My youngest daughter and I got to spend the day together. My wife is accompanying my youngest son on a road trip as he moves to Ohio. That allowed my daughter and I to spend the day together rock climbing, buying wood to replace our backyard fence, and watching a movie together. During the course of the day, my daughter told me it is about time to replace her aging MacBook. I asked her why and she reminded me that her current computer is 8 years old. I think she may be right about replacing it.
I recently went through the exercise of replacing a computer and know that you pay a premium when you buy a Mac. However it is hard to argue with the fact that her current Mac is 8 years old and lasted her well. When I bought her that computer, I told her to take care of it as her next one would be her responsibility. She has treated it well and only now does she need to replace it.
Having spent 8 years with a Mac makes it difficult for her to want a Windows computer. She knows all of the ins and outs of the Mac operating system. I think a shift to Windows would confuse her. I asked her what she wants, thinking that she might go for the less expensive MacBook Air. Nope, she wants another MacBook Pro. Given the difference in prices, she will end up spending about $400 to $500 more than for the MacBook Air. I thought about it for a bit and realized that the Pro will probably last another 8 years while the Air would only last 4. That justifies the cost of the more expensive laptop as it will ultimately be cheaper in the long run.
It is important to note that not all Mac laptops are supposed to last that long. My oldest daughter gets only a couple of years before things start breaking as she is a little harsher on her computers than my youngest daughter. My youngest daughter also really only uses her computer to do things like visit social media sites and browse the Internet. She is not a software developer nor does she require a lot of horsepower.
My daughter didn't order the computer today as she is waiting to make sure she doesn't have any expensive bills coming up any time soon. She doesn't want to deplete her savings until she does a little financial forecasting first. This is good as it will give her some time to evaluate which options she wants and is willing to pay for. I'm sure she will be excited when the new computer comes.
Showing posts with label MacBook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MacBook. Show all posts
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Thursday, April 25, 2019
A New Laptop . . . Again
Last week I thought my IT department was to blame for the poor performance of my laptop. It turns out that my laptop really did break. There is an internal ribbon cable for my keyboard and mouse that needed replacing. I could have fixed it with an $8 part but my IT department just gave me a new laptop instead. The bad ribbon cable is a common problem with that era of MacBook Pro.
One of the reasons I keep adding to this blog is that it serves as a technical notebook. When it came time to copy all of the stuff off my old computer, I just looked up what I did the last time and that allowed me to get my new machine set up quickly. I picked up the new computer on Monday and returned my old one this morning. The only thing I had forgotten to include in my last instructions is to copy over the VPN settings. While my IT department set up the primary server settings, there is an older secondary one that will often work when the other doesn't. For those keeping track, I made sure to:
One of the reasons I keep adding to this blog is that it serves as a technical notebook. When it came time to copy all of the stuff off my old computer, I just looked up what I did the last time and that allowed me to get my new machine set up quickly. I picked up the new computer on Monday and returned my old one this morning. The only thing I had forgotten to include in my last instructions is to copy over the VPN settings. While my IT department set up the primary server settings, there is an older secondary one that will often work when the other doesn't. For those keeping track, I made sure to:
- Copy all of the files from my backup
- Copy bookmarks from my browser
- Set up printers
- New: copy VPN settings
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Late Nights and Early Mornings
I have spent the last 3 days in Tokyo, Japan and now I am at the airport headed back to Salt Lake. I have two hours to kill before my flight and I am having a tough time staying awake. When I arrive in Japan, I always try to stay as close to US time as possible. That means I try to wake up early and go to bed early. Unfortunately this trip has been rather different. Normally I am here for 4 days and that keeps me pretty busy. One less day means that I have been busy from the time I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night. This trip had me going to bed late every night.
All of the work I have been doing means I have been spending an incredible amount of time on my laptop. It has performed flawlessly the entire trip. Unfortunately it is rather old and everyone keeps commenting on how I need to replace it with one of the new MacBooks that were recently announced. I know they are right and that I will be able to do more with a newer computer. However that means backing up my old one, getting used to the new one, and figuring out what files I want to keep around. That sounds like a lot of work and so I am holding off as long as possible. Besides my old computer seems to be working fine as indicated by the past few days.
