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Comment by chamwislothe2nd | Hacker News Reader

Those tools will last forever so that money makes sense. Apples engages in planned obsolescence so the cost isnt the same. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batterygate

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Consider how expensive it is to store and operate those tools. Square footage isn't cheap most places; my wood shop probably costs me about $550 a month in used space! In that light, refreshing a laptop every five years or so (on the low end for my usual cadence for Macs; both my 2016 and 2011 Macbook Pros are still in use for dedicated tasks) amortizes out a lot more pleasantly.

Consider how much space all the thrown out Apple products take up in landfills.

I haven't thrown out a MacBook in my entire life. All three are all still in use, and two of those were bought used in the first place. I also have three iPads, going back to the iPad 2, that are still in use. I cannot say that about the Android devices I have had in a similar length of time such as the Nexus 10's putrefying back case that makes it unpleasant to touch. And while I have the PC cases I have had for a decade, the rest of both of them have said hello to Theseus at least twice.

So...what, then?

Those tools will last forever, if you don't use them.

But if you do they will wear out.

You maintain them because theyre made to be maintained.

It's pretty hard to wear out silicon. That's why the batteries are glued in and they're made out of glass. To encourage them to artificially wear them out.

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