I think I have had one hardware failure. It was around 1998 when I lost
a work hard drive.
I have no proof, as to why I have not had any hardware failures, however
I suspect it has to do with the Tripp-lite surge suppressor I have been
using for 30+ years.
About 20 years ago the transformer that was on a pole adjacent to my
house blew up. I thought for sure my computer was toast. Not so. My
computer survived. I believe it was the Tripp-lite surge suppressor.
- Keith
On 2025-05-04 20:44, David Schwartz via PLUG-discuss wrote:
Virtually all of my Windows machines have had failures between 24 and
36 months. I don’t like having to waste my time and money on crappy
equipment.
I value my time having to deal with crappy equipment and software
failures as far more valuable than the cost difference between windows
hardware and Apple’s hardware. Apparently there are people who
don’t value their time as much. I don’t see it as anything to brag
about.
Between 2015 and 2022, my work laptops had to be replaced due to
hardware failures four (4) times. Most of them were from Dell. My
managers weren't happy that I had to sit on my thumbs for several
hours, and three days in one case, but there was nothing else to be
done. One project was sidelined for a week because there was a problem
on a Dell server and it took a week to get fixed.
I still have an old dell laptop I got in 2003 that required a repair,
thankfully while it was still in warranty. I have an Acer Aspire from
2019 that I let sit on a shelf too long, and now the CMOS battery as
well as the main battery are both dead. My MBP was long
out-of-warranty when I got this Acer, and it still works fine, in
spite of the battery bloating up.
You can pay for insurance, pay out of your own pocket and time for
repairs, or you can just pay for better quality stuff.
I prever the latter because it has been a lot cheaper in the long-run
for me.
My Mac Minis have been running 24/7 since I got them. The only
problems I’ve had is they collect dust and I have to open them up
and take them apart to get all of the dust out.
As far as being in a “jail” … I haven’t run into any issues
for the things I want to do, so I can’t really say. I hate doing
Admin stuff. There are some things I’ve messed up because I did
something wrong that was not undoable, but they’re not fatal issues.
My Macs are like the Energizer Bunny … they just keep going and
going and going.
I used to love hacking on hardware and playing with beta code, but
that got old around 2002. I tolerate it with employers and clients
because they’re paying me either way. But for my own stuff, I prefer
things that just keep on running.
-David Schwartz
On May 4, 2025, at 10:48 AM, Matthew Gibson via PLUG-discuss
<[email protected]> wrote:
Because apple is a more snobby club than microsoft. And since I can
install linux on just about anything I can purchase for a tenth of
what I would pay for an apple device. Why spend more money?
There's also the perceived notion that you the user are not trusted
to own your device and understand the nuts and bolts of it as an
admin. Or has that gotten better in recent years? Can you make
whatever changes you want or are you still in a jail?
On Sun, May 4, 2025, 1:08 AM David Schwartz via PLUG-discuss
<[email protected]> wrote:
Would someone kindly tell me what’s so special about their
favorite version of Linux is versus MacOS, which is a BSD Unix
derivative?
I’ve think I’ve mentioned my harem of Macs:
* 2014 Mac Mini
* 2014 MacBook Pro
* 2018 Mac Mini
* 2024 Mac Mini
They’re all still working just fine, except the MBP’s battery
is bloating up for the 2nd time. (I hardly use it and if you keep
it plugged-in, the battery bloats up.)
I get newer ones because they get faster, handle more RAM and SSD,
and the OS can’t be upgraded past a certain point. Which is why
I keep the older ones around. (The older ones let you upgrade RAM
and some the SSD. With the newer ones, you’re stuck with what it
comes with.)
One of them (2018) has a VirtualBox VM on that runs Win10 that I
do all of my Windows-dependent stuff on. I don’t see why I’d
need to upgrade it to Win11, and nobody here has given me anything
worth considering.
BTW, I have an older Acer box (maybe from 2000) that’s a bit
smaller than an old Mac Mini that runs Win XP; if anybody wants it
to run Linux on for some reason, let me know.
My point is, the hardware gets old, sometimes degrades (ie, the
battery on the MBP), the latest OS and apps can no longer be
upgraded, but it still works fine if you want to keep using it.
I’m not sure why my older Mac Minis still keep running but
everybody thinks my Win10 machines are going to turn into nuclear
bombs in a few months just because MS stops updating them. Cripes,
do you know how hard it is to keep Windows from constatly updating
itself anyway? MacOS keeps asking even though it’s says it
can’t if I say OK!
I have apps on both my 2014 and 2018 Mac Minis that will stop
working if I upgrade the OS, so I refuse.
And now it seems you can’t run VMs on M-series CPUs that contain
any version of Windows unless you use one specific version of
Parallels with an ARM-based version of Windows, and it reportedly
runs slower than crap.
Just for fun, I went from 36GB of RAM to 64GB in my 2018 model and
where before the fan would constantly be running, now it never
comes on.
Macs run Unix. It’s not like I’m a crazy-ass Mac fan — I
just find them to be WAY more stable than Windows machines.
When I need to get down to the command-line, the *nix shell is FAR
more powerful than the DOS Command line. But I rarely ever need to
do that on ANY of them lately. I think the only reasons I’ve run
the Mac’s Terminal is to use the shell to find some specific
files because find piped into grep works a whole lot better than
the search bar in the Finder.
So while I understand (and share) the “anti-Windows”
sentiments here, I don’t get the “pro-Linux” but
“anti-Mac” attitude because Macs are all Unix machines at
their core.
I’ve tossed out maybe a dozen DOS and Windows machines in my
life. My first Mac (a first gen Intel iMac) died and I actually
sold it on eBay for almost $500! I’ve bought and sold some other
Macs and never had to toss a single one into the trash. I’m not
eager to replace the battery on my MBP again, but it will still be
way cheaper than a new MBP.
-David Schwartz
On May 3, 2025, at 4:10 PM, Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss
<[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks Rusty!! I agree!!
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