| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: How old is your main computer? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Natalie Soper 
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:29
French to English
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My Macbook is 5 years old, and I've only just had to replace the charging cable (the wires are poking out everywhere) and will probably have to replace the battery soon. I've been told that the 2011 Macbooks are some of the last ones that you can modify a bit more, so maybe I'll see how much more life I can wring out of it before admitting defeat!
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 05:29
Member (2006)
German to English
| Oh, getting older | Jun 21, 2016 |
I used to buy a new laptop ever 2 years, but seeing as I have 3 or 4 lying around now, I decide not to until one of the newer ones dies - hopefully my newer one HP Pavilion - Then I will get another new one.
My desktop was 6 years old and the hard disc decided to die in February. I am just deciding if I should get a new HD or a completely new one - was a Dell which I was very happy with.
It all costs money that I am reluctant to spend (also concerning environmental aspects whi... See more I used to buy a new laptop ever 2 years, but seeing as I have 3 or 4 lying around now, I decide not to until one of the newer ones dies - hopefully my newer one HP Pavilion - Then I will get another new one.
My desktop was 6 years old and the hard disc decided to die in February. I am just deciding if I should get a new HD or a completely new one - was a Dell which I was very happy with.
It all costs money that I am reluctant to spend (also concerning environmental aspects which I have completely disregarded in the past) and what can you buy that is reliable as the last experience with my HP taught me that new hardware in the €1500 class ist not automatically a guarantee for reliability! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Just replaced my dinosaur | Jun 21, 2016 |
I had to answer 1-3 years as I finally replaced my old computer about a year ago. I had that one at least 10 years and it was second-hand when I bought it. I had kept it more or less up to date with an external stack of SCSI devices but the main hard drive was starting to glitch and its time had come...
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 23:29
English to Spanish
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| RAM memory, Intel processors, etc. | Jun 21, 2016 |
Back in the WordPerfect days (1990-1993 for me), all you needed to know about a desktop computer was how to install the DOS 5 (or DOS 6) operating system, learn a few maintenance commands, such as the ones for changing directories, copying and deleting files, and other things.
If a program didn't work, you just uninstall it and reinstalling. There was no registry or INI file to worry about. With the arrival of Windows 3, which gobbled up DOS (and a myriad of other operating s... See more Back in the WordPerfect days (1990-1993 for me), all you needed to know about a desktop computer was how to install the DOS 5 (or DOS 6) operating system, learn a few maintenance commands, such as the ones for changing directories, copying and deleting files, and other things.
If a program didn't work, you just uninstall it and reinstalling. There was no registry or INI file to worry about. With the arrival of Windows 3, which gobbled up DOS (and a myriad of other operating systems), you had to go to CMD.EXE to do your DOS maintenance tasks. And if a program was giving you trouble, you had to learn how to work with your Windows .INI file.
Oh, and each installed program either attached data to the .INI file or added its own.
RAM memory? 8 MB was plenty in those days.
In 1995, a clean copy of Windows 95 would boot in about 45-60 seconds. In 2016, a clean copy of Windows 7 takes 60-120 seconds to boot up.
Don't believe the hype. Update and upgrade only what you really need. ▲ Collapse
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| Saving the planet | Jun 21, 2016 |
Michael Harris wrote:
...also concerning environmental aspects which I have completely disregarded in the past...
Who cares? All this waste is dumped in remote foreign places where tourists are not allowed.
Progress, aka consumerism, is key to our beloved tax-optimised multinationals, says I comfortably sit in front of my keyboard and surrounded with manufactured goods whose origin I haven't got a clue about.
Long live exploitation so that we can periodically get new stuff.
Voilà, I'm getting all upset now. I think I'll adopt a baby tiger to calm down.
Philippe
| | | | SteveMcD
Local time: 05:29
German to English
After nearly 7 years, I finally retired my old Dell Windows XP desk top computer. It performed flawlessly, never letting me down. However, with dwindling support for XP and ever increasing security issues, I finally took the plunge and purchased a new Lenovo running Windows 10. It's been great, no issues with any of the software I use and it was so easy to adapt to Windows 10 that I upgraded my 4 year old Asus Business Notebook (formerly running Windows 7 Pro) to Windows 10 Pro. It's working bet... See more After nearly 7 years, I finally retired my old Dell Windows XP desk top computer. It performed flawlessly, never letting me down. However, with dwindling support for XP and ever increasing security issues, I finally took the plunge and purchased a new Lenovo running Windows 10. It's been great, no issues with any of the software I use and it was so easy to adapt to Windows 10 that I upgraded my 4 year old Asus Business Notebook (formerly running Windows 7 Pro) to Windows 10 Pro. It's working better and faster than ever before. With any luck, I'll be able to keep that one going for another year or two. ▲ Collapse
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I just checked and was surprised to see that I've had my Lenovo Thinkpad T530 for almost four years. I bought it from Lenovo, so I was able to choose the features I wanted. It is still performing really well and I've had no issues, although I did have to replace the battery last year because it was draining in less than one hour.
