Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Stop the Upgrade Insanity

Chris Edwards - 2001.09.05

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.

I guess he looks at me as some sort of expert. Either that or a real geek. I have a 333 MHz iMac, a Titanium PowerBook G4/500, and a Power Computing 604e/225 MHz Power Tower Pro. All this is networked together with AirPort, a cable modem, and a Linksys hub.

Geez, maybe I am a geek.

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 He is always telling me, "I just know as soon as I buy this, it will be outdated," and "I always time these things really bad."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.
Upgrading a Digital Audio G4 to work better in Leopard, 06.02. In its original configuration, the dual 533 MHz Power Mac G4 was slow with Mac OS X 10.5, but add the right upgrades, and it runs Leopard quite nicely.
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.
More in the My Turn index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Apr. 2006 - The top-end MacBook Pro includes a 1680 x 1050, 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU, and supports Apple 30" Cinema Display.
Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
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.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.