I did something a bit out of character for myself. These days, I don’t have much interest in upgrade cycles, new technology, or chasing the latest gadgets. Which is good because I don’t have the money anyway.

A couple of weeks ago, Sheryl’s laptop—a 10-year-old MacBook Pro that I used to rely on for work—started acting up in ways that made it hard for her to use. The battery had long since given up the ghost, and now the hard disk seemed to be failing.

Normally, I’d just give her my current MacBook Pro, which is now five years old, and order a new one for myself. But as I write this, I realize how unfair that pattern is (and Sheryl has pointed this out to me too). So, this time, I ordered her a new MacBook Air. It arrived, but she hasn’t used it yet because it’s not set up the way she likes—sigh.

As for my five-year-old laptop, it’s still fine. I do all my writing and podcast audio production on it. It struggles with video, but so do I, so we get along just fine. However, Apple recently released the new Mac Mini, and that caught my attention. I ordered one.

I have a Dell 4K monitor that works fine for text, but Macs don’t scale well to 27” 4K monitors, and my eyesight isn’t what it used to be. I’d prefer a 5K display, but I’m not willing to shell out $2,000 for an Apple Studio Display. When Asus launched their new 5K monitor, I ordered one from B&H south of the border. I’ve also got a Thunderbolt 4 drive/SSD on order.

Why this seemingly extravagant spending? There’s some need, but it’s not particularly urgent in my case. I think I worry that if we don’t update our gear this year, we might not be able to next year. And since I spend so much time using these tools, I want them to work—and work well.