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Over the last few years I've veered almost completely away from buying brand new tech. What I mean by new in this case is brand new, in-package electronics at the latest model or a model or two prior. I became focused on reducing my own electronic waste and it forced me to examine how much computing "power" I actually needed in my day-to-day life.
It turns out I don't need much power at all. The newest tech I own and use daily is my Pixel 4a with CalyxOS. I plan on using it until the very last moment. I'm not a programmer or gamer, so my work computer doesn't actually need that much horsepower. Since I'm already a Linux user, I can easily use an older computer stress-free. I've been using a Dell Latitude E6410 from 2011 for almost two years now and it's been awesome. I've even got it hooked up to two Lenovo monitors from 2013 with built-in webcams.
I just realized that I lied about the newest piece of tech being my phone. I forgot I bought a new mechanical keyboard and mouse. I know, I'm a hypocrite. But instead of feeling bad about buying something new like that, I take a look at the bigger picture. Over the span of 2 years, how much tech have I bought? Of that tech, how many times have I gone the refurbished/used route over brand new? With this larger perspective, I actually appreciate and treasure my newer pieces of tech more than if I didn't actively work towards reducing my electronic waste elsewhere. Additionally, I type a lot every day, so a new keyboard makes the most sense to meet my daily needs.
For a while I used a Samsung tablet from 2011 as my dedicated ereader. I even wrote about how I "revived" it and made it work for me all these years (and android versions) later[1]. However, I tried booting it up again and connecting it to my opds catalog on libreture[2], and the thing just wouldn't connect. I tried troubleshooting it but I had to call time-of-death on the poor thing.
I tried reading on my phone but I hated looking at that small screen. I have an old Kindle but it's locked to Amazon and I tried and failed to jailbreak it last year. So, I decided I would treat myself to a new (to me) tablet. As with all electronics, my first stop was ebay. I filter my search to only show me items shipped from my country, and I start looking at what's available. Since I'm in Canada I also sometimes check kijiji. This time, I was able to find a certified refurbished Samsung Galaxy Tab A for $89. The seller offered free shipping and after tax it came to just over $100.
This tablet is graded B+ by ebay's refurbished standards, and after looking at what that actually meant, I was fine with it. It might have some wear around the edges and light scratches on the screen that aren't visible when in use. The only thing that might be "risky" is the battery life, but taking into account that I plan to use it primarily as an ereader, I'm sure it will be more than up to the task.
As with my last tablet, I'll likely gut as much proprietary Samsung and Google crap out of the tablet before installing my ereader app. I used to use KOReader, but I've since switched to AlReader[3]. I wish it was on F-Droid, but it's honestly fine. I won't be around when it gets delivered, but I might write a follow-up when I get it set up if anyone's interested.
Sitting in my office right now are 3 different PDAs. One has no battery, and the other two don't have chargers. Each charging port is different so I would need to get three different chargers if I wanted to get them all up and running. For one of my my PDAs, the Palm V, I can find a charging cradle on ebay, but it's hard for me to justify spending over $50 after shipping just to fiddle around with something I think is kind of neat.
But I'm torn, because I genuinely think I can get something out of having a working PDA. What that is I'm not entirely sure, but it's just this gut feeling. Maybe one day I'll pull the trigger and get what I need to have at least one of these things working, but until then I'll just keep them in a drawer, waiting for their re-awakening.
Three PDAs: Toshiba Pocket PC, Dell Axim x51, Palm V
With smartphones becoming the one device that can do everything, I find myself wanting to revert back to separate devices for separate functions. I've written before about how I've moved all time-keeping off my phone to my Casio F-91W wristwatch and an alarm clock. I'm planning to move my music off my phone and to an old ipod I have laying around. Maybe one day I'll move my calendar and notes from my phone to a PDA.
I think I've found my place in old and minimal tech. I'm not quite tech-savvy enough to hack various devices or do much beyond maybe flash something onto a device (with the help of detailed documentation). However, there are so many old devices and even new ones that can be tinkered with and changed in so many ways, and it's all very exciting.
