absurdio said:
Maybe it's just because I'm a poor college student, but I would LOVE to know how some of you people seem to be able to afford a new 2-3k laptop every few months. Come to think of it, I'd also love to know what you do with your (now obsolete) 3-month-old laptops. Does someone buy used powerbooks? And will anyone buy my comparatively ancient one? Or maybe you guys just keep them around as souveneirs? Like you just have these loooong desks that form a timeline of powerbookology, and you just sit at the far right at all times at the newest addition.
I suspect that in many cases people sell off their earlier PBs or iBooks or iMacs in order to be able to afford the newest versions. ?? There's friends and relatives, there's eBay, there's used computer shops.... ?? I am a fairly new switcher, having bought my first Mac, a Rev B iMac, from the local Apple store, at the time that the Rev C (iSight camera-equipped) iMac was coming out. Saved myself a little money and got the machine that I wanted. Later I bought a PB when changes were announced to the PB line..... I needed a new laptop and had already decided that I was committed to OS X and the way a Mac works. Now, just a few months later, suddenly here we are with new iterations of both machines available (or soon to be). Am I rushing to replace my two computers because now suddenly they're "obsolete?" No way! I'm neither adding to my small collection of Apple computers nor selling off my older machines in order to be able to use the newest technology.
I have to admit that it's tempting when looking at the new machines (I saw them both at MacWorld earlier this month and then the new iMac later in my local Apple store) to want to grab one, but the reality is, both of my machines are still new(ish) and both are functioning just fine and doing what I need them to do. That said, if I had a much older iMac or much older PB or were looking into buying a Mac for the first time, I wouldn't hesitate to go ahead and buy one of these new intel-based Macs. If finances were an issue, I'd go ahead and sell off my elderly machine in order to get a new one.... But, yes, this is only one scenario. Some people bought a new iMac just around Christmastime. In another scenario there are those who feel dissatisfied with their machines which are only three, four or five months old and who want to have the newest thing coming down the pike. Have to admit, if I'd just bought my iMac at Christmastime and then only a few days later Apple was announcing the new intel version of the iMac, I'd be royally pissed off. If I had bought an iMac or PB in November or December and then learned about the intel thing, I'd be concerned about whether or not I'd made a smart purchase.
A lot depends upon what you're going to use your computer to do, and if you're going to be using it for "pro" applications such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Final Cut and whatever, then for the moment you're actually better off using one of the earlier iMacs or PBs because of the current inavailability of many applications running on "native" universal binary..... If, on the other hand, you're just going to be using your new iMac or PB for basic funcions, all of which are provided by the current Apple software that is in each new iMac or MacBook Pro, then you're good to go....
Where do people get the money to buy the latest? Well, where there is a will there is a way, and for some people it is really important to have the newest technology.... Everyone has different priorities and different financial strategies to get what they want....
OTB
