Another computer quandary...

[Onomea]

...also why I don't buy Apple products - their stubborn, intentional incompatibility with the rest of the digital world.

Hmm. As an Apple guy, since I retired in 2012, I wonder what I am missing?

In Japan, I stream my music from an iPhone to my old time, 1990s, audio system using bluetooth and a digital audio converter (DAC). Sounds terrific with those big ol' speakers! In the US, iPhone to Sonos (wireless speakers).

Video in Japan is an iPad to TV via an HDMI cable. (Tried an Apple TV, 1st gen, for a while, but connection was not that good, maybe because I use a VPN to watch US video services?) Or, just watch on iPad. In the US, I have a smart TV which has the video apps I like built in, so don't use iPhone or iPad for connecting to TV.

I have an Alexa in Japan. Set it up using my iPhone. My brother gave it to me for Xmas and I am still trying to figger out whether I like it or not. (Makes an excellent kitchen timer tho! And not a bad little audio speaker for its size.)

Have my Kindle app for books on iPhone and iPad. Do my banking on line. FaceTime and Skype for free video and audio calls, etc.

So, what am I missing? What in the digital world would I want to connect to that I can't now? Hey, if it is entertaining or useful, maybe I want it!

 

[BC38]

Hmm. As an Apple guy, since I retired in 2012, I wonder what I am missing?

In Japan, I stream my music from an iPhone to my old time, 1990s, audio system using bluetooth and a digital audio converter (DAC). Sounds terrific with those big ol' speakers! In the US, iPhone to Sonos (wireless speakers).

Video in Japan is an iPad to TV via an HDMI cable. (Tried an Apple TV, 1st gen, for a while, but connection was not that good, maybe because I use a VPN to watch US video services?) Or, just watch on iPad. In the US, I have a smart TV which has the video apps I like built in, so don't use iPhone or iPad for connecting to TV.

I have an Alexa in Japan. Set it up using my iPhone. My brother gave it to me for Xmas and I am still trying to figger out whether I like it or not. (Makes an excellent kitchen timer tho! And not a bad little audio speaker for its size.)

Have my Kindle app for books on iPhone and iPad. Do my banking on line. FaceTime and Skype for free video and audio calls, etc.

So, what am I missing? What in the digital world would I want to connect to that I can't now? Hey, if it is entertaining or useful, maybe I want it!

I bought an all-in-one Mac at a garage sale and started playing around with it. It's not nearly as old as the PC's I'm using.

But I can't connect to an android phone as a storage device just by plugging it in - like I can with every Windows machine since about 2000.

Can't read/play MP3 music files from a USB memory stick - and MP3 is the format of most of my fairly extensive music collection. I am NOT going to convert them all to iTunes and have the stored "in the cloud" thank you.

Can't play a lot of the video formats that work on Windows PCs on it either. Same iTunes only issue with video too - unless it is in Quicktime format - Mac's will play those.

Every time my kid comes home and his iPhone connects to our WiFi it grabs an IP address that one of my other devices is using and creates an IP address conflict. The only way to resolve it is to force the OTHER device to give up the address and get a new one. We NEVER have this problem with Windows, Android, or any other devices - including my wife's old Kindle eBook reader. ONLY with the iPhone.

For my money I prefer native compatibility with the rest of the world over "you don't need to know how to do anything because we've made sure you can't do a darned thing with or to it".

But that's just me.

 

[BC38]

I think this is key to your satisfaction with PCs, Microsoft, and older equipment!

I have none of that understanding, and no interest in investing the time to learn it. I just want something that I turn on and it works. And if I can't understand how to do something, or have an issue, I like a number I can call and a polite and knowledgeable person to help me. And I am willing to pay a premium for that.

So, for me, Apple and its high prices are a reasonable trade off.

I can see where you're coming from. FWIW though, 99% of the people with my kind of credentials are the "early adopter" types always chasing the latest greatest and paying through the nose for it. That's where I'm different.

BTW, other than updating my XP installation to Service Pack 3 last week, I haven't had to do a thing to this old Dell in the 4 years I've had it. It just keeps plugging along on it's 10 year old OS. It has done pretty much everything I've asked of it or wanted it to do with next to zero effort on my part.

 

[bigwheelzip]

I have a similar quandary....

Your post is a drift but I'll make a quick point. You should not be needing to be replacing all those parts unless your environment is awful. The last desktop I built was June 2010, and it's never had a part fail. If your components are failing, fix your power input with a Pure Sine Wave UPS like this one. CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS 1500VA / 900W PFC compatible Pure sine wave - Newegg.com

If you want drive security, get back up drives for your Data and make a clone of your OS, and keep your Data and OS separate.


One other point, if your buying Desktops, don't use OEMs like Dell and HP because they use enough nonstandard parts to make upgrade difficult. Use a boutique builder like CyberPowerPC because every part is industry standard and easily upgraded. CyberPowerPC - UNLEASH THE POWER - Create the Custom Gaming PC and Laptop Computer of your dreams

 

[johngalt]

One other point, if your buying Desktops, don't use OEMs like Dell and HP because they use enough nonstandard parts to make upgrade difficult.

My biggest gripe is how it seems like every factory Windows machine comes pre-loaded with junk/adware. At least a Mac system comes out of the box fairly clean.

Wiping the system and re-installing the OS from scratch is a solution, until you discover the drivers for their custom OEM components are hard to find...

 

[TX-Dennis]

Your post is a drift but I'll make a quick point. You should not be needing to be replacing all those parts unless your environment is awful. The last desktop I built was June 2010, and it's never had a part fail. If your components are failing, fix your power input with a Pure Sine Wave UPS like this one. CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS 1500VA / 900W PFC compatible Pure sine wave - Newegg.com

If you want drive security, get back up drives for your Data and make a clone of your OS, and keep your Data and OS separate.


One other point, if your buying Desktops, don't use OEMs like Dell and HP because they use enough nonstandard parts to make upgrade difficult. Use a boutique builder like CyberPowerPC because every part is industry standard and easily upgraded. CyberPowerPC - UNLEASH THE POWER - Create the Custom Gaming PC and Laptop Computer of your dreams

Those are all valid points, but

1. I upgraded the graphics card to a more powerful one because I wanted to, not because the old one failed

2. I upgraded the power supply because the original 300w supply was inadequate for the new graphics card, not because it had failed.

3. I change the hard drive every 3-4 years as a precaution. They have a finite lifespan and give you very little notice of when they will fail.

4. I do backup my data.

5. I really haven't found Dell or HP desktop parts to be proprietary, and I have rebuilt and upgraded both with standard parts and encountered no compatibility issues.

Anyway . . . enough drifting for now.

 

[TX-Dennis]

My biggest gripe is how it seems like every factory Windows machine comes pre-loaded with junk/adware. At least a Mac system comes out of the box fairly clean.

Wiping the system and re-installing the OS from scratch is a solution, until you discover the drivers for their custom OEM components are hard to find...

Dell and HP (and I would assume other manufacturers) offer drivers on their support pages. I've never needed one that I couldn't find even on very old machines.

They do come preloaded with a bunch of garbage that needs to be removed, though.