You Don't Need It

The United States alone generates about 6.9 million tons of e-waste every single year. I have no doubts that a lot of this is currently unusable to the average consumer. However, year after year I see people buying the latest and greatest technology, and throwing out their old computers or phones.

What do you use your computer for?

Maybe you actually use your computer for computationally or graphically difficult tasks, and upgrading frequently to the new best computer is actually important in your life. However, most people just use a computer as a web browser or document editor. In this case, everyone can have a great experience with a 10+ year old computer. I'm a software engineer, and I still have a usable machine with my Thinkpad X220. This computer came out in 2011.

Why do computers become unusable?

Windows is a bloated operating system. Any computer that I've come into contact with running Windows that has become too slow to use, I've fixed. How? Simple. Install some Linux distibution. An easy one for new users is Linux Mint. I know this can be intimidating for those without the requisite technological expertise, and maybe I'll make a step by step guide later on.