Living One Mac Generation Behind
When entering college in 1995, I purchased my first computer that was all mine - a Performa 631CD, with screaming 33 MHz performance and a 68040LC processor. Sporting 8 MB of RAM and 500 MB of hard drive space, I was good to go. But unsurprisingly, I was immediately lapped, not just by the next Mac upgrades, but by an entire processor family, as Apple moved from 68k Macs to PowerPC. In short time, I found many titles were written for PowerPC processors only, and my Mac was too out of date to participate.
More than a decade later, my go-to Mac is a PowerBook G4. Though the specs are much stronger than my first Macs, and the machine is tremendous, I’m seeing a similar gap between where I am and where the leading Mac developers are focused - as they code for Intel-based Macs, and some applications run only on Intel Macs, leveraging the power of Apple’s new chip partner.
Some of the most prominent Intel-only Mac developers are extremely visible, especially on the Web, including the Internet video playback software, Joost, and VMWare’s Fusion, a product so cool from a simple geek factor, that it has me trying to find reasons to upgrade.
Apple has made some big leaps of faith in recent years, from 68k to PowerPC, from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X, and from PowerPC to Intel. But those of us who bought late are quickly antiquated, despite using machines that work great. Should I be taking my PowerBook to eBay and making an upgrade? What else am I missing out on by not yet making the switch to Intel?
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#1 Andrew says:I’m in the same boat, running a 1.33 GHz 17″ G4 PowerBook. It works fine, especially after bumping the RAM up to 1GB, and Leopard will, as far as I know, run on it, but I’m going to have to go Intel at some point. I think I’ll start saving up to get a new MacBook Pro (I love this screen size) by December and sell this puppy.
#2 Ross says:I picked up my Performa right when Apple was moving PowerPC on the suggestion of the salesman (this is before I really knew what was going on in the world of processors and chips … as if I do now).
What’s wonderful about the whole “living a generation - or two - behind” is that your machine is still a solid little trooper.
I’ve had my Performa 575, a Blueberry iMac, iBook G3 Dual-USB, and now my G5 iMac. All of them are still working and running just fine … doing their own little tasks.
The G3 iBook and G5 iMac are our every day computers that are used for pretty heavy graphic design and video editing work (G5) and happy convenient cookbook reference in the kitchen (G3).
Don’t be sad that your Mac is older than those that others may have. Be proud that your little guy is still truckin’ along and has no end in sight. Don’t sell him. Relish him into his old age.
But of course, you gotta go Intel, man. I’m seeing a MacBook in my future next year, when the iMac gets a little too annoyingly slow.
#3 Sven Semmler says:Well, for the time being you missed mainly one thing: problems. My first Mac was an iBook G4 - the most perfect machine I ever had. When the switch to Intel was announced, I was so sure of Apple and its quality standard (as I only encountered the supreme iBook) that I immediately bought the first MacBook. Holy sh*t! Completely frustrated, while experiencing every single documented problem with it I upgraded to a 2nd generation MacBook Pro. This machine, to be fair, is as stable as the iBook was. It is wonderfully designed and I am indeed satisfied. But there is one word of warning I want to give: in case you are working with video - do not take my word but verify before buying: I still have the impression that rendering a QuickTime movie on my G4 with 756 MB RAM was a at least as fast as on my MacBook Core 2 Duo with 3 GB RAM ! This might be an issue of not using the full power of the Intel chip yet, while I believe the PowerPC code to be fully optimized.
#4 PFV says:I have a PB G4 1.5 15″ that I hope to keep for at least another two years. A new MacBook pro would be great. I don’t need it. Sure, rendering QT can be slow along with some other processor intense operations. Yes, I’d like to run XP natively and dump Virtual PC. But it all works so well now that I don’t want to mess up a good thing. Buying a laptop is a crap shoot. Apple has the best odds in this game, but it’s still a matter of luck on whether you end up with a frustrating lemon.
#5 Henriok says:I think that the main thing your’re missing out on is speed. The new machines is very much faster than your current machine. But the funny thing about computer speed is that two days after you upgraded you still ffeel that you need more. So.. use your until it breaks, and upgrade then.. there’s still more speed to come, so you might as well come late.
