Yes because developers who are whining about having to use a two year old laptop because their company is trying to save money seems more like a bunch of entitled brats.
In the end, what matters is that you keep your employees happy. Whether or not they are entitle brats (they are...) is irrelevant if you need those employees.
If you're bringing in 3x your cost (as you should as an employee), the cost of a laptop is very nil for the company. Their nickel and diming you is worse for morale and retention.
Anyone who will quit a job for something so minute as having a two year old laptop is someone that is probably so immature that they couldn’t handle the normal rigors that come from being a professional.
You may think so. When you see certain coworkers get new machines every 2 years but you don't, for example, it builds a power structure when one wasn't before. If you feel less valued as a result, I don't think it means you can't handle the "normal rigors" of being a professional. It means, if you can find somewhere else where you feel more valued, then more power to you.
Again if you can’t handle the “power structure” of not getting a laptop every two years, you will never be able to handle navigating life in corporate America.
I'd say anyone that drops the money on a 4 year CS education of any rigor, survives it, survives and succeeds at the fairly rigorous interview cycles required to get a job in SWE these days... is absolutely entitled to requesting top of the line hardware to perform their duties.
I'd say your argument makes it "seem" like it's coming from envious, curmudgeonly luddites.
If individuals of other vocations feel that these developers are "entitled brats", perhaps they should switch careers? I can't imagine a teacher went in to education seriously expecting to get provisioned the latest rMBP as a perk?
Are we assuming all jobs are equally dependent on high-end hardware to provide the best RoI for time spent?
Teaching yourself to program is not rocket science either. I was writing 65C02 and x86 assembly on 6th grade in the 80s. I got a C.S. degree because that’s what I was suppose to do.
It's not "another field", it's literally almost every field other than computing, as outside tech people either don't have money for top hardware, or don't have interest in buying it.
In so far as it makes developer more empathetic towards users, it's a good point to make.
That it is worse in another field is not a very good argument?