Waiting to get a new laptop probably sounds stupid as my company has a policy about being able to replace your computer ever couple of years. Some may be thinking that a new computer every few years would be like Christmas. I know that I will eventually have to replace this old workhorse. I just want to put it off for a few more months. If I can wait until September then it will have been used for a solid 4 years. What a good computer.
All of the work I have been doing means I have been spending an incredible amount of time on my laptop. It has performed flawlessly the entire trip. Unfortunately it is rather old and everyone keeps commenting on how I need to replace it with one of the new MacBooks that were recently announced. I know they are right and that I will be able to do more with a newer computer. However that means backing up my old one, getting used to the new one, and figuring out what files I want to keep around. That sounds like a lot of work and so I am holding off as long as possible. Besides my old computer seems to be working fine as indicated by the past few days.
Waiting to get a new laptop probably sounds stupid as my company has a policy about being able to replace your computer ever couple of years. Some may be thinking that a new computer every few years would be like Christmas. I know that I will eventually have to replace this old workhorse. I just want to put it off for a few more months. If I can wait until September then it will have been used for a solid 4 years. What a good computer.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Broken Electronics
This weeks has been a bad week for electronics in our family. The only problem with owning something is that you get used to it and really hate it when it breaks.
Yesterday I got a call from my son down at college and he was pretty upset. He had been cleaning the screen on his relatively new Sony Xperia Z phone when it cracked right down the middle. When that happens, the touch screen no longer works and the phone is almost useless. He was only able to call me because he has a smart watch linked to his phone and could use the watch to interface with the phone. As long as the number he wants to call is in his phone's address book, he can make calls. He can also receive calls through the watch.
To add insult to injury, the power supply on my son's 40-inch Samsung TV went out on Saturday. There was the Bronco's game on last night that my son's room mates wanted to watch but couldn't because of the broken TV. They were giving him grief over it and my son was pretty bummed. Never mind that the TV was a free gift from someone at work and none of my son's other room mates had a TV.
My wife and I got done consoling my son when my daughter called and complained that her MacBook's charger had died. She is using a room mate's to charge her computer for now. This is the second time her charger has failed.
There are solutions to all of these problems but it is tough to deal with them all at the same time. Furthermore, Three of the major electronics brands are represented in this week's failures. Guess what they all have in common? Every single one of the failed parts was made by the same company in China. We really need to find another source for our electronic products as this is not the first time I have written about Chinese crap failing.
Yesterday I got a call from my son down at college and he was pretty upset. He had been cleaning the screen on his relatively new Sony Xperia Z phone when it cracked right down the middle. When that happens, the touch screen no longer works and the phone is almost useless. He was only able to call me because he has a smart watch linked to his phone and could use the watch to interface with the phone. As long as the number he wants to call is in his phone's address book, he can make calls. He can also receive calls through the watch.
To add insult to injury, the power supply on my son's 40-inch Samsung TV went out on Saturday. There was the Bronco's game on last night that my son's room mates wanted to watch but couldn't because of the broken TV. They were giving him grief over it and my son was pretty bummed. Never mind that the TV was a free gift from someone at work and none of my son's other room mates had a TV.
My wife and I got done consoling my son when my daughter called and complained that her MacBook's charger had died. She is using a room mate's to charge her computer for now. This is the second time her charger has failed.
There are solutions to all of these problems but it is tough to deal with them all at the same time. Furthermore, Three of the major electronics brands are represented in this week's failures. Guess what they all have in common? Every single one of the failed parts was made by the same company in China. We really need to find another source for our electronic products as this is not the first time I have written about Chinese crap failing.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Big in Japan
There is a song by Alphaville that was popular when I was in high school entitled "Big in Japan." I have been singing the song this morning as I am in Japan and I think I got a hotel room normally set up for the locals. I am used to the beds being low, but this trip it feels like the sink in my bathroom is set unusually low. In the United States, I am of average height. Here in Japan, I feel taller than normal.
