My late-2012 27-inch iMac is now in a secondary service role. But unlike its late-00s predecessor, which unceremoniously blew an internal component that Apple couldn’t or wouldn’t fix (though they graciously diagnosed it at an Apple Store for free), it is still going strong. I configured it using “middle of the road” principles (the middle option for processor and graphics card, and minimal RAM which I promptly upgraded to 32 GB), and added a 1TB SSD about 5 years ago. It is still running MacOS High Sierra, and will until I have no further need for the Adobe CS6 (!) suite, which still runs quite happily on it.
My two big uses for a Mac that I might have otherwise consigned or junked are:
- the Adobe software, which I use through screen-sharing on my current iMac
- videoconferencing on Zoom, which is still supported for MacOS 10.13.x
It was also serving music to our now-ancient Squeezebox players, which are the same vintage as the iMac, but those have not been as happy even though Logitech has been still pushing out Logitech Media Server software updates.
What we think of as “outmoded” may still be useful in this era. Eventually, Intel processors will be out of Macs completely and neither of the major applications for this machine are so compelling that I would bother to have it repaired if some major part fails. But at that point, I’m picturing I’ll be on some form of Mac with an Mx processor and my now-current 2019 Retina 5K 27-inch iMac, with RAM and discrete graphics that screams through video production, will take the 2012 machine’s place and it will be time to find responsible disposal options for it.
