Far from the tree it falls

My topic for today has changed. (Maybe I’ll still write about modesty; if not, then tomorrow.)

So, the computer repair shop guy called, and it’s going to cost $800-$1100 to fix my PowerBook. $600-$900 for the main logic board (which is what died), and around $200 for labor.

Ouch.

Well, for that much I may as well get a new computer. (Lesson learned: always get three years of AppleCare.) So now I have to figure out what to do. I’m going to get a Mac no matter what (I’m never going back to PCs, ever ever ever!), so here are my options:

1. Mac Mini. The $579 model (all these prices are with the student discount) is the cheapest Mac on the market (new, that is), but it only has a 60 gig hard drive and no SuperDrive (DVD burning). It’s $779 for an 80 gig with a SuperDrive. And then you have to get a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, which I’m guessing will run me around $950-$1000 total. (For the $579, it’d be around $800. But I don’t really care about the non-SuperDrive models — I always regretted it on my PowerBook, and I’m not going to make that mistake again. DVD backups are sooooo much handier than CDs.)

2. iMac. $1,200 for a beautiful 17-inch screen, 160 gig hard drive, and SuperDrive. ~drool~

3. MacBook. $1,200 for a 13-inch screen, 60 gig hard drive, and SuperDrive.

4. iBook G4. $1,200 for a 14-inch screen, 60 gig hard drive, and SuperDrive.

That’s about everything in my price range. The first question on the table is whether I need the portability of a laptop. A year ago I would have unequivocally answered in the affirmative, but considering that I’ve spent the last four months laptop-less, I’m not so sure anymore.

Assuming I decide that a desktop is fine, then I need to decide whether the extra $200 for an iMac is worth it. Twice the hard drive space, integrated everything. Hmm. Dang. :)

Finally, I need to talk with myself and see if $1,200 really is within my price range. This is going to empty my bank account. ~sigh~

I guess I’ve already subconsciously decided on the iMac, because it certainly is the most bang for the buck. I’d hoped not to have to spend more than $500 on this whole computer thing, but it looks like I’m going in for the long haul.

Unless… I wonder if I bought the $239 three-year AppleCare extension (it’s under the Refurbished section), then got my PowerBook fixed, for free. Would they really let me do that? ~sly grin~

And yet this is the second time my PowerBook’s logic board has gone out. It would be nice to move to something that hasn’t broken down on me like that.

Well, I’ll call them and see if I can pull it off. I doubt it, so I’m back to scrinching for pennies for the iMac. Maybe Apple will buy my PowerBook back from me… (And there is a special right now where you get a free iPod nano if you buy a Mac before September 16.)

Yes, I hadn’t even finished reading your post, but had already decided that your decision had already been made: You want the iMac. You know you do.

:)

umm…Ben i’m still hung up on the fact that you powerbook DIED!? What is up with that? Should I be concerned about the quality of Apple products? Because I really don’t want to be. I want to be a true believer. But my faith is shaky.

and Now i have a blog for others to read as well. yay!

Hmm, so since last night I’ve been having second thoughts about my decision to throw portability to the wind. Mainly because 1) the Internet connection at my apartment is deathly slow and 2) my apartment’s a dungeon and it’d be nice to work elsewhere, like at the library. The drawback is, of course, 100 gigs less on the hard drive (I’m thinking about the MacBook here) and a 4″ smaller screen. Rats, decisions! I’m feeling like it’s better to stick with laptops until I settle down. Whether I’m right or not is a different question. :)

Bethany: All computers are like this; it’s just that we in the cult of Mac tend to think our computers are infallible. But they’re not — hardware is hardware, and there’s inevitably going to be failures, sooner or later. Here at work my Dell computer died once already and my co-programmer’s has died twice. Never fear, hardware failure is not Apple’s monopoly. :)

There’s nothing better than Mac out there. Nothing. Even if my next computer dies (and if that does happen, maybe I’m starting to get the kind of bad luck that plagues Scott Adams :)), I’m still sticking with Apple. Have faith! :)

Another consideration might be to buy something used (many Mac bargains on Craig’s List) as a temporary solution until you can get exactly what you want. You may not be working with the latest and greatest technology, but it won’t break your bank account either.

True, and I had indeed considered that. I’m thinking that for now, I’ll be fine without a laptop, and then once I have the money I’ll go ahead and get a new one (since the three-year AppleCare would do much to appease my worries about future breakage :)).

[...] Second, I picked up my laptop from the computer repair shop today, unfixed (but I still had to pay $65 for the diagnostic fee ~sigh~). Since last night I’ve been thinking twice about not needing a laptop. Portability would be pretty nice, as I detailed in my comment. [...]