Apple can’t advertise Macs as having ten-year lifespans for legal reasons, and reviewers rarely write about their old computers ten years later — they’re typically focused on each year’s latest and greatest machine. But the average person buys a computer and keeps using it until it stops working, something I note every time a friend or family member “finally” upgrades from an old Mac to a new one.This morning, Christopher Phin’s article “” recalled the many end-of-life Mac discussions I’ve had with people over the years — specifically that their still-working-but-old Macs are so antiquated that virtually every internal component has been replaced in current models. Yet no one ever says they’re switching from an old Mac to a new PC; instead, the conversation is always about, or whether to squeeze a little more life from the old machine with a or.The superb longevity of Macs isn’t discussed very often, but it’s due as much to the durability of the hardware as the engineering of the software. Let’s take a quick look at what keeps Macs going so long. Even though it’s four years old, OS X Lion still looks pretty familiarOS XAt 9to5Mac, we focus a lot on new versions of the Mac’s OS X operating system: point releases (“10.9” to “10.10”), point point releases (“10.10.1” to “10.10.2”), and even beta releases (“10.11 beta 3”). Batman vs bane first fight.
But many users — particularly ones who bought their last Macs nearly a decade ago — care little, if at all, about new releases of OS X. They don’t need to: even old versions of OS X “just work” well enough for most people.Hard-core Mac fans would be amazed at how many 2015 Mac upgraders are still running OS X Lion, which came out four years ago, or earlier versions of the operating system such as 2007’s OS X Leopard, the last to support PowerPC processors. Yes, it’s true: there are some Mac users who have never upgraded OS X to a new major release over the Internet, used iCloud, or even seen the Mac App Store. Last year’s OS X Yosemite is much-improved over prior releases, but the fundamentals are the sameAs hard as that may be to believe, that’s actually a testament to the Mac’s excellence as a platform.
It’s not surprising that users can continue to use 2007- or 2011-vintage software to send emails, browse web pages, use productivity apps, and play games. For the most part, apps that run on older Macs continue to run on newer ones. And it’s actually a huge plus that someone who transitions from Lion to a newer version of OS X won’t have to re-learn anything fundamental (apart, perhaps, from certain multi-touch gestures) to keep using the Mac just as he or she did before. The screenshots above show obvious cosmetic improvements, but nothing that would stop users of older OS X versions from understanding new ones.While it’s true that the iterative nature of OS X’s evolution means that there hasn’t been a “must upgrade” OS X change for regular people in years, moving up to OS X Yosemite (or the forthcoming El Capitan) from a much older version comes with an uncountably huge collection of small quality-of-life improvements. And depending on the number of years that have elapsed between one’s upgrades, significant software features such as AirDrop, Notification Center and Push Notifications, AirPlay Mirroring, iCloud, iBooks, and Continuity may seem entirely new to some people.
None of these things is critical, but they all make the Mac experience better.The other key thing about OS X that many mainstream users don’t realize is that under-the-hood software improvements routinely make old Macs run better than they did when originally purchased. Some years’ OS X tweaks improve battery life under certain conditions, while others speed up graphics or general app performance.
There are certainly bugs that come up, creating new issues here and there, but the overall trend of OS X has been continuous annual improvement. The giant logic board of a 2008 MacBook (courtesy iFixit)Mac HardwareFor legal reasons — namely, added warranty responsibilities — Apple doesn’t promise users that their new Macs will last for ten years. But with rare exceptions, it builds Macs to keep running for around that long. Unlike Dell, which in the name of low prices knowingly churned out millions of computers with cheap, shoddy parts, Apple typically selects components that will continue to work for a long time unless (and sometimes even if) seriously abused. Although the company was working towards this goal in the early 2000’s, the real turning point came in late 2008 when Apple began to phase out plastic-bodied MacBooks in favor of universally metal models.
There had previously been reason to believe that plastic MacBooks and their iBook predecessors were designed to be replaced every few years. Going forward, there wasn’t much question that all Macs were built to last. The tiny logic board of a 2015 MacBook (courtesy iFixit)Exterior resilience aside, the major reason for excellent Mac longevity has been a radical reduction in the number and nature of components inside modern Macs. Compare the inside of with 2015’s new all-metal and you’ll see how a huge circuit board tied to two mechanical drives gave way to a candybar-sized logic board and exclusively chip-based storage. Fewer parts and fewer moving parts means fewer potential points of failure, as well as much greater energy efficiency, and typically faster speeds. This has been Apple’s hardware engineering philosophy for nearly two decades now, and it keeps getting better every year.This isn’t to say that every Mac is perfect.
Certain components, particularly high-end graphics processors, high-capacity traditional hard drives, and certain early Retina screens, were prone to developing issues over time that Apple has been forced (typically via class action suits) to address with free repair programs beyond their original warranties. But these are exceptions to the general rule that a Mac will run as well (or better) several years down the line as it did on day one. An old Mac mini still has enough power to work as an iTunes serverRepurposingOne of the big things I’ve noticed when people buy new Macs is their tendency to keep old ones around rather than. Even if your Mac was purchased in the 2000’s, it’s entirely possible that it has enough processing power and hard drive space to serve as an iTunes media server for your home, a basic video player for a bedroom, or starter computer for a young student. There are that are less capable of doing these things than an old Mac.
