Yes, if that is all you need, it’s fine. Housemate’s phone died about a year ago (orig. SE), the 6+ got him thru a few weeks while deciding which new one to buy. He’s a phone minimalist, not much on there, but music apps are important to him, which could not be used on the 6+.
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Why are so many people using out of date Macbooks?
- Thread starter tonyr6
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Not just Mac's. I run my PC's the same way only replacing them when they are of no further use to me. Acer's Switch 5 being the star of the show with just 10% battery wear in over 8 years of constant use. Looks and feels brand new, even the detachable keyboard is still looking good with little to no sign of wear on the covering, possibly being Alcantara
Have a Pioneer 2in1 that dates from 2015/2016, it can boot into Android 8 and runs the latest W10 like a champ despite it's low end specs. Possibly an engineering prototype, deep dark black that refuses to fingerprint. Heavy, really heavy given it has the same footprint of the old 11" MBA heavier than the old Intel 13" MBP and to top it off a keyboard that put's ThinkPad's to shame. Picked it up locally for song. Is a very strange beast indeed, charges via Micro USB of all things.
I've seen the commercial version which is nowhere near as heavy nor has the same build quality. The downsides are Windows update can break it as it's not a stock device, but with a little thought is doable and if you have to type a lot absplutely the weapon of choice. The keyboard alone was worth the price, only ones that best it are good mechanical's...
Q-6
Have a Pioneer 2in1 that dates from 2015/2016, it can boot into Android 8 and runs the latest W10 like a champ despite it's low end specs. Possibly an engineering prototype, deep dark black that refuses to fingerprint. Heavy, really heavy given it has the same footprint of the old 11" MBA heavier than the old Intel 13" MBP and to top it off a keyboard that put's ThinkPad's to shame. Picked it up locally for song. Is a very strange beast indeed, charges via Micro USB of all things.
I've seen the commercial version which is nowhere near as heavy nor has the same build quality. The downsides are Windows update can break it as it's not a stock device, but with a little thought is doable and if you have to type a lot absplutely the weapon of choice. The keyboard alone was worth the price, only ones that best it are good mechanical's...
Q-6
yes old macs are forever.
my $2 worth to this conversation is, apart from everything else, a large % of people upgrade for improved screen resolution.
compare a 2013 11" MBA with a 2023 MBA, for example.
each are perfect computers for basic tasks (and then some).
it largely depends on one's individual close-up eyesight quality …
my $2 worth to this conversation is, apart from everything else, a large % of people upgrade for improved screen resolution.
compare a 2013 11" MBA with a 2023 MBA, for example.
each are perfect computers for basic tasks (and then some).
it largely depends on one's individual close-up eyesight quality …
Wow, could it be that they may have a newer iPhone and iPad and don't have the money for a new Mac. They keep it going as long as it will run and hopefully save up money in the mean time to buy a new Mac.
Not everyone is made of money and can just buy an expensive Mac whenever they feel like it. They have to plan and save up for years just to get a base model air. They may have families, or other responsibilities that take precedent over buying the latest Mac. So they life support their Mac as long as possible and use an older MacOS since maybe that is the last version supported on their device.
What are they supposed to do? To the OP are you going to buy a new Mac for those using an "outdated MacBook"? Otherwise the answer should be obvious to most people with any common sense living in a world where everything is getting a lot more expensive quickly.
Besides for most people all they need a computer to do is send and receive emails, browse websites, stream media, use Microsoft Office and some basic photo editing. That is it and most computers that are 10 years old now can still do those things whether or not they are on an up to date OS.
Not everyone is made of money and can just buy an expensive Mac whenever they feel like it. They have to plan and save up for years just to get a base model air. They may have families, or other responsibilities that take precedent over buying the latest Mac. So they life support their Mac as long as possible and use an older MacOS since maybe that is the last version supported on their device.
What are they supposed to do? To the OP are you going to buy a new Mac for those using an "outdated MacBook"? Otherwise the answer should be obvious to most people with any common sense living in a world where everything is getting a lot more expensive quickly.
