It also accelerates the idea of creating a world of locked devices.
Old and current hardware can easily be adapted to a new OS including Linux. But I'm starting to notice that there are more and more devices that make it harder to install a new OS ... especially on tablets and smartphones. The industry would love to get rid of old hardware and not allow users to drift into open source software and instead maintain a culture of people that will keep their OS locked to a device.
I think a day is coming where people will buy devices and even a laptop that has a locked OS that can't be changed and everyone will be forced to junk the whole thing and buy the latest version.
I'm planning on keeping all my old laptops, tablets and smartphones for as long as I can.