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But what makes it obsolete if this is what you use it for?
by beeman 1y ago
But what makes it obsolete if this is what you use it for?
- thisislife2 1y agoIt's the only thing he can use it for because of planned obsolescence.
- kennywinker 1y ago1. No more security updates means using it is deeply risky 2. A closed ecosystem and App store bitrot combine to make installing anything new on it next to impossible. So, while it may be still useful as a pdf reader, it’s no longer useful as a general purpose computing device - but it COULD be if it was supported. Make no mistake - most of these devices won’t be used as pdf readers - they will end up in the landfill. This is part of the business model, and we + the environment pay for it.
- Schiendelman 1y agoWhat do you mean, "no more security updates"?
- jagger27 1y agoWeb browser engine, and OpenSSL (or equivalent) patches alone are the main concern in userspace. Those codebases are a constantly moving target. Look at the stream of CVEs and security patches that Apple publishes. Almost every bug affects every product because of how much code is shared up and down the stack.
- Schiendelman 1y agoYou know they keep updating Safari and making security updates for old OSes for years, right?
- smaccona 1y agoApple is definitely not the worst in this regard, but the most recent version of iOS to support the iPad 3rd generation (the device we are discussing which is being used as a PDF reader) is iOS 9.3.5 (a security/bugfix release on August 25, 2016 which supports the WiFi-only version of the iPad 3rd generation) or iOS 9.3.6 (also a bugfix release on July 22, 2019 which supports the WiFi+cellular version of the same device - specifically, this was a fix to keep GPS working). The iPad 3rd generation was released in 2012, so the 2016 9.3.5 iOS release gave 4 years of security/bugfix support for the WiFi-only version of that device.
- Schiendelman 1y agoSure, but there haven't been any security exploits in that version of iOS since then. It still works.
- kennywinker 1y agoNot sure what you’re meaning? A CVE like this: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-24201 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-24201 found in 2025 impacts iOS versions before 18.3.1 (Safari and iOS are shipped together). Which means there is a decent chance an iPad running 9.3.2 is vulnerable. And there have been thousands of CVEs since 9.3.2. Most of low severity, but not all.
- ohnooonotagain 1y ago[dead]
- Schiendelman 1y agoApple patches anything with a proven exploit. While it may be vulnerable, no one has written and shown Apple an exploit.
- kennywinker 1y ago
- sneak 1y agoUsing a Mac without the App Store is simple; it’s not an iPad. I have 7 Macs that I use to operate 3 businesses (and 2 more by way of consulting); precisely none of them use the App Store.
- kennywinker 1y agoFair point. I was talking about iOS devices which are much more locked down than macs. As i see it there are two issues with no-longer supported macs: 1. The security issue i mentioned earlier applies to macs. It’s a bit easier to mitigate because an older mac can run a newer non-system-linked browser. But e.g. firefox is dropping support for 10.14 (released in 2018) this year (https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-users-macos-1012-1013-1014-moving-to-extended-support https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-users-macos-101...) 2. If you keep your os up to date as long as possible, new features will drag performance down to the point of being nearly unusable. So you’re forced to tradeoff between security+features and performance. Of course, with a old mac you can always install linux to extend its lifespan… but that’s not thanks to apple
- nsonha 1y agoWhen I still had my iPad 2 a few year back, I could not find any app that still run on it except for a few games for my cat. After that it became his iPad.
- cubefox 1y agoA cat with its own iPad to play games on. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
- ricardobeat 1y agoiPad 2 was released in 2011, "a few years back" is an entire decade. It received its last OS update in 2019, eight years later, which is not bad at all. Picture trying to use a PC from 1994 in the year 2008.
- Symbiote 1y agoMost other devices can be used until they wear out, or for longer if it's reasonable to replace worn parts. This should be possible with computers too.
- ricardobeat 1y agoWhat are "most other devices"? I can't think of any electronics I own that are still usable after 10-15 years besides Apple hardware. Your average PC build will be completely outdated after ~5 years, suffer some type of hardware failure, or have nearly all of it's software (BIOS, OS, drivers) dead and unsupported by then. It is then only usable by enthusiasts / developers, and ends up in a landfill otherwise.
- bmacho 1y agoApple forbids everyone to put a newer SSL library on it, so it can't be used on networks. I think this is outrageous, to have a great piece of hardware, and not being able to use it.