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Comment by bambax | Hacker News Reader

> I've bought a new Thinkpad almost every year since 2006

But why?? If the current one isn't broken, why would you need to buy a new laptop and go through the hassle of setting it up?

My laptop is from 2013 and is still fine. Parts of my desktop computer are from 2007 -- the case is from 1993, and nothing is more recent than 2015, and everything is running super smooth.

Getting an entire new machine every single year sounds hysterical. But maybe I don't know what I don't know.

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If you read later on the author gives their rationale:

"I started buying a new laptop every year as a reward to myself for quitting smoking. ... The environmental consequences of that system weren't lost on me, even given my very good track-record of re-homing my old computers with people who needed them."

If you read a little lower in the article he mentions it being a reward mechanism for stopping smoking. So each year he doesn't smoke, he rewards himself with a new laptop. Good strategy!

Yeah, this is rationalizing. You don't need to reward yourself every year for something you do once. You quit smoking, you get a reward, end of story.

Also, and that's where we differ (and kind of my point): setting up a new computer isn't a reward for me, it's a punishment.

I think for some folks, quitting smoking isn’t a simple one-time event, but a lifelong ongoing challenge

If it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid.

You don't quit smoking once. You quit smoking every day. I haven't smoked in >10 years and I'm still quitting. Physical dependence on nicotine takes a long time to recover from.

That's not my experience. I was a heavy smoker for over 15 years (around 2 packs a day); then I quit. It was hard. Extremely hard. In fact I stayed in bed for 2 weeks because I didn't dare stand up and go into the world, and I couldn't think of anything else.

But after the withdrawal symptoms receded, that was that. It was over. I can't even remember what it was that I liked about it.

Of course that's just me, and experiences differ. But quitting smoking is its own reward, and I don't mean physically or health-wise. You're free! You don't need to spend time thinking about where the nearest tobacco shop is and if you have enough change to buy more cigarettes to get through the night.

I would argue that if you need to reward yourself every year for quitting, you didn't actually quit. You stopped putting cigarettes in your mouth, but you're still a "smoker".

I thought it was pretty much a fixed medical aspect of quitting smoking that it would take your body years/decades to regain the ability to regulate adrenaline production properly. That you would suffer occasional adrenaline surges during that period.

I was beginning to wonder if they'd ever subside. So it's good to know someone doesn't experience it. Though I have become used to them over the years and, in some situations, are not all bad.

Nicotine dependence is personal and genetics do play a role in that. Not all people react to nicotine equally. I can cut smoking abruptly and not be too upset about it. The other day, I ran out of vape liquid but didn't feel like driving to the Vape store. I know a friend who if he doesn't smoke when he wakes up, he goes crazy.

For some people giving up an addiction is an ongoing battle, not a one time and done thing.

Well, computers used to be more interesting. A 2006 laptop was at least 2x times faster than a 2003 laptop, with lower power consumption and better thermal design, better screen, etc.

Guy should have thought more about what you wanted to read when he wrote the article.

Yeah, it happens often.

Have you ever been a smoker?

Yep.

Once an addict, always an addict. I haven't smoked since 2007, but I'm humble enough to know how easy it would be to pick it up again. In fact, if I lived in Poland again, I very well might have. But in the US being a non-smoker has never been easier.

Quitting smoking isn't a one-time event. Anyone with an addiction will tell you that it's a lifelong struggle.

Sometimes people describe their problems with some technology and it makes me realize that we live completely different lives. I can't imagine buying the same device year after year, whether that's a phone, laptop, or whatever.

Not only that but when they were using Macbooks they were apparently _buying two_ and keeping them in sync? I get some people can't be without a laptop for long periods of time but that seems absurd to me. Keep a backup disk. They even say they have a pile of old laptops that are presumably still usable.

> Parts of my desktop computer are from 2007 -- the case is from 1993,

How does that work? That predates the ATX form factor spec released by Intel in 1995.

I had a ginormous PC/AT compatible tower case at that time, very large, very heavy, all steel. IIRC, it had 8 5.25in external drive bays.

In retrospect, the ATX form factor has been rather long-lived, though there are plenty of competing form factors these days.

It works fine. It has 6 5.25 bays, and 2 3.5 ones. It is steel and heavy, but it never moves.

I'm still curious about the motherboard itself. The old PC cases didn't have a rectangular cut-out for IO panel, and probably didn't have the motherboard stand-off screws in the correct locations.

I suppose with time and care you could modify an old case to take an ATX motherboard, but I'm not sure how well that would work. You'd also likely need to mod the power supply mounting, add cooling and fan mounts, and more.

Over the years I did move the stand-off screws but didn't need to make new holes, plenty of holes were already there. I changed the power supply many times but it always fit, I think it's standard... Fans are on the mother board, there are no fan mounts directly on the case?

The author states they travelled 27 days a month, every month. I doubt many people put that much stress on their laptops.

Traveling 27 days a month might sound impressive but it shouldn't really put extra wear on laptops in general. I frequently work from cafes and such and put my laptop into my backpack on an almost daily basis, and it's fine after years. I don't even use a padded sleeve or other special protection.

YRMV. I've damaged 3 laptops in ~ 15 years. All have been during international trips when fatigue and unfamiliarity grew and Loki struck.

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