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Are people clueless?

Eric Lewis

Eric Lewis

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 4, 2007
2,380
1
CANADA? eh?
I work at an Apple Reseller and they fix old machines and sell them and also sell new ones

Someone spent 750 dollars fixing a powerbook Titanium? (used macbooks are like 900)

Someone spent 1800 dollars fixing a powermac G5 2.0ghx..(used macpros or almost new one)

Someone spent 375 dollars fixing iBook Clamshell (wow what a waist)

Someone spent 1050 dollars on iMac G5 17'' (hello iMac 20 aluminum)

Someone spent 225 dollars fixing a Powerbook G3? (wow)

Someone spent 650 on 17' iMac G4 (ok then)

Wow people are so stupid....spending more on a old machine then almost a new one)
 
Maybe they are attached to their old machines. Maybe they have a reason for needing that specific machine rather than something newer. Just be glad that you aren't spending that kind of money on repairs.
 
I'd spend close to what that person spent on the G4 iMac to fix my old G4 17" iMac. I loved that computer. there's no denying that its not even close to the specs of todays machines, but what can I say? sentimental value. unfortunately when apple replaced it with a G5 iMac they wouldn't let me keep it (duh).

so to answer your question, yes, I guess people are cluless. at least I am anyway. lol.
;-)
 
Maybe they have an urgent need to run a Classic app.

Maybe they're on a strict budget; they have $x and not $(x+1)

Maybe they have some other reason to prefer their existing Macs to new ones. (For example, I'm extremely fond of the form factor of my 12" PowerBook...I don't know that I'm fond enough to pay big money to fix it rather than replace it, but still. It's something that no new Mac offers.)

Maybe you should think carefully before judging someone clueless or stuipid.
 
fall in love with PEOPLE... and dogs! but not with machines.. don't fall in love with your car, even if it's a Ferrari.... needless to say, don't fall in love with your computer... be practical!:D
 
Some people may have good reason to fix rather than replace. This is true when working on a friend's/relative's/spouse's machine who will not replace just to be current with technology.
 
macwannabe77 said:
hahahahah i needed that laugh. :)
Click to expand...
Haha yeah. They don't tech teh english liek they used 2. To the OP: as other people have said, people are very attached to their machines. I still have my final rev G4 Book, so what? I'll use it til it dies, then I'll probably just repair it. MacBooks might be shiny, but this does what it needs to. Also, you sound like an extreme fanboi consumed with the latest, shiniest thing, thus making it difficult for you to understand the concept of attachment to, yes, even a computer. Like it or not, computers are integral parts of our lives, just like animals and anything else, and we do sometimes grow fond of them, for a variety of reasons. Given that you work at Best Buy, I'm sure the concept of simply upgrading their machines was mentioned to people when they brought in their computers for repair, and possibly the people simply did not want to upgrade or, hey, maybe they didn't have the extra money, it can be a lot to some people. Don't revel in the choices of people you don't know.
 
markrivers said:
fall in love with PEOPLE... and dogs! but not with machines.. don't fall in love with your car, even if it's a Ferrari.... needless to say, don't fall in love with your computer... be practical!:D
Click to expand...

nope, I loved it- that computer was my introduction to OSX, and back to enjoying the time I spent using my tools (in the end that's all they are , a tool, but if I'm going to have to spend my time, and money, on it I deserve to at least not dread every minute of it)..

I had all but given up on Apple because of OS 9, and I was damn close to saying screw it- because Windows was no worse and it was getting tough to believe anything would change.. I don't care what anyone says- OS 9 was bad.. Force quit might as well have been called Force Crash.. I bought that iMac on a whim one day- still don't know why.. The rest is history.. For some of us OS X was like a big pay day for years of suffering through some good times (OS 8- I liked it), some bad times (OS 9), and some interesting times (every other thing Apple put out for awhile).. When Apple finally got it right with OS X- I mean really right, it all seemed worth it.. I don't know, like I said, sentimental value...
 
In many cases, yes. I've seen people buy used macs and peripherals at auction for more than new prices. I've seen people buy new copies of OSX Server because their older 10.4.1 DVDs wouldn't install on Intel machines (10.4.7 discs are $30 at CDW). My sister spent $2000 for an operation on a 16 year old cat she doesn't like that much.

Damn cats.
 
LOL.. I'm guessing you never really tried to get anything done in OS 9? ... Anyway, let me get back to my Oscar winning speech- got so many people to thank.. let's see there's my wife, the kids, oh the dogs, can't forget them and ....
;-)
 
Wow. For my current laptop which is around $2K with tax, I'd spend no more than 500 in the first year I'd say to get it fixed. If it was more than a year I'd probably just buy a new one. But for a machine that old...I guess those customers have a special attachment to their computers - or they absolutely can't get a new one for some other reason.
 
markrivers said:
fall in love with PEOPLE... and dogs! but not with machines.. don't fall in love with your car, even if it's a Ferrari.... needless to say, don't fall in love with your computer... be practical!:D
Click to expand...

Why should we not have affection for tools which are integral to human life?

A painter to his brush.
A writer to her pen.
A baby to their new toy.
A musician to their piano.