My flight was unusually empty last night and that was nice because I could spread out on the plane. I was able to grab a couple of seats by the window and didn't have anyone in front of me or behind me. That kept someone from leaning back on me and I didn't have to worry about leaning back on someone else. Oh the luxuries of an empty plane. This allowed me to pull out my computer and work on an article I am writing for a game development magazine.
There is nothing quite like a 12-hour flight to test the battery power of your laptop. Tablets are known for long battery life, but they are best suited for tasks that don't involve typing unless you have an optional keyboard. I brought my tablet with me on this trip but opted to leave the keyboard at home for weight-saving reasons. I needed my laptop anyways and pulled it out after watching a relaxing movie. The nice thing about using word processing software like Microsoft Word is that it does not eat a lot of battery juice. I cranked out around 1000 words yet used only 10% of my battery power. I could have kept going but my own personally battery needed recharging and so I took a nap.
My oldest daughter recently replaced the battery in her MacBook and found a really great deal. It was probably too great as she only gets about 2 hours before it is time to recharge. I can get close to 10 hours on my factory MacBook Pro battery if I am power conscious. The 2 hours works fine for my daughter who rarely is away from a power source for more than an hour. However if you intend be away from a power outlet for more than that, I highly recommend investing in a quality long-life battery.
My flight was unusually empty last night and that was nice because I could spread out on the plane. I was able to grab a couple of seats by the window and didn't have anyone in front of me or behind me. That kept someone from leaning back on me and I didn't have to worry about leaning back on someone else. Oh the luxuries of an empty plane. This allowed me to pull out my computer and work on an article I am writing for a game development magazine.
There is nothing quite like a 12-hour flight to test the battery power of your laptop. Tablets are known for long battery life, but they are best suited for tasks that don't involve typing unless you have an optional keyboard. I brought my tablet with me on this trip but opted to leave the keyboard at home for weight-saving reasons. I needed my laptop anyways and pulled it out after watching a relaxing movie. The nice thing about using word processing software like Microsoft Word is that it does not eat a lot of battery juice. I cranked out around 1000 words yet used only 10% of my battery power. I could have kept going but my own personally battery needed recharging and so I took a nap.
My oldest daughter recently replaced the battery in her MacBook and found a really great deal. It was probably too great as she only gets about 2 hours before it is time to recharge. I can get close to 10 hours on my factory MacBook Pro battery if I am power conscious. The 2 hours works fine for my daughter who rarely is away from a power source for more than an hour. However if you intend be away from a power outlet for more than that, I highly recommend investing in a quality long-life battery.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Two Computers
I have a daughter headed to college in September. That means I got to buy her a computer that she will take to school. Luckily her birthday is in July and so I could get the laptop as a gift. I just had to decide which one to get. When I started writing this blog, one of my first postings was on which computer was the best to send with your kid to college. I was sending my oldest daughter off to school at the time and decided the MacBook was the best choice.
It is now 3 years later and the MacBook is no longer an option. Apple has two models, the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. Each one has a number of options ranging from screen size to memory. If you are really looking for the original MacBook, you can pick up a refurbished model from MyService. I sat my daughter down and gave her a choice between the Air, Pro, or a refurbished MacBook. Naturally, she didn't want the refurb and I can't say I blame her. I told her I would give here the difference in price to help pay for tuition and she still wanted the new computer. While the Air is a very light computer, my daughter wanted something with a little more horsepower. So I got her the least expensive MacBook Pro.
A few days later, one of my oldest son's old roommates sent me an e-mail asking for help getting a computer. I have a corporate discount to one of the major laptop manufacturers and could save him about $100 on an $800 laptop. I mentioned that my daughter turned down my corporate discount option and went for the more expensive Apple computer. His budget wouldn't let him spend more than the $700 and he wasn't interested in a refurbished Mac. We played around with the configuration and kept the price withing his budget.
