this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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5 years is such an extremely short lifecycle for a laptop
Just a reflection of our wasteful culture. If it was up to the likes of Google, Samsung, etc. we'd all be buying new tech annually.
Precisely! As long as consumers continue to play their game, they’ll keep upping the ante.
My main computers are 8+ years old running Linux and performing astoundingly well.
Unfortunately, 90% of the time a typical non-savvy consumer buys a new machine it’s for all the wrong reasons and they really don’t have to. They just don’t know better.
Given the condition of my kids’ Chromebooks, that lifecycle is just right, plus Chromebooks were a fantastic investment. I did spend over $400 for “nice” (but not high end) Chromebooks, so they were lightweight, excellent battery, durable, and good performance. After 4-5 years, performance and battery are still good for a full school day, but they’re all dinged up, bent and mangled. They’ve been dropped, kicked, stuffed into things, had various liquids spilled into them, etc. they e done well to survive a hard life, but it’s time.
I could have gotten cheap Windows laptops for a similar price, that would not have done nearly as well, by every measure. What a waste that would have been
I think they mean the software support lifecycle from the time of release, not how long the physical hardware lasts.
I also have relatively positive experiences with Chromebooks but also you can buy a Dell Latitude used on ebay and get the same experience. My $200 shop laptop from 2015 (Latitude 7450) which I only stuck an SSD into is going strong despite being kicked, stepped on, dropped, having oil and acetone spilled on it, melted a bit, and subject to other such garage abuse. (Though it is on its 3rd $15 keyboard)
TFA discussed how these unsupported Chromebooks are still for sale on major retail sites like Amazon and Walmart.
I think you missed the point of the article.