07/08/2024
Trivia Time! What is one major advantage of older laptops over most newer ones available on the market?
Many people don't know this, but one advantage of older laptops is shown in the attached photo: Upgradeability.
In older laptops, most components can be removed and either swapped, replaced, or downright upgraded for better parts! Modern laptops often have most of their components soldered directly onto the motherboard, meaning that if you need a new component, guess what? You need a WHOLE NEW LAPTOP. This contributes to a large amount of e-waste and severely undermines sustainability efforts worldwide, in addition to simply being senseless and tasteless.
So, what can we do if we don't want to contribute to the problem? Well, there's a few options. First, read about the laptops you're interested in. Often, simply looking up whether they're upgradeable will yield meaningful insights, steering you in the right direction. Second, it's okay to use an older product! Yes, it's true that old laptops become slow and outdated. However, most of the time, minimal RAM or a failing HDD are the problem. More rarely, an outdated processor might prevent an upgrade of your Operating System (OS), and this is when you need to consider a replacement. However, it's worth noting that I'm writing this on a laptop built in 2017, and refurbished (upgraded) multiple times since. Third, look into Framework! They are a company who sells laptops that are completely upgradeable and fixable, down to nearly every last screw. They can be pricey, but let's face it: you wanted the newest, shiniest thing. These are as good as it gets, and it's completely YOURS. Total customization.
At NemoDex Technologies, we support Open-Source Everything. Because nobody should control what you do with YOUR tech.