How not to buy a new Mac
I remember a university friend telling me about the combined sensation of solemnity and joy he felt on those rare occasions he bought a new violin; the edginess of bidding in the auction house, followed by the celebratory drink.
Ideally, I would have a similar sensation when buying a new Mac. I’ve been using the machines for a long time, partly because I hate PCs, but largely because I instinctively went for the underdog in the computing world. I used Mac Classics to type up my degree dissertation, and since then have always used Macs at home and almost always at work (bar two short intervals). For the last two and a half years I’ve been hammering away on a very early MacBook Pro (you know - the ones that overheated, made hissing noises, had faulty batteries and power leads that caught fire). It even has scratches and dents either side of the trackpad where my cufflinks have chipped away at the paintwork.
Needless to say, I love the thing. And that’s why I was less that delighted when, after taking my 22 month old son to Southend on Friday, he rewarded me by pouring juice over the keyboard - taking out much of the left hand side.
It still works. I just can’t type without useful keys like the letters ‘a’ & ’s’. And, frankly, I think the whole point of a laptop is negated if you have to plug in an extra keyboard and find a way of sitting close enough to see the screen properly.
I’ve ordered a new internal keyboard to put in it, in the hope that might fix the problem. But, to make sure I could still work, I bit the bullet and went and spent a load of money I hardly had on a beautiful new iMac. That’s it at the top of the page. It has got a robust, wireless keyboard and I have put barbed wire round my working area.
And that’s why I’ve spent most of my weekend transferring crap from one machine to another, to the accompaniment of frustrated yells from a toddler who is desperate to destroy explore the new addition to his home.
I’d rather have saved the money and kept my laptop. You have to be happy to buy a Mac, not in a rage.
I also turned 34 this weekend. There’ll be kids out there, born on my 17th birthday, who are busy taking driving lessons. I’m feeling old. Old.
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I was less that delighted when, after taking my 22 month old son to Southend on Friday, he rewarded me by pouring juice over the keyboard
It seems a fitting reward for anyone who would take an innocent child to such a place.
Comment by bill — 10th August, 2008 @ 11:53 pm
Ah, I remember 34 - it’s pretty much all downhill after 33, until you hit 50. You’ll probably find youself starting to buy expensive toys to compensate.
Comment by Dominic Harvey — 11th August, 2008 @ 7:09 am
He was just showing off because you didn’t take him to Leigh on Sea instead for cockles, jellied eels and a pint of Theakstons old peculiar.
I’m not a great fan of the new iMacs. I prefer my old all-white one, the black bezel on the new ones loks wrong to me.
Comment by Dave — 11th August, 2008 @ 9:10 am
Nothing ever leaves the www
so the keyboard killer will be able to read this post
when he is old enough to be embarrassed by it.
Wishing you many happy returns of your birth day.
Comment by Ann ODyne — 11th August, 2008 @ 10:28 am
Ah, well, imho the nicest bit of the seafront for kids is probably the stretch along Chalkwell Esplanade - decent beach for sandcastles (and burying dad) and stuff, then a walk past the Crowstone and get some Rossi’s from one of their joints in Westcliff.
(Leigh, is, of course, much nicer once one is old enough to drink ale)
Comment by Venichka — 11th August, 2008 @ 11:15 am
Well, that’s one way to get a new computer. My old G4 is about to die but I have no idea how to afford a new one - do you lend the boy out? If I promised you 10% of the proceeds, could he come and destroy my computer in a way that allowed me to claim the cost of a new one on my home insurance?
Puss
Comment by Glamourpuss — 11th August, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
I know this feeling. The major exciting thing becoming a distress purchase. And the distress coming half from spending the money. After spending half my life dreaming of buying a lovely sofa, when I did get one it was because I couldn’t afford a bedroom, so I had to get a sofabed instead, so I went and got a good one - back trouble, you see - and I came out of the Sofa Workshop - having bought the practical, not the most gorgeous, one - I actually called my mother and cried. There you go.
Your new iMac looks spectacular though and must have fabulous features & specs. I’m writing this on an old G4 iBook I got off eBay after leaving my previous one on a bus. Ha.
Comment by Ms Baroque — 12th August, 2008 @ 8:32 am
my keybord misses ou leers wihou benefi of juice. i ws brgin, hough.
Comment by rivergirlie — 13th August, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
“And that’s why I’ve spent most of my weekend transferring crap from one machine to another …”
Comment by Dennis — 14th August, 2008 @ 8:39 pm
Oops — hit the return key on the numeric keypad by mistake. Was going to ask whether you are wise to Firewiring one Mac to another. I recently bought a new Mac and transferred everything over in about 2 minutes. But as a Mac user I expect you already know that.
Comment by Dennis — 14th August, 2008 @ 8:42 pm
I am, but the only firewire cable I had to hand was a Mac to iPod one. And I couldn’t be bothered to go and buy a proper one.
To be fair, I just transferred the chunks I wanted wirelessly whilst I got on with other work. It wasn’t a great hardship, and it was a lot handier than the ridiculous migration assistant thing.
Comment by Ben — 14th August, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
PUSS and I have EDW‘d.
Comment by Ann oDyne — 29th August, 2008 @ 12:40 pm