On the basis the internet knows everything...

[jadesfire]

Tell me, oh wise and wonderful flist, do you like your computer?

I'm asking because ours went kaput last week, and to our considerable surprise, Amazon have agreed to give us our money back. The wretched thing is less than 2 years old, but we thought they'd just ignore us until we went away.

But we are now in the trying position of needing a new one. I have an iPad that is rather tempramental and likes to be synced rather than just DLing directing, and an iPod that doesn't have wifi anymore, so has to be synced. J has an iPhone and we both have Android devices as well. We buy our music on CD and rip it, generally speaking, so an optical drive of some kind is a must.

We've had PCs up to now, but are not opposed to the whole Mac idea, even if the prices are giving me the vapours.

Any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations? I understand the basics, but if you have a brand of PC you particularly like or hate, I'd appreciate hearing about it! Also, how long do Macs generally last for? Given their price, I'd be needing 5-10 years of use from one (whether an iMac, Mac Mini or MacBook). Is that realistic? Given we'll need a Superdrive as well, it's going to be quite the investment if we go for a Mac, and I jolly well want my money's worth!

Tell me all, people!

Comments

[morgynleri]

I like my laptop, and while it's new enough I've only had it a year and change. The cord isn't as good as the one for the old one (I've already had to replace the cord), but if you do get a fairly new Mac, a bit of tape (electrical or duck tape) around the part right at the brick should keep the thing from fraying. But other than that, I haven't had a problem with it. If you get solid-state with the retina display, you'll have to get an external optical drive, because it doesn't have a drive in it.

I know my previous Mac laptop lasted at least four years, and it was refurbished. So, probably older than that, but toward the end it overheated a lot and wasn't supporting some of the peripherals (like the external fan to keep it cool!). On the other hand, I don't know what all its history was before I got it, and it had several issues probably due to that, and it still did well for me for four years.

My Mac Mini I've had for most of a decade, and it still works well - boots up, runs the programs I tell it to. Not that it gets much use lately, because I prefer my laptop in general.

[jadesfire]

Macs do seem to be the Computers That Will Not Die, which has to be a good thing. And if we buy a PC, we'll have to buy a new monitor, which takes that cost up as well. I think if we could get an external optical drive that worked, we'd be very tempted with a Mac, even given the cost. A Mac Mini comes in at about the same as a Desktop, and sounds like it will go on longer.

*sigh* so many decisions! But it's good to hear more good experiences - with so much to choose from, it's useful to have something else to go on! Thanks :)

[morgynleri]

I think if we could get an external optical drive that worked, we'd be very tempted with a Mac, even given the cost.

The superdrive, which I have for my laptop, has worked very well for me. It actually tends to live with the latest Sims3 expansion pack disc in it most of the time, and doesn't give me fits for it when I plug it in or unplug it.