Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

I'd like to offer a counterpoint to the author's suggestion that "you'd be an idiot not to buy [and dispose of] a new laptop every year." I'm a software engineer and put a lot on my computer's shoulders, running an entire cluster's worth of software as part of my development environment.<p>I value longevity and durability in products I buy. It's nice to pick a machine and stick with it. It's a long-term companion. It's about slowing "disposable computing's" cycle of production and obsolescence. It feels good to prove that, with a few upgrades over its lifetime, a well-engineered product can be useful -- even as a primary computer -- for years to come.<p>My Spring 2008 MacBook Pro (<a href="http://cl.ly/2H1l2X1Q2w181Z2P1Y3P" rel="nofollow">http://cl.ly/2H1l2X1Q2w181Z2P1Y3P</a>) will be three years old this Saturday, and I couldn't be happier with it. My previous machine was a 15" PowerBook G4 purchased in 2004. Both have been fantastic primary computers. An occasional upgrade and maintenance can make all the difference in extending the useful lifespan of a machine.<p>A few months in, I maxed out the memory to 4GB, which is still sufficient despite running our entire stack and an IDE or VM. Last summer, I replaced the 7200RPM drive with a 160GB X25-M. A few months ago, I added a second 48GB SSD drive via the ExpressCard slot to regain a bit of the storage sacrificed by choosing a faster drive. Over the three-year lifetime of the machine (so far), these upgrades cost about $625.<p>During that time, the manufacturer has also done a great job standing behind the laptop, replacing the keyboard/top case, one battery, and one power adapter. I'll take it in for one last servicing before the warranty runs out (to fix an unreliable Caps Lock key and clean the DVD-RW drive I never use), and may purchase one more battery at some point. Aside from this, it's in perfect condition and plenty fast enough for Java/Scala/Python/Ruby/Android development and testing.<p>This computer's followed me from the week I graduated college as an aspiring freelancer through three years of building a career in software engineering. It's got some life in it yet.

Doesn't add up.<p>The only way you can keep this with the numbers given here is if you buy near the start of a release cycle and <i>always sell before it ends</i>. In order to do both, you have to both predict the release schedule well AND spend a month or more with no computer while you wait for the new release.<p>The numbers in the long run are weaker, since some of your purchases will invariably cross release cycle boundaries. Buying a new one every year may in fact cost less than buying a new one every 2 years (depending on the resell curve, which <i>you do not know in advance</i>). Regardless, it's certainly not such a clear win that you can insult the intelligence of everyone that doesn't behave this way.

Could be interesting if: - you don't need a custom built laptop (ex: max out ram, replace the optical bay by a 2nd laptop, non US or non local keyboard) - your time is cheap or you could not afford your laptop otherwise, because time is money even even if it take hours to set up, add that the time to make the transaction, sell, buy a new one, spend time without a laptop etc. - you make sure you keep the laptop in a pristine state to maximize resell value - ie no tagging or engraving, which could be useful theft deterrent (I have a huge laser-engraved domain name on mine - bigger than the apple logo, because I care more about the data than the potential resale value)<p>Could be good for students. Not sure about anyone else. And it reeks of a parasitic mindset (suggestion to ask a student to do the purchase to take advantage of their discount or import a US laptop without paying duties/sales tax)<p>Funny story- I was on vacation and I had a <i>software</i> problem that caused custom made software crash. An urgent need for a big client made a trip to the applestore to buy a new laptop the most logical move- it was already installed. It took an hour for the purchase (trip included), 20 minutes to install the software, do what was required and provide the results. The client got its result 1 hour + 20 minutes after its call.<p>And <i>that</i> paid for this laptop and a good leftover, not including the great experience for the client who knows that wherever you are, you will deliver on time.

Why should i buy every year a new laptop ? even it's free ? every time i buy a laptop , i have to;<p>- backup my files / projects<p>- destroy my personal files<p>- sell my old laptop to someone and hopefully get my money<p>- copy files to the new laptop<p>- set personal settings ( wallpaper, mouse speed etc )<p>- and optionally : get used to new keyboard layout<p>- hope for a fix if there is a some hardware/design error.<p>for programmers, i think old but working laptop seems fine to me.

Whether or not this experience works for everyone, I have found that Apple laptops/desktops hold their value much longer than their PC counterparts. I'm not sure if its because Apple tends to spec their machines more on the mid to high-end of capabilities that allow them to be used longer in a changing market.

I'm considering trying this with the MacBook I bought a few months ago (to upgrade back to the 15" MBP that I miss), but to be honest, I've heard so many horror stories about trying to sell computers on Craigslist and eBay that I'm a little spooked by the prospect.

<i>Not a college student? Find someone who is.</i> – beware of financial plans predicated on fraud.

Historically, I've updated my Mac every time a new release comes out (mostly of Macbook Pros). I've been doing this for about the past eight years.<p>About a month ago I broke from that pattern and bought an 11" Air (right after the new Macbook Pros came out, and pretty far into the current cycle for the Air's). It was the first time that the new machine was way less powerful than the old one (also, so far, the best machine I've ever had).<p>Usually I'd sell my old laptop for about 66% of the price of the new one. Originally, I sold them on Ebay, but it got to be a pain in the ass dealing with people there (I had one guy complain after buying a Macbook Pro from me that the screen had smudges on it. Not marks mind you, but "easilly wiped off with a rag smudges".)<p>After that I started selling them either to friends or on craigslist.

Apple's Computers are getting faster and cheaper with every release. Almost as fast as the competition, in some cases faster. The difference is, that used Apple products don't loose their value as fast.<p>I got my first Mac this year and I have to acknowledge, this company earned their high profit margins very well.<p>Oh, and I agree with the other posters. You can not, as the author suggests, sell before a new release, if you need a computer all the time. He switched the product line, from a Pro to an Air, so this might be the reason why he has overseen this problem.

I've always considered laptops to be disposable computers.<p>Are the people buying used, at a student discount price, really getting a machine of that value? If it's out of warranty, any small hardware problem means disposal.<p>Apple certainly has a strong brand with high perceived reliability. That's not value. Here's the rub: Warranty extends to the expected life of the machine, set by the producer of said product.<p>Everything else is brand loyalty.

Interesting. A friend of mine used to be an amateur cyclist, at the highest (non-pro) level. Through his club he could buy a bike for <i>very</i> good prices. So he'd buy it for 2.5 grand instead of 5, use it for a year, and sell it half price...so 2.5 grand.<p>It's a one-off big investment, but from then on he had a new bike every year, practically free.

I'm not quite sure the every year upgrade makes sense, for all the reasons others mention. But I have seen that if you upgrade on a 2 year, 3 year or 4 year cycle, in South Africa at least, it costs you about the same in the long term.

according to ebay, my 2-year-old macbook is worth half the original purchase price. not quite free for me :(

How is this exclusive to apple products in any way? A smart buyer can do this with ANY form of non disposable product.