Computer/tech hardware lifecycles

I rechecked the modules, and as it happens, one of them didn't seem to be sitting right. I thought I was sure they were all in there correctly initially, but this time I was extra careful and used way more light to see properly. I've ensured it's in there snugly now. I'll let you know if any more problems occur. I'm about to test Star Wars : The Old Republic for a while.

 

So far so good. SWTOR runs well. Barely broke 50C on temps.

 

It's been a while since we went through this, but this was actually premature. I still had problems with crashes. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a heat problem. I think it's either a problem with hardware conflicts (if it's even a possibility; I'm actually quite ignorant of how these things work) or maybe a physical problem. The RAM chips are pretty wide for the narrow space allowed by my board. They just fit, but maybe they don't sit right in there after all. I really don't know what to do. It's a shame because it would have been the perfect solution, and I would have gotten a couple more years out of this machine.

* * * * *

In other news, I'm thinking again about my Macbook (see the OP). This fall will be its 6th birthday. I was reading a few articles that suggest, professionally speaking, you should replace your computer system after no more than 5 years. (I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.)

One issue is that I had a harddrive crash recently. It was kind of silly how it happened, but it has raised concerns about aging hardware. It happened in part due to my battery. My battery has triggered an error and likely needs replacing. It says I can still use it, but it won't work properly. The thing is, I always use this machine at my desk with the AC power plugged in. However, my SO needed to borrow my cable, so she took it. I had forgotten about my battery error and I was doing something on the computer. Well, it crashed. The power just conked out and the machine went down.

Well, when I plugged it back in, I ended up with an irreparable harddrive error. I needed to perform a full backup restore from my Time Capsule. (Which takes hours, btw.)

All is good now, but in response I had picked up one of our old office computers, an iMac, from my colleague, which she wasn't using anymore (she moved onto a Macbook Pro). I now have it here with me as a backup computer just in case I have future problems. This thing, however, is nearly as old as my Macbook. It's about five or five and a half years old. The chip is a bit more powerful (2.4 GHz vs. 2.16 GHz), but it only has 1 GB of RAM vs. 2 GB. As it happens, 2 GB is barely enough. The other thing too, is that sometimes performance is lacking (especially when multitasking), and it's pretty common for the fan will run at higher RPMs.

So I'm sitting here with old hardware. I work for a trade publisher and I do freelance editing. This is my workstation we're talking about here.

I should consider a replacement before I happen across a permanent failure, right?

I was thinking of going with a Mac Mini. I can get a decent machine for under $1,000. It's really a thing of beauty. The only other option would be a Macbook Pro, but that's going to run a few hundred more dollars. I don't really need the portability. The only thing I really use the laptop for is a second monitor to my desktop monitor. However, I do now have the option of also using the iMac as a second monitor. The Mac Mini supports two outputs. I think I can hook it to the iMac through Thunderbolt.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Hold off until the fall? Hold off until something goes? A replacement is overdue? Mac Mini? Macbook Pro?

 

My go-to advice for home users is to replace your hardware when it's not doing what you want it to anymore. For some people that's yearly, for others they can go nearly a decade on the same hardware. It all depends on what you're using it for.

For enterprise/business applications, I usually recommend a 3-5 year replacement cycle, depending on budget and criticality. If you have essential resources that your company needs to do business, you don't really want those chugging along on 6-8 year old hardware if you can avoid it.

For you, I'd imagine it's somewhere in the middle. A six year old laptop isn't necessrily bad in and of itself, except insofar as it affects your productivity. With the battery gone and the hard drive possibly going, it sounds like you're going to hit that wall soon; soon enough that I'd suggest being proactive, rather than take a chance of losing the ability to work while you're waiting on a replacement.

Knowing as I do that you're big on the Apple ecosystem, I'd say that a Mac Mini is a good choice. We've got a few employees using Mac Minis as their workstations, they do wonderfully for general productivity work. I personally love my Macbook Pro but something like what I'm using is probably overkill for you. Consider also the comfort and ergonomics; if you're working on the machine daily I wouldn't consider a laptop smaller than 15". I've used a 13" daily (you may recall I had a laptop very similar to yours before I upgraded to this one) and it's a real pain getting things done on a screen that size. 15" MBPs get pricey; even the refurbs are around $1500, for way more laptop than you likely need. If you don't need the portability, I'd sooner go for an iMac for that money -- you'll get more proverbial bang for your buck that way. A brand new 21.5" iMac with 8 GB RAM and a 2.7 GHz Core i5 is going for $1300 on apple.com right now. A decidedly less beefy Mac Mini will set you back $600, but keep in mind that it won't come with a monitor, keyboard or mouse, which the iMac does. If you already have a monitor that might not be a big deal to you, though you may need a mini Displayport adapter if your monitor is VGA or DVI.

Honestly, in your position I'd go for the Mac Mini. It'll do everything you need it to and doesn't completely break the bank. It won't be much good for gaming, but I imagine you already figured that out on your own. For a work machine, for a guy in your position, it's easily the best option.

Be sure to look into the tax implications as well. If it's a business expense you can probably claim it as a deduction.

 

That iMac isn't all that much better than the Mac Mini for what I'm going to use it for. I priced out the i5 Mac Mini with 8 GB RAM, and it comes to just under $900 with Apple Care. I'd need a Mini DisplayPort to VGA, as my PC is taking up the DVI port on my monitor. (The Mac Mini comes with an HDMI to DVI cable.)

