Re:The resource leak bug of our civilization
by paulmd on Monday December 01, 2014 @11:37AM
(#8681949)
As a working definition, a piece of hardware really isn't useful if another piece of hardware will do the same task better, at a lower cost.
You can run a low-power PC and check your email like it's 1980 just fine, and these days they're VERY cheap. A $30 5W Raspberry Pi is more than capable of running 'mail' on the command line. For a bit more power, quad-core 1.6ghz ARM SOCs are about $60-70. For fileserver type stuff, a 15W Liva with a Baytrail-M can be had for $115, or you can build out a full quad-core mini-ITX for something like $175.
The reduced power usage very quickly amortizes the cost of the hardware. If you would save 200W by retiring a dinosaur - that's $17.28 per month of 24/7 usage. If you've got a Rpi on for 4 hours per day checking your email - it amortizes out within 10 months.
This totally ignores the additional headaches associated with old, failing, unsupported hardware. You yourself described it as a "sinister amount of maintenance and stress".
You can make a philosophical argument here that a piece of hardware is never truly dead if it'll still push bits, but be honest here - if you're running up your power bill to avoid spending $100 on new hardware, if you're putting up with a PITA system for the heck of it - it's not useful, it's your hobby. Hobbies are fun, I think it's fun to keep old gear going too, but be realistic about the merits of such activities.
You can run a low-power PC and check your email like it's 1980 just fine, and these days they're VERY cheap. A $30 5W Raspberry Pi is more than capable of running 'mail' on the command line. For a bit more power, quad-core 1.6ghz ARM SOCs are about $60-70. For fileserver type stuff, a 15W Liva with a Baytrail-M can be had for $115, or you can build out a full quad-core mini-ITX for something like $175.
The reduced power usage very quickly amortizes the cost of the hardware. If you would save 200W by retiring a dinosaur - that's $17.28 per month of 24/7 usage. If you've got a Rpi on for 4 hours per day checking your email - it amortizes out within 10 months.
This totally ignores the additional headaches associated with old, failing, unsupported hardware. You yourself described it as a "sinister amount of maintenance and stress".
You can make a philosophical argument here that a piece of hardware is never truly dead if it'll still push bits, but be honest here - if you're running up your power bill to avoid spending $100 on new hardware, if you're putting up with a PITA system for the heck of it - it's not useful, it's your hobby. Hobbies are fun, I think it's fun to keep old gear going too, but be realistic about the merits of such activities.