Lifespan maximization is the extension of hardware lifespan by the users. It may be supported by planned longevity from the manufacturer's side, but it rarely is.

Fabrication of microchips requires large amounts of energy, highly refined machinery and poisonous substances. Because of this sacrifice, the resulting microchips should be treasured like gems or rare exotic spices. Their active lifespans should be maximized, and they should never be reduced to their raw materials until they are thoroughly unusable.

Broken devices should be repaired. If the community needs a kind of device that does not exist, it should preferrably be built from existing components that have fallen out of use. Chips should be designed open and flexible, so that they can be reappropriated even for purposes they were never intended for.

Chips that work but whose practical use cannot be justified can find artistic and other psychologically meaningful use. They may also be stored away until they are needed again (especially if the fabrication quality and the storage conditions allow for decades or centuries of "shelf life").

Use what is available. Even chips that do "evil" things are worth considering if there's a landfill full of them. Crack their DRM locks, reverse-engineer their black boxes, deconstruct their philosophies. It might even be possible to reappropriate something like Bitcoin-mining ASICs for something artistically interesting or even useful.

Minimized on-chip feature size makes it possible to do more computation with less energy but it often also means increased fragility and shorter lifespans. Therefore, the densest chips should be primarily used for purposes where more computation actually yields more.