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The Mac Webb
The Simplified Mac Life
- 2001.11.08
This week saw a dramatic shift in my personal relationship with computers. For the majority of my adult life, I have counted computers and PDAs as a hobby of mine. Much like my ancestors painted on cave walls or worked on Chevy cars, I tinkered with computers. I enjoy breaking a system apart and putting it back together again, learning a new OS, and basically playing with machines.
eBay has become one of my greatest vices, replacing many of the much more popular vices like Krispy Kreme bingeing and beer. Opening a new computer system is an event at the Webb house. I make my four year old wait for the "BPS" man and call me the minute a new machine arrives. I then rush home to rip open the boxes and get the machine setup. The process continues several months later as the machine is sold on eBay and the next machine is purchased. As of last week, I had the following computers in my home:
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Dell Latitude PIII |
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Home built PII |
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Compaq iPaq |
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Palm VX |
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Umax C180 |
Psion Revo Plus |
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Apple Newton 120 |
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My friends get fired up about BMWs, fancy televisions, stereo equipment, and other more common interests. I would rather have a great computer to play with than a great car (witness the 1996 Honda Accord covered in dust in my driveway).
As is only natural, the arrival of a few kids has changed a lot of my hobby time from things like installing a new OS to things like going to the park or coloring. While these changes are ultimately more fulfilling, they mean that computers can no longer be a major recipient of time and resources. I still need computers for work and play, but I no longer have time to tinker. With my new lifestyle, I need computers to work as the tools they were intended and to meet my computing requirements, while providing a small percentage of my entertainment.
Last Monday night, my wife needed to find last year's tax records for some purpose only women can come up with in the middle of the World Series. I ran up to my computer room and began booting machines. One hour later I tracked the files down and experienced an epiphany (and created four new curse words when I ran out of old ones). I determined that I wanted to simplify this mass of systems and cables to find the bare necessities in my computer life. While I can still have fun with computers, I do not need so many that they detract from actual usefulness.
I spent the next few hours making a chart with the requirements for one computer and one PDA. I then went machine by machine to pick the lucky winners in each category. At the end of the exercise, I had the biggest batch of eBay auctions I have ever managed at once. The good news for Mac owners is that our beloved machines still maintain a great secondary value as my two year old (albeit tricked out) G4 /400 maintained half of its original value. The 'Books also did very well in the market, with my Pismo selling for 4x the amount of the Dell Latitude from the same time period.
At the end of the week, we had the following setup in my house. One iBook 500, which my wife decided she wanted to save from the auction block (so its not on my count), and one PowerBook G4 400, which I grabbed at the close out prices at CompUSA. I needed a G4, and mobility is one of my requirements. The PDA I selected was my iPaq, one of my favorite machines since the Newton 2100.
I brought the G4 memory up to 512 MB, ordered a 48 GB drive this week, and still had a tidy profit - and a much more manageable system chart. My wife was the biggest beneficiary, as she received cash, an iBook, and a new room in the house all in one week. She is so happy, she started talking about an iMac DVD for our four year old son
Hmm, maybe we need to buy a few more computers for the kids. I will check eBay today.
Someone pass me a Krispy Kreme.
Kevin Webb spent the last seven years selling technology consulting services. Of that time, at least two years have been devoted to trying to convince the world that the Macintosh is the pinnacle of the computing experience. He is the proud owner of eight Macs, ranging from a new iBook to a Classic. You can read about his newest computer in Kevin Webb's PowerBook G4.
Recent articles by Kevin Webb
- How Macintel could spell trouble for Windows, 06.15. "Apple has been working to change the game from simply a hardware discussion to an integrated system approach - the digital hub."
- Tech junkie swears off new hardware for one year, 07.14. "This is the day of the big freeze. I am going to choose my personal infrastructure and freeze those products for one full year!"
- What a long strange trip back to Pismo, 03.29. The 15" and 12" G4 PowerBooks were nice, but the old Pismo is the PowerBook that seems just right.
- Switching from a PC to a pair of Macs, 01.23. Friend buys a Power Mac and an iBook -- and uses FireWire Disk Mode to tie them together.
- More in the Mac Webb index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 15" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based MacBook launched at 1.83-2.0 GHz, had several teething problems.
- Group of the Day: System 6 is the email list for those who choose System 6.
- November 22 in LEM history: 99: Gradebooks - 00: Leveraging Apple design - Quadra 630 to Power Mac 5200 - 02: Laptop or desktop? - 04: SuperDuper: Quick, easy, efficient backup - Cross-platform programming for the rest of us - 05: Mac video surveillance on the cheap - Which OS is best for my vintage Mac? - No 'best browser' for the Mac - Sorry state of browsers for classic Macs - 06: Core 2 means cooler running 'Books - 2.0 GHz G4 upgrade
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
- Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
- NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
- Replacing the Hard Drive in a Clamshell iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.19. Yes, it is one of the most difficult Apple notebooks to disassemble and reassemble, but a 10 GB hard drive just will not do.
- IBM Model F: A Great Old Keyboard with an Outdated Layout, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 11.19. Although it used a different technology than the revered IBM Model M keyboard, the Model F was a great keyboard in its own right.
- Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
- Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
- Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
- Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
- More deals in our archive.
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