My daughter loves her new computer and has been using it constantly since her birthday. I will be interested in comparing the two computers over their respective lives. When I bought my oldest daughter her computer, I was confident it would last. Now I have two computers bought at the same time to compare against each other. Time will tell which is the best deal, but I'm betting on the Mac. My oldest daughter's MacBook has required an upgrade or two, but is still running strong.
It is now 3 years later and the MacBook is no longer an option. Apple has two models, the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. Each one has a number of options ranging from screen size to memory. If you are really looking for the original MacBook, you can pick up a refurbished model from MyService. I sat my daughter down and gave her a choice between the Air, Pro, or a refurbished MacBook. Naturally, she didn't want the refurb and I can't say I blame her. I told her I would give here the difference in price to help pay for tuition and she still wanted the new computer. While the Air is a very light computer, my daughter wanted something with a little more horsepower. So I got her the least expensive MacBook Pro.
A few days later, one of my oldest son's old roommates sent me an e-mail asking for help getting a computer. I have a corporate discount to one of the major laptop manufacturers and could save him about $100 on an $800 laptop. I mentioned that my daughter turned down my corporate discount option and went for the more expensive Apple computer. His budget wouldn't let him spend more than the $700 and he wasn't interested in a refurbished Mac. We played around with the configuration and kept the price withing his budget.
My daughter loves her new computer and has been using it constantly since her birthday. I will be interested in comparing the two computers over their respective lives. When I bought my oldest daughter her computer, I was confident it would last. Now I have two computers bought at the same time to compare against each other. Time will tell which is the best deal, but I'm betting on the Mac. My oldest daughter's MacBook has required an upgrade or two, but is still running strong.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Back From the Dead
This weekend my son and I worked on getting his computer back from the dead. He has a MacBook and so the first thing I did was try to boot the machine. That didn't work, which was expected and so I booted from a CD. On a Mac, that is done by inserting the disk that comes with the computer and holding down the "C" key while turning off and on the computer. The computer came up and looked like it wanted to install the operating system. Fortunately you don't have to proceed any further. There is a menu across the top of the screen and you can just go into Utilities and select Disk Utilities. That brings up a program that can be used to fix certain problems.
At first, the only drive that registered was the CD/DVD drive. Then I needed to move the computer for some reason and that act caused the hard drive to show up in the menu. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything with it. My hope was that the "Repair" button would activate, but that didn't happen no matter what I clicked on or selected. My suspicions were confirmed and the drive was toast.
It was now up to my son to make a decision. He could buy a new hard drive, rent a new computer, or buy a new computer. When he calculated how much money it would cost to rent a computer, he decided that the better option was to buy one. I disagreed with his logic because a $300 laptop is not the same quality of machine that he would have been renting, but didn't say anything. I had to go down to Best Buy to replace a hub I use for the network at the house and so he came along with me to see how much a new hard drive would cost. It was only $50 to get a 250 GB drive and so he picked one up.
My son brought home a friend from school who claimed to take apart Mac computers all the time and so I let the two of them figure out how to open the machine. They removed every visible screw on the outside but still couldn't pull off the cover and asked me for some help. There were three screw inside the battery compartment that I was able to remove. Once I did that, a bar came out, revealing a pull tab for the hard disk. I simply pulled the tab and the disk drive slid out. There was no need to remove all those other screws and so I had the boys put them all back. Meanwhile I pulled the old disk off the mounting tray and put the new one on it. We slid the new drive back in place, replaced the aluminum bar, and screwed in the three screws.
Now it was time to see if our hard work had paid off. We turned on the computer, inserted the Mac OS installation CD and waited for the installation program to start. When it did, we just followed the instructions to format the hard drive and install the operating system. That took about an hour and then it was time for my son to head back to school. I sent him with the installation CD's for a number of other programs that were previously on the computer (like Microsoft Office). My son then spent the rest of the weekend finishing the task of getting his computer back in working order.
Yesterday I got a call from my son. He has his computer back but isn't happy with the version of the operating system. I installed the version that came with the original computer and it is a bit out of date. He wanted to install the version that I have on my Mac, but that would be a violation of the software license agreement. It is only $30 to get the latest version of the Mac OS and so he decided to spend the money. It is amazing how much more thought goes into spending money when it is my son's own cash instead of Dad's.
