/Big Mouth/ Shiny shiny
11/02/2007 | Filed under Discover > Big Mouth
When you spend hours of your working week exposed to the latest gadgets, but it’s easy to be lured by the tech companies’ promises of newer, shinier, faster equipment. But do we always need it?
A few years ago, I ran into financial problems – not “Oh no, I’ve blown my wages and it’s three days till payday,” problems, but the sort of financial mess where hanging around the docks in a PVC miniskirt begins to look like a necessary career move. Thankfully I managed to dig myself out without such drastic action, but the root cause is still there: I’m addicted to upgrades.
I’ve been writing about tech for eight years, and while technology’s changed, my requirements haven’t: I need a computer with Word, an internet connection and email, a landline and a mobile, and that’s about it. But I’ve still gone through piles of PCs, multiple mobiles, a rack of routers and all kinds of other ultimately pointless yet exciting electronic doo-hickeys.
The list is a long one. I’ve owned five desktops, three laptops and a Mac mini, three smartphones, three PDAs, a couple of cordless phones, six sets of speakers, many MP3 players, three routers and various PC cards. I’ve upgraded from dial-up to ISDN to broadband to fast broadband to superfast broadband, from analogue phones to digital to GPRS and Wi-Fi; from Windows 95 and OS 9 to Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista and various OS Xes. And I’ve upgraded from wired networks to 802.11b to g to Super G. If I’d taken the same approach to my body that I’ve taken to my computer kit, I’d have four heads, three knees and the ability to move biscuits with my mind.
Unnecessary purchases
Let’s be conservative and say that my various upgrade adventures have cost thousands of pounds – I’d work out the actual figure, but I suspect it would make me cry. Was it worth it? Well, there’s no doubt that after eight years of upgrades and continuous credit card abuse, I’m able to do things that wouldn’t have been possible in 1998. I can write words on a screen! I can send emails! I can look at websites! I can play music! I can take digital photos! Er…
In most cases, I didn’t need the kit, I couldn’t afford it and I bought it anyway. You’ve probably done the same. Of course, a Photoshop pro shouldn’t make his or her masterpiece on a pensionable PC or a mouldy old Mac, but for most of us, the kit we’ve got is massively overpowered for what we actually use it for. And yet the tech industry lures us in with the promise of newer, shinier, speedier, sexier kit and the implication that you should be embarrassed by what you’ve got. So you fl ash the cash, or pay with plastic, and one year on, there’s yet another new machine and you’re back to square one.
Yes, you want it. But do you need it? Can you afford it? The combination of hype and easy credit makes temptation hard to resist, but hardware doesn’t bring happiness and the cost of credit can be crippling. Before you fl ash your cash, think twice: if you end up down the docks in drag, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Comments
Mr Fatuous / 14/02/2007 / 14:12 / http://www.fatuous.co.uk
I've just splashed out on a new PC, it's about time. With upgrades to memory and a couple of graphics cards I managed to make my old PC last 6 years. The one before that lasted 7 years although the only original bits left in it were the hard drive and the case itself.
Zestypete / 15/02/2007 / 12:08 / http://nickandkeith.blogspot.com/
You should have a chat with Joel Johnson (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/feature/horseshoes-and-hand-grenades-joel-johnson-returnsto-spank-us-all-for-supporting-crap-236310.php) - he'll set you straight.
Gary / 07/03/2007 / 09:21
ZestyPete, thanks for that link. Brilliant.
Mr Fatuous, six or seven years from a single PC is excellent. I'm sure Dell's sending a re-education squad to your house as I type this. How can the electronics industry survive if we're not tipping our kit into landfills every twelve months?
I tend to recycle my kit - reviewing software means you tend to need big upgrades fairly regularly, so old kit goes off to various family members when it can't cope with, say, Vista and Office 2007. It makes me feel a little less guilty.
Richard Longhurst / 23/04/2007 / 19:47 / http://www.lovehoney.co.uk
Pound-for-pound the best investment in new kit I ever made was an extra graphics card and an extra monitor - it's amazing how much more productive you become when your desktop is twice as wide.
And people who aren't especially PC-savvy are always amazed by it... Especially when you tell them you can drop stuff in the gap between the two monitors... Heh.
Chris Simms / 31/07/2007 / 16:01 / http://www.bondara.co.uk
Thats for those who can afford 2 screens of course! What I dont understand is why do the colours on one screen almost always look different to the colours on the second screen? (Same brand and model number) Check it out! On most dual screen setups this seems to be the case. Run adaware. registry mechanic and defrag your HD once a week and you don't need to uprade your PC for at least 2-3 years.
