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> I still don’t like macOS and would prefer to run Linux on this laptop. But Asahi Linux still needs some work before it’s usable for me (I need external displa
by dr_pardee 11mo ago
> I still don’t like macOS and would prefer to run Linux on this laptop. But Asahi Linux still needs some work before it’s usable for me (I need external display output, and M4 support). This doesn’t bother me too much, though, as I don’t use this computer for serious work.
“I don’t use this computer for serious work.” Dropped $3K on MBP to play around with. Definitely should have gotten MBA
- bix6 11mo agoLmao plus MBA works great for relatively serious work. I was hesitant to switch from MBP but the M1 air almost never lets me down.
- criddell 11mo agoIf you are going to start making a list of expensive hobbies, $3K for a computer isn't going to be anywhere near the top of the list.
- IshKebab 11mo agoI think it actually would be quite near the top, in terms of ranking. Most hobbies are a lot cheaper. Of course, not near the top in terms of money because there are a few hobbies that cost vastly more.
- brulard 11mo agoWhat do you mean "in terms of ranking" vs "in terms of money"?
- IshKebab 11mo agoI mean if you ranked all the hobbies in terms of cost, casually spending $3k on a laptop would be near the top of the list. But there are a small number of hobbies that are vastly more expensive. The distribution is highly skewed. Like wealth. The 99th percentile are near the top in rank (by definition) but nowhere near the top in absolute terms.
- mingus88 11mo agoThere’s some nuance to it. Judging by the authors preference for Linux, I’m guessing this hobby has some professional applications as well. $3k is the price of a very nice guitar, but I am not about to casually shell out that money every few years. However, I earn my wage using a computer, so it’s a lot easier to justify staying relatively current on specs.
- leidenfrost 11mo agoI interpreted it as: if you include all hobbies and games made by humans in history, I'm pretty sure most of them involve a set of cards made of paper, some others involving wooden figurines (chess, checkers) or even drawing on dirt with a stick. A computer is many, many orders of magnitude more complex and expensive than that. This isn't said with the intention to demonize expensive hobbies if no one is harmed because of it. But I do sometimes wonder if my hobbies are too dependent of a power plug. Even reading, which I do with a e-reader.
- brulard 11mo agoI can not think of many hobbies which are less expensive if you are serious about them. Some hobbies around me, where $3000 wouldn't get you far: Motorcycles, cars, cycling, collecting anything, woodworking, machining, music making, traveling, horses,...
- IshKebab 11mo agoI can think of dozens. Running, dance, knitting, painting, woodworking (you can go very far for much less than $3k), archery, chess, board games, drawing, painting, brewing, darts, cycling, etc. etc. Obviously you can spend pretty much any amount of money on those if you want (if you are "serious" about it) but you don't have to and most people don't. Also he said this $3k expenditure wasn't for serious work.
- yayitswei 11mo agoSome of those, like horses, are 1% hobbies. But many of the others can be done very affordably. Buying used equipment, learning from YouTube and online resources, starting small and scaling gradually make most of those hobbies accessible at a fraction of the cost.
- snowwrestler 11mo agoMedian vs mean, essentially, is how I read it.
- dylan604 11mo agoJust off the top of my head in hobbies that I've been in/around that this $3k would be a nothing burger: photography, wood working, grease monkey, cycling, gun collecting, antiquing, recreational substances...
- deleted 11mo ago[deleted]
- bdangubic 11mo agoI actually can’t think of one hobby that costs less than $3k
- azundo 11mo agoFor me the only one would be sketching/painting. But I agree with the point in general, most hobbies cost a lot.
- mikepurvis 11mo agoA lot of things are cheap to taste — a second hand bike and some $200 running shoes and you’re training for a triathlon. Or a makerspace membership and you’re now sewing or doing 3d printing. It’s once you get “serious” and need to have your own equipment that all these things get real. Or in the case of things like social dance, you want to take time off with and travel further and further away to attend pricey exchanges and camps.
- schrijver 11mo agoIt’s perfectly possible to enjoy hobbies deeply without getting “serious” in the way you describe. I’ve taken my 10 euro dance classes for years without feeling the necessity of pricey exchanges and camps. My neighbour goes to the park many evenings to play petanque, doesn’t cost him anything. A couple I’m friends with goes on day hikes where they do bird watching—maybe they bought a nice pair of binoculars once? Another couple likes to lay jigsaw puzzles together, not exactly breaking the bank! My sister is learning Finnish because she never learned a non indo-european language. She bought a book. I would wager most people’s hobbies are low key like this because either they don’t have disposable income to spend on them, or they don’t want too!
- Onavo 11mo agoTry general aviation as a hobby. It will be eye opening
- eastbound 11mo agoThinking it’s a hobby is an american thing. I’ve never met anyone who do it, but for Kobe Bryant, Harrisson Ford, Tom Cruise it seems normal. Most people save $400 per month tops, that they spend on holidays.
- tjr 11mo agoA lot of people fly. It's pretty common to be a fractional owner in a relatively inexpensive airplane and use it one day a week or some such.