At first, the only drive that registered was the CD/DVD drive. Then I needed to move the computer for some reason and that act caused the hard drive to show up in the menu. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything with it. My hope was that the "Repair" button would activate, but that didn't happen no matter what I clicked on or selected. My suspicions were confirmed and the drive was toast.
It was now up to my son to make a decision. He could buy a new hard drive, rent a new computer, or buy a new computer. When he calculated how much money it would cost to rent a computer, he decided that the better option was to buy one. I disagreed with his logic because a $300 laptop is not the same quality of machine that he would have been renting, but didn't say anything. I had to go down to Best Buy to replace a hub I use for the network at the house and so he came along with me to see how much a new hard drive would cost. It was only $50 to get a 250 GB drive and so he picked one up.
My son brought home a friend from school who claimed to take apart Mac computers all the time and so I let the two of them figure out how to open the machine. They removed every visible screw on the outside but still couldn't pull off the cover and asked me for some help. There were three screw inside the battery compartment that I was able to remove. Once I did that, a bar came out, revealing a pull tab for the hard disk. I simply pulled the tab and the disk drive slid out. There was no need to remove all those other screws and so I had the boys put them all back. Meanwhile I pulled the old disk off the mounting tray and put the new one on it. We slid the new drive back in place, replaced the aluminum bar, and screwed in the three screws.
Now it was time to see if our hard work had paid off. We turned on the computer, inserted the Mac OS installation CD and waited for the installation program to start. When it did, we just followed the instructions to format the hard drive and install the operating system. That took about an hour and then it was time for my son to head back to school. I sent him with the installation CD's for a number of other programs that were previously on the computer (like Microsoft Office). My son then spent the rest of the weekend finishing the task of getting his computer back in working order.
Yesterday I got a call from my son. He has his computer back but isn't happy with the version of the operating system. I installed the version that came with the original computer and it is a bit out of date. He wanted to install the version that I have on my Mac, but that would be a violation of the software license agreement. It is only $30 to get the latest version of the Mac OS and so he decided to spend the money. It is amazing how much more thought goes into spending money when it is my son's own cash instead of Dad's.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A New Laptop
Recently I received a new laptop at work. It isn't nearly as nice as my old black MacBook, but it means I have yet another computer. For a while I was leaving my work laptop in San Francisco and carrying my MacBook back and forth to Salt Lake. This week I decided to leave it at home and utilize the laptop the company gave me. So far, it has turned out to be a good decision, but the week is still young.
One nice thing about my MacBook is that it has a built-in camera to use with Skype. My new computer has the same setup. None of the computers we have at home have a camera and so it was kind of nice to talk to my son. He logged into my MacBook while I was on my new laptop and we were able to see each other as we talked. It didn't take long before everyone in the family was down in my office crowding behind the laptop screen to get a look at Dad.
Working 600 miles away from home can be a little lonely sometimes. While I spend quite a bit of time on the phone with member of my family, it will be nice to enjoy seeing them as well as talking to them.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Good to be Home
Last night I got back home after a busy week of travel. I visited ten states over a five-day period. Now I am ready for a relaxing week at home. However I may be heading to the San Francisco area shortly. I just hope I have time to rest up a bit before getting back on an airplane.
Last week was incredibly busy. I did half of my travel on airplanes and the other half in a car. It was a great chance to give my mobile office a really thorough workout. I brought my MacBook computer and iPhone. In all honesty I probably could have left my laptop at home as I used my iPhone 95% of the time. In the end, the only real need for the laptop was for its USB port so I could charge my iPhone. Still it was nice to have the laptop just in case I needed the real keyboard. As I said in a previous post, the iPhone keyboard is not nearly as easy to use as a full-sized one.
