|
For me, my technology is either a gift or it has to be financed. For that reason, it is never the latest and greatest. I shoot for longevity as well. I probably use my tech gear at least 2 to 3 times longer than the average person. So for a couple of years after I get something I look normal, but a couple of years after that (or more), I look like I'm not all that interested in technology because my stuff is so old. This isn't true, I'm a big tech geek. I just can't afford the stuff.
As an example, I usually run my PCs into the ground. I normally only buy PC games after they've been out for a couple of years or more and they're really cheap. It's often the case that my PC can't run the latest games, so I have to wait until I replace the PC to buy them. By then, they've been out for a long time and the next great age in gaming is already under way. I'm a laggard that way, I guess.
I don't have a smart phone. I probably won't have one for another couple of years unless I get one as a gift. If it's a gift, it will be one that is deeply discounted probably (so a bit older).
I just can't justify buying the latest and greatest when I know it will cost me twice as much by the time I finish paying it off, especially when it will be half the price if I buy it when it's older.
I've gotten to the point now where I usually only buy a tech product if I need it for work reasons (and even then it's usually to replace something broken or obsolete). Gifts are for fun.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
|