Apple Obsoletes Select Early 2008 to Late 2009 Macs

I think it is interesting that the iPod with 32GB of storage is being listed as obsolete but here we are, still getting 16GB storage from brand new devices. I know it has been beat to death but therein lies another rub, why is this something that can even be mentioned? 5400rpm platter drives. etc.

It's irritating that Apple calls "Obsolete" computers that aren't. They should support them longer than 5 years. (Yes, I know that those from 5-7 years are just "Vintage" but the effect is the same.) Technology is advancing slowly these days and there are top end Macs that are "Obsolete" but are faster than the entry systems of today.

The amount of people talking about how well their old tech works in this thread is astounding. Of course it works. It's not like Apple is flipping a switch to power off
Your devices. They're just done making old stuff because they have lots of other products to maintain.

Do you just like living 7 years in the past or are you extremely tight with your money?

You would have to define "living in the past."
It does have a lot to do with me being tight on money, but I also know Macs really well and prefer the build of earlier machines.

My ideal laptop right now is the 2012 15" MBP due to what it can do on its own and what I can make it do with upgrades as far as RAIDs go. The same goes for the 2012 13" non-retina MBP

My PowerMac so far only has one issue as far a limiting me (and that's only due to me not being able to open wire files with Blender). But I can contact the support desk for Autodesk and get a copy of Maya 2008 and then open my Alias Automotive files and then be fine.

None of my devices connect over 802.11ac, so my AEBS still works perfectly.

So it's not so much "living in the past" or being limited by finances as much as it has become more of not upgrading if it's unnecessary.

Reading this thread on a late 2008 MacBook (that's right, no pro) with 8 GB of RAM running El Capitan as my late 2009 27" i7 iMac with 12 GB or RAM (also El Capitan) keeps on chugging on the other room. Unless you're doing heavy video work, animation, or gaming that iMac is a trooper. Still works well for my wife doing graphic design. All of these computers are powerful enough to keep up with just about any media consumption / web browsing (I chalk it up to the mobile emphasis). There just hasn't been a need to keep upgrading unless you're actually a serious creator. Long live the vintage Macs!

Don't despair if you're new to the obsolete list. My iMac (my main computer) has been labeled "Obsolete" by Apple for nearly a year now and it still runs current software acceptably well. [...]

Indeed--"obsolete" (and "vintage") refer only to Apple's willingness to provide parts and service on their devices (and to allow authorized third parties to do officially do the same). It does not reflect that device's ability to function properly with current software, nor is having a "non-obsolete/vintage" item a guarantee that it will run current software, even from Apple. For example, none of the iPad models are even "vintage" yet, but not all of them support the current version of iOS (or even bug fixes for older iOS versions). On the other hand, some of the Macs that are now "vintage" or even "obsolete" still do support the latest Mac OS.

I wonder if that means the next major OS X release will have higher system requirements? They haven't raised requirements since Mountain Lion.

The "obsolete"/"vintage" designation is based entirely on when the product was last manufactured (and whether Apple wants to keep providing official parts and service for it). This doesn't mean that the next OS X release won't have higher system requirements, but this designation doesn't actually factor in to that.