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hm don't remember the year we got it but we switched in 98 or was it 99 from a
486/66DX2 to a Pentium 3/500 mhz
boy what a speed increase

after that in 2002 the Pentium3 case got upgraded with a amd athlon xp 2000 + other parts
which i still use today as my windows/linux box

since 2005 my main computer is a g4 mini (bought at release)

next upgrade very likely end of 2008 which would make current cycle around 3,5 years which is about right
 
I finally caved in a few months ago and opened the iBook box. (See my earlier post.) Maxed out the RAM and it's running good 'ol 10.3.9 :)
 
Since you added that thingy.

My longest upgrade was 99'-03, with a generic Windows 95 machine.

I bought a really old Toshiba laptop sometime in 2005, and I use it nearly daily for writing purposes. (Which I transfer to my slightly newer PC, then uploaded onto my mini)
 
My current main computer:
1.5 Ghz 15" PB - had since they came out. so how many years is that?

Oh I still have my 333MHZ bondi blue imac g3 but its running ubuntu so it no longer counts. :p
 
i'll give you longest and shortest: =)

longest:
98 dell dimension xps r450 (pII 450mhz, 10gb hdd, 128mb ram, 16mb vram, dvd, win98se)
upgrades: 1.85tb hdd, 768mb ram, wifi, cdrw, newer graphics card (forgot the specs), xp pro
it has always been on 24/7 since day 1, except when i was moving or power outage. hardware wise it's been reliable until last yr when the logic board crapped out. but it's been great after i replaced it w/ another xps r board. amazingly, the orig. IBM 7.2k rpm deathstar is still in use today as the OS's hdd. the system is still on 24/7 and is used daily as my main file server. it was gonna be replaced this winter w/ a homemade pc but it'll have to hold up a little longer cos i'll be traveling abroad. :D

shortest:
black mb cd 2.0ghz --> mbp cd 2.0ghz --> mbp c2d 2.16ghz (current main computer)
went thru 3 laptops in less than 4 mos, mainly b/c of mb's rss and various problems w/ the mbp cd 2.0ghz. genius bar was helpful but the contracted repair depot was kinda retarded - they would send my laptop back w/o fixing anything w/ scratches all over. at the end i was gettin fed up and paid the restockin fee for a mpb c2d.
 
I usually go about 4 years between computers. I'm not a particularly demanding user; in actuality, I'm more concerned with having a sexy computer that goes well with my decor and doesn't appear outdated. I'm going to be buying a new flatscreen TV to go with my iMac in a few months.
 
I'm still living it... sold my MBP in June ahead of the updates, and then decided to wait out and see if the new iMac was up to much, and before you know it I'm waiting for Jan 15th. Thankfully my housemate has a 12" PB which she kindly "lent" me a partition on.
So it'll be nearly 7 months in total... and either the new ultraportable (or Macbook, we'll have to see) and a 24" iMac will be bought. And they'll do me for a while.


Theoretically ;)
 
Erm, oo, um...

I tend to use a few computers at any one time. I buy a new one every one-two years, fuelled lately by the desire to have everything Mac.

The oldest one that I'm still 'using' is a Dell from 2002, which is at the end, IMHO, of the period of them making good PC's. That said, I switched it off last night for the first time in ages because it's no longer doing anything useful.

My Mac Pro is my 'perfect' desktop - of every desktop computer I have had it's by far the best. Hell, it's so good that Apple still haven't updated it ;) My SR MacBook Pro isn't my perfect laptop, but it's the best one I've had yet. The form factor is a little big/heavy and the battery life isn't good, but it has all the power I need. So, I'd take a guess that the next computer I purchase will be another Apple laptop in some new form factor, if that ever happens.
 
Oddly enough my Powerbook lasted me the longest, despite it being the slowest computer I bought at purchase. It lasted a nice 2 years before I got iMac. It's a year old now so I might even make a new record.
 
Ive only had one computer, and that's my Macbook.

BUt my sister went all through High school with a toshiba laptop, finally to be replaced my a Macbook when she went to collage.
 
I had my Compaq Presario 6000 from February 2003-October 2006. Looking back it seems like I had it a lot longer than that but I guess not.
 
Apple IIc from 1986 to 1994 when I got a no-name 486.

I am currently using a Dell I bought in 2002 and a 24" Aluminum iMac that I got last month.
 
I went from a Celeron (it was originally a PIII until I fried it :p) to a 3GHz P4, so about 6 years or so. I had the P4 for just 3 years until I got my Mac. I'll probably keep the Mac until 2015 or so as my main machine (assuming that it doesnt die).
 
Personally? I think the PB I'm typing on is the leader, as I've only bought my own machine twice. This one I've used since 4/04, the machine before that was a Vaio that I had bought 1/01.

But, family machines are another story. We had our Kaypro PC (not to be confused with the 286i which was built in the same case) from 1985 to 1995 when we replaced it with a HP Pavilion P133. After that, things got sketchy. I graduated high school in 1997 and while I was in college, my folks went through an eMachine (maybe 2, I can't remember) and a Compaq. Then, they had a machine my Dad was allowed to bring home from work to use. Finally, they got their iMac G5 in June '05 as a thank you present for all their help with my wedding.

So, your answer is either 3y8m and counting or roughly 10y.
 
I still have a Quadra 700 in use regularly. So thats 14 years. In fact my Mac Plus is still occasionally used. But the longest I've gone without upgrading my main computer is Audio Video G4 tower from 2001 January until now. It sits at home for web, storage, and a bit of fun. I'm in the waiting for new Mac Pro category.
 
The longest ever on my primary machine was 4 years (Mac SE/30), but that doesn't mean that was my oldest machine ever. Once I've upgraded my primary computer, I still use older machines for other purposes. Right now I have an old G4-400 and a B/W G3-400 in use as servers.
 
Probably a little less than 2 years would be the longest I've had a machine without upgrading.

The machine I've had the longest and still use often is my 12" G4 Powerbook.
 
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