#6 Bigonazzi says:My first Mac was a Powerbook G4. Before I owned many different pcs and every 6 months they seemed antiquated and sluggish compared to the brand new ones… I used the G4 for more than three years without the need to upgrade. When I finally decided to do so was mostly for the new HD’s size and speed.
Buying a Mac, like any other technology piece, is a thing you have to plan carefully, but if you manage to do it right what you get from your investment is truly amazing!!
#7 Matt Radel says:I think it depends on your need. If you just run Office and check email, I’d say you could get by on a PowerBook for quite awhile.
If you’re a graphics/video professional, I think you have to upgrade more frequently. Overall I’d say that once you start staring at a spinning beachball more often than not, it’s time to upgrade.
#8 Louis Gray says:@Sven: Sounds like you had a bad experience with some early hardware. This PowerBook has had some issues, but none major (mostly related to the dog deciding the keyboard = footstool)… but there’s certainly always a risk with being an early adopter.
@Matt: Major Mac usage is Office + Email + Photoshop + BBEdit… Safari of course. Where I see the most slowdowns are with ComicLife (seriously!) and PhotoShop, on occasion. My major issues are app jealousy. I’d love to run Fusion, turn on Win/Outlook and get rid of an older Dell.
#9 Randy Dunning says:I’m running a PBG4 1.67 15″ with 1.5 ram. I don’t do much video at all - mostly newsletter layout, email, etc. But I just installed iLife ‘08 and was shocked to find the new iMovie won’t work with a G4 processor (Did Steve mention this at the special event and I missed it? Guess I didn’t read the fine print). So even though I’m still under Apple Care for 6 months (PB is only 2.5 years old) I can’t run the latest and greatest CONSUMER apps. I would understand not being able to run newer pro apps but iLife?
#10 Benji XI says:The only answer to this question is another question: how rich are you?
I’m still using a 12″ PB (1.33 GHz) that’s >3 years old. It was my first Mac, and was feeling sluggish a few months ago after playing around with a friend’s MacBook Pro. Being a recent ex-student, I went for the poor man’s option and maxed out the RAM to 1.25GB, which has improved the responsiveness no end.
If you won’t notice a couple grand leaving your wallet, buy an MBP, they’re absolutely brilliant.
If you will notice, but can afford it really, and you need extra performance for good reasons, still buy a new computer.
If you really will notice, well, max out the RAM and like Henriok says, the next MBP refresh will be even more teh awesomes than the current one.
(Me I’m waiting for Penryn - maybe even Nehalem)
#11 Eric Crist says:I think you’re really looking for a reason NOT to upgrade. From the tone of your post, you’ve already got the need and/or desire to upgrade to an Intel MacBook/Pro, but you’re asking readers more for why not to upgrade.
In my short amount of time I’ve been purchasing Apple products, I’ve learned a couple things:
1) NEVER buy first generation hardware.
2) Anything you buy with an Apple logo will be upgraded or improved within 3-6 months of your purchase.
I started with a PowerBook G4, which has since been gifted to my fiancee, and I’ve purchased a MacBook Pro 15″, about a year old now. I love it to death, and I think you will too. You know you want it, if you can afford it, why wait? If you wait too long, your G4 won’t be worth as much on eBay and such. You know the price of a new Mac isn’t going to go down.
#12 Louis Gray says:@Eric, I like your spin. Basically, I wanted to see what else I would be missing by sticking with G4. I was a longtime 68k holdout, and while funds are more flexible now than they were in college, I don’t feel an aching need to move. Maybe it’s just belly-aching on my part at not having access to some pretty cool stuff.
#13 Alex says:That’s funny because I also use a PowerBook G4 and feel the exact same way. My first Mac was a white iBook G3 600mhz. I bought it and the next week Apple upgraded the iBooks to use 700mhz processors… not quite the same situation, but similar.
#14 Webomatica says:What else are you missing out on? Well, just speed right now, but as always there is some point in the future (probably a few years away) where some OSX upgrade will not support the G4s and G5s. Already, the system requirements for CS3 doesn’t include my ageing G4 iMac.
Relatively speaking - considering all through my college days, Macs were 2K - 3K today’s totally capable machines at a little over a grand (or less with the Mini!) are pretty sweet deals IMHO.
So I tend to buy a new computer every three years after the previous one is getting really long in the tooth.