I agree. My PC is for gaming, not my Mac. If I recall correctly from my look at benchmarks a while back, the Mac Mini I priced out would be about twice as powerful as my Macbook, plus it would come with a harddrive with three times the capacity.

The only drawback is that I was incorrect about this iMac's capability as a second monitor. Only 2008 27" iMacs and later have the ability to do that. This means I'll be stuck with a single display if I go with the Mac Mini. The only way around that is to get another monitor.

Yeah, I started writing stuff off last year. Before that, I hadn't really purchased anything. I'll be sure to write this off. No hesitation there.

 

It's the Java Exploit of the Week. Are you in the habit of visiting shady websites? If not, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

If you're paranoid, you can go ahead and shut it off. Exact instructions for doing so vary by browser and OS, but you'll usually find it under the settings, in the plugins or add-ons. For the record, I'm using Chrome on OS X, which doesn't even have a Java extension, and I'm just fine; it's not commonly used these days (most of the things Java does can be accomplished just as easily with Javascript, Flash or php so it's a bit redundant).

You can check whether it's installed and functional in your browser by going here:

Verify Java Version

 

Note: For anyone worried about the exploit discussed above, Oracle has now released a patch:

Security Alert for CVE-2013-0422 Released (The Oracle Software Security Assurance Blog)

Java 6 is ancient, so you might need to update to Java 7 first.

 

I agree about the screen size and about 90% of the time my laptop is docked to a 24" ViewSonic monitor, with a real keyboard and mouse. I do a lot of number work, and I hate laptop keyboards with their trackpads and missing numeric keypad.
I have a black 13" MacBook from 2008, it's a 2.4GHz Core2Duo. I bought it used about a year ago and upgraded the memory to 4GB and the drive to 500GB and at nearly five years old it's still fine for the mostly business and other non-game activity that I use it for. It's great traveling, but at home it's docked.

I loved the Mac Mini that I used at work in Boston. When I took work home from the office I just unhitched the Mini and stuck it in my purse. I docked it at home and all my files, apps, everything I had at work was right there ready to go. Also, it hooked into my home Time Machine, so I had an offsite backup of my work computer.

 

This system no longer has Vista, and I can't locate my recovery disk. It has some version of Linux on it, but I don't know how to use it as well as I did Ubuntu. I'm thinking of starting it from scratch again.

I had LOTRO installed on it, but something on it changed and I broke it. Rather than reinstall it and get it running again, I thought about installing WoW. It seems straightforward enough (more so than the LOTRO install): World of Warcraft functionality on Wine - WoWWiki - Your guide to the World of Warcraft

But a part of me says to just spring for the cost of Windows 7 (or 8 *shudder*). My system should run it just fine, and it would remove any headaches of trying to figure out Linux.

But a part of me thinks that's throwing money at something that isn't guaranteed to work for much longer. The machine is over six years old. That's ancient, right? Is it dumb to buy a new OS for it? Replacing the system isn't really something I'm ready to do. I'd be spending around $1,000 or more for a gaming PC, and I can't justify that cost right now. Plus I'd only really use such a PC for MMOs like WoW, Star Wars, or Conan. Much of my other gaming is on the PlayStation.

The machine I currently have only really runs WoW well enough, so that's what I'm considering right now. Spending around $100 (Windows 7) + about $13/month (WoW sub) is what I'm looking at. Is that $100 worth it, you think?

Considering what I want a gaming PC for, that's not dumb, is it? Or should I just tool around with Ubuntu again and save the money?
--- merged: May 16, 2014 at 9:42 AM ---
I'm going to answer my own post:

I'm going to try Ubuntu again. I just have to pick up a USB flash drive larger than 1 GB. (Which I should probably have anyway.)

 

So, with an OS, you can always install that OS on your future machines. Portability is nice. With Windows 7, that's a good thing. 8 sucks. 7 is great. I cling to my 3 Windows 7 licenses and will never let them go.

Also, if you start playing again, let me know. I could use something to do this summer besides writing, and I kind of miss farming.

 

Well, I thought of that. But being that most machines come preloaded with an OS, I didn't think I'd have much use with such portability. I suppose it might encourage me to build my own machine.

I like WoW, as it now has a nostalgic feel to it. I'm craving such an escape being that I've been so busy. I'm setting this up in anticipation of actually having regular off time beginning in a couple of weeks. Also, I like WoW for its ability to play in small chunks of time if you want. I sometimes have an hour or two, where mindless farming/questing would be better than watching TV or playing a more engaging single-player game. Sometimes just being in the world is enough of an escape. I don't get that feeling in single-player games. Skyrim comes close, but it's not the same.

Also, some of my more memorable experiences in WoW was casually playing with a friend or two, chatting and just romping around. I miss that.

 

This is actually not always true. OEM licensing for Windows dictates that the license is only valid if it's on the machine the OS originally shipped with. If you go out and buy it in a store you can use it anywhere, but if it came with your computer you can't.

I'm not sure how that's legal, but I'm sure Microsoft's highly paid legal team could explain it.

 

My licenses were purchased through the university and did not come with my computers.

 

Right, so in your case the license is portable. I just wouldn't want people coming in here and reading that, then thinking their Windows license is always portable, when that's not actually the case.