When it comes to a deciding on computers for my own use, cost is the over-riding factor, provided that they meet my requirements in terms of what they do. And looking at all the clever things that PCs can do these days, my requirements are very modest: spreadsheets, word-processing, elementary graphics (photo manipulation, etc.), scanning documents, basic access to the Internet and support for a local Intranet using 100 Mb Ethernet. Playing DVDs, gaming, high-end graphics, streaming video from the 'Net, etc. are things I don't, or very rarely, have a need for. Consequently, my computers are assembled by myself with old bits of hardware, but they meet my computing requirements. Again, all this is because cost is the over-riding factor; I price my time to do that assembly work at zero. If there are any plus sides to that approach it is that I fully document my entire systems so that when things go wrong, I know what I'm looking at when it comes to (trying) to fix them - which I usually manage to do. And since they are comprised of bits of old hardware, it is easy to obtain maintenance spares at very little cost - sometimes even zero; I keep a stock of such bits and pieces.
I cannot imagine that I will ever walk into a computer shop with the intention of spending a few hundred pounds on a new PC. It's the same with cars: I'm quite happy to run around in a 20 year-old car with a mileage that has over well 100,000 miles on the 'clock'. But I do all my own regular (and not-so-regular) maintenance myself. When it finally goes 'crunch' in a big way - say the clutch gives up, a major fault with the suspension / steering or the body is full of rust - it'll be off to the breakers - to be replaced by another old car with about 40,000 - 50,000 miles on the clock (or less) at £3,000 at most; typically around £2,000 - £2,500. And I'll expect to get at least 10 years use out of it. All of that is based on past experience, even allowing for inflation.
All of that above, as a personal attitude, is probably because I was brought up in the post-WW2 era of 'make do or mend'. Of course, if I won a fortune on the National Lottery tomorrow (which is quite unlikely, since I don't partake in that pastime), my attitude would change accordingly - but not by much!
Al.
I cannot imagine that I will ever walk into a computer shop with the intention of spending a few hundred pounds on a new PC. It's the same with cars: I'm quite happy to run around in a 20 year-old car with a mileage that has over well 100,000 miles on the 'clock'. But I do all my own regular (and not-so-regular) maintenance myself. When it finally goes 'crunch' in a big way - say the clutch gives up, a major fault with the suspension / steering or the body is full of rust - it'll be off to the breakers - to be replaced by another old car with about 40,000 - 50,000 miles on the clock (or less) at £3,000 at most; typically around £2,000 - £2,500. And I'll expect to get at least 10 years use out of it. All of that is based on past experience, even allowing for inflation.
All of that above, as a personal attitude, is probably because I was brought up in the post-WW2 era of 'make do or mend'. Of course, if I won a fortune on the National Lottery tomorrow (which is quite unlikely, since I don't partake in that pastime), my attitude would change accordingly - but not by much!
Al.