#15 Lucky13 says:My iBook G4 will do the job for at least the rest of this year. It’s the last model offered (1.42GHz) with 1.5GB of RAM and time still remaining on AppleCare.
The software I use simply doesn’t require an Intel chip and runs just fine under the G4…Office 2004 being the prime example. Aside from iTunes, I have no use for the iLife package.
As others have mentioned, I think it really comes down to the software being used. For me, there’s just no compelling reason to upgrade just yet.
One note: anyone thinking of running the new Numbers app on an iBook might want to pause. This spreadsheet felt very cramped in a 1024×768 space - almost to the point of being unusable. This is one instance where a new high-res MacBook Pro would make a lot of sense. The multi-tab worksheets in Excel allow me to work around this limitation.
#16 Andrew says:I don’t need to upgrade, however I would like some more power and storage (wouldn’t we all?). My main thing at the moment is how well will Leopard run on my current hardware (1.33 GHz with 1 GB of RAM) - which we won’t know about until October. If I don’t upgrade this year I will sometime next year as I’d guess that Leopard will be the last iteration of OS X to support the G4 chips.
Aside from that, I’m starting at a new job next week that gets me a nice discount.
#17 Brett says:Speed.
#18 Lime says:Titanium Powerbook 800mhz 512 meg ram here
Its served me well for 5 years and still drags windows around faster than brand new xp or vista machines
However the new 24 inch imac arrives this week!
#19 Ben says:The same sort of thing just happened to me. I bought an iMac a couple of months ago and now they have nice new shiney cases and flash thin keyboards!
#20 Matt Radel says:If you have any consistent need for Windows apps, an upgrade is a must.
But you don’t have to go Pro - I think for what you’re accustomed to, a MacBook would be an awesome machine for ya. As long as you’re fine with the smaller, glossy screen. I worked on a MacBook before getting my Pro and thought it was great. Not quite enough for me, but still great.
#21 Galley says:And here I feel bad because my 11-month old MacBook has a lowly Core Duo processor, no 64-bit support and no 802.11n.
#22 Nick says:I feel the same way. I switched 4 years ago and still running on my 1.33ghz, 12″ screen.
It is the perfect road warrior. Unfortunately, the new laptops don’t look as appetizing as my 12″ miniature.
What I love most about my 12″ is that I go home and plug in my 21″ Sony. What frustrates me the most is that almost everything nowadays is Tiger only or Intel only.
I have no desire to retire this gem. It serves me well and after years of frustration with Windows, I feel I am finally getting my money’s worth with this laptop. So, Apple, don’t push it either. Linux is around the bend also.
#23 Neil Anderson says:Depends mainly on your financial situation. I’m still running a G4 PowerBook and happy with it although I’ve run out of hard drive space. A friend with deeper pockets bought a MacBook Pro Core Duo a few months ago. He’s in the process of buying a new MacBook Pro because they have Core 2 Duos now.
#24 Nick says:I still think the 12″ was a consultant’s best friend. Why couldn’t they make that format again?
Probably heat and other technical concerns. I’ll wait it out.
#25 Ingo says:I’m using a 17″1.67GHz PB G4 DL. I mainly use FF, Adium, iTunes, RSS Reader, QT, Office, and CS3 apps. I run all these applications w/o any problems. Yes, the new MBPs are way faster, but, unlike many of the current MBP owners, I have zero problems with, e.g., display, heat, and fan issues. I plan on using this machine at least until the next MBP revision comes out, if not longer.
#26 random8r says:Stop whining… if you bought as late as you say, then you’ve got a 1.67 mhz machine which runs all the latest most popular software and will for quite some time.
Fusion is a piece virtualization software for intel machines, so it’s pretty obvious you won’t be able to use it unless it has the chip you’re running virtualization for! Just like if you’re running on an Intel machine you won’t be able to virtualize a PowerPC machine.
You’re not missing out on anything. If you’re concerned about the “very latest software” then you really should have upgraded by now. Intel machines have been out for a couple of years. Look around and you’ll realise that Windows machines don’t last nearly that long - not in terms of software, or hardware. You basically can’t run Vista on anything but screaming-latest machines. At least with OS X you can run the latest version on 4 or 5 year old machines!
