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Retro Tech May - Final Closing Thoughts!
I was originally going to make a week 4 update alongside the final closing thoughts but I decided to wait a few extra days and combine them both into one. I played and beat GTA San Andreas, I wanted to pick another game up, either Diablo or Oni but I wasn't really feeling either at that particular point in time so I decided to take it slow. I consider this challenge a success and a very good way to reassess my priorities/approach when it comes to technology. I will go through each tool I've used and how it changed my approach and what I consider doing looking forward:
First off, the Windows XP computer. I had a lot of fun using it but one thing is for certain: the second I got the iMac my internet use of XP went down by at least 90%. And here is where I will get a bit more critical of XP. Is XP safe to use online? Despite fearmongering I'll have to say yes. Obviously best not to do any serious stuff such as banking but you'll be fine otherwise. Is Windows XP built for modern day internet however? No. Supermium allows me to use this PC to browse the modern web but due to limitations stemming from Windows XP (such as how one certain program cannot use more than 2-3gb of RAM at once) does cause certain sites to get quite laggy and a lot of on and off tab crashing. Also mind you, I am using a patch to allow me to use more than 4gb of RAM with 32 bit XP in the first place and from my 4gb of RAM experience back in November 2024 only browsing the web with 4gb of RAM on Windows XP no less is unusable past a very quick google search. Either way while browsing is possible I would personally advise you to keep it limited. Some youtube or occasional social media use is fine but keep you expectations low. I know MyPal could've done a better job due to it being way way less of a RAM hog than Chrome but I've encountered a few compatibility issues last I tried MyPal so I haven't used it here. I would like to incorporate the XP PC as part of my overall setup in the future alongside my main PC (having it hooked up to a monitor with a keyboard and mouse only needed to be pulled out of something) but that won't happen anytime in the immediate future.
The iPhone SE actually made me fall in love with small phones again not to mention it made me actually consider using an iPhone as my main phone for a while before moving over to the Google Pixel of my dreams. If I do decide to go for it I might pick up a 3rd gen SE since having a slightly bigger screen and more up to date hardware can help futureproof it (also I do change my mind on the keyboard being great even at its small size. it's not bad but I need to have autocorrect on to fix my typos and it's not good). I did decide to install social media on the 1st gen SE during the final week mostly to gauge at how usable it would be as a daily driver and I'll be completely honest it still is a viable option as a daily driver. It runs up to date versions of Bluesky and Discord with absolutely no lag and the smaller form factor makes scrolling easier, even if text on images may be a bit harder to read. I've been very pleasantly surprised by this phone and it further showed me how bloated Samsung is both compared to iPhones and Google Pixels. I kinda liked how clean and minimal of an experience I had which is why I consider moving to a 3rd gen SE (if I find one for cheap) before switching to a Pixel. The 1st gen SE will stay as a secondary phone that I may switch to every now and then. I may even use the 5s every now and then, namely in the rare cases where I go see someone and I only need a phone that can do calls, texts and take basic photos.
One thing to note that could be very important depending on when you'll be reading this: iOS 15 is the latest iOS supported by this phone and while most apps still release their newest versions on it there are a few that require iOS 16 as a minimum (however installing an older version of the app works and allows you to use the app normally 100% of the time as of writing) however in a couple years this could change. I think as of 2025 the 1st gen SE is still very much daily driver worthy but I can't really guarantee it will stay daily driver worthy in 2 years for example.
One thing to note that could be very important depending on when you'll be reading this: iOS 15 is the latest iOS supported by this phone and while most apps still release their newest versions on it there are a few that require iOS 16 as a minimum (however installing an older version of the app works and allows you to use the app normally 100% of the time as of writing) however in a couple years this could change. I think as of 2025 the 1st gen SE is still very much daily driver worthy but I can't really guarantee it will stay daily driver worthy in 2 years for example.
The 2010 21'5 iMac is definitely going to stay set up and will be my main iTunes device especially once I fully make the transition from Windows 10 over to Linux (since iTunes is just completly unavailable and non functional on Linux). It's also a great machine for light browsing and multitasking and though much of that use will be made redundant with me going back to my main dual monitor setup where the 2nd screen is for YouTube or Discord or whatever else I can still see myself sometimes making use of the iMac, particularly where replying through Discord would be easier if I just moved my chair over instead of alt-tabbing (particularly in games that can be prone to crashing or cause various glitches when alt tabbing). I loved using a Mac and it made me understand even more why some people prefer using a Mac over a regular PC. Sure it ain't made for gaming but everything is so quick and snappy despite only running on 4gb of RAM.
It was a very productive month, one that didn't really fly by fast at all so I felt very much like I was living in the moment since May alone felt as long as the previous 3 months did combined. Either way do I recommend people do this? Maybe just for a week. Or if you wanna do a month pick just doing one at a time (whether it's using an old phone or an old PC) though if you have a very active social life offline you could probably get away with doing this for a whole month with less of a needed commitment than I had). Will I do this again? Probably in a year and only for a week or two though. I do wanna continue doing more challenges in the future but I will take a break from anything this scale for the time being. During June I will resume my pre-may device use and try learning gestures on my regular phone since I've been still using button-based controls in 2025 and apparently gestures are supposed to make things easier and better for me. Well. We'll see about that. I have another challenge in mind that on one hand isn't as radical as the last one but still fun nonetheless that I may get into in the coming months. Thank you for joining me on this journey and stay tuned for more posts whenever I got something smart to yap about!