Buying a new computer?
Looking for a new computer? Your old computer simply outdated (read: older than 2 weeks, jk) and you are looking for the newest shiniest model?
How do you know when updates are scheduled?? Do some research!
Personally I’m an Apple guy. Why? A couple reasons;
- I’ve never had real trouble with any of my machines (I’ve had 5 of their computers in the life of my business so far). Note, I have had trouble, but those troubles are typically caused by me. The only 2 that caused some stress were the following. Once while I was updating the OS my dorm lost power. So my machine was essentially stranded without a mind to tell it how to work. Solution, reinstall everything, lost a ton of data because of it. The second issue was a recent hard drive crash on my iMac. If you really get to thinking, Apple purchases these hard drives from a third party, so its not really their fault.. And after loosing a ton of data in the first incident I have been backing up my data religiously, so the only thing I lost in the hard drive crash was time pulling data from my backups. Plus, Apple is fantastic to work with when you do have an issue. They are always super nice about getting your machine back on its feet as soon as they physically can. I’ve had zero complaints with any of my computer doctor visits. They are not hesitant to recommend other venues for repairs if for any reason you don’t want to go to your local Apple Store.
- They are beautiful! I love the simplicity of the product. It gives me exactly what I need, where I need it, and nothing more. No crazy flashing lights or a gazillion ports for every known cable. KISS, keep it simple stupid. Personally I don’t care about updating the organs of my computer, so I don’t mind the the new laptops have memory soldered to everything else. Heck, if it makes it run faster, I’m good.
- I’m kind of a design snob, and I prefer the look of an Apple software vs the look of any other on the market. Typically software on the mac is much more refined and condensed. The software is an extension of the simplistic hardware, neat & clean. Very easy to keep focused on the task at hand, and very easy to navigate between one app and another, because they are all designed similarly!
So when is a good time to buy? I scour the internets. I’ve found an amazing resource for Apple Rumors. MacRumors.com. This site gives you almost al of the current topics of discussion on Apple machines. They also have this amazing chart of all of the products and when they were updated last, aswell as an estimated date for future updates. They will let you know when a good time to purchase a new machine comes along via the red, yellow or green dots next to the product. In a nutshell, if the dot is green the product was recently updated and its a great time to purchase, red on the other hand is the symbol for a product that is either due, or overdue for an update. (all rumors of course, based on the update history of the product.) 
Apple employees will tell you nothing about the future updates, because they honestly do not know. Most of the time store employees find out about updates the day or two before they are launched. Apple likes to surprise people. But there are a few leaks in the pipe, and MacRumors.com knows where to find them.
(Image via MacRumors.com July 5, 2012)
(Keep in mind these are all my personal opinions, I realize there are other machines out there that meet all of the same criteria, but I’m a brand loyalist, find one that works & fits your personality and stick with it until they change their product in a way that no longer fits your personality)
Did I convince you to purchase a Mac? Comment if not! I love to hear what everyone else is doing & how they compare. I don’t research them on my own..
Whatever machine you decide to work on, Keep Shooting!