I'm still running Windows 7 Professional as I've heard mixed reviews about Windows 10.
| | | | | Laptop about 4 years starting to show its age | Jun 21, 2016 |
Serena Basili wrote:
Precisely 6 months, almost turing seven 
After 8 years of "honourable service" as we say in Italian, my previous laptop became too slow and had many problems - system turning off/on whenever it wanted and the like. So, I bought a new one, more powerful and lighter, and plan on resetting my older one to check if with a new OS and memory it can still be used as a backup unit or just for fun:)
Edited to add: please can someone reassure this could possibly work?  [Modificato alle 2016-06-21 10:30 GMT]
There are several light Linux distributions that can achieve this. I recently installed Linux Mint on my in-law's old, beat-up Vista-era laptop and it boots in about a minute and runs fine. But that's not even a light distro, so you can achieve better results. Feel free to send me an e-mail if you want more info
[Edited at 2016-06-21 16:58 GMT]
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 23:29
English to Spanish
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| Linux is not for everyone | Jun 21, 2016 |
Linux (and its various distros or distributions) is an acquired taste. I tried Ubuntu a few years back on a Gateway netbook. I ended up uninstalling it.
Maybe Linux has advantages over Windows, maybe it's the fact that it's basically free. But that's the problem: anything worth having, fighting for or keeping is never free. The Internet is not free.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 01:29
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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I'm surprised most of us use laptops instead of desktops. I suppose most translators attach a keyboard, a mouse and a big screen to the laptops? Because actually working on a laptop without these add-ons is not advisable, IMO.
| | | | | Free as in freedom? | Jun 21, 2016 |
Mario Chavez wrote:
Linux (and its various distros or distributions) is an acquired taste. I tried Ubuntu a few years back on a Gateway netbook. I ended up uninstalling it.
Maybe Linux has advantages over Windows, maybe it's the fact that it's basically free. But that's the problem: anything worth having, fighting for or keeping is never free. The Internet is not free.
You're right, Linux (and free software in general) is not actually costless. It comes at the cost of thousands of volunteers contributing millions of hours of labour for a common cause, which is to give the user (including themselves) power over their computing. In that sense, freedom is far from free. It runs on donated labour, donated hardware and donated money. All of those things, on the other hand, are given away for free, and are very much worth having and fighting for. They are invaluable, but not without value.
That said, it does go without saying that every distribution will not be a good fit for everyone. They all have slightly different design philosophies, and all are harmed by the domination of a few companies preventing the spread of open standards, so there are various purposes for which none of them is optimal. If you are tied to specific software that only runs on specific operating systems, there isn't much anyone can do about that, unless the responsible companies choose to open it up. It can be hard to get into Linux, but at least it's easy to get out whenever you want 
| | | | Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 22:29
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
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| More than 10 years. | Jun 22, 2016 |
I bought my Dell desktop computer in 2007 and I like it a lot, it has never failed!
Buy Dell. Dell is good. Be like Dell.
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Melanie Nassar
United States
Local time: 06:29
German to English
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| Desktop > 6 years old | Jul 2, 2016 |
But my desktop is a Mac mini, about the size of a paperback, and I just brought it (along with my MacBook Pro and a lenovo laptop) to the US for an extended stay and upgrade by my in-house techie because I couldn't bear being separated from any of them for a long period of time. This caused a bit of confusion at every screening I had to go through on my trip. I guess ordinary people do not travel with so many computers. Actually, most of the time it was assumed my desktop was an external hard dr... See more But my desktop is a Mac mini, about the size of a paperback, and I just brought it (along with my MacBook Pro and a lenovo laptop) to the US for an extended stay and upgrade by my in-house techie because I couldn't bear being separated from any of them for a long period of time. This caused a bit of confusion at every screening I had to go through on my trip. I guess ordinary people do not travel with so many computers. Actually, most of the time it was assumed my desktop was an external hard drive and I did nothing to dispel these assumptions because the last thing you need when traveling is to have your means of livelihood be tampered with or confiscated. ▲ Collapse
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