#27 Oren Sreebny says:I’m just installing iLife ‘08 on my MacBookPro and I notice that iMovie won’t run on anything less than a G5, which is a bummer, as my desktop Mac is G4 iMac.
#28 Sarah says:I have a 1.2 Ghz 12″ G4 iBook with 768 GB RAM, and she is into her 4th year now.
She now has a 100 GB HDD instead of the 30 GB one she came with, and I added 512 GB more RAM over what she originally came with. The battery has been changed 2 or 3 times (thanks to safety recalls) so that is running fine, I got a new charger a little while back, and I recently had to replace the keyboard after a foaming beer incident (don’t worry, it was a micro-brew).
I am thinking about swapping out the 256 board for a 1 GB one, so I’ll end up with 1.5 GB RAM, when student loans come through, as I am kinda concerned about her handling Leopard.
But as I am a PhD student she’s just going to have to last me for a couple years yet, as I simply can’t afford to upgrade … although, honestly, not too keen on the keyboards on the Macbooks, so I don’t have a huge drive, but I would like the speed, as I am noticing the lag sometimes … maybe go Pro when I graduate.
#29 Sarah says:Oh, and I also have a lampshade iMac back in my office at university (the last of such, with the widescreen), and she is running fine, with lower specs that my iBook, so honestly, unless you REALLY want a new one, I’d ask why you would really need it.
#30 Benji XI says:I just wanted to ask, any other people with 12″ PBs of ~3 yrs in age, how is your battery?
Mine’s completely knackered, it holds enough charge for about 2 minutes then the machine cuts out. This normally happens when the power lead has come slightly detached.
I was considering a new battery and an HD upgrade, but at ~£90 for the battery, I’m not sure it’s worth it. What do people thinks?
#31 Nick says:My battery is fine, then again the recall probably helped. tricky situation when you need to upgrade this and that, or do you bite the bullet.
As always, your budget will dictate what will happen.
“random8r” Who’s whining?
#32 Debbie says:With the new processor that allows Mac & Windows via Parallels it was time for me to move from PC and Mac to all Mac. I had an iBook and my Dell was getting old. When the time came for replacement, comparing the pricing and knowing now that the Mac will run longer the choice was easy for me.
#33 Lime says:My powerbooks battery died (lived in a house with an electricity meter, I think the daily powercuts wrecked it)
However about 3 months later I turned it on and was asked to reset the date, and miraculously the battery began charging again!
Current charge: 3949
Max charge: 4166
Battery Loadcycles: 186
Age of Mac: 61 Months
Kernel Panics: 1
Reformats: 0
Operating system: 10.1 - 10.4
How awesome is this machine, just keeps giving and giving. Try and find a windows laptop that even comes close to competing with those stats!
#34 Rowan says:The G4 was a great machine. I had a 24″ iMac and have a 12″ 1.5ghz powerbook, 768mb. I did the mod the other day to get iMovie’08 running on the G4, it was choppy and slow. Specific leopard features like Time Machine and Spaces are going to start to feel sluggish on the G4. I would personally use SuperDuper to put your data on an external drive, eBay the thing, and get a MBP. That’s what i’ve just done.
Because the G4 still has a lot of value, and there are still some people needing to run some non universal binary PPC apps, but the Intel machines are the way of the future now. Or, you could keep using the G4 for ages, more and more apps will not run on it eventually, or will be slow, and then you can buy whatever is current a year or two down the track. Really up to you. I’ve sold both my macs and gone 17″ MBP because now you can put 4gb ram and a 250gb drive in a slim laptop with a Core2Duo 2.4 chip and 1920×1200 res matte screen with decent 3D, well I don’t feel like a laptop is such a constraint now as my only computer.
:)
Good luck with whatever you decide, and it’s only a matter of time before you upgrade but how much time is up to you. If you’re mainly using it for email/work things and not video editing and more intensive stuff, the G4 may suit for a long time to come. Bear in mind you get better pricing on eBay if it’s still within applecare warranty. If viruses come to the mac soon, they may be Intel only, so you would want to upgrade if you don’t want to miss out on those
#35 Matt says:I’ve recently upgraded from an 12″ 800Mhz G3 iceBook to a 2.16Ghz MacBook - the speed difference is monumental! The iceBook lasted about four years before the dreaded logic board problem cropped up, which was a good excuse to get a new machine. I was initially put off by the horror stories of the MacBook, but it seems that all the nightmares of ill-fitting cases, soaring temperatures and mooing have been sorted (at least in my case - May 07′ revision).
