[VancouverMan]

I don't find it surprising at all. Many of my clients and other individuals I know are still using PCs from 2014 or before.

Hardware from that era is still very capable, especially for basic office or home usage.

Even if those computers originally ran Windows 7, or 8, or 8.1, pretty much all of the ones I'm familiar with have been upgraded to Windows 10 since then. They could probably run Windows 11 just fine, too, if it weren't for these new requirements that don't really seem all that necessary.

Being able to use Windows 11 just isn't a compelling enough reason for these kind of people and organizations to buy new hardware, and to go through the hassle of replacing PCs that are otherwise working fine and have been for nearly a decade or longer.

[LoganDark]

I feel like I just don't understand, as someone who has to upgrade hardware every few years just because it breaks.

My PC laptop's keyboard is broken, the bottom panel is snapped off, one of the hinge covers is missing, the ethernet port is broken off the motherboard, the charging cable is soldered in place (because the barrel jack kept breaking), the USB-C port is iffy, the fans keep failing, and it took all that to make me get a new desktop. But that happened in the span of about two years of using the machine in bed. I can't imagine trying to make that machine last any longer, it's a lost cause.

> Hardware from that era is still very capable, especially for basic office or home usage.

Are people used to waiting for their computers to do things? I can't use slow computers because I heavily depend on multitasking and task switching, but seeing some of the things people put up with—like Firefox taking 15 minutes to load—makes me wonder if everyone else is just okay with having a slow computer.

[cesarb]

> I feel like I just don't understand, as someone who has to upgrade hardware every few years just because it breaks. My PC laptop's keyboard is broken [...]

That's your mistake: you're using a laptop. In my experience, desktops are much more robust than laptops (and they're also more modular, so partial replacement when something breaks is viable); most of these people "using PCs from 2014 or before" are probably using desktops.

> Are people used to waiting for their computers to do things? I can't use slow computers because I heavily depend on multitasking and task switching, but seeing some of the things people put up with—like Firefox taking 15 minutes to load—makes me wonder if everyone else is just okay with having a slow computer.

Yes, they're used to it. You can't stand it because you're used to a faster computer, but those who are used to a slower computer might not even notice it, or they work around it (like going for a coffee while the software starts up).

[LoganDark]

> That's your mistake: you're using a laptop.

Not anymore. I've replaced my laptop with a desktop.

But yes. My mistake was indeed thinking that a Windows laptop could fill the void of a broken MacBook Pro. Build quality simply does not exist. The MacBook lasted over 5 years before it had a random logic board crap-out (unknown whether it was my fault or not).

> most of these people "using PCs from 2014 or before" are probably using desktops.

Yep.

> Yes, they're used to it. You can't stand it because you're used to a faster computer, but those who are used to a slower computer might not even notice it, or they work around it (like going for a coffee while the software starts up).

Valid argument, honestly.

I've experienced this with monitors: before my MacBook I could use a regular old 1080p monitor and not have any issues whatsoever, but now trying to use the same exact 1080p monitor today is extremely painful, and my minimum requirement is 4k.

And because my computers have been so fast, I'm used to being able to use alt+tab instead of having multiple windows on-screen, I'm used to being able to augment every conversation with quick Google searches, and so on. My workflow wouldn't work on a slow computer, because my workflow is efficient and demands interactivity.

But I guess if people are just OK with their computer being slow, there's no reason to upgrade just because it's getting out of date. And I guess if software requirements are the only reason people are being forced to upgrade, software requirements are what people are going to get upset with.

[JohnFen]

> That's your mistake: you're using a laptop.

Even so -- I just replaced the cheap laptop I was using as my main driver because it was starting to get a little flaky. It was 10 years old.

[JohnFen]

> as someone who has to upgrade hardware every few years just because it breaks.

You do? What are you doing to those poor machines??

> if everyone else is just okay with having a slow computer.

I don't have a good handle on what you consider to be a "slow" machine, but most people that I know aren't really that fussed about having the fastest possible machine.

[LoganDark]

> You do? What are you doing to those poor machines??

I... legitimately have no freaking idea. I do nothing to the machine, the fan bearings start to fail. I open the screen too many times, the bezel starts popping off and the hinge cover breaks due to that. And the ethernet cable was always loose in the port and trying to fix it eventually resulted in the port snapping off. And the charger barrel is so cheap that the metal coating scrapes right off the moment it ever rotates, causing it to stop being conductive. I think the main thing that was actually my fault was the keyboard because I think I drove a screw into the PCB and cracked it during one of my repairs (you have to remove the entire heatsink assembly and repaste the entire machine in order to get at the fans).

> I don't have a good handle on what you consider to be a "slow" machine, but most people that I know aren't really that fussed about having the fastest possible machine.

I started considering my laptop slow when it started taking a couple seconds to alt+tab. Sometimes it would even skip as if I pressed Tab twice when I really didn't. That kinda stuff annoys me so much because I need to be able to switch tasks really quickly. But I don't know if that's how decade-old machines really perform, which is why I just said "slow computer".

I guess by "slow" I really meant "unresponsive" where it doesn't react quickly to your inputs. That's what would annoy me the most from a computer.