The iPhone was great for travel in the car. I brought my wife's Subaru Outback Sport as it gets the best gas mileage of the three cars I own (averaging about 30 mpg). It is less than two years old and has an iPod adapter in the center console arm rest. The iPod adapter works with the iPhone with some minor deficiencies. You only have access to the MP3-player features and so if the phone rings, you have to disconnect it from the car and answer it by hand. It would be great if I could hit a button on the steering wheel like many blue tooth equiped vehicles. The only other deficiency is that the adapter will charge an iPod but not an iPhone. That really wasn't an issue because I spent a whole day in the car listening to music and still had plenty of battery power when I pulled into my driveway.
I think the biggest success of the trip was that I spent over 20 hours in the car and never listened to the same song twice. The music capacity of most MP3 players is amazing. When I was a teenager doing road trips, I used to have to carry a box full of cassette tapes. Most tapes were good for between an hour to an hour and a half. Furthermore you often got stuck listening to songs that were just "OK" instead of favorites. Over the past couple of days I was able to listen to all of my favorites and that made the ride go that much quicker.
The second biggest success of the trip was that fact that I drove close to two thousand miles and didn't get a single speeding ticket. Yea, it was a good trip.
Last week was incredibly busy. I did half of my travel on airplanes and the other half in a car. It was a great chance to give my mobile office a really thorough workout. I brought my MacBook computer and iPhone. In all honesty I probably could have left my laptop at home as I used my iPhone 95% of the time. In the end, the only real need for the laptop was for its USB port so I could charge my iPhone. Still it was nice to have the laptop just in case I needed the real keyboard. As I said in a previous post, the iPhone keyboard is not nearly as easy to use as a full-sized one.
The iPhone was great for travel in the car. I brought my wife's Subaru Outback Sport as it gets the best gas mileage of the three cars I own (averaging about 30 mpg). It is less than two years old and has an iPod adapter in the center console arm rest. The iPod adapter works with the iPhone with some minor deficiencies. You only have access to the MP3-player features and so if the phone rings, you have to disconnect it from the car and answer it by hand. It would be great if I could hit a button on the steering wheel like many blue tooth equiped vehicles. The only other deficiency is that the adapter will charge an iPod but not an iPhone. That really wasn't an issue because I spent a whole day in the car listening to music and still had plenty of battery power when I pulled into my driveway.
I think the biggest success of the trip was that I spent over 20 hours in the car and never listened to the same song twice. The music capacity of most MP3 players is amazing. When I was a teenager doing road trips, I used to have to carry a box full of cassette tapes. Most tapes were good for between an hour to an hour and a half. Furthermore you often got stuck listening to songs that were just "OK" instead of favorites. Over the past couple of days I was able to listen to all of my favorites and that made the ride go that much quicker.
The second biggest success of the trip was that fact that I drove close to two thousand miles and didn't get a single speeding ticket. Yea, it was a good trip.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Getting a New Computer
It is always fun to get a new computer. However it can also be a daunting task. What is the best way to move information from one to the other? How can you be sure you got all the information you are going to need? Is there an automated process that makes this easier? Why do we drive on parkways and park in driveways? OK, you can disregard that last question but let's discuss the others.
I generally get a new computer once a year. I have two computers that I use on a frequent basis: my desktop and my laptop. There are several more computers in my home office but they are generally database servers that I use for work and so let's not worry about them.
My laptop is an inexpensive MacBook and my desktop is a PC that dual boots to either Windows Vista or Linux. Last summer I got my MacBook and this summer I got my desktop. I will then hand my laptop to my son next summer as he goes off to college and get a new one. So you can see that I have to go through the computer upgrade process once a year.
When moving from one computer to another, it is important to make sure you get all the right data. It also serves as a good time to throw away all the stuff you will never use again. Perhaps you downloaded a PDF of the instruction manual for that old vacuum cleaner that you sold at the last garage sale. No need to keep that around. I use the following process when upgrading to a new computer:
Step 3 is important if you don't have the option of step 7. The previous time I updated my desktop computer was because my old computer died. I elected to get a new one instead of spending money to fix the old one. Luckily I had done a recent backup and was able to restore all my files. I backup my computer files to DVDs and keep the DVDs in a safe place. You could also use a flash drive but be sure to mark it as your backup so it doesn't get used for something else.
