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The 2013 Air just got long in the tooth
- Thread starter calvol
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Do you buy your computer's as investments? That doesn't seem like the best idea...
If not then what does the resale value matter? If you needed a new one it seems like it would be annoying being stuck on the older one since you didn't upgrade.
My computers are investments. The return isn't on resale, but on the work I get done
Mine are both! Just sold my 2008 MBA for £306 on eBay which served me well for 3 years and then almost the same for my girlfriend. Cost £1050 + £150 AppleCare (used twice) + £180 for a SSD upgrade so £179 a year.
Helped to bring in revenue of around £250k so not a bad investment, and significant cheaper than many of my other annual business costs!
Glad you enjoyed your machines. Still using my first mac- macbook air 2011 and look at the apple nut I am now!
No, a computer is not an investment. Not unless you are buying one of those original Macs hoping you can sell it for a profit.
Yes, I know we like to use terms if they feel good, but an investment requires a profit or appreciation in value. A computer (for the most part) does not appreciate in value. It is an expense.
It can "feel" like an investment, in money and blood sweat and tears, but it isn't.
If you buy a computer to invest, I have some Enron stock I want to sell you.
The best you can hope for is not to loose all your money when you resell. The fact that Macs retain their value longer and better than other PCs doesn't make them investments. It makes them.... hold their value better.
Put your money in an interest bearing account. That is an investment.
Yes, I know we like to use terms if they feel good, but an investment requires a profit or appreciation in value. A computer (for the most part) does not appreciate in value. It is an expense.
It can "feel" like an investment, in money and blood sweat and tears, but it isn't.
If you buy a computer to invest, I have some Enron stock I want to sell you.
The best you can hope for is not to loose all your money when you resell. The fact that Macs retain their value longer and better than other PCs doesn't make them investments. It makes them.... hold their value better.
Put your money in an interest bearing account. That is an investment.
Investments aren't defined purely on their profitability. Lots of people made investments in Enron and lots of people lost money. The goal of an investment is generally to see some kind of return, but that doesn't have to be purely financial in then sense of having more money for it after a period of time.
To use your example, if I had money in an interest bearing account in Iceland, was that an investment?
I'm afraid you don't understand what stands behind "investment". When a company purchases new technology that increases productivity, it does make an investment. It depreciates and loses value over time and no profit is extracted from the (e.g.) machines themselves, but that's irrelevant to the purchase being an investment as it allowed the company to extract greater value from their operations. You can consider a purchase of a computer as an investment if it provides you with rent generating potential.
In fact, in broad economic terms, an investment is an allocation of capital in factors of production that create new value.
As far as the topic goes, I myself was choosing between the MBA and the new rMBP. In my other topic I gave my reasons for going with the MBA. The fact that MBAs' resale value was hit by the major price reduction in the retinas can't be denied. It doesn't change the fact, that I still went with the MBA for a number of reasons. The difference in price for me was absolutely immaterial (we're talking 30 pounds more for the rMBP on top of the 1049 I paid for the MBA - edu discount, London School of Economics ftw).
Also, the rMBPs are likely to make MBAs obsolete technology much sooner. I imagine we'll see another reduction in the chassis thickness and weight in the coming years. MBAs will undoubtedly disappear or rather merge with rMBPs into one ultimate product (that the MBA would be with a retina screen).
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Yes it would. There is the real definition of investment, and then whatever other definitions people want to give it.
The investments in Enron were made in anticipation of profit. Not all investments are successful.
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Ummmm, ok
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/investment
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But we are not talking in "broad economic terms" are we? We are talking in very specific personal terms for an individual. So who is who lacks understanding of "investment"?
Ummmm, ok
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/investment
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But we are not talking in "broad economic terms" are we? We are talking in very specific personal terms for an individual. So who is who lacks understanding of "investment"?
These are words, what's important is the economic reality behind it. Please don't throw dictionary definitions at me, I've done my fair share of economic analysis at both micro and macro level. I can't imagine anyone buying a laptop to get a return on this investment in terms of how you're trying to define it.
Economic understanding of an investment as appropriation of capital for rent generating factors is very relevant to individual decisions. If you treat it in this shallow, but admittedly intuitive way, you may easily conclude that purchasing a consumable like a laptop cannot be considered an investment under any circumstances. Unfortunately that's wrong.
This discussion is irrelevant to the topic anyway. More importantly so, that I can't see many people buying luxury laptops as investments.
When I saw the price of the new rMBP, I was slightly (and very briefly) disappointed I hadn't waited.
