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Had a brain wave this evening. Came across a long-abandoned Chromebook in a dusty bag while looking for a display cable. 

“Hmm,” I thought, “I wonder if I could use this to watch YouTube while lazing on the couch.”

A long shot, given that it was given to crashing repeatedly when our daughter last tried using it, about five years ago.

But… why not? I’ve been using my phone for the past few months, but fear that’s making me cross-eyed.

To my surprise, it works great. So far, no crashing, nor lag. Not bad for a nine year old device nobody wanted.

Of course, as soon as I dusted it off, I was given the sour face. “I thought you couldn’t fix it,” moaned the disgruntled one.

As if this forgotten laptop with a Rockchip processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB flash memory is a match for the beefy M3 Mac I’ve kitted them out with.

Not good enough. Admittedly, the form factor of this dinky convertible laptop is pretty cute, even with its inch-wide bezels. I get the envious jealousy.

But this is no homework device. It’s good for simple web browsing and casual video watching. Good enough for me. But beyond that, it’s a dud.

I’m the upcycler in our house. I’m the one making do with decade-old devices, while everyone else is kitted out with the latest and greatest.

So here I am, putting ideas of a new tablet out of my mind. This should keep me out of mischief for now. Let’s give the abandoned tech another chance.