There is probably a software program out there that will help upgrade your computer. Especially if you are going from Windows to Windows or Mac to Mac. However I have three different computing environments and so I end up having to do my upgrades manually.
A new computer can be like having a fun new toy. The only problem is that you can plan on spending a day pulling stuff off your old one and moving it to the new one.
I generally get a new computer once a year. I have two computers that I use on a frequent basis: my desktop and my laptop. There are several more computers in my home office but they are generally database servers that I use for work and so let's not worry about them.
My laptop is an inexpensive MacBook and my desktop is a PC that dual boots to either Windows Vista or Linux. Last summer I got my MacBook and this summer I got my desktop. I will then hand my laptop to my son next summer as he goes off to college and get a new one. So you can see that I have to go through the computer upgrade process once a year.
When moving from one computer to another, it is important to make sure you get all the right data. It also serves as a good time to throw away all the stuff you will never use again. Perhaps you downloaded a PDF of the instruction manual for that old vacuum cleaner that you sold at the last garage sale. No need to keep that around. I use the following process when upgrading to a new computer:
- Clean up the old computer
- Export my e-mail and address book
- Back up all my files
- Move all important files to the new computer
- Install application software like Microsoft Office
- Import my e-mail and address book to the new computer
- Keep the old computer running for a week or two
Step 3 is important if you don't have the option of step 7. The previous time I updated my desktop computer was because my old computer died. I elected to get a new one instead of spending money to fix the old one. Luckily I had done a recent backup and was able to restore all my files. I backup my computer files to DVDs and keep the DVDs in a safe place. You could also use a flash drive but be sure to mark it as your backup so it doesn't get used for something else.
There is probably a software program out there that will help upgrade your computer. Especially if you are going from Windows to Windows or Mac to Mac. However I have three different computing environments and so I end up having to do my upgrades manually.
A new computer can be like having a fun new toy. The only problem is that you can plan on spending a day pulling stuff off your old one and moving it to the new one.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Best Computer for your College Kid
My oldest daughter heads off to school this week to start her Junior year of college. That has me thinking about my decision to buy her a computer before she left for her freshman year. I am one of those technical guys that has one of everything (PC, Mac, and Linux) and I wanted to get my daughter a computer with the following requirements:
At the time I actually considered all of the computer options. I looked at getting her a PC laptop running Windows as well as one running Linux. I quickly decided against Linux because of the ubiquity of Microsoft Office. While OpenOffice.org is a great alternative to MS Office, it is not perfect. My fear was that one of her teachers would send her a Word file that OpenOffice.org couldn't understand and that would be a contributing factor to bad grades.
I thought I could save some money by getting a PC Laptop running Windows instead of the Mac. So I pulled up one of the popular PC brand's website and did a feature-by-feature comparison with the lowest-priced MacBook. I was surprised that the costs were exactly the same. Aren't PC's supposed to cost less? When you compare processor speed, RAM, along with size and speed of the hard-disk, the low-end MacBook is the same price as a comperable PC.
When I saw that the pricing was the same, I went with the Mac. You see, my daughter has always had the talent of infecting the family computer with all sorts of malware. I knew that I would be getting countless calls from my daughter wondering why her computer was running so slow. While there are virus programs out there for the Mac, there are many more for Windows and that was a headache I didn't want to deal with.
When I ordered the MacBook I also ordered the latest student version of Microsoft Office. Since the computer was for a college student, Apple threw in a free iPod and knocked $50 off the price of the computer which helped pay for the Office software. Their only requirement was that I identified the school my daughter was attending. My daughter then gave the iPod to her little sister whose iPod she had run through the washing machine a month earlier.
One concern I did have with a Mac was that there are several websites that only work with Windows and Internet Explorer. While they do exist, they are few. My daughter has figured out which ones they are and uses the library or student computer center to access those sites and doesn't consider it to be a hassle.
