Last weekend I discovered an online shopping site for refurbished computer equipment called BackMarket. I’m a firm believer that we should keep our technological devices out of the landfills for as long as possible. I have a Mac Mini from 2011, which has been deemed by Apple as too old to run their MacOS, running Linux. It is a nifty little machine for web browsing, social media, and watching YouTube videos. And because it’s from the era before Apple decided to start gluing everything together, it can be updated with new hard drives and more memory as necessary.
I haven’t had a laptop in quite a while, relying on my 2018 iPad Pro as my portable device. As much as love the iPad Pro, there are some limitations for a tech geek like me, all having to do with the way Apple implements iPadOS and the whole app ecosystem. Yes, I can get pretty full-on geek with the iPad but not in the way I like. I wasn’t in the mood to spring for a brand new MacBook when there’s plenty of viable tech out there just looking for a home, so I gandered at the BackMarket site and found myself a 2018 Lenovo ThinkPad T460s laptop. It’s lightweight yet sturdy, has plenty of horsepower for what I’m looking to do, and has what I still deem probably the best keyboard in the business.
The refurbished laptop came with Windows 10 Pro on it, which is fine, but I prefer playing around with Linux. In 30 minutes or less I had a full install of Linux Mint MATE Edition in place, with all the frills I need for surfing the web, creating documents, doing some coding, and going through my email. Plus, I have full access to the likes of Discord and Telegram and such for staying in touch with friends and family far and wide. So far the experience has been flawless, except for the FedEx delivery.
When the package arrived it was markedly damaged, opened, and looked like it might have been run over by the likes of a forklift.
That’s what the package looked like when it arrived with the delivery man today. Luckily, the computer was not damaged at all and has been cranking along like a little trouper since I installed things in between work meetings this afternoon.
I’m quite pleased with the purchase and if you’re looking for an affordable approach at adding computer equipment to your collection and helping the environment by not throwing things prematurely into a landfill, I suggest BackMarket. Their website was quick and easy to navigate and their delivery was very quick.