Besides for most people all they need a computer to do is send and receive emails, browse websites, stream media, use Microsoft Office and some basic photo editing. That is it and most computers that are 10 years old now can still do those things whether or not they are on an up to date OS.
Of course a lot of people buy just to have a name rather than buy because they are making an informed choice about the product but then marketing wouldn't exist if everyone was an educated buyer.
However, in this case I think the majority of users who have older Macs that are running unsupported versions of MacOS are not doing so because they just want to look cool by having a Mac. Most of the users trying to extend the use of their Macs have been using Macs a long time and know the risks and issues by doing what they are doing but they can't afford to buy a new Mac. As I said before they may have other Apple devices that may be a little newer and have friends and family that use Apple devices. So they just life support their Mac until they can afford to upgrade. They truly like MacOS and Mac's in general.
But posers are everywhere I guess??
Still running a 2012 quad-core mini... perfect for a media server... old stuff works better and really old stuff us STILL UPGRADABLE.
Actually I think many just keep using old software on old Mac, no need to run unsupported versions of newer software as long as the old software works.
Because they work and many of us have multiple Mac's. So while my M1 MBP does the heavy lifting I see no need to replace the 2011 media server or other older Mac's, unless you just want to throw $$$$ at Apple for the sake of it...
Q-6
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I was using a 2015 MacBook Air up until a few months ago and it did everything I needed. It had a new battery and I had upgraded the SSD. I upgraded to an m2 Air with 16G memory and a 512 SSD. I would not have upgraded except for recent problems.
That's because "out of date" MacBooks are made to last, they are portable, and affordable. They can be upgraded.
Also many real professionals still use older Macs because the newest Macs lack support for older software and hardware.
I can give you any number of theories as to why this tends to be the case but I am sure it also tends to be the case with PC laptops too, that is if they actually last that long which with laptops at least doesn't seem to be the case unless you get a better brand or more expensive PC laptop to begin with. Just to name a few reasons:
1) If its letting them type and see on a big screen without to many hitches then its just fine for a decent amount of people.
2) Apple releases OS updates for 6-7 years typically, and then at least major security fixes for another 2-3 years after for computers even ones that aren't receiving.
3) Status symbol, and they might not really care if they are out of date as long as it says Apple.
4) If you see a lot of people in like their late 20's early 30's with outdated ones, I'd bet they graduated college a few years ago, and a lot of times if people have the grants, scholarships, loans etc to spare, they will go with a Mac.
5) Generally last longer than PC laptops.
6) People get A LOT more attached to their Macs than they do PCs. I'm guilty of this and I'm sure they're others on here like that as well. There is actually a documentary that kind of goes into it that I think you can find on YouTube called MacHeads. Me personally my first Mac ever I loved that thing (2003-2010), same with my second (2010-2018) not so much with my third (2018-2021) and my current one it's almost like having that PowerPC G4 tower all over again...but in laptop form.
7) I don't know one old person with a Mac where the Mac itself isn't at least 8 years old sometimes even older. Im talking like 60s+ old.
1) If its letting them type and see on a big screen without to many hitches then its just fine for a decent amount of people.
2) Apple releases OS updates for 6-7 years typically, and then at least major security fixes for another 2-3 years after for computers even ones that aren't receiving.
3) Status symbol, and they might not really care if they are out of date as long as it says Apple.
4) If you see a lot of people in like their late 20's early 30's with outdated ones, I'd bet they graduated college a few years ago, and a lot of times if people have the grants, scholarships, loans etc to spare, they will go with a Mac.
5) Generally last longer than PC laptops.
6) People get A LOT more attached to their Macs than they do PCs. I'm guilty of this and I'm sure they're others on here like that as well. There is actually a documentary that kind of goes into it that I think you can find on YouTube called MacHeads. Me personally my first Mac ever I loved that thing (2003-2010), same with my second (2010-2018) not so much with my third (2018-2021) and my current one it's almost like having that PowerPC G4 tower all over again...but in laptop form.
