Just How Old Is My Computer?

 My wife and I have lots of computers. Ten, at last count. Several are old desktops. Some are laptops. Some are old, some new. (You can't beat an old computer for its software, and you can't beat a new little Chromebook for traveling.) 

We keep the old computers because they've got valuable software we still use. (We hate the planned obsolescence of the tech companies, when they quit supporting older software and force people to throw old computers into the landfill! Not only is it a crime against the Earth, it is terribly inconvenient for those of us who don't want fancy tools and just want to use the tools that work! For example, give me back my old email. I don't want fifteen thousand bells and whistles that take forever to load, are filled with bugs and glitches, and often crash. Yes, here's looking at you, Microsoft, and you, GoDaddy for forcing us to use the new Microsoft 365. I just want basic email. But of course, young software engineers seem to universally fall for the concept of putting every possible feature into every possible program.)

We also have an old MacBook for its old Photoshop software. We also have two old Windows 7 laptops we use for general office work. 

But our favorite computer is an old, huge Dell with Windows XP. We bought it in the early 2000s and got a large Epson scanner to accommodate my wife's smaller paintings. 

When we bought the Dell, we'd already heard stories about viruses, so we made the decision to never to put that computer online. Guess what? It's still running. No online access means no viruses and no problems. I had to replace the internal clock battery a couple of years ago, but otherwise the computer's been perfect, 20 years later.

Of course, it's irreplaceable. You can't use the old Epson scanner with a new computer. And, Adobe, in their infinite stupidity, made it so their new Indesign software can't read the old Indesign files. Can you imagine how idiotic that is? So even if I wanted to get the new software, it would do me no good with my old book files. I'd love to have a word with Larry Ellison over that decision. It would be like buying a new car that won't drive on older roads. 

There is one amusing aspect to it. Among other things I do with that old computer is spell check my manuscripts before I convert them into PDF files. The software is good and thorough, and its architecture, though confusing, still works. In the process, I do some "time travel." Old Indesign software doesn't know what a landline is. It doesn't know what a selfie is. It doesn't know what an influencer is. It doesn't know binge-watch or a hundred new terms. The list is long and a bit like a digital archeology dig. But the computer works!

I'm very much hoping our Windows XP computer lasts another 20 years!