First the bad news ------------------ Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, eBay, Adobe and Cisco collectively avoided paying an estimated £1.5 billion in tax on their profits in the UK in 2019, according to analysis of their accounts by the think tank TaxWatch. Egregious whitewashing and lying by microsoft continues in 2022 Apple has abandoned CUPS as they no longer update it, the Common UNIX Printing System which is used by Linux and MacOS. Apple seems intent on making each new OS version incompatible with the past, or at least anything more than one version previous. You lose your microsoft license key? Microsoft will not help unless you buy a new license. Windows 10 is literally spyware, to such an extreme degree that if you told people ten years ago what it collects, they'd have laughed at you for being a conspiracy theorist. Now it's just normal. In windows 10 ads appear in the operating system itself, not just the web browser. The bad era begins ------------------ introduction of windows 3.1 in April 1992 leads to the vicious and environmentally wasteful cycle: new operating system requires new computer new computer is able to run a newer operating system microsoft's unethical behaviour really becomes worse at this point in time. review the windows timeline here: http://maxhost.org/other/windows-timeline.txt Historical Bad Stuff Microsoft Did ---------------------------------- Then there was the case where they declared that OS/2 was very poor software, even though they had been the ones that wrote it for IBM. The good news ------------- The counter: using linux on older computers A determined programmer can keep older linux versions working, e.g. FC1 and Redhat 8.0 Recommendation: buy bare-bones computers without an operating system to avoid paying the M$ tax on a new computer. Another idea is to buy high quality used computers such as the Dell T3600. What are the limits of longevity? IBM thinkpad R30 from 2002 still works and runs Linux Redhat 8.0 and Heroes3 unfortunately the old LCD is deteriorating Tyan Server from 1998 still works 24/7, which is a dual P3 550 mhz Historically Pentium 3 systems generate less heat and tend to last longer HP Laserjet 5N from 1997 generates labels and printouts, the gold standard for printer longevity Philips 107B CRT from 1996 still works The late 1990's seems to be the limit of how old computer equipment can be and still do useful work.