I’m a millennial but I didn’t own my own PC until I was like 21 (even then, half the parts in it were handmedowns from my Dad). I would have never been able to afford a laptop of the time. Computers are an expensive purchase all at once. Phones come with subsidized plans. That’s probably why you see a lot more bias towards them.
Yeah, I work in a making very high end scientific equipment. Almost almost the whole operation runs on Linux. All laptops are refurbished Thinkpads, and most desktops are pretty old and slow from a maimstream POV, but they are just fine for the task, and then some. My “new” laptop I got last summer is a 2018 laptop which cost 300€ refurbished.
If I can do decent science on that, I’m not sure what everyone else needs a 2000€ machine for.
I’m sure someone does, but I expect really they’re few and far between.
Yep. If you want a real computer instead of a cheap-ass disposable office machine, be prepared to spend quite a bit of money. That was a fact 20 years ago and is still true now. We had crappy sub-$500 E-machines and Gateway PCs in those days too.
I dunno sort of have the opposite experience, up until this year I used a 2015 MacBook I found at a relatives house and Linux installed. Got me through college until I finally caved in and got a used thinkpad(13th gen) for $350. Phones are a whole different ballgame where as I can all day get a computer decent enough to use for $100. New phone ended up costing me 400 for enough storage
The 180€ Mini PC I have as torrenting server, NAS and TV Box (and it’s overkill for just that) says otherwise.
$300 will buy you a lot of Desktop PC nowadays if all you want is to browse the web and read emails (in fact that approx. $200 mini-PC of mine is more than enough if you’re running Linux on it as I do and if you add a simple monitor, keyboard and mouse you’re about $40 shy of $300).
A $300 PC is only shit if you’re trying to run things like AAA games on it or use Windows 11.
There used to be a point back in the day when you did need a good PC for things like document edition or watching videos, but now we’re well past the point where you needed anything more than the most basic PC for everyday stuff.
As general purpose computers become more and more rare, I am desperately hoping that a free and open-source revolution comes to the smartphone space. C’mon year of the Linux phone!
Pay no attention to desktop dying as people lose awareness of personal computing and lock themselves into closed ecosystems.
I was surprised how many co-workers my age and younger (GenZ) don’t even own a laptop let alone a desktop.
I know it was becoming more niche, but didn’t expect it to happen that fast…
I’m a millennial but I didn’t own my own PC until I was like 21 (even then, half the parts in it were handmedowns from my Dad). I would have never been able to afford a laptop of the time. Computers are an expensive purchase all at once. Phones come with subsidized plans. That’s probably why you see a lot more bias towards them.
I think this and a 300 dollar phone tends to work fine, a 300 dollar computer is absolute shit.
You, sir, need to see what an Optiplex 7040 can do.
Yeah, I work in a making very high end scientific equipment. Almost almost the whole operation runs on Linux. All laptops are refurbished Thinkpads, and most desktops are pretty old and slow from a maimstream POV, but they are just fine for the task, and then some. My “new” laptop I got last summer is a 2018 laptop which cost 300€ refurbished.
If I can do decent science on that, I’m not sure what everyone else needs a 2000€ machine for.
I’m sure someone does, but I expect really they’re few and far between.
Yep. If you want a real computer instead of a cheap-ass disposable office machine, be prepared to spend quite a bit of money. That was a fact 20 years ago and is still true now. We had crappy sub-$500 E-machines and Gateway PCs in those days too.
I dunno sort of have the opposite experience, up until this year I used a 2015 MacBook I found at a relatives house and Linux installed. Got me through college until I finally caved in and got a used thinkpad(13th gen) for $350. Phones are a whole different ballgame where as I can all day get a computer decent enough to use for $100. New phone ended up costing me 400 for enough storage
The 180€ Mini PC I have as torrenting server, NAS and TV Box (and it’s overkill for just that) says otherwise.
$300 will buy you a lot of Desktop PC nowadays if all you want is to browse the web and read emails (in fact that approx. $200 mini-PC of mine is more than enough if you’re running Linux on it as I do and if you add a simple monitor, keyboard and mouse you’re about $40 shy of $300).
A $300 PC is only shit if you’re trying to run things like AAA games on it or use Windows 11.
There used to be a point back in the day when you did need a good PC for things like document edition or watching videos, but now we’re well past the point where you needed anything more than the most basic PC for everyday stuff.
It’s weird that I had a tower desktop as a kid when it was niche, and I still have a tower desktop 35 years later when it’s niche again.
As general purpose computers become more and more rare, I am desperately hoping that a free and open-source revolution comes to the smartphone space. C’mon year of the Linux phone!