HACKER Q&A
📣 d-s

How many computers have you got?


I see a lot of people having desktop machine and a laptop. Is just for gaming or do you have a use case for having multiple computers?


  👤 bradknowles Accepted Answer ✓
Too many. I think I've kept every laptop I've had, going all the way back to the MacBook Pro G3 Pismo. Bought one of each new generation, as they came out. Same for all my wife's laptops, from the same timeframe. They're all sitting in the corner of a closet.

Then there's all the iPhones and iPads I've kept, going all the way back to the very first one of each of those items. Again, bought one of each new generation as they came out.

Then there are the Mac minis that I've bought over the years to use as servers in the house.

In terms of what is currently out and available for use, it's a pair of Mac minis (one from the last of the Intel-based models, and one of the first M1 based models), a pair of MacBook Pros (my personal one is a 2019 Intel based model, and my work one is a 13" M1 model), a couple of iPads (one is my main, the other is my backup), and an iPhone. I'll be replacing my personal MacBook Pro soon, maybe with an refurbed M1 or possibly an M2, depending on how much money I want to spend.

My wife has her personal MacBook Pro, a previous personal MacBook Pro that she doesn't use any more, and her work MacBook Pro -- all Intel based models from over the years. She's got a new M2 MacBook Pro that is waiting to be installed as her new work machine. She's also got an older iPad and a new iPad that is in the wings, waiting for a time when I can take her current one away to back it up and restore that onto the new one, plus two iPhones -- one for work, and one for personal.

So, probably not enough to open an Apple computer museum, but probably way more than I should have bought over the years, and way more than I should have held onto.


👤 massysett
In active service: five.

Macbook Air - portable for main personal use.

Mac Mini - desktop for main personal use, with two 4k 23-inch monitors.

Self-built Windows PC - for gaming. Does not get much use these days.

Ancient Dell OptiPlex with Windows 10 - for work use. Perfectly adequate for connecting to a virtual desktop which my work uses. I'm not a Windows fan but a Mac would be expensive for this purpose and using Linux with the necessary proprietary software is possible, but a huge pain.

Very old Thinkpad X230 (I think) with Debian - for work use. I use TaskWarrior to track my work tasks. I can't install stuff on the virtual desktop at work, and it's handy having this on a separate machine.


👤 epirogov
interesting idea here is to use duplication for locations as same as fallback device in one location. Do same realization as disaster recovery in cloud provider recommend. So that, I reserve duplicated device to reconnect within a minutes within workday, continue tasks on blackout. Using a lot of different OS and hardware configuration is better in case of different tasks, you can event run tests in second instance and of course have a lot of fun.

👤 retrocryptid
I don't want to lug my desktop with me on trips. Also... modern systems don't run the apps I want to run. Sure, there's emulation, but emulators rarely get i/o right.

👤 disadvantage
Macbook, iPhone, and Samsung Galaxy tablet. Any more devices is overkill.