Silhouette Portrait that's outdated - toss? sell accessories? buy another?

[DocForHelp]

Hello wonderful stamping/crafting community....
I need some help deciding.... I bought a Silhouette Portrait with accessories back in 2014 that is no longer supported by the company. So, it appears to be totally trash now. I used it once and cut one thing... a flower. Then I put it aside until I had time to figure it out. That time never came. Here is my request... Can all you wonderful experts out there tell me what I should do?
1) Buy another modern version silhouette that works with the accessories I have?
2) Toss the sucker and sell the accessories on Splitcoast?
3) Buy another cut system (Brother scan n cut, Cricut are what I've looked at) (Though I don't have any projects needing it yet) (I was thinking making some signs with Vinyl would be nice. Or scanning and cutting around an image or stamped image seemed cool.)

Here is my current inventory (I wrote this up for the buy/sell/trade forum, but realized I wanted some advice first):
Silhouette Portrait 1 accessories- never used. Purchased in 2014
Description Amazon Price Silhouette Sketch Pens – KIT-PEN-3T- 24 pens $18.50
Silhouette Pen Holder- PEN-HOLDER2-3T $15.12
Silhouette Blade – SLH-BLADE-3-3T $12.99
Silhouette Hook- TOOL-01-3T $7.79
Silhouette Pick-me-up- TOOL-04-IND $12.99
Silhouette Spatula – TOOL-03-3T $7.27
Silhouette Scraper- TOOL-02-3T $5.33
Silhouette Silhouette PixScan Cutting Mat – used $11.88
Silhouette cords - used $0.00

Appreciate your ideas and input!!
Makani

[JBgreendawn]

I really do not have any advice, I received a cricket as a gift from my mom because, she has one that she loves. ( hers does not hook up to a computer) and the one I have you have to plug it into a computer and sit there like a graphic designer trying to tell it what you want to do from the cartridge perimeters. and it cuts are fuzzy on the edges ( to me ) I much prefer dies.

So, although I have had mine out of the closet twice, I do not have the counter space or plug ins to set up a computer side by side with a cricket to cut a tag. I did it once in my kitchen and once at the counter in my office at work. ( it was a hassle for me) I think if you check in the tool & products threads you may find chatter about any machine that interests you.
those threads hide here,
Tool & Product Talk Forum at Splitcoaststampers

[DocForHelp]

Thank you for the link! It makes me sad that I think I will need to toss it. So I am glad to find a place where hope good ideas as to what to do with it or what I should end up getting if I get anything. And thanks for giving me your input on your experience with the cricket. :-)​

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBgreendawn

I really do not have any advice, I received a cricket as a gift from my mom because, she has one that she loves. ( hers does not hook up to a computer) and the one I have you have to plug it into a computer and sit there like a graphic designer trying to tell it what you want to do from the cartridge perimeters. and it cuts are fuzzy on the edges ( to me ) I much prefer dies.

So, although I have had mine out of the closet twice, I do not have the counter space or plug ins to set up a computer side by side with a cricket to cut a tag. I did it once in my kitchen and once at the counter in my office at work. ( it was a hassle for me) I think if you check in the tool & products threads you may find chatter about any machine that interests you.
those threads hide here,
https://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/tool-product-talk-128/

[Hoboken Paper]

Won’t the old machine still work if you have a PC with an older version of Windows?

[DocForHelp]

Perhaps, but finding a copy of the old software necessary to run it is near to impossible. I did actually try this out but there is nothing I could do to get it to actually work.. It makes me sad that silhouette chose to create planned obsolescence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoboken Paper

Won’t the old machine still work if you have a PC with an older version of Windows?

[AScrapofKindness]

All electronic companies revamp their products, so I wouldn't say Silhouette has failed as they still offer a Portrait. Windows is constantly doing updates and it's not possible for companies to keep up with them, especially when it comes to their old machines. At some point, technology demands a newer version of a machine be offered. I have an original Portrait, love the heck out of it. Currently running Windows 10 on an old Asus laptop and what appears to have saved me is that I quit doing system updates in 2017, so my Portrait and Windows are still compatible. Those updates aren't always user friendly. Sometimes it's good to be stuck in a certain period of time (nirvana was Windows XP. I held on until the bitter end. Lol!). I'll keep using the Portrait until it dies, which by then I'll be ready to say farewell knowing I got way more than my money's worth out of it.