After I managed to destroy my beloved Thinkpad T480 (RIP) I needed a replacement. Instead of buying something new (or used) I pulled out my old Thinkpad x220 from the bottom of my tech drawer. After a fresh install I was surprised how fast the laptop felt, even tough it was released in March of 2011. This put me on a path down memory lane, as the first laptop I bought with my own money back in 2010 was a Thinkpad x200 (which I sadly dont own anymore). I also made me reflect the path I have been on since then: From owning that x200, upgrading to a 1st Gen Thinkpad X1 Carbon and installing MacOS on it. After that I convincing myself needing to spend an eye-watering 3000€ on a brand new MacBook Pro, but eventually I did realise that need all that performance and switching to a Thinkpad T480 and now to the x220.

I originally wanted to call this post “Most People’s Computing Needs have been met 15 years ago” but that statement is honestly kind of a stretch. It of course depends heavily on the use case. I told myself I would use my MacBook for Audio Production and Video Editing - for these tasks you are obviously better of with a more modern machine. But for simple computing tasks (Browsing, Email, Word Processing, e.g.) an old laptop like my Thinkpad x220 is completely fine (at least when you’re not running Windows on it).

Using an old laptop makes you aware of the resources used and how to work within certain constraints, by having “only” 8GB of RAM for example. It is also way better for the environment and more resource-saving to use an old laptop or using old hardware in general. But in some cases that also comes with certain limitations. Many devices have become very power efficient over the years.

About a year after buying my 3000€ MacBook I gave it to my brother who can actually make use of the performance that laptop has. If anything let this be a reminder for anyone reading this to assess their actual needs clearly and really think deeply if the urge to buy this shiny new laptop isn’t just a company’s marketing strategy working like it was planned to.