The best thing about the iBook was the battery life; even in the last days I used it, it was averaging 3 1/2 hours, which I thought was pretty darn good for an old battery.
I’m lucky to get that with the MacBook’s new battery doing moderate work.
I still think the form factor of the 12″ PowerBook and iBook was unbeatable for being on the move.
#36 midbach says:I’ve been toying with an upgrade too. I have a 2 year old 15″ PowerBook and it’s perfect. I don’t do video but I do notice it being a bit slow at times.
I really don’t need an Intel MBP, I want one. The big thing for me is money; do I sell the PB now and get a decent price or ride it out for another year or two and then sell it knowing I won;t get nearly as much for it?
Whatever happens, this PB is the best machine I’ve ever used
#37 dbtodd says:12″ Powerbook G4. I would upgrade but why? I’ve had this for over 2 years and it performs fine. I don’t think I’m a heavy user, but routinely use Illustrator and Photoshop in my job as a scientist. It could be quicker, but I’m not unhappy yet. Besides, even getting “doored” on my bike and landing on my PB didn’t stop it. The dent’s give it character. I have a PC at home and put new parts in the damn thing every few months to keep it tolerable (quieter PS, bigger drive, new vid card, etc.). No need to do that with a Mac. Don’t fall victim to the hype just yet!!!
#38 joeschmeaux says:I’ll upgrade when the price of used machines goes way down. I recently upgraded from my 400 mhz G3 Lombard, which I got for $100 on craigslist to a 1.33 ghz G4 iBook, which I got for $300 on craigslist. After the Lombard, the iBook seems lightning fast to me. The refurb MacBooks are $850 + tax, but I can’t justify spending $550 more for one, as the iBook does everything I need it to do — which the Lombard couldn’t .
There are so many capable used computers out there these days that unless you need to run the latest and greatest apps at top speed, there’s very little reason to buy new, especially if you live in an area with an active craigslist!
#39 Tim Evans says:I still use a 12 inch PB 1.5G at home and in the camper van. My wife is on a 12 inch G4 iBook. Being a Mac freak and engineer I also have a MBP and an intel mini mac.
All I can say is that if you are in the market for maing movies or sound, get an upgrade,
but
if not, then there is nothing finer than the 12 inch laptops. They shine in design over everything else.
My Wallet prays that a MBP 12 inch does not mateialise any time soon.
#40 Travis says:I am a high school teacher who is currently using a Lombard G3 333MHZ in my classroom as a second computer. With this I am able to present Power Points to my students from the middle of classroom and my school provided laptop can stay up on my desk over in the corner. I can also take this inexpensive laptop with me while I am on the road and leave my school provided ibook G4 locked in my classroom. Parts are still fairly cheap for the G3 and I do all of my own repairs on the Lombard when necessary. I guess it depends how cutting edge of software you need but for just simple e-mail, word processing and basic presentations you still don’t have to upgrade just yet.
#41 dbtodd says:Kudos to Travis for working to squeeze more out of older equipment for his students. You are a hero. I hate to think our students are working with technology that is a “generation behind.” I think the feeling that comes out of most of the posts here is that we all want, but few need the latest. Let’s all put our credit cards away and step back from the Apple Store.
#42 AMGoff says:You guys are funny… my main portable is still a Pismo. That’s right a 500mhz G3, albeit running with a gig of ram and a fast 7200rpm hard drive. She still runs Tiger very smoothly even with a 100mhz bus and a paltry 8mb of video. Speed and value are relative terms. The only thing I use a laptop for is word processing, email, internet, music, and photos. So for everything I need this old G3 suits my needs just fine, who knows maybe I’ll indulge and pick up a 550mhz G4 upgrade from Dave Wegener since they only cost 200 bucks now. My main desktop is a G4-dually and still handles all of my heavy lifting just fine. The key to hardware longevity is not getting brainwashed into thinking you always need the latest software releases. Do you really need the latest version of iMovie if the last version suits your needs just fine? Older software is still just as productive as the day you bought it. I paid over $2000 for this machine seven years ago, while I feel I’ve more than got my money out of it I still think there are many more productive years left in her. Personally my next purchase will be a 1.25GHz Aluminum G4, prices on those are now down around $700. The only reason I’m even contemplating such a move right now is I’d like to use the Pismo as carputer in the Cadillac. But still.. to each his own I guess.