7) I don't know one old person with a Mac where the Mac itself isn't at least 8 years old sometimes even older. Im talking like 60s+ old.
They still work, still do the job the end users wants them to do, and most people (much as pc and samsung owners would like you to believe otherwise) don’t need to buy the latest fashion accessory from apple - they buy them because they’re easy to use and keep working.
dude made the video some time ago but it's still the best review of the amazing 11" Airs out there.
if only apple had deigned to put a higher resolution display in it - like the later 12" MacBook - i'd still own mine
To be fair, when the 2011 MacBook Air was released, higher resolution displays were much much more expensive, and the inbuilt Gpu would not have handled it.
That said, yes Apple has a big hole in their lineup without the 11" machine.
They'd probably push such users to the iPad, but I know several people who loved the 11" machine as a device you could carry in a small bag and then even dock to a thunderbolt enclosure/eGPU.
why do peoples uses thems old macbooks ya say?
When i turn on this macbook air 2010 either snow leopard or mountain lion
i know that either will run snow leopard or mountain lion!
my choice!
cant say that with a newer macbook using newer OS!
When i turn on this macbook air 2010 either snow leopard or mountain lion
i know that either will run snow leopard or mountain lion!
my choice!
cant say that with a newer macbook using newer OS!
No clue what the OP is talking about. My Amiga 1000 still runs circles around most Macs and PCs. Just upgraded it with a lovely Parceiro.
www.amigalove.com
The Amiga 1000 Parceiro - AmigaLove
No clue what the OP is talking about. My Amiga 1000 still runs circles around most Macs and PCs. Just upgraded it with a lovely Parceiro.
The Amiga 1000 Parceiro - AmigaLove
Much as I miss my old amiga, trying to do anything modern on them is pretty useless
I run my amiga retro stuff on a MiSTer. Much faster than original 68k hardware
Nothing beats the original hardware!Much as I miss my old amiga, trying to do anything modern on them is pretty useless
I run my amiga retro stuff on a MiSTer. Much faster than original 68k hardware
But I've built a dedicated Rasp PI to run Amiga stuff as well. Last time I looked into the MISTer the hardware was unavailable / sold out everywhere.
Nothing beats the original hardware!
But I've built a dedicated Rasp PI to run Amiga stuff as well. Last time I looked into the MISTer the hardware was unavailable / sold out everywhere.
If you do have an interest in MiSTer, I think DE10 Nanos are coming back into stock.
it's not cheap, but nothing feels quite as close to real hardware (I've done the raspberry pi amiga thing too). You can tell immediately by just moving the mouse pointer around, it feels as responsive as original hardware. Because basically, it IS a re-creation of the original hardware - just running at much faster clock speeds.
I've been given a mid-2013 MacBook Air i5 4GB for use when I go do some research work and learning.
Going into its 11th year, with 850 battery cycles, the machine still works great for what I need. 4-5 hours of battery life, lightweight, easy to transport, and good port selection. I mainly use web browser, PDFs, some math/engineering software like MATLAB, nothing crazy just stuff on the go. Sometimes it's just to back up a camera card on the go, or make edits to a latex document.
HOWEVER, macOS is pretty unbearable on it. Not only does it run very slowly, to the point of just being tolerable with enough patience, but the non-retina display makes text look fuzzy enough you'd swear it's time to get glasses, since Apple removed sub-pixel text rendering. So if I only used macOS, this machine would definitely feel its age much more than it does, because...
Thankfully, Windows and Linux (Mint Xfce in this case) run beautifully on it with its measly 4GB of RAM (wish the original buyer bought 8GB as that would easily breathe more life into it, but alas Apple's criminal upgrade prices and stingey base RAM...). I lose about an hour of battery life (so typically 3-4 hours) but it's fast enough to not feel burdened but my workload and text looks perfectly sharp again.
