Either that or I just Force Quit too much!

I also always buy the apple care plan…mine have paid for themselves. ALSO, do you ever run Disk Utility and repair permissions and repair disk? I do this regularly, and it helps keep things running smoothly.

On the flip side of things, most PC users I know replace their machines every 2 years. I’d be interested to see comprehensive data on how long PCs and Macs last.

Mike, I think you just have REALLY bad luck with Macs. Strange.

DEVYN: You and I bought our laptops within days of each other back in 2006. I would love to have kept mine going longer. I never could justify the cost of replacing the optical drive on my consumer model–you doing so on your Pro model makes sense, though.

Over time I did add 2 GB of RAM and install a 160 GB internal drive. Unfortunately, one thing I just couldn’t fix was the case deterioration. The edge of both palmrests, right where the edge of the display comes into contact, began to crack in tiny lengthwise strips due to pressure from the closed lid.

Eventually, I had to cover the lower right corner of the palmrest edge with Scotch tape to keep the top case from simply cracking off completely.

In December, I briefly dated an Apple Store employee from Milwaukee. He told me the deterioration was not uncommon and that some people were able to get the top cases replaced even after their warranties had expired.

You may recall I loved my ‘06 Macbook for its reliability in that first year of ownership. That reliability overall just tanked as time wore on.

Time Machine works well for me, but then again I’m not a photoblogger. So now the old machine is connected via Firewire to my legacy Porsche external drive and my new, Firewire-less 2008 Macbook backs up over Airport. So at least there’s some use left in the old laptop.

Cold comfort though to my wallet!

I have heard so many iPod brick stories from friends, I could build a house. And yet, they keep going back for more. Imagine if a car worked that way. If it just stopped working for no obvious reason one day. Would you take it back for another one? Would you continue buying that brand?

This is not to say that I think PCs are perfect. They have their problems too. But at least they LAST. In the past 7 years, I’ve only had two laptops. Two, including the one I’m using currently.

It’s almost a problem for my parents. My dad refuses to throw anything away that’s still working, so when my brother gave them a faster, upgraded PC, they kept the old ones. They actually have 3 or 4 machines sitting around the house, some 10+ years old.

Besides the lack of logic, I’m also bothered by the sheep mentality. Only a small minority of Mac owners actually buy one because they compared the numbers and know what kind of machine they need. Most of them are just attracted to “uuu shiny!”, which, y’know, is totally a valid reason to buy a computer.

Or maybe it has 2 more GB than the old one did. Or maybe there’s a new button. Neither of which make the product any better, but hey, it totally constitutes as a brand-new thing now, and Mac Heads just HAVE to have the new one now. Even though the last machine died after a few months, the new one will TOTALLY be different than the last one… or the one before that… or the one before that…