Where I’m At With Computers, Part 02
Part 02: Thoughts On The All-In-One Design
I like the idea of an all-in-one computer. I really do. It’s neat and tidy and, in the case of the iMac, really really beautiful. The iMac is the sort of thing I would buy just to mount on a spike.
Beauty isn’t the only thing that’s important, though, and there are some practical issues that have started to gnaw away at me.
Redundancy Disparity
One of the concerns I’ve been most impressed with is the disparity between the advancements in computers and in displays. Any computer that you buy will be outdated in a few years, but the screen? Not so much. We’ve had 1080p screens for a long time now, though obviously they’ve come down in price, and the move to even greater resolutions is slow compared to advances in processors and what-have-you. 1440p or 1600p displays are not common, and there doesn’t seem to be any great rush to adopt them.
I’ve heard it summarised thusly:
“The problem with the iMac is that you’re buying a six-year computer attached to a twelve-year screen”.
Thoughts On Upgradeability
I’m not sure how I feel about upgradeability any more. I’ve written this paragraph several times now, each time changing my mind a little further in the “pro-” direction. My immediate, visceral tendency is to just buy something like the iMac and then replace it in five or seven years. I don’t want to think about upgrading and shit. But then I start thinking, “Well, I say that now, but what about in, say, three years, when my needs have changed a bit and I really need a better <insert component here>?” The problem boils down to a lack of certainty about my future, and I think that pushes me in the direction of keeping my options open.
A second issue crops up when buying a computer in the first place. With the iMac, I’d need all the money up front, which means either going without for a few months (at least) or getting a loan, neither of which appeals. If I could buy parts individually I could upgrade my system over the same period of time but get the main improvements sooner.
To Conclude This Part
None of this is really an issue for me any more. I don’t want the iMac because I don’t like glossy screens and because I need a better graphics card than they offer. I’m really just airing out some previous arguments of mine. Where previously the issue of upgradeability was largely irrelevant to me, it’s become more important since.