So unless you need the cash to finance a new Mac purchase — which can be significant thanks to strong retained resale value — hanging on to your prior machine can be worthwhile, and the old Mac can be useful for years to come.All of this is to say that for Mac users, at least, it’s hard to complain about the “Apple tax” PC fans used to harp on. It’s certainly true that Macs are more expensive than PCs. But with a Mac, you certainly get what you pay for, and sometimes much more than expected. More often than not, replacing a Mac is an option rather than a necessity, and something undertaken many years after the initial purchase.More From This AuthorCheck out more of my! I’ve covered a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users. Don’t forget to click on Older Posts at the bottom of the page to see everything!
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My wife and I recently cancelled our Direct Tv because we hardly ever watch it. Most of our favorite shows are on Netflix and we don't mind waiting for most things to hit Netflix/Hulu before watching them.For the shows/movies we don't want to wait for, we're planning on getting an Apple Tv and buying them on iTunes.
I also want to limit purchasing films to only doing so on iTunes as well and no longer collecting DVDs. I am concerned, though, that old movies or TV shows may be removed from iTunes, despite whether or not we have purchased them. I have had this happen with a music video in the past. I don't care about that video, but I would care if hundreds of dollars worth of movies and episodes started disappearing.How long do the purchases stay in your account?
Have any of you replaced your normal TV with an Apple Tv, how's it working out if you have?. Your purchases will stay purchased forever, but your ability to download it again could change, as you have experienced.
In practice, I think this is extremely rare; I've purchased many movies on iTunes and never had one disappear. If you download and keep a local copy, then you always have access to that, even if the rightsholder has it removed from the iTunes Store for future downloads. Apple will happily authenticate the DRM for such purchases.And even if a movie is removed after you purchased it, it may still not be an issue, because by then it is old enough that you'll probably be able to find it on Netflix anyway. Your concerns are certainly valid, but I don't think they'll actually be a problem in practice. Apple can technically remove any content from your digital library, as per content rights holders' requests.
I've only heard of this in very limited cases, but it has happened. Why the studios feel that they can revoke access to paid-for content is beyond me. Doesn't build a whole lot of trust, but I guess it doesn't hurt business.Anyway, I've successfully cut the cord, especially with the help of a friend of a friend of a friend on the digital streaming front (HBO GO, ESPN, etc.). I highly recommend cutting the cord.
The thing I miss the least about live TV is the news, although there might be ways to stream that, too. I wonder if that's different for certain kinds of content, because I know I have downloaded apps (the only one that comes to mind immediately, though, was a free app) which were removed from the App store and I no longer have access to them as far as I can tell, then other apps like flappy bird I have downloaded despite their removal.I will admit that the one music video which was purchased and we no longer can access is a little concerning. While I don't care about that video, it would suck to lose stuff I did care about. As long as it was one or two movies, tv shows, etc., I guess it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but if lots started disappearing, I would be a bit annoyed. Just make sure the redemption code isn't expired. I've gotten close a few times by waiting for the price to drop on Amazon. They're usually good for a year or more, I think.
Also, you end up paying a few bucks extra for the Blu-Ray + digital copy. Lastly, not all digital copies are HD, but that could have changed more recently. I started amassing a Blu-Ray library of mostly action movies, where the HD counts, but it became cheaper/way easier to just rent something on Apple TV. Plus, two rental periods is less expensive than buying almost any Blu-Ray, even a heavily discounted one, which is usually cheap because it's a shitty movie (but not always!).Last point, I swear!
Avoid Vudu Blu-Ray digital copies at all cost. The redemption process is the worst. You've been warned.
Im planing to buy the new MacBook with retina. Many have told me to buy a PC with windows instead of a Mac. They says its overpriced and the specs are to low, compared with other computers on the same price. I love windows, but I found it kind of unstable. I'm sure there's many good and stabile windows computers out there, but I'm a bit tired of sucky windows computer that lags,also games.
But when the new retina MacBook had those insane specs, even though its very expensive, wanted me to buy it. I'm doing a bit of gaming, and I'm well known with the grapich card it has, processor, ram and everything. But I also want to do some schoolwork.
I just want to do a good investment.At the moment I have a Thosiba with 2.4 intel i3 presses or, 4 gigs ram, intel hd grapich 3000. I know it., but I hadn't really much money and my old was broke. So my question is, how many years will a Mac last with a bit of gaming, normal web-browsing, not installing a lot of. software and nice treatment?
Without starting to get low battery-life, starting to slow down and overheat. And also some tips to make it last longer.Also people on YouTube have recommended the MacBook Pro, instead of the one with retina, because of its high price.