- _yb2s 11mo agoIt’s a doable common hobby for middle class Americans. I grew up in a rural area with a dirt airstrip and everyone owned planes- even people that could barely afford a reliable used car. You can sometimes find something like an old Cessna for about $20k, and if you’re willing to do “experimental” planes that you fix yourself, sometimes just a few $k. Like anything, if you’re an insider in the community you can get good deals, sometimes even free from friends that age out, etc. Many universities in rural areas have student clubs that offer lessons and rent club owned planes for cheap.
- prmoustache 11mo ago> even people that could barely afford a reliable used car. You can sometimes find something like an old Cessna for about $20k, Not sure what you call a "reliable used car". My low mileage for its age 2006 Mercedes B200 costed me 5.5k€ for instance. A car doesn't have to cost a lot to be reliable. Around me $20k is an expensive price for a car and most people buy second hand +20y old cars they buy for less than 5k€.
- _yb2s 11mo ago
- deleted 11mo ago[deleted]
- criddell 11mo ago> Most hobbies are a lot cheaper. Sure, but I did specify expensive hobbies.
- asdff 11mo agoThe type of person shelling out 3k for a computer is not running it until the wheels come off.
- brailsafe 11mo agoWhat does the purchase price have to do with it? Seems like it would entirely depend on circumstances and constraints, rather than cost, how long someone would run something
- asdff 11mo agoTells me they are price insensitive and probably get a new computer every couple of years.
- biinjo 11mo agoThat reasoning does not make any sense. I spend $3-4k on a MBP and run it till it fall apart, usually 5-7 years later.
- RossBencina 11mo agoI reckon it makes some sense for Apple users. You have to be willing (and financially able) to upgrade when Apple says. Apple forcefully obsoletes their products way too quickly to be a viable option if you care about longevity[0]. I have five excellent-condition still-perfectly-working Apple products next to me, none of which have current operating system support from Apple. [0] EDIT: for reference, my previous ThinkPad lasted me 14 years.
- ekianjo 11mo ago> $3K for a computer isn't going to be anywhere near the top of the list. That says a lot about the community you live in.
- tjwebbnorfolk 11mo agoThat they've worked hard to be able to afford nice things? What do you think it says, exactly? This is a pretty irritating comment.
- nine_k 11mo agoWorked hard, won a lottery, whatever. It mostly says that these are people with tens of thousands to burn on fun stuff, and such people are a rather narrow slice of the population. There's nothing bad about that, it's just a rather niche community, whose opinions may not be very relevant for the large majority of people outside that niche.
- fragmede 11mo agoHN is that niche community though. HN is a forum targeting a niche community that skews technical no matter where someone is physically from, and that community skews relatively rich. Concern trolling that there are starving kids in Africa when there are literal billionaires posting here; I mean sure, I'm not saying we shouldn't say something for fear of their feelings. Nor am I saying that everyone here must be rich in order to comment her. Just that some members of the niche community can recognize are inordinately rich. Advertising eg the Volonaut here will likely generate a couple of sales, and if you thought a $3k laptop was a lot, definitely don't look that one up.
- nine_k 11mo agoHN is a specific slice, but not along the financial line. For each @pmarca or @pg or other founder who has made many millions, there is likely 10k other users, mostly engineers, but not only, all the way to people who are currently unemployed and homeless. The fact that HN has "everyone", and a uniquely relevant person would almost always show up in every thread, is one of the very attracting properties of HN for me.
- michaelcampbell 11mo agoIt's not the absolute expense, it's the delta over what else would have worked just as well.
- BeFlatXIII 11mo agoJust wait until they see the price of of a 300/2.8 lens or quantum-tuned rocks to isolate power cables from the floor.
- mastax 11mo agoHe lives in Switzerland. $3K barely pays for a lunch and an espresso.
- philsnow 11mo agoThere's a reason the Zurich airport has a vending machine that sells slips of gold, platinum, and palladium
- willis936 11mo agoI'm not sure what the actual reason is, but my first instinct is "tax evasion".
- walletdrainer 11mo agoPaying the 30% premium at a gold ATM and then selling for maybe 95% of spot seems like a terribly inefficient way of avoiding taxes. These machines are just for souvenirs
- denysvitali 11mo agoJokes aside, electronics is way cheaper here (also thanks to a relatively low VAT) than in most countries - although Apple keeps their prices pretty much the same across the world.
- seanmcdirmid 11mo agoComputers are actually cheap as far as Swiss taxes go (I bought my first MacBook Pro when intel came out at EPFL). I’m sure they got their computer for about the same price as you could get it in Hong Kong. But ya, food, rent, and services are pricey in Switzerland, even if you are just grabbing a croissant at coop.
- e12e 11mo agoThis is funny because MBA could mean two things.
- stodor89 11mo agoMBAs typically use MBAs.
- arthurcolle 11mo agoMy work got me a $6500 laptop (128 gb unified memory m4 max) and I had to get a replacement for my self, paid $4000 for 48gb unified RAM and feel completely ripped off Sad