BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO OLD KIT
Maximum PC|April 2023
Nick Peers finds ways to eke even more use out of your old laptops, phones, and tablets
BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO OLD KIT

That old laptop gathering dust in the corner has plenty of life left in it yet. Windows may have moved on, but you’ll be surprised just how much you can still do with it. The same is true of your old smartphone and tablet too. Official support may be a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be kept updated and secure while it continues to serve a new purpose in your home.

The built-in obsolescence in tech is staggeringly wasteful. Not everyone needs—never mind wants—to upgrade every year or so, and unless you’re ruthlessly organized, it’s easy to accumulate a pile of supposedly redundant tech that, with just a bit of thought, can continue to serve your needs for many a year yet.

In this feature, we tasked ourselves with finding new uses for the laptops and mobile devices currently sitting unloved in the corner. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results: a 12-year-old laptop has a new life as a sleek and responsive Chromebook, a 2013-vintage Nexus tablet is now running Linux apps, while an eight-year-old smartphone is happily running a fully patched and updated version of Android 11. Read on for some inspiration as to how you can breathe new life into your old kit.

LET’S START WITH that neglected laptop. First of all, examine what upgrade options are available: you can do a lot more with 4GB than 2GB (and even more with 8GB or 16GB), so visit www.crucial.com and use its memory finder tool to see how much an upgrade will cost you. While you’re at it, pop open your laptop’s drive cover and consider upgrading it to an SSD if you haven’t already done so.

この蚘事は Maximum PC の April 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Maximum PC の April 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。