I’m on record as saying I won’t go for an Intel-based Mac until they’ve gone through a rev or two (probably a year). That said, I’d consider an Intel-based Mac mini as a PVR. I’m almost to the point where I don’t watch ‘live’ TV at all these days. I schedule what I want on the DVR, it gets recorded, and I watch TV when I want and zap FAST through the commercials. A 30-minute show is barely 20-minutes. An hour show is reduced to 40-minutes.
Apple has a history of not introducing products that compete directly with current product offerings, but something has to start the Intel ball rolling. I’m thinking the first few Intel-based Macs won’t compete directly with other Macs, say iBook to iBook Intel, or PowerBook to PowerBook Intel.
I use an extremely scientific method. When anxiety (of not getting work done) is greater than or equal to anxiety (of parting with $3500-$5000) then purchase = 1, for all instances of cash >= $5000.
I’m fortunate that my wife is agreeable on when it’s time for an upgrade. I’m usually able to buy something cool every year at the most. We cycle the old throughout the familiy and/or sell it to friends for cheap. Having a business really helps those deductions!
To feed my Mac (rhymes w/ Crack, hmm) addiction, and love of opening new Apple boxes full of electronic turkish delight, I have downgraded my product preference. Since I didn’t win the Apprentice, I stick with iMacs. It’s too painful to pay top dollar for top-of-the-line when you sell it a few years later for peanuts.
The iMac is such a great value… and so good looking and functional. People are willing to pay pretty good. But I sell ‘em cheap nonetheless.
(sorry, Tera, if you have to preview all my posts… I had a sick child all day and I’m kinda crazy right now. I need to get my feelings out. Must… have… adult… convo....)
My understanding is that most US businesses depreciate computer hardware over 3 years. That isn’t a hard and fast rule on the back end, because some may be slow to actually replace, but upfront, when I purchase equipment, I usually must signify it’s depreciation schedule for internal posting. Most places I’ve seen use the 3-year rule, although tax law allows you 5 years to depreciate. Corporate policies for 3-yr equipment include buying extended maintenance for up to 3 years. After that, companies usually don’t extend warranties on what they own, they just expense any repairs, since the plan is to replace the equipment soon after that time.
Exactly. And if they get three years out of a box they’re happy about it.
VicStevens - 30 December 2005 05:13 PM
With that in mind, I SWEAR computer manufacturers build in only 3 years of daily-use shelf-life (or do you say MTBF?). That seems very true of hard drive life. I’ve seen so many computers and drives act up or fail at the 3-yr or almost 3-yr mark. I should make a scientific study of it. I’m certain it would show, without damned lying with statistics, that the things are pre-Kevorkian-ed to check-out when they’re 3 years old. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter if the computer ran every day. When its 3 years are up, they’re up. OK, so I’m paranoid. What else is new? You’ve been warned.
And that says something. I talked to a friend who’s just started working for a charter school. They have a bunch of Macs. Old Macs. Clamshell iBooks, old gummy flavored iMacs, all circa 1998-1999. They ALL work. They’re still booting Mac OS, and some of the newer ones are updated to OS X. They have dozens and dozens of old Macs that are still in use. No one at the school knew of a Mac that had been retired.
They also have a hundred or so Dell PCs running various flavors of Windows. Guess what? The oldest are five years old, and after three years they start using the parts to keep the old ones running.
I hadn’t planned to upgrade to an Intel Mac until maybe later this year. You know, after they get through a few updates and fixes. But I saw an Intel iMac yesterday. It’s fast. Very fast. Startup time has to be less than half the old iMac. iLife stuff opens faster, too, including iPhoto, iMovie, and Garageband, much slower on older iMacs. I might not wait so long.
You know, this may sound a bit odd, but I view my Mac as yet another monthly expense. It’s a key source of news and entertainment for me, so I value it highly - $100/mo to be exact. When the pot gets big enough for something shiny and new, I do it whether I need to or not. The hand-me-down process takes care of my old machines (I think my family loves me for me, but it might just be for my old hardware). So, I rarely have to worry about old equipment failing and I spend on my Mac what most people spend for their Cable + cell phones. Given that I spend way more time on the Mac than on cell phones or watching TV, that’s not bad.