As to the original question, why use such an old machine? Because it does what I need. It reduces unnecessary e-waste. The OS is fully up-to-date if I use Windows or Linux, and not far behind with Big Sur. The real question is why would I buy a new machine just to do things I already do?
The main reason older computers start to feel old is because newer software bogs them down. It doesn't have to, especially considering how little it changes these days. It's funny how well software from 2013 runs on it. I can still use my fully paid-for copy of Photoshop CS3 (2009) on the Windows boot and it works as well now as it did then. Of course, macOS updates break old software so again, you have to use newer versions that don't run so well on it.
Last year, a family PC from 2013 was going to be replaced for being unbearably slow (and it was truly unbearably -- probably 3-4 minutes just to boot, a full minute to open web browser). It's an HP with i7 4690, 12 GB of RAM and some low-end nvidia dGPU, but it had a hard disk. I replaced the HDD with an SSD for like $50, did a fresh install of Windows, and boom -- faster than ever. Maybe 12 seconds to boot, 1-2 seconds to open software. For their use (web browser, email, photos, office) it's about as fast as a new computer, despite being over 10 years old now.
Personally, I'd rather donate $1000 to one of my local animal rescues currently saving a bunch of precious animals than upgrade before I actually need to.
Going into its 11th year, with 850 battery cycles, the machine still works great for what I need. 4-5 hours of battery life, lightweight, easy to transport, and good port selection. I mainly use web browser, PDFs, some math/engineering software like MATLAB, nothing crazy just stuff on the go. Sometimes it's just to back up a camera card on the go, or make edits to a latex document.
HOWEVER, macOS is pretty unbearable on it. Not only does it run very slowly, to the point of just being tolerable with enough patience, but the non-retina display makes text look fuzzy enough you'd swear it's time to get glasses, since Apple removed sub-pixel text rendering. So if I only used macOS, this machine would definitely feel its age much more than it does, because...
Thankfully, Windows and Linux (Mint Xfce in this case) run beautifully on it with its measly 4GB of RAM (wish the original buyer bought 8GB as that would easily breathe more life into it, but alas Apple's criminal upgrade prices and stingey base RAM...). I lose about an hour of battery life (so typically 3-4 hours) but it's fast enough to not feel burdened but my workload and text looks perfectly sharp again.
As to the original question, why use such an old machine? Because it does what I need. It reduces unnecessary e-waste. The OS is fully up-to-date if I use Windows or Linux, and not far behind with Big Sur. The real question is why would I buy a new machine just to do things I already do?
The main reason older computers start to feel old is because newer software bogs them down. It doesn't have to, especially considering how little it changes these days. It's funny how well software from 2013 runs on it. I can still use my fully paid-for copy of Photoshop CS3 (2009) on the Windows boot and it works as well now as it did then. Of course, macOS updates break old software so again, you have to use newer versions that don't run so well on it.
Last year, a family PC from 2013 was going to be replaced for being unbearably slow (and it was truly unbearably -- probably 3-4 minutes just to boot, a full minute to open web browser). It's an HP with i7 4690, 12 GB of RAM and some low-end nvidia dGPU, but it had a hard disk. I replaced the HDD with an SSD for like $50, did a fresh install of Windows, and boom -- faster than ever. Maybe 12 seconds to boot, 1-2 seconds to open software. For their use (web browser, email, photos, office) it's about as fast as a new computer, despite being over 10 years old now.
Personally, I'd rather donate $1000 to one of my local animal rescues currently saving a bunch of precious animals than upgrade before I actually need to.
Did you see that documentary on the Amiga?No clue what the OP is talking about. My Amiga 1000 still runs circles around most Macs and PCs. Just upgraded it with a lovely Parceiro.
The Amiga 1000 Parceiro - AmigaLove
many many years ago, I used that in 1986 and did not know how to save a file.
fast forward 1990 I knew more than my Graphic design professor in NTU
they refunded my tuition after two classes.
I am still using the MacBook air 2010 which I hope is early intel.