from backup, but depending on the hardware change there may be other yak shaving to do. I don't believe putting a used laptop on the market is necessarily cutting down e-waste in the same way as not purchasing one, though you make a good point.
johnthescott 3y ago
imacs are mighty-fine unix workstations, ergonomically speaking. no other brand comes even close, in my opinion, although ubuntu is getting close. throw in ports/homebrew and all the gnu/linux tools i need for servers are at my fingertips. virtual machines scoop up the scraps.

by n8cpdx 3y ago

smolder 3y ago

It's not about about having "nice things" or affordability for me. I try to minimize upgrades mainly out of concern for e-waste and other externalities of manufacture, and because setting up the environment on new hardware is a time sink. Picking appropriate hardware for a use case is also part of that. I won't buy a threadripper workstation to game & watch YouTube on, for instance. It's okay to be passionate about responsible spending, too.

toast0 3y ago
> and because setting up the environment on new hardware is a time sink If you replace your laptop, don't you just restore a backup and you're ready to go? Wipe the old machine and sell it and you're net the same amount of ewaste.
- smolder 3y ago
  Essentially, yes, I'd transfer the account or restore from backup, but depending on the hardware change there may be other yak shaving to do. I don't believe putting a used laptop on the market is necessarily cutting down e-waste in the same way as not purchasing one, though you make a good point.

johnthescott 3y ago

imacs are mighty-fine unix workstations, ergonomically speaking. no other brand comes even close, in my opinion, although ubuntu is getting close. throw in ports/homebrew and all the gnu/linux tools i need for servers are at my fingertips. virtual machines scoop up the scraps.