The Macbook Air is undoubtedly the world’s slimmest laptop. But this extreme portability may not be a good match for people who do not know how to take care of their things.
In a recent column, Steven Levy, a columnist of Newsweek, showed exactly why ultraportable gadgets and being a slob do not make good bedfellows. Levy narrated that his expensive Macbook Air disappeared from his apartment and he couldn’t trace where it went. After scouring his place and even placing a call to an Apple representative (like they could help retrieve a misplaced laptop), he still couldn’t find it. He eventually deduced that it may have been inadvertently thrown away with a stack of newspapers that he was throwing away for recycling.
Hard to believe that a gadget worth almost two grand could be lost in that manner. But apparently it can happen. So let this be a cautionary tale to Macbook Air users or those who love buying those itsy-bitsy gadgets that electronics companies love to put out in the market.
I think it is safe to say that laptops are the new must-have, status symbol accessories. Forget about mobile phones, laptops are the new neck-turners. To prove my point, just go to any restaurant, cafe or coffee shop and I’ll bet the moment someone whips out a cool sub-notebook or the newest “IT” item from Apple and you’re bound to look at the person with envy or wonder how the hell he or she could afford such a great gadget.
I admit I’m one of those guys who can’t look at a new Macbook Pro or Fujitsu Lifebook without drooling. The bad thing is that I go all metaphysical because of it. I begin to wonder how THEY can afford it and I can’t. Am I destined to forever be relegated to the group of people who always have to settle for low-end or low-midrange laptops?
In my envy, I also start mocking these people. I look at the websites they surf (Ha! Plain old Yahoo! Entertainment. What a bore!) or even the kind of information that they look for (Beyonce! Josh Groban! What atrocious music tastes!). I know that I’m being unfair and that my desire to have a really cool laptop has made the worst come out of me. But I also know that I am not the only one who feels the same way. I guess the best thing to do about it is just ignore them, be happy with what I do have — and try to “accidentally” spill cafe latte on those damn Macbooks.
I’ve been blogging about some pretty serious stuff for the last few months. Time to have some fun, don’t you think?
Have you guys seen the Chris Crocker video on Youtube? It’s basically about this weird guy who’s bawling his eyes out trying to defend Britney Spears from detractors and critics. Crocker, who calls himself the Queen of Ghetto, shows what a rabid fan is willing to do in defense of their favorite — either that or he’s really desperate to get that fifteen minutes of fame. And you know what? In the crazy world of showbusiness, he did get his fifteen minutes. He has appeared in Jimmy Kimmel Live and more recently it was announced that a production company has signed Crocker to do a reality TV show –all on the strength of his kohl-lined eyes, his frosted highlights and his hysterics.
Heat is one of the things that annoy me the most in laptops.
Okay, it’s great that you can bring your computer anywhere with you and basically do anything you want, anywhere you want. Portability is really a great come-on for anyone, but heat issues with certain laptops can really dampen your enthusiasm for them.
Take for example, my trusty Acer laptop. We’ve been through so much together. It has been a very able and tough road warrior but what I hate about it is that I really can’t consider it a “laptop”. Any attempts to use my lap to prop up my laptop will only last for thirty minutes or less. The bottom gets uncomfortably hot for any extended usage time. It actually gets hot enough for me to worry about my fertility. I can imagine my little sperm cells boiling down there, all because of a little computer.
I hope computer companies make laptops with more effective heat dissipation designs. I’ve already heard of units that employ heatpipe technology to wick away ambient heat from CPUs. I look forward to future products that will employ more exotic heat dissipation solutions so I can finally get a laptop that I can put on my lap without fearing for my balls.
I recently visited the buy and sell section of one of my favorite online forums. I periodically do this because I have discovered that some really great bargains could be had from the buy and sell section. I was doing the virtual equivalent of window shopping when I chanced upon an ad posted by one of the forum members. This guy was selling his old iMac G4 20″ desktop PC for about $1,199. I couldn’t believe my eyes! The ad further explained that the G4 had been used for a fe w years and that he initially bought the iMac for $2,800.
If you look at the numbers you’d think that you’re getting a real bargain. The guy must be crazy if he’s selling it at that low price! The seller may think that he’s offering a great bargain price, but in reality, he’s ripping off any prospective buyers. Here is where the iniquity of depreciation kicks in. A cursory look in eBay and you will discover that the highest bid for a used but good condition iMac G4 is $200. Yes, a measly 200 bucks. And to put it in a better perspective, the newly released iMac Aluminum, that marvel of desktop architecture, has a base price of, hold on, $1,199. That’s the price being offered by the seller in that buy and sell section!
Depreciation really sucks especially when it involves items that you paid so much money for. The seller may not have any intention of tricking hapless buyers and only wants to recoup some of his investment on a PC. But the sad reality is, the moment you buy a computer, whether it’s a desktop PC or a laptop, it is already obsolete and have devalued in price.
If you have any intention of recouping your investment in computers. Follow this simple advice: Sell it off after two years. Even then, the most that you can get is maybe half of what you paid for it.