Is that something I should consider?And one more thing, is the parallels with windows 7 any good?P.S. I'm not a noob, I'm well known with specs and stuff like that, and all my nerdy friends is getting freaked out because I'm buying a MacBook at this point. I also got to like apple more, after having av fabulous experience with the IPad 3. I suggest you try Oracle's Virtualbox Virtual Machine program. It is free and I've just switch to it from using VMware's Fusion on Mac and from VMware's Player program on Windows to Virtualbox.I would not buy the Retina if you want to keep the system for longer then 3 years.
The Retina modles are basically irreparable and Apple only offers a 2 year extrension to the warranty if you buy Applecare. So after the standard one year warranty and the Applecare warranty runs out, if you buy Applecare for a total of 3 years of warranty coverage, to fix a broken Retina will be VERY EXPENSIVE. So much so that it would be cheaper to buy a new computer.
Also there are some major flaws with the Retina models, Just look through these forum and you will find many problems with them. Before you invest in whether or not running Windows 7 is ideal, see if you can make do with the solutions to run on Mac OS X natively, or with WINE.:If all your stuff will run without needing Windows, and only needs the GPU found on the computer, then go with that solution. If you need a higher end GPU, getting an iMac may be a better solution unless you are frequently on the road. Sometimes you do have to make sacrifices of what games you can play if you are on the road. So be sure everything you desire is known to run on the machine in question. MacBook Pros can last many years.there are many users on here trying to update to the latest Mac OS X with very old equipment.
The life-time for the computer depends a lot on how you care for it or avoid abuse of it.The differences between the MBP and the PC are big.outfitting a PC with the same specs as an MBP will end up costing the same amount of money, the MBP looks expensive because the computer is so advanced in comparison.Go to an Apple store and spend some time with the MBP and MBPr and see how they feel to you so you can make an informed decision. I suggest you try Oracle's Virtualbox Virtual Machine program. It is free and I've just switch to it from using VMware's Fusion on Mac and from VMware's Player program on Windows to Virtualbox.I would not buy the Retina if you want to keep the system for longer then 3 years. The Retina modles are basically irreparable and Apple only offers a 2 year extrension to the warranty if you buy Applecare. So after the standard one year warranty and the Applecare warranty runs out, if you buy Applecare for a total of 3 years of warranty coverage, to fix a broken Retina will be VERY EXPENSIVE.
So much so that it would be cheaper to buy a new computer. Also there are some major flaws with the Retina models, Just look through these forum and you will find many problems with them.
Before you invest in whether or not running Windows 7 is ideal, see if you can make do with the solutions to run on Mac OS X natively, or with WINE.:If all your stuff will run without needing Windows, and only needs the GPU found on the computer, then go with that solution. If you need a higher end GPU, getting an iMac may be a better solution unless you are frequently on the road.
Sometimes you do have to make sacrifices of what games you can play if you are on the road. So be sure everything you desire is known to run on the machine in question. The other thing to consider is the price is there because the support is second to none, when it comes to person to person support. The price is there also because there is a whole host of software that will run Mac OS X natively that will not run on a non-Apple machine. And you can run more software on an Apple machine by virtue of the fact all Windows software will run on a similarly hardware configured machine that is non-Apple.
How Long Do Apple Laptop Batteries Last
Issues with running stuff in Mac OS X or Windows can typically be narrowed down to hardware issues, and older drivers or older software not designed to work with the hardware. Apple offers you the opportunity to buy a Mac, and within the first year extend its warranty to 3 years from date of purchase. Note the warranty does not cover accidents.
How Long Does An Ipad Last
For that you need either a supported homeowners insurance, or a computer insurance such as Safeware. Instead of taking this forum verbatim on what fails, simply ask what works. You are much more likely to get an answer that will be accurate. People can easily blame failure on many things, and fail to look at the problem between the keyboard and the chair.
Thats true, but the thing is I'm going for is a powerful mac, like the retina, I prefer laptops. But im not expecting to play games like crysis 3(or 2/black ops/skyrim) or something, only smaler games like the upcoming sim city. So if I've understood you right, i should either wait for the retina macbook to improve, by an macbook, or an Imac. I have tried my fathers macbook,and I'm finding and it very comfortable to use.But the thing with free virtual machines, after that i've heard, that the may get unstable, and somethimes the mac chrashed. The Retina is no more powerful then any other Mac notebook. The only difference between the standard models and the Retina is the retina comes with a SSD. You can Add a SSD to all the other models which will make them just as fast as the retina models.You can also install the SSD yourself, saving some money from Apple would charge for it, and you can upgrade the RAM to 16GBs yourself also saving even more money.The only thing the retina has that the standard models don't have is the high Res screen and the thinner case.
What's The Best Apple Laptop
In fact if you want a DVD drive you have to buy an external for the retina and it comes with the standard. Apple Footer.This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations captured in an electronic forum and Apple can therefore provide no guarantee as to the efficacy of any proposed solutions on the community forums. Apple disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the site. All postings and use of the content on this site are subject to the.