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If I buy a mac now, will it be obsolete later?
- Thread starter Zillicah
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Things always change, but I base my home computers on a 4 year average life cycle and my work computers on a 3 year cycle.
Yes any new PC or Mac becomes obsolete sooner or later. With the current MB or MBP you will only be able to increase memory & HD capacity (SSD is also an option).
I just live by the philosophy that any computer I buy will be pretty much obsolete by the time I get it home, and that works for me. 
Seriously, though, if the computer still does what you ask of it, it really isn't obsolete. If it takes a few extra seconds to do something in Photoshop, is it really obsolete? Like some other folks have said, I tend to stretch as much life as possible from my machines. My 3+ year old Powerbook is still going along fairly well, and the 2 year old Mini does everything I ask of it.
Seriously, though, if the computer still does what you ask of it, it really isn't obsolete. If it takes a few extra seconds to do something in Photoshop, is it really obsolete? Like some other folks have said, I tend to stretch as much life as possible from my machines. My 3+ year old Powerbook is still going along fairly well, and the 2 year old Mini does everything I ask of it.
yes. anything you will buy now will be obsolete in the future.
but as far as Macs go, i'm sure you can find people still using powerbook G4's and stuff as their main machines. and those were released in 2002.
so you won't be completely obsolete in 5-10 years, but i am 100% agreeing with the fact that it won't be able to keep up with technology in 2020
but as far as Macs go, i'm sure you can find people still using powerbook G4's and stuff as their main machines. and those were released in 2002.
so you won't be completely obsolete in 5-10 years, but i am 100% agreeing with the fact that it won't be able to keep up with technology in 2020
No!
No, it will last till you're 99. You won't ever have to buy another computer, ever!
No, it will last till you're 99. You won't ever have to buy another computer, ever!
Anything (tech or not) will be obsolete in a few years. With that being said, Apple usually refreshes their notebook line around October (unibody) and processor speed bumps and little improvements every 5-6 months afterward.
Obsolete in terms of modern technology or obsolete for your uses?
That is what you need to ask yourself.
That is what you need to ask yourself.
I have an iBook that's almost 4 years old and it still works fine, but it's not my main machine.
My wife refuses to switch and she is still running Win2K on a white box PC built for us in 2000. She's able to write books and do what she wants to do.
The big question is not obsolete, but will it still do what you want it to do. Technology is changing all the time.
My wife refuses to switch and she is still running Win2K on a white box PC built for us in 2000. She's able to write books and do what she wants to do.
The big question is not obsolete, but will it still do what you want it to do. Technology is changing all the time.
i'm not usually mean but your question is really "not smart"
Let me put it this way, half-empty analogy: yes it will obsolete by technology standards in a year or even 6 months.
However, on the bright side and this is the half-full analogy: it will only be obsolete the day it stops doing what you want it to do. If that's 2 years from now, 3 years from (as many in this thread have mentioned) no it won't be obsolete then.
Let me put it this way, half-empty analogy: yes it will obsolete by technology standards in a year or even 6 months.
However, on the bright side and this is the half-full analogy: it will only be obsolete the day it stops doing what you want it to do. If that's 2 years from now, 3 years from (as many in this thread have mentioned) no it won't be obsolete then.
Any computer is obsolete the moment it leaves the store. It's the nature of the beast. That said, any computer is more than powerful enough to do whatever you want it to do for years to come, at least for most users.
It's the nature of the beast. That said, any computer is more than powerful enough to do whatever you want it to do for years to come, at least for most users.Yup! 10.5.6 on my iBook too. It's a good little machine - no hardware problems and only one issue with software - I got a bad update and had to re-install. For word processing and e-mail and surfing it's all I really need for that.
What I would do is wait another couple of years until Apple releases "MacBook Final" which will be the definitive consumer laptop. There won't be any hardware updates after that, so you will have the best version that will ever be. The reason it will happen in a few years is Apple is waiting on a technology that will allow them to auto update all laptop specs like RAM and processing power over the internet (which is how it will stay the definitive version once you get it).
Obsolete, no.
Outdated, yes.
People get so hung up on the update schedule of computers.
Nobody buys a new car then freaks out when the next year's models come out and have slightly better gas efficiency or fourteen more horsepower.
Computers nor cars cease to work any better when new models come out. If a computer fits your needs right now, it is very likely it will fit your needs for years to come (special exception being gamers, but, yeah, they're quite the special case).
Outdated, yes.
People get so hung up on the update schedule of computers.
Nobody buys a new car then freaks out when the next year's models come out and have slightly better gas efficiency or fourteen more horsepower.
Computers nor cars cease to work any better when new models come out. If a computer fits your needs right now, it is very likely it will fit your needs for years to come (special exception being gamers, but, yeah, they're quite the special case).
Not really for example I had a 17'' MBP 2007 model... and well I sold it about 1 month ago... the computer was fine and could lasted more... my new 17'' is only a bit better but nothing as much as to call my old mbp outdated.
About the only thing that seems to get outdated quickly these days is the graphics cards. Other than that, not much as changed for the last few years.
...it will be outdated as soon as the next refresh for
, at that point all software will cease to exist