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Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

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Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

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802.11g 802.11n 68030 68040 Apple April Fools clamshell iBook Classic Mac OS FireWire FireWire 400 G3 humor iBook iMac iMac G3 Intel iOS iPad iPhone LaserWriter Linux Mac MacBook Air Mac clones Mac mini Mac OS 9 macOS Sierra Mac OS X Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Microsoft OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.7 Lion OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion OS X 10.9 Mavericks OS X 10.10 Yosemite OS X 10.11 El Capitan Performa PowerBook PowerPC Rodney O. Lain SCSI Thunderbolt USB 1.1 USB 2.0
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Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

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Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

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802.11g 802.11n 68030 68040 Apple April Fools clamshell iBook Classic Mac OS FireWire FireWire 400 G3 humor iBook iMac iMac G3 Intel iOS iPad iPhone LaserWriter Linux Mac MacBook Air Mac clones Mac mini Mac OS 9 macOS Sierra Mac OS X Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Microsoft OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.7 Lion OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion OS X 10.9 Mavericks OS X 10.10 Yosemite OS X 10.11 El Capitan Performa PowerBook PowerPC Rodney O. Lain SCSI Thunderbolt USB 1.1 USB 2.0

Do You Really Need A New Computer?

Paul Brierley - Jan. 2006

PowerBook 5300My home is overflowing with computers. My main machine is a Power Mac G5 with dual 1.8 GHz CPUs, but I also have an 800 MHz iBook G4, a PowerBook 5300, an LC 475, a Mac SE/30, and the machine I am writing this on - a PowerBook 520. On top of that lot, my partner also has a Dell PC that sits in the corner of the room.

It's a lot of computers for a small flat, but I can't bring myself to part from them all. This is partly due to a love of old technology, but also due to a belief that not one of these machines has outlived its usefulness.

A little over a year ago, I was selling computers in a large department store. Every day I was faced with the same dilemma - a customer would come in looking for a new machine. When asked what they wanted it for, the same response was given time and time again - "Internet, email, writing letters". No more, no less.

When explaining why they wanted to upgrade their existing machines, not one person ever said "because my old computer is broken". All the problems that they described were software related - spyware, viruses, or the inevitable slowdown of an operating system which has had several years of software being installed and uninstalled again.

Each customer wanted a machine that did these things, yet everything we sold - from the £500 bargain basement unit to the £3,000 behemoth - offered these basic functions. The trick to the job was convincing people that they really did need all that extra power.

How many of those people really needed all the processing power they walked out of the store with?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not totally opposed to buying new technology. As my list of machines above reveals, not so long ago I was tempted to buy a new Power Mac. I love technology. And, of course, new inventions like digital cameras and video chat offer new ways of doing things that our older machines simply could not cope with. Much as I love my SE/30, with it's black and white display it's never going to match iPhoto or Flickr for processing my photos.

At the same time, though, I feel that many people simply buy the technology for technology's sake. Because it's the done thing. Because the neighbours have a new computer. But is it really necessary?

This article was written on an 11-year-old laptop. Can you tell the difference as you read it?

Technology is a wonderful thing, but next time you're faced with the dilemma of purchasing a new computer there is a simple question to ask yourself. "Will the new machine allow me to do anything that my old machine cannot do?"

A computer should be a tool first and foremost, yet to many it's a disposable commodity with a useful life of 2 to 3 years. And then its toxic metals and tough plastic casing get dumped in a landfill to fester for hundreds of years.

In Europe, we're having to think harder about the disposability of computers. New legislation is being brought regarding the disposal of electronic equipment because of the way it's filling our landfill sites &endash; and also because of the large amounts of toxic metals contained within each device.

I can't help but wonder if the legislation would be as necessary if people simply took a more practical look at their computing needs.

Computers are always improving. That's a fact of life.

If you're going to make a purchase, you can procrastinate for years waiting for the "right time to buy". Trust me - that time never comes. Instead, you need to look for the machine that does what you need it to do.

Don't be bamboozled into buying the latest and greatest - and if you look hard enough, you may find that the machine that meets your every need is already in your home.

Go to the Low End Living home page.

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Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

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802.11g 802.11n 68030 68040 Apple April Fools clamshell iBook Classic Mac OS FireWire FireWire 400 G3 humor iBook iMac iMac G3 Intel iOS iPad iPhone LaserWriter Linux Mac MacBook Air Mac clones Mac mini Mac OS 9 macOS Sierra Mac OS X Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Microsoft OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.7 Lion OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion OS X 10.9 Mavericks OS X 10.10 Yosemite OS X 10.11 El Capitan Performa PowerBook PowerPC Rodney O. Lain SCSI Thunderbolt USB 1.1 USB 2.0
Page not found | Low End Mac

Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

Recent Posts

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Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

Tags

802.11g 802.11n 68030 68040 Apple April Fools clamshell iBook Classic Mac OS FireWire FireWire 400 G3 humor iBook iMac iMac G3 Intel iOS iPad iPhone LaserWriter Linux Mac MacBook Air Mac clones Mac mini Mac OS 9 macOS Sierra Mac OS X Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Microsoft OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.7 Lion OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion OS X 10.9 Mavericks OS X 10.10 Yosemite OS X 10.11 El Capitan Performa PowerBook PowerPC Rodney O. Lain SCSI Thunderbolt USB 1.1 USB 2.0