I love my wife... I love my daughter... I love my life... I love my job... AND I love typing on my Powerbook AND love working in OSX.

(Confucius said, “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”)
 
Eric Lewis said:
Someone spent 375 dollars fixing iBook Clamshell (wow what a waist)

...

Wow people are so stupid....spending more on a old machine then almost a new one)
Click to expand...

waste
than
...

a case of the pot calling the kettle black;)
 
As others have said, it depends on the situation.

As an example: If my 15" powerbook G4 would break tomorrow I'd rather pay 900 € to get it fixed than to get a macbook. Why? I'm a designer/illustrator working mostly on vector illustrations in Illustrator and layouts in InDesign. To be honest I can't tell a big difference in performance in these applications between my powerbook and my 2,8 ghz iMac as long as the files stay small (which vector files do most of the time). But working with these programs on a screen smaller than 15" is a pain for me, I've tried it on a friends macbook. And I wouldn't have the money tomorrow wo get a 2000 € macbook pro.
 
A week ago I bought a used PowerBook 12" G4 1.33Ghz with 1.5GB of Ram and 100GB HD running tiger. The screen and case are mint like new. The only problem is the optical CD-DVD drive is dead. I paid the guy $170 for the PB and a new optical super drive will cost $99. So the original poster is telling me that I should buy a new Mac Book Pro and throw this perfectly good machine away because I have to buy a new optical drive for $100 ?
 
dwl017 said:
A week ago I bought a used PowerBook 12" G4 1.33Ghz with 1.5GB of Ram and 100GB HD running tiger. The screen and case are mint like new. The only problem is the optical CD-DVD drive is dead. I paid the guy $170 for the PB and a new optical super drive will cost $99. So the original poster is telling me that I should buy a new Mac Book Pro and throw this perfectly good machine away because I have to buy a new optical drive for $100 ?
Click to expand...

*facepalm* The only people more clueless than those in the OP's post are the people replying here. To answer your question: No, unless you can get a MacBook for $100.

I'll rephrase your situation so that it, you know, has something remotely to do with what the OP is saying:

"Hi, I bought a Powerbook the other day for $170! However, the logic board is fried, the screen is cracked, the backlight doesn't come on, the keyboard is gummed up, the hard drive is dead, the power cord is shorted out, and the case has been almost totally destroyed by sulfuric acid! The repairs are expected to cost $950. Is the OP really saying that I should spend $1000 on a MacBook with improved @#$%ing EVERYTHING instead of spending $950 on this Powerbook? What an outrage! I love this Powerbook!"
 
dwl017 said:
A week ago I bought a used PowerBook 12" G4 1.33Ghz with 1.5GB of Ram and 100GB HD running tiger. The screen and case are mint like new. The only problem is the optical CD-DVD drive is dead. I paid the guy $170 for the PB and a new optical super drive will cost $99. So the original poster is telling me that I should buy a new Mac Book Pro and throw this perfectly good machine away because I have to buy a new optical drive for $100 ?
Click to expand...

No. I think the OP is wondering why people are willing to pay so much to get an old machine fixed when, for just a little more money, they could buy a new one. In your case, a little bit more money will not get you a new machine. Great deal on the PB by the way.

SthrnCmfrtr said:
*facepalm* The only people more clueless than those in the OP's post are the people replying here. To answer your question: No, unless you can get a MacBook for $100.

I'll rephrase your situation so that it, you know, has something remotely to do with what the OP is saying:

"Hi, I bought a Powerbook the other day for $170! However, the logic board is fried, the screen is cracked, the backlight doesn't come on, the keyboard is gummed up, the hard drive is dead, the power cord is shorted out, and the case has been almost totally destroyed by sulfuric acid! The repairs are expected to cost $950. Is the OP really saying that I should spend $1000 on a MacBook with improved @#$%ing EVERYTHING instead of spending $950 on this Powerbook? What an outrage! I love this Powerbook!"
Click to expand...

Hahaha! Love the rephrased situation!
 
Well, I just spent $75 on 512mb of memory and a copy of Tiger to install on an old iMac 266, plus $10 on a 333mhz board for it.

The kids are in heaven :)
 
LOL. it really doesn't make much sense to spend more to rebuild a computer that is so bad absolutely nothing can be saved than you could get a new one for. sometimes you've just got to let go. but hey, the value of something is all relative so who are we to question how someone chooses to spend their money?

when my g4 iMac was replaced free of charge I would have preferred to keep it and find some use for it, but that wasnt the deal apple was offering. it just made sense to give it in and take a g5 replacement for me. others may have been in a different situation and keeping it could have been best for them. sometimes things don't ALWAYS come down to dollars & cents - that's all some people are saying.
 
I don't think you can make blanket statements like that.

Sure it would be great to spend a couple hundred extra and get the newer machines but some people just do not have that couple hundred extra.

or maybe they have a lot of laptop batteries and accessories for the older machine that makes buying a newer one unnecessary.

And buying the newer machine is always the beginning of the costs. There is always new software, accessories, and other things that make that cost higher than just the hardware.
 
I think I detect "Help, we killed the neighbor's hamster while they were away" syndrome ;)
 
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