I guess my point is rather than looking at an upgrade as a large, gotta do it every 3 years activity, treat your computer as a service. Decide how much you value the experience and sock that amount away each month. Then buy what you want when you can.
This is an excellent method of consideration for expensing a Mac; not unsimilar to what I do. I’m usually into a new Mac once a year, keep the old one around for another year, then dispose of the older one, which makes a family member or friend or kid down the street veeeeerry happy.
I’m ready for a new Mac. But I’m waiting this time as I want a ‘next gen’ Intel Mac, or a new screaming fast quad quad Core Duo MacPro. And that tablet Mac I’ve written to Steve about umpteen times.
Well, if Jobs buys Palm you’ll be one step closerÖ
Ironically, I think it’d be a great idea if only to grab the Treo design/market. If Apple could give Treo users a device that “doesn’t suck,” they’ll have a hit on their hands.
I read today that Apple may introduce some new products to correspond with the company’s 30 year anniversary on April 1.
It would be logical to expect Intel-based iBook or Mac mini, or both. I don’t expect PowerMacs to be ready any time soon. But Think Secret reported that Apple may also introduce a true video iPod.
Looks like I’ll be heading into the “upgrade cycle” with my iPod, too. As it stands, I’m getting a new one about every 18 months. Does that count as an Apple Tax?
Nah, I’ve got kids and I like new toys. I’d do it once a year if I had more kids. But if I had more kids I couldn’t afford a new iPod once a year. 18 months is OK. I’m just about ready.
Where’s that tablet Mac with iSight camera built in?
My laptops used to be replaced rather often, perhaps 2 years, sometimes less. Its not that they became too slow, rather that tends to be about how long they last when contantly moved around, used on airplanes, car seats and anywhere else I find a few spare minutes. By the end of two years, a laptop that was once shiney and new tended to look more like debris. That was back when laptops were bulky.
I bought a 12” PowerBook as soon as the Rev B. came out and two years later it still looked and felt brand-new. I would have kept it, but I wanted a larger hard drive and DVD burner, so rather than upgrade my 2-year-old 1GHz machine, I sold it on eBay for almost what I paid for it and bought the then-new 12” 1.5 GHz model. Of course, had I spent a bit more on the first one through the build-to-order program, I’d still be using today. Of course, at 1-year-old, my second 12” PowerBook still looks and feels brand new.
On desktops, I tend to go much longer. I had a Power Mac 7200, which I replaced with a Power Mac G4 “Sawtooth” in late 1999. That G4 is still sitting in the den as the main family computer. I upgraded the 400MHz processor last year to a 1GHz processor and bumped the RAM from 256 to 768MB at the same time. In 2001 a 40GB hard drive was installed next to the original 10GB. While we have AirPort extreme in the house, the old G4 is right next to the base station and so makes do with ethernet (faster anyway). Oh yeah, the original ATI Rage video card was replaced with an nVidia GeForce MX in 2003. I currently have Tiger installed on it and it performs well, though I could use more hard disk space.
On another note, I am opening up my own law office next month, and you guessed it, it will be an all-Mac shop. My PowerBook G4 will serve my needs admirably, while an iMac G5 for the office manager (double-duty as our server) and either a Mac Mini or a used iMac G4 for my paralegal should do nicely to start. Those machines will not be upgraded any time soon. Perhaps in another two years for my PowerBook (if a small Intel comes out) and a new office machine only as new employees are added (shifting older ones to less critical roles).
Well, ended up buying a Mac Mini for the office, and liked it so much that it will stay at home (with a nice 19” Samsung TFT) and the old Sawtooth G4 will go to work. Since that old Power Mac remains absolutely reliable and is just about as fast as the Mini (slower processor, faster disk drives), I’m really not losing anything by moving it to work.
The Mini, by the way, is an absolute delight. It is fast (I got the unannounced 1.5GHz model with the faster 5400 RPM hard drive) despite only having 512 MB of RAM, and is totally silent in operation. I know there is a fan in there somewhere, but I’ve yet to hear it. Fan noise was my only complaint about the old Power Mac, which is about average for a traditional desktop computer. In an office the noise will get lost in the shuffle, though eventually it too will be replaced by another Mini, with the Power Mac then moving down to the utility room where it will be an “extra” computer, or perhaps I’ll just donate it.
