LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Upgrade to a Larger Hard Drive, Add Additional Drives SATA for Mac Pro and G5s, up to 1.0TB in each Bay. 500GB from $90!
My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted
articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things
Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your
submission to Dan Knight
.
I have a friend who lives across the street. Let's call him
Steven. Steven has his own business which has grown to include three
stores. He is married and has a daughter who is 13 and a son who is
10. He is what I would call an average upper-middle class guy.
He is also in the market for a new computer and frequently asks me
what he should buy, when he should buy it, how much RAM, what size
hard drive, etc. I have, at the least, convinced him to buy a
Macintosh.
Anyway, Steven wants a new iMac
or iBook, but he is paralyzed by
"upgrade fear." He is always telling me, "I just know as soon as I
buy this, it will be outdated," and "I always time these things
really bad."
That brings me to this revelation: I believe that in a lot of ways
the computer industry has brought about this slump themselves.
Computer sales have plummeted in the past year or so, and one major
contributing factor is that people are fed up with the constant
feeling they just got taken. The churn rate for "new and improved" in
the computer industry seems to be 6-8 months.
What's up with that? A computer is the single most expensive
appliance that is purchased in a household. They cost more than
refrigerators. More than stoves. More than dishwashers. More than a
washer & dryer set - but they are obsolete in eight months. At
least we are made to feel like they are.
Can you imagine if your refrigerator had to be replaced every
eight months? Very few families can afford to "keep up with the
computer industry," and I believe that most have decided they are not
going try anymore.
Advertising has convinced us that speed is all. You must have the
fastest: 600 MHz, 800 MHz, 1.5 , and now 2 GHz. As it is, most
families don't use 40% of the processor power from three years ago. I
am not talking about professional movie editors, designers, or early
adopters. I am talking about normal, everyday users.
Buyers are tired of always being behind. I believe it is time to
come to some sort of consensus about upgrading.
Here is what I propose: Release new models, processors, etc. every
12-18 months. That way, if I decide to wait to upgrade through one
cycle, I have gotten two or three good years out of the current
system. That's not bad. I have an old make that was in production for
three years before it was discontinued. Three years.
Also, by adopting the 1-1/2 year cycle, I don't feel like I've
just been ripped off by buying last months model. This also gives the
manufacturers time to make really significant improvements to the
hardware - not just changing a color or adding a FireWire port, but
something that really makes a difference.
Yea, I have heard from people that I have mentioned this to that
"that's just this industry, get used to it." I say that's bull. We
have been brainwashed into believing this eight month cycle is
normal. It can be changed, and I think manufacturers will have
happier customers and a less volatile market.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
Recent My Turn articles
Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18.
When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
'That's Not a Computer', 07.30.
Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28.
The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
Mac of the Day: Centris 650, Feb. 1993 - The replacement for the Quadra 700 has room for an internal CD-ROM.
List of the Day: Old Mac MP covers 604-based multiprocessor Macs and clones.
September 7 in LEM history: 98: Banner exchanges - 00: Tips from the Mac manager - Getting a Mac job - 01: Apple and the gray market - Repositioning the 'Books - 04: Tray loading iMac a good choice for OS X? - Pismo CPU upgrades - 06: Mac mini value equation - Setting up a Mac Classic II - Putting the Intel transition in perspective - 07: Region free DVD viewing, - My Newton - Solving Mac disk and hardware problems - 2 apps every MacBook should have
Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05.
Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04.
Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03.
The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03.
Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For
price quotes and advertising information, please contact
at BackBeat Media
(646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.
Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer
5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We
recommend Firefox
for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more
secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox
than any other browser.