#43 Louis Gray says:@41: As I’ve mentioned here before, my work desktop is an old Dual G4 450 with 30 GB of space. It’s still trucking along, even after almost 7 years. It too is due for an upgrade, but I don’t have the perfect excuse yet. The fact that Apple’s machines have such a long lifespan is bad for them and great for us!
#44 Wysiwyg says:Zappa, my faithul iBook G4, is flawless. But then Photoshop CS3 came, and sudenly I need a new computer. I mean, the smart selection and other tools can make my life easier, but do I need it? I mean, really really need it?
In part, yes. Speed is always a great thing to have, but what´s really getting into my nerves is the screen size. 1024×768 simply doesn’t cut anymore - specially with Aperture.
In reality, I´ll wait until next year to see what happens (mature macbooks, mature leopard), and buy an external monitor with bigger resolution. And start to save money for a new Macbook Pro.
#45 H. Kintama says:Powerbook G4, 1.5 ghz, 15″ with 2G RAM
The only time to upgrade is if your computer’s literally broken.
I bought mine 3 years ago because all my work is done for video editing and its been working great until now. I’ve had that lower RAM slot failure and its now in the shop (I’m paying for it since my computer is not eligible for that free Apple fix). It sucks, I’m out of work for at least of week, so I’ve been looking at either upgrading to the new MacBook Pros or even getting another G4.
So if you’re looking to upgrade and save some $$$, look into the refurbs; Apple sells refurb 2.4 ghz MacBook Pro. I’m a creature of habit, I hate upgrading anything, software, hardware or otherwise. So for $300 more for the cost of repairing my current G4, I could’ve bought a refurb PB G4 1.67 (with free shipping)!
#46 Rowan says:I’ve posted before, see post #34 above. Macbook Pro 17 arrived yesterday. First impressions other than speed/size/capacity etc over the 12″ powerbook. Well, the biggest thing for me is that as this thing is hardly ticking over for normal computer tasks, versus the G4, the CPU isn’t working hard so it’s no where near as hot. Much quieter too, the fans only kick in with 3d Gaming, and so far is still quieter than the 12″. I love the size of the 12″ though, it’s a great little machine.
#47 AMGoff says:H. Kintama - I don’t know how much processing speed you need but if a G4 still provides enough “oomph” for your needs and you’re looking for a nice machine for a good price, wegenermedia.com has some good deals on 15″ aluminum G4s ranging from $689 for a 1GHz to $849 for a 1.5GHz. Here’s the direct link:
http://www.wegenermedia.com/alum15.htm
I’ve purchased quite a few things from them and they are really good to deal with, they even offer 1 year extended warranties as an add on option. I’ve been seriously thinking about buying the 1.25GHz.. heck I might even go for the 1.5. Since I’ve been more than happy with my 500MHz G3 I feel there is more than enough room for another PowerPC upgrade before I make the switch to Intel, that fast G4 would problem suit my needs until say 2012 or so. Just imagine what kind of machines they’ll have out then, I’d probably be able to pick up a 16-core PowerBook by that time (I’m still hoping the change the name back!). Even G5s are coming down in price now so I even have room to do one more PowerPC desktop before I make that switch too.
#48 Undrpsi says:This discussion can be about anything…cars, boats, TV’s. It boils down to 3 questions. Does your current (TV, car, or computer) still do most of the tasks demanded of it? Would the new (enter item here) drastically change your use of it? And last but not least…Can you afford it?
I replaced my well used iBook G4 with a refurbed Macbook (in black) core duo last year. Anything written in universal is faster than a politician voting for a raise. Anything older ran just fine but you cold tell the macbook was idling half the time. Last week I purchased a snow iMac at Fryes for $999 (4 days before they were $1499). It replaced HP PIV that was loaded out…the iMac runs XP faster than a PC box (boot camp). Did my old ones work..Yep. Did the new ones drastically change the way I do things…yep. Could I afford them….yep (especially the refurb and clearance sal prices).
My .02 worth..