On the other hand, still very much chuffed with my one month old MBA. What a neat little machine !
I'm not trying to justify a wrong decision or anything like that because I really like the form factor and feel of the MBA.
In all honesty, if I had to buy a new machine now, I admit I would give the rMBP serious consideration but even then, I think I'd go for the MBA again.
On the other hand, still very much chuffed with my one month old MBA. What a neat little machine !
I'm not trying to justify a wrong decision or anything like that because I really like the form factor and feel of the MBA.
In all honesty, if I had to buy a new machine now, I admit I would give the rMBP serious consideration but even then, I think I'd go for the MBA again.
I felt the same way when I got the email and saw the base line i5/8GB/256GB rMBP started just under ~$100 than my i7/8GB/256GB Air, but I love this computer.
The speed, the weight, the battery life and with Mavericks even the screen looks better than it did when I got it. I have no complaints and look forward to 2-3 years of enjoyment out of it.
After those 2-3 years, I look forward to seeing how thin and "Air-like" the rMBP will be and possibly moving up to the retina display at that time.
No regrets, MBA is a fantastic machine and I don't think the retina is there yet to make it obsolete. As I already mentioned a couple of times, I just faced this choice this week and went with the MBA. When they came out on tuesday I was in such an anguish for not being able to make up my mind that I had to get drunk. Went to the Apple store yesterday to compare the two and I'm happy to say I have no doubts anymore.
The rMBP with same specs as my MBA (i5/8GB/256GB) still doesn't cut it as a truly PRO machine, but it's just bulkier (marginally on paper, but trust me, it does make a difference) but does have the better screen. Then again, battery life on the Air and the form factor just make it a better computer, imho, given the specifications and usage you might get out of it. The lower end rMBPs are just bulkier Airs with better screens and poorer battery life.
You don't achieve a return on the investment on a laptop. You may get a return on something intangible like the time and effort you put in towards making that machine useful for your needs, or maybe you can justify a bit of both... But it's not just the hardware that you will probably sell, give away or tuck away somewhere two-three years from now that you can calculate a return on.
And to paraphrase Churchill - The economic definition of an investment is the worse definition, except for all others that have been tried.
"Trying to define it"? No, as it is defined.
How so?
That was my whole point. You don't buy laptops as investments. Laptops are expenses. I missed that whole disagreement with my use of the term "investment".
So do I get 8GB of RAM? Do I get 512GB SSD? Which is the better investment?
Neither.
Neither are investments. One "may" hold its value longer, so when you sell it, you lose a little less money.
I know the term "investment" is used in other contexts. I have a lot "invested" in my MBA. A lot of blood, sweat and tears (more like a lot of time and effort configuring it). But that "type" of investment is not what we are talking about.
IF you bought a 2013 MBA, is that a good investment? Would buying a rMBP 13" be a "better" investment?
Again, neither.
My advice to people is to buy as much computer as you can afford that can do the things you want to do. Whether it's retina or not retina or i5 or i7, my advice is buy as much as you can afford. No one ever complained about having too much RAM or too much SSD. But in ANY case, none of these decisions should be framed in the context of an financial "investment", because laptops are not investments.
That was my point and I am confused because you seem to agree then disagree. Not sure, but that's ok. Care to buy some Enron stock?
@louden, that was the point I was making, so I'm not sure what you were trying to achieve.
@Zboater, you keep talking about the accounting definition of the investment that is related to the book value of the item, which here should be irrelevant, but that's exactly what people think when they are buying such consumables. So, ultimately, I can agree with you that in the accounting sense, buying a laptop is not an investment. It might be in the economic sense of things, but obviously, this is not the place for such a discussion.
@Zboater, you keep talking about the accounting definition of the investment that is related to the book value of the item, which here should be irrelevant, but that's exactly what people think when they are buying such consumables. So, ultimately, I can agree with you that in the accounting sense, buying a laptop is not an investment. It might be in the economic sense of things, but obviously, this is not the place for such a discussion.
It kinda is when you have all these kids talking and asking which MBA should I buy because they want to make an "investment", or which one is the better "investment". Aside from teaching the proper use of the English language, which is generally frowned upon on internet forums, the quicker they learn that spending money on laptops is never an investment of any kind, the quicker they can maybe focus on what really matters when selecting an electronic device - its suitability to meet one's specific and personal needs.
They come asking for advice - and they're getting.
Now, if you happen to get your hands on an Apple 1....
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/28/tech/gaming-gadgets/apple-computer-auction/