I’m surprised there isn’t some businesses that’s all about repurposing e-waste. Just install ubuntu or something and then sell them for cheap.

there are some. Not enough, and probably way more outside the imperial core, but I’ve seen a few. I think it’s getting better as time goes on and tech iteration slows down. 10 years ago it would’ve been something of a struggle to run modern web pages on a 5 year old laptop, let alone an office suite, much moreso than using a 2019/2020 laptop today.

The bigger thing now I guess is the proliferation of people not even having a computer and just using their smartphone for everything. Smartphones are treated as an absolute essential, so people just suck it up and buy a new one when they can’t get any more life out of the old one, rather than adapting their usage. Mandatory app updates and built-to-fail batteries and other components just seal the deal