MacBook Air Longevity?
Oct 7, 2021 | 9:23 am
#46
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 3,739
StuckInYYZ : I still stand by my recommendation. If someone buys a used enterprise laptop today at ~1/2 what new prices are going for and gets 4 years out of it, I'd call that a win.
There's still hundreds of thousands (probably more) of Windows 7 systems chugging along out there faithfully. About half the laptops at my office are still running Win7 or OSX 10.11. No updates? No problem. I keep all of the PCI-compliance crap on a dedicated updated system. The most dangerous users also get the newer stuff. I'm still supporting Win 3.11 and MS-DOS 5.x systems for clients.
I have a suspicious feeling that Microsoft's 4-year deadline will be extended. The chip shortage is real. My Lenovo rep told me some configurations won't be available for *70* weeks. Yes, more than a year delay. Given China's recent power shortages and it's not even winter yet, production is going to get a lot worse.
Also, manufacturers are starting to release TPM patches to update older TPM chips. I see Dell has one available for some systems. TPM was recently defeated, so it's eventually going to be as useless as DVD's CSS system.
There's still hundreds of thousands (probably more) of Windows 7 systems chugging along out there faithfully. About half the laptops at my office are still running Win7 or OSX 10.11. No updates? No problem. I keep all of the PCI-compliance crap on a dedicated updated system. The most dangerous users also get the newer stuff. I'm still supporting Win 3.11 and MS-DOS 5.x systems for clients.
I have a suspicious feeling that Microsoft's 4-year deadline will be extended. The chip shortage is real. My Lenovo rep told me some configurations won't be available for *70* weeks. Yes, more than a year delay. Given China's recent power shortages and it's not even winter yet, production is going to get a lot worse.
Also, manufacturers are starting to release TPM patches to update older TPM chips. I see Dell has one available for some systems. TPM was recently defeated, so it's eventually going to be as useless as DVD's CSS system.
That said, I don't know if MS will expand the system reqs for W11. Originally MS said 8th Gen even though the pre-release worked on older hardware. But looking at the system requirements, it doesn't mention generational requirements. Just what were effectively W10 requirements plus TPM. I do wonder...how much the MS requirement might impede the adoption of W11.
Oct 11, 2021 | 10:17 pm
#47
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,890
StuckInYYZ : If you're having trouble finding working hard drives of that age, contact your local copier repair places. I always give them first dibbs on my used ancient drives before I trash them. Drop me a note if there's something specific you need. I still have plenty of IDEs and Ultra320s.
Oct 12, 2021 | 9:47 am
#48
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 3,739
StuckInYYZ : If you're having trouble finding working hard drives of that age, contact your local copier repair places. I always give them first dibbs on my used ancient drives before I trash them. Drop me a note if there's something specific you need. I still have plenty of IDEs and Ultra320s.
Oct 12, 2021 | 11:17 am
#49
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,968
My MacBook air is about 10 years old and still going strong. I've replaced the battery a few times, but otherwise it has been a great machine. I'd highly recommend it.
Oct 17, 2021 | 10:49 am
#50
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: HEL
Programs: lots of shiny metal cards
Posts: 14,849
Over the weekend I installed MXLinux 21 on my MBP2010 - cutting edge OS running cutting edge apps on 10+ years hardware. Boots in seconds, runs smoothly. (SSD) Try that with Microsoft
Oct 19, 2021 | 11:51 am
#51
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: PDX
Programs: Nexus, NoLoyalty
Posts: 373
My 2015 MacBook needed a new battery recently, and when I picked it up from the Apple Store, there was a comment on the receipt: "Large quantities of fur (cat?) were vacuumed out. Recommend not allowing cat on the keyboard."
Clearly whoever wrote that didn't know much about the drifting properties of cat fur.
To the OP: I'm on my 5th Mac, dating back to a 1984 educational model (which still works). I use 'em until there are no longer any viable software updates available. Never had one die of hardware issues.
Clearly whoever wrote that didn't know much about the drifting properties of cat fur.
To the OP: I'm on my 5th Mac, dating back to a 1984 educational model (which still works). I use 'em until there are no longer any viable software updates available. Never had one die of hardware issues.