Can The Mac Save You Upgrade Costs?
- 5
- Add a Comment
Over the past couple of years, something that I have found interesting is that many Mac owners are finding the need to upgrade with much lesser frequency than Windows users. No, I am deadly serious and after living with a Mac in my own home that my wife “lives on”, I think am coming to fully understand why.
Despite what others might think, the fact of the matter is many upgrades are driven by performance improvements or the promise of a vastly better UI. Software, because most of us have to pay for it, is not something we are always in a rush to run out and purchase yet again.
So considering that a Mac, so long as it is running, is just as usable as it was the day it was purchased? I know countless iBook users who while admire the MacBook, are still perfectly happy with their older iBook experience. It’s so weird to Windows users as most of them can hardly wait to see what Microsoft is coming out with next. Is it a fluke? I do not think so. No, I think that Apple has managed to provide a consistent experience over the course of OS X’s life and this allows its users to find themselves in a good place from day one. Hardcore Mac users of course, are the exception to this I suppose.
5 Comments
Dave
April 25th, 2009
at 10:40am
There are significant cost savings when you do eventually upgrade too. The Mac’s Migration Assistant is a supreme experience. Open the box, fire up the new computer, check YES to the upgrade from another computer, and hook the two together with Firewire. The entire process is automated. My last upgrade took under 15 minutes via FW800.
Other than printer drivers (I think historically these have been a problem) ALL APPLICATIONS, DOCUMENTS, MUSIC, PICTURES, ETC. are moved to the new computer. I have only ONE application that requires me to re-enter the serial number… all the others just work! It even takes the same IP address if you assign fixed IP addresses.
This saves me hours and hours of work each time I upgrade a system. I typically use that older system to upgrade an even older unit so I can retire the oldest, slowest unit. So each upgrade is actually two upgrades.
All I need to do is reinstall OS X as a fresh install and presto, Migration Assistant is ready for another upgrade!
brock
April 25th, 2009
at 2:07pm
You are partially correct. As a long time mac user I keep a computer for quite awhile because new operating system updates always get faster. Make my stuff feel new.
Only until I can’t update to the new system do I move forward. This will be the case with snow leopard so I will finally move on from my 12″ PB G4 to a new laptop.
Jeff
April 25th, 2009
at 4:42pm
So…I have an old (really old) iBook that balks at running Firefox because it has OS 9.2 and can’t navigate all the scripts that come flying at it. When I try to get my Google mail, it chokes.
How do I use that or my older iMac 350 to retrieve email and browse the Internet (even if I can’t view videos)?
[ Jeff ]
Wm
April 27th, 2009
at 12:01pm
Gotta have it!
Many mac users I’ve dealt with still “Gotta Have it!” when there’s something new. Of course, it’s easier for a lot of them because they can get a lot more for their old mac than any old Windows computer.
Contrast that with many Windows users who “Gotta Wait” because an upgrade is likely to be catastrophic. And they already have 2 or 3 old PCs around that no one’s using (see below).
Then there’s the opposite, “No Choice” cause they’re old system is infected, or hosed in some other way, and they can’t fix it for less than the price of a new system. It might only be 1 yr old, but feels like a 6 yr old already. They don’t just need a new system, they need a mac.
No, that’s not a fan boy statement. I’m a consultant, and it’s my opinion that most people I’ve met who buy a new system because they can’t fix their old one would truly be better off with a modern Mac. Those who can fix their old one may have good reason to use Windows (and not just price, which is a false reason to stick with Windows anyway).
Brett Schulte
April 27th, 2009
at 12:27pm
Don’t forget that with Mac OS, new releases often run FASTER than previous version on existing hardware. Each new version of Windows on the other hand has always been slower. Supposedly, Windows 7 will change that.