#OptGreen with #GNU/#Linux to keep your device in use! These machines will run beautifully for many years to come.
Not only wallet friendly, #upcycling keeps CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere. Ca. 75% of Apple's emissions comes from production alone (details in alt text).
I squeezed almost 25 years, the majority of my adult life, out of my old Dell desktop. It was my first 64-bit processor. It ran Fedora for a few years, then Ubuntu, then Windows 10 during the pandemic so that I could game, then back to Ubuntu before the SSD finally called it quits.
It saw one RAM upgrade, three HDD replacements/upgrades, and the SSD addition.
It was showing its age right up until the end.
It's life is not over. I'm going to format the HDDs and make it a NAS until the drives or the board taps out.
The fact that I've recycled an Apple laptop, several HP laptops in the same span as my desktop is a true testament to their longevity.
Also look at high end windows laptops. They are often easier to repair then Apples devices. Batterie, hard disks and so forth can be easy to change for some of them. This can make those last a lot longer.
But honestly most none Apple software able to run on Macs also runs on Linux. If you do not play certain games or use some very specific windows only software, Linux is a great choice. Just give it a try, it is free after all and it is rather easy to get an old laptop or computer for free.
Fair point, you have to check what makes the most sense for you. Good example would be stuff like 3D rendering, where modern hardware would be several times as fast as my current PC, while using the same amount of power, or even less