One benefit with the Mac vs Windows is that there are not nearly as many games available for the Mac. My daughter doesn't really play a lot of computer games but I didn't want her being distracted by games when she should have been studying. This is something to keep in mind when either of my two boys head off to college as they love computer games.
Now as my oldest daughter is heading back for her third year of school and the MacBook is still running. It may not have the fastest processor or largest hard drive, but it is more than adequate for all her school needs.
I was helping my daughter pack this morning and asked her about all her friends that showed up at school with a Windows PC as freshmen. Most of the PC laptops had stopped working before the end of the first year. My concern about malware and virus software was well founded. The other problem was a lack of durability. My daughter's Mac has survived countless falls and other mishaps that have killed off many of her friends' computers. Those MacBooks just keep going and going.
After reading this you might think there have not been any problems with my daughter's computer. For the most part, that has been true. However in the middle of last year I had to replace her hard drive because it failed (probably because she dropped it one too many times). Overall I am more than satisfied with the durability of the machine and am happy with the purchase. The new hard drive was about $150 and week without a computer. That beats the $600 her friends were shelling out for new computers at the beginning of their Sophomore years.
Yep, when it comes time for my son to head off to school next year. It will be a Mac for him as well.
- Low cost
- Maintenance free
- Useful for school work
- Would last all through college
At the time I actually considered all of the computer options. I looked at getting her a PC laptop running Windows as well as one running Linux. I quickly decided against Linux because of the ubiquity of Microsoft Office. While OpenOffice.org is a great alternative to MS Office, it is not perfect. My fear was that one of her teachers would send her a Word file that OpenOffice.org couldn't understand and that would be a contributing factor to bad grades.
I thought I could save some money by getting a PC Laptop running Windows instead of the Mac. So I pulled up one of the popular PC brand's website and did a feature-by-feature comparison with the lowest-priced MacBook. I was surprised that the costs were exactly the same. Aren't PC's supposed to cost less? When you compare processor speed, RAM, along with size and speed of the hard-disk, the low-end MacBook is the same price as a comperable PC.
When I saw that the pricing was the same, I went with the Mac. You see, my daughter has always had the talent of infecting the family computer with all sorts of malware. I knew that I would be getting countless calls from my daughter wondering why her computer was running so slow. While there are virus programs out there for the Mac, there are many more for Windows and that was a headache I didn't want to deal with.
When I ordered the MacBook I also ordered the latest student version of Microsoft Office. Since the computer was for a college student, Apple threw in a free iPod and knocked $50 off the price of the computer which helped pay for the Office software. Their only requirement was that I identified the school my daughter was attending. My daughter then gave the iPod to her little sister whose iPod she had run through the washing machine a month earlier.
One concern I did have with a Mac was that there are several websites that only work with Windows and Internet Explorer. While they do exist, they are few. My daughter has figured out which ones they are and uses the library or student computer center to access those sites and doesn't consider it to be a hassle.
One benefit with the Mac vs Windows is that there are not nearly as many games available for the Mac. My daughter doesn't really play a lot of computer games but I didn't want her being distracted by games when she should have been studying. This is something to keep in mind when either of my two boys head off to college as they love computer games.
Now as my oldest daughter is heading back for her third year of school and the MacBook is still running. It may not have the fastest processor or largest hard drive, but it is more than adequate for all her school needs.
I was helping my daughter pack this morning and asked her about all her friends that showed up at school with a Windows PC as freshmen. Most of the PC laptops had stopped working before the end of the first year. My concern about malware and virus software was well founded. The other problem was a lack of durability. My daughter's Mac has survived countless falls and other mishaps that have killed off many of her friends' computers. Those MacBooks just keep going and going.
After reading this you might think there have not been any problems with my daughter's computer. For the most part, that has been true. However in the middle of last year I had to replace her hard drive because it failed (probably because she dropped it one too many times). Overall I am more than satisfied with the durability of the machine and am happy with the purchase. The new hard drive was about $150 and week without a computer. That beats the $600 her friends were shelling out for new computers at the beginning of their Sophomore years.
Yep, when it comes time for my son to head off to school next year. It will be a Mac for him as well.
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