#49 Nick says:Yes, of course most everything does. The marketing frenzy that pushes people to upgrade to ge the latest can only last for so long.
I am starting to hear more and more about people saying they have enough and don’t need more. A friend’s laptop was dropped. He bought a new one. He gasped when I told him he was buying another license for Windows he already owns from his other laptop. Things like that are making people think a little.
Either that, or I’m part of a wave that is not the early adopters but the second wave…
#50 Nick says:Yes, of course most everything does. The marketing frenzy that pushes people to upgrade to ge the latest can only last for so long.
I am starting to hear more and more about people saying they have enough and don’t need more. A friend’s laptop was dropped. He bought a new one. He gasped when I told him he was buying another license for Windows he already owns from his other laptop. Things like that are making people think a little.
My DVD player is still good. I have old cars, out of passion mostly. I old speakers, an old stereo and have no need to upgrade anything as long as it all works. Which should scare the industry and explain why things break down more frequently at earlier stages.
Either that, or I’m part of a wave that is not the early adopters but the second wave…
#51 AMGoff says:Nick, agreed. But a big part of it is not so much resisting the newest hardware, but instead resisting the software.
Software keeps getting bigger and more bloated, why? Because software developers assume that people will go out and buy the latest hardware just to run the software. It’s a self-propegating cycle and everyone is guilty of it, Apple included.
The fact remains that a 603 still runs System 7 or OS 8 very quickly, but once you throw 9.2 on there things start to bog down and don’t even think of X. It all boils down to wasteful consumerism, if people could actually sit down and prioritize what they need a computer to do and be satisfied how it does it then these two year purchase cycles would decrease dramatically. If that were to happen software developers would be forced to trim the fat and optimize their code for specific systems once they realize people aren’t going to go buy the fastest computer out there just to run their software.
The market should respond to the consumer, not the other way around.
#52 Nick says:I couldn’t agree with you more:
“Software keeps getting bigger and more bloated, why? Because software developers assume that people will go out and buy the latest hardware just to run the software. It’s a self-propegating cycle and everyone is guilty of it, Apple included.”
That is one of the many reasons why I left Microsoft for Apple. I feel Apple is also getting a little “too big”.
Consumerism is rampant everywhere we look in our society. As a consultant, I have dumbfounded many clients by telling them they didn’t need that software or such. I told them however, if they wanted to get it it was purely because they wanted it not because they needed it.
What I am also seeing more and more are people saying their old computers work just fine. It shouldn’t be understood as only hardware but software. Plenty of updated software just isn’t worth it. Some are only good for those who really use every bit of it. But how many of us use every bits and pieces of software? Probably not many.
Now for professional, that might be a different story. Overall, I agree with you. Did I come across otherwise?
#53 FOSHAN says:Sure, rendering QT can be slow along with some other processor intense operations. Yes, I’d like to run XP natively and dump Virtual PC. But it all works so well now that I don’t want to mess up a good thing. Buying a laptop is a crap shoot. Apple has the best odds in this game, but it’s still a matter of luck on whether you end up with a frustrating lemon.
#54 Josh says:There’s certainly no shame in working on a machine a generation behind, even more than one. I do most of my “everyday computing” on an iBook G3. I bought it knowing that it was a previous-generation model; had I intended to use it for such things as programming or video editing, then I would have bought the prevailing speed demon at the time, the PowerBook G4.
It’s now going on five years old and has been great for Office, e-mail, Web surfing, watching DVDs, and other consumer applications. It doesn’t have the horsepower to handle Apple’s latest multimedia apps, and I’ve never expected it to. This little iBook may be antique but it is not obsolete. It allows me to do the work I want to do, the way I want to. Yes, I would be able to get rid of my Wintel tower if I upgraded to a MacBook Pro, but I don’t think that I would be that much more productive (and I’m sure that something else would manage to fill the void on my desk). Right now I just don’t need the extra horsepower or Leopard or anything that an Intel-based Mac provides, and so I’m willing to take the tradeoffs.
I think that is the heart of your question - tradeoffs. Not what are you missing out on, but is there something you’d like to do that your current Mac can’t? And you’ve made the answer obvious. There is some Intel-only software you’d like to use and you can’t do that on a G4. Of course, the difference between “would like to” and “need to” is an expensive one, but thinking different does often come with a price.
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