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When Is A Good Time To Upgrade?
Andru Edwards writes "In an article which looks at the techie's mindset as it pertains to upgrading, Hector Martinez takes a deeper look at what makes us want to buy the latest gadgets. What are your options, and when should you actually just keep what you already have?"
I've been in computers for 20 years. I'm now thinking that, all along, this whole 'upgrade' thing is a pile of crap.. .. I'm not thinking of upgrading any more. I'm thinking "maybe its time to learn assembly, chuck away all this bloat, and push this metal really hard".
..
Seriously. Upgrading is bad for the environment, especially if you do it in some sorta consumerican goose-step, a fatal religion.
Lets see an "Ask Slashdot" about 'how did you bring old hardware new life'? Its much more impressive to me to see someone downgrade, albeit with new non-bloated software, than it is to see the 'latest and greatest' ricerbox being sliding off someones credit card
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Responibility is when you ask yourself: "Do I *REALLY* need this??"
Maturity is when you answer: "No."
Easy, when Carmack puts out a new first person shooter.
IGB: More fun than eating oatmeal!
But then again I use Apple products. Right now I have a 1.4 G4, and I don't foresee upgrading it for another 3 years...
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Purchase the older model at a discount.
A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
Screwing over consumers with high interest. What do YOU think it's for?
When you get to hell -- tell 'em Itchy sent ya!
When do you upgrade? If you are poor, hardly ever. If you are rich, whenever you want. In fact for the rich, the hassle of setting up a new piece of equipment is probably a stronger disincentive than the cost.
I think the average PC user upgrades when the computer gets unusable with spyware and viruses. Its easier to plunk down $2000 instead of wiping the computer clean. PC manufactures should thank spyware and virus writers. The average PC user would never upgrade again because all they are doing is web surfing.
I'm looking forward to reading the various replies: but honestly, just do as you please. If you're a gadget freak, then upgrade whenever you want the latest. If you're not, then wait until breakage or functionality is required.
For example, I've had a GSM phone here in the UK for the last 6 years: initially a motorola tri-band that was part of a no initial cost 12 month lock-in contract in 1998: it served me well until 2003, until I took option on a free upgrade to sony ericson T68i (I'd been getting text-messages about free upgrades for 18 months or so, and finally decided to act) - I even got £20 cash back on sending back the old phone! I don't plan to upgrade again for another 3-4 years or more - that'll be 10 years without paying for a phone; and I'm still on a cheap plan from 2001 for low cost calls
On the other hand, guys I work with have been through the latest and greatest phones every 12-18 months or so - buying expensive camera/colour models. Sure they are nice and snazzy, but honestly, they don't seem to really use all the extra functionality other than as occasional toy. But, it seems to keep them happy. It keeps me happy knowing they're helping drive the technology forward until I decide to upgrade
Back to my hand, I do spend ~£500 a month at good restaurants here in London because that's my thing: when taking to one of these constant upgrade guys once, they couldn't understand why anyone would pay more than £30 for a meal.
It takes all kinds! Just do what makes you happy and just ensure that you're not doing something you might regret such
as throwing away 10 years of money on frivolous toys - some people actually have no regrets about this type of thing, I would.
You should pay all those credit cards off and upgrade only when you need more speed and have enough money to cover your full credit card bill next month... but that's just me--I don't like throwing money away. I know, I know... I'm unamerican.
If your computer still does everything you want it to, don't upgrade.
Jason
ProfQuotes
The top-of-the-range stuff is the biggest rip-off in terms of price per length of time you get to use it. I discovered that a long time ago. I bought a high-end ATI 9600 baud modem for $600 because it had all sorts of great features. I could have bought a cheap one for $300, but I figured I use my modem a lot and I want the best. A year later, I replaced it with a 14.4k modem that cost $150 and didn't have the nice features but it was 50% faster so it was unambiguously better. It just doesn't pay to get the bells and whistles because the core features get stale so fast.
Does it matter if your CD-RW drive can burn at 8x or 40x when the DVD+-RW drives are under $100?
Jason
ProfQuotes
Well then your hardware isn't doing what you want it to do, is it?
Personally, I don't need a DVD player to play avis, vcds, etc. I don't ever even watch those on the computer. I want my DVD player to play little round discs drom Blockbuster. It does that, so I'll keep it til it breaks. Which may be a very long time- I kept the same cheap-ass stereo from age 14-24, it did what I needed it to- play fm radio.
Same with computers- I don't upgrade until there's some software I want to run that I can't. Usually thats a game, and that tends to be every 4 years or so (I don't play FPS, so I don't tend to push the envelope too much). I'll be upgrading 1 of my 2 computers soon- basicly to run MythTV so I can get rid of my DVD player, old video game systems, VCR etc entirely. It'll only be a small upgrade though- adding some cards to my linux box. After that I don't see myself buying any new electronics for 3-4 years, unless something breaks.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
...I'll upgrade when the thing simply refuses to work.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
If it is not broke, do not fix it.
Be able to pay off your credit card in full each month.
Debt is bad; avoid it at all costs, sans emergencies.
Do not spend simply because you have an excess of cash - emergencies are not cheap.
Insurance may cover that slight fender bender, but if you can fix it yourself or leave it you will be doing your premiums and your actual monthly insurance cost (by keeping it lower) a favor.
There may be an "I" in family, but do not spend like it.
This is probably unpopular with the consumerism trend and the encouragement of our government to "spend, spend, spend" to keep our economy strong and it is just a total farce. I swear the economy can do much better if based on something other than the revolving debt of our society. Now back to the main point: You do not "need" the latest hardware, software or gadgets. However, damn it they sure are fun!
More on topic, I sure did get your sarcasm. Your point does register with me 100%. It's a shame that too many people aren't like this in their own practice of financial sensibility and responsibility.
-- just my 2 cents.
I agree with the embarassment thing. Every time somebody shows me a new gadget or computer that they just bought I'm embarassed for them. There's nothing cooler than using old hardware. And by the same logic, there's nothing less cool than buying brand new hardware for no particular reason. Any Joe Schmoe can drive to Wal-Mart and buy the latest and greatest. A real geek will make it work, regardless of hardware.
I don't respond to AC's.
Did you buy the $300 modem the week it first shipped, or did you buy it a month before newer and faster modems appeared? It really makes a big difference when you purchase during a particular products life cycle.
A case in point is my brother-in-law, a total gadget freak. (Hi Karl!) I think he once told me he "invests" around $500 in gadgets every year, but he always has the latest and greatest of everything. His method is to buy what he wants the moment it's shipping, and then immediately selling the gadget it is replacing on ebay. Part of why this works is that the "top-of-the-range" stuff tends to hold it's value longer.
I know someone else that does this with Macs. He's always got the latest, most powerful system, and he is able to afford this because he can always find a buyer willing to pay a good price for last years top of the line system. I'm not sure what his yearly outlay is, but it's not $5000 a year.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
Debt is not always bad. Handled carefully (like fire), it can really be your friend. BTW, I don't consider a reasonably-priced house debt, since it can appreciate and build equity, especially if you pay it off in less than 30 years. I'm talking about consumer debt.
Anyway, as far as consumer spending goes, I've lived successfully by some basic principles: