I also have a few machines I'm attached to. When I was fresh out of school I got a job at a startup writing PHP and bought myself an (at the time) brand new Thinkpad X220 with a Sandy Bridge i7 inside.
My 9 year old has it now. The battery is toast but the machine still faithfully trundles along. It plays Rollercoaster Tycoon on Fedora Linux. We're building a robot together for her birthday, so I'll be trying to install the Arduino tool chain on it.
I'll definitely miss that machine when it's no more.
I’ve held onto FireWire for long and feel attached to it. I’ve used it for over 25 years.
I think I feel the same way about TiVo and fear the day the guide stops updating or the motherboard fails (everything else in the box is replaceable).
These things are ephemeral in the grand scheme of history, but when they are embedded in workflows and habits for decades I find it hard to let go.
I still need to read “The Soul of a New Machine”, should I save this until after?
It's unrelated to the book, other than the title.
Stop reading HN and read the book now. You’re welcome. ;)
That's a great book to read, after that pick up The Cuckoo's Egg.
Soul of a New machine is a great read, never slow or self-gratifying, highly recommended
I also have a few machines I'm attached to. When I was fresh out of school I got a job at a startup writing PHP and bought myself an (at the time) brand new Thinkpad X220 with a Sandy Bridge i7 inside.
My 9 year old has it now. The battery is toast but the machine still faithfully trundles along. It plays Rollercoaster Tycoon on Fedora Linux. We're building a robot together for her birthday, so I'll be trying to install the Arduino tool chain on it.
I'll definitely miss that machine when it's no more.