Tag: durable

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GoPro cameras

GoPro in use
GoPro in use (Photo courtesy of gopro.com)

When my dad was a kid, my grandfather took lots of home videos. They’re great family memories, and I recently converted them to digital files and DVDs. One problem: out of the hours of footage, my grandfather is in only a couple quick scenes…because he was BEHIND the camera almost all the time!

This has been an issue with home videos since video cameras started to become common in households. Enter Nick Woodman. He was a surfer who wanted video of himself surfing. So he created GoPro cameras (for more, check out this amazing 60 Minutes story.

GoPros are pocket-size cameras with a huge variety of attachments that allow them to be put in all kinds of places: bicycle handlebars, hats, surfboards, cars, etc. (See the little camera in the photo at the top? Click the picture for a larger image.) Plus they come with in a plastic case that makes them waterproof and pretty much indestructible.

That combination allows them to be used to capture moments that would otherwise be nearly impossible to record. For example:

And here’s something I want to record with my dog if/when I get a GoPro:

GoPros are now the best-selling camera, and they have become relatively affordable (starting around $200).

Now I know a lot of you readers don’t foresee yourself surfing in the near future. I’m with you. But there are lots of other situations when it might be great to capture yourself doing something: playing softball, throwing a surprise party, sharing Thanksgiving dinner with the family, hanging next to your bird feeder, seeing what your dog/cat does while you’re away from home. The possibilities seem endless.

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Mac vs. PC – longevity

Apple's MacBook Air
Apple’s MacBook Air (Photo courtesy of apple.com)

After reading my earlier post about the differences between PCs and Macs, a reader wrote in with a follow-up question: “I’ve heard the life expectancy is longer for a Mac, is this true?”

That seems to be a fairly common assumption, especially among Mac owners (who probably paid more for their computer than their PC-toting friends).

My personal experience seems to agree with that premise, but I’m one of those Mac owners who paid more for my laptop than the average person.

So I want to see some hard evidence before I call it fact. And I haven’t found any. Every source I’ve found seems to be more personal anecdotes.

I think most people would agree that Macs are built of more durable materials than all but a few PCs (aluminum vs. plastic, etc.)

However, that brings me to one of my biggest frustrations about Macs (and Apple hardware in general): Macs are not user-upgradeable.

Once upon a time, if your Mac was starting to run slowly, you could buy more memory and install it yourself. If your battery no longer held much juice, you could buy a new one and swap it out. That kept the computer functional for at least a couple more years.

Not anymore. Now, the outside of the computer is shut with special screws and most parts inside are glued or soldered in place. This is a trend that Apple began several years ago and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

This may make for a more durable computer (especially in a laptop), but it also means you need to pay close attention to the memory, hard drive, etc. when you’re purchasing the computer because you won’t be able to upgrade them later.[1]

In conclusion: while I do think Macs offer the best user experience for most people, I don’t think they necessarily have a longer life expectancy than PCs.

 

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1 – I think the RAM (aka memory, or how well the computer can multitask) is a much higher priority for upgrading at purchase, because you can always plug in an external hard drive or thumb drive to add additional storage to the computer down the road. No such options exist for RAM.