I lost two gadgets in short order. I will miss them both, but they are just things.
The Google Nexus 6P declined recently. It terminally reached a point a few weeks ago where it wouldn't power up past the boot screen. It's my personal phone, my Project fi phone, and my main connection to the US.
My backup was my iPod Touch. Today, in a fit of me eating lunch, it landed on concrete. It would not power on after.
This weekend my Mac Mini started overheating for no clear reason. There's no malware AFAICT but the bearings in the CPU fan might be failing on this replacement. While again just a thing, this one would cause significant inconvenience should it fail.
I don't believe in coincidence, yet Murphy's Law cannot be ignored.
There's risk running hardware past the manufacturer's shelf life. Components degrade. Bits and bobs fail eventually. Maybe they are replaceable and maybe they are not.
Bitrot, the loss of data because of time in one way or another, is the real enemy. Going analog is no panacea. Fire, neglect, and nature degrade analog systems.
Backups are key. Analog data can be scanned. Digital data can be printed.
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