{"id":3322,"date":"2019-08-30T07:00:15","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T11:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=3322"},"modified":"2019-08-29T10:43:26","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T14:43:26","slug":"why-do-mac-computers-last-longer-than-pcs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/30\/why-do-mac-computers-last-longer-than-pcs\/","title":{"rendered":"“Why do Mac computers last longer than PCs?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oh, baloney. Macs aren’t magical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an easy mistake to make: For example, in your mind’s-eye comparison, you may picture “a PC” as something like a $200 Lenovo<\/a> laptop; and “a Mac” as maybe a $2400 MacBook Pro<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that’s hardly a valid comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you compare roughly equivalent hardware<\/strong> you’ll see that Macs and PCs both can be equivalently long-lived<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with decent care and feeding, even the cheapest PC hardware can last an astonishingly long time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a real-life example: My mighty MSi L1300 \u201cdesigned for Windows XP\u201d notebook, purchased on the fly in a Walmart a decade (?) ago as an emergency replacement after my main laptop died towards the start of a month-long road trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bought it because it\u2019s what they had. This was no carefully-considered, cherry-picked selection: It was an emergency!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That cheapo, Walmart, \u201cdesigned for XP\u201d puppy survived the trip just fine, and more: Over the years it\u2019s run XP, Vista, Win7, Win8, Win10, and Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s still in service today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Still ticking, after all these years: My MSi L1300
(If I recall correctly, MSi had only recently changed its name from \u201cMicroStar International.\u201d)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Behold, the mighty Atom!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
As I said, it was an emergency.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I bought the laptop in Saskatchewan; it\u2019s a dual-language English\/French model designed for Canada, with a very confusing keyboard. Strange little machine. But sturdy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I keep it updated and still use it several times a year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Here it is quietly shuffling bits in a corner of my office; syncing some of my long-term, archival backups among various drives. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I doubt any Apple product could have done better, even at Apple’s prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottom line: Macs aren’t magical, and “Macs last longer than PCs” is baloney.<\/strong> Equivalent hardware, treated in approximately equivalent ways, will have roughly an equivalent lifespan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(PSSST! But the Macs will still cost disproportionally more! \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Permalink: https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=3322<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(Want free notification of new content? Click<\/em> <\/strong>here<\/a><\/b>!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oh, baloney. Macs aren’t magical. It\u2019s an easy mistake to make: For example, in your mind’s-eye comparison, you may picture “a PC” as something like a $200 Lenovo laptop; and “a Mac” as maybe a $2400 MacBook Pro. But that’s hardly a valid comparison. When you compare roughly equivalent hardware you’ll see that Macs and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-reader-asks","category-hardware"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-RA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2820,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/23\/can-a-mac-and-pc-share-a-network-hard-drive\/","url_meta":{"origin":3322,"position":0},"title":"“Can a Mac and PC share a network hard drive?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-05-23","format":false,"excerpt":"Sure! Although only one operating system can \u201cown\u201d the drive, it can share that same drive with one or more other OSes. Let\u2019s say a Windows PC shares one of its drives to the local network; its permission can be adjusted as you like, but in general, any device on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/ethernet_cables.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/ethernet_cables.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/ethernet_cables.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3433,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/17\/what-upgrades-and-modifications-have-you-made-to-your-old-netbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":3322,"position":1},"title":"“What upgrades and modifications have you made to your old netbook?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-09-17","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently wrote about my still-working, antique, \"made-for-XP\" netbook as part of a fun PC-vs-Mac discussion here. Apparently -- judging from the popularity of the post --- there are a lot of other people out there maintaining seriously old PCs, too! For example, correspondent \"twinmustangranchdressing\" asks: \"What upgrades and modifications\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/linux-lite2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/linux-lite2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/linux-lite2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/linux-lite2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/linux-lite2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3020,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/05\/if-you-clone-the-os-hard-drive-will-windows-require-a-new-license\/","url_meta":{"origin":3322,"position":2},"title":"“If you clone the OS hard drive, will Windows require a new license?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-07-05","format":false,"excerpt":"Probably not. The Windows license process generates a unique numeric ID or \u201cscore\u201d for your PC\u2019s specific hardware configuration and copy of Windows. Microsoft knows that PCs get upgraded, so the system is flexible enough to allow the score to change, some, without triggering a need to re-license. For example,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3209,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/06\/how-is-it-done-to-format-multiple-pcs-same-model-at-the-same-time-does-a-disk-cloner-work-does-it-handle-everything-drivers-bios\/","url_meta":{"origin":3322,"position":3},"title":"“How is it done to format multiple PCs (same model) at the same time? Does a disk cloner work? Does it handle everything — drivers? BIOS?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-08-06","format":false,"excerpt":"Your question touches on two separate things. First, yes: Cloning can perfectly replicate everything that's on a PC's disk. If the PCs are truly identical (as in a managed corporate setting), and the OS is licensed for it, then you only need one Master disk image, which can then be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4850,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/28\/can-you-factory-reset-a-computer-from-bios\/","url_meta":{"origin":3322,"position":4},"title":"“Can you factory reset a computer from BIOS?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-04-28","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Ram Binay Yadav) In a word, no. Even for systems using UEFI instead of a BIOS --- and that's almost all current PCs (see below) --- the answer's still no. BIOS: Old-school PCs used a BIOS (Basic Input\/Output System) to handle the power-on startup sequence of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bios-chip-rf-e1587748394415.jpg?fit=350%2C233&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3629,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/22\/what-was-the-most-weird-computer-you-have-ever-used\/","url_meta":{"origin":3322,"position":5},"title":"“What was the most weird computer you have ever used?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-10-22","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Chris Fisher) Hmmm. Several come to mind. There were a series of early Soviet-era PC clones I saw in Russia and Hungary in the early 90's, shortly before the USSR dissolved. Many of the computers were in the \"close but no cigar\" category, superficially emulating Western PCs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IBMPCprototypemainbooard.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3322"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3343,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3322\/revisions\/3343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}