321–330 of 390 posts
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I'd buy a cheaper computer before one so expensive it would be a fiscal catastrophe if I lost it. Buying a computer on credit is just as bad, might as well just set fire to money. In fact, my laptop is a $500 one I bought 2 years ago for travel use and didn't want to be too upset if it was lost/broken/stolen. My previous one was 10 years old and was a bit heavy :-)
"Buying a computer on credit is just as bad, might as well just set fire to money". You are not living in reality. Most of people live on credit and can't afford to pay for things in full. Especially not $500 laptops "for travel".
If I had to buy such on credit, I'd opt instead for a $150 machine from a pawn shop I could pay in full.
This work might also be useful to keep 2011 MBPs with a damaged dedicated GPU working with just the Intel card. If you have a 2011 MBP and are willing to spend some time developing a software workaround that at least lets you use it with Intel only, check out https://github.com/ah-/gmux-scripts/issues/1#issuecomment-68... and https://github.com/codykrieger/gfxCardStatus/issues/150
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EU provides 6 years but not from the manufacturer - from the seller. I actually had a problem where Apple told me my manufacturer warranty was up and explained I still had 6 years from the seller (Vodafone) and to go to them. Vodafone pretended the law didn't exist. Eventually Apple were kind enough to replace the device even though they had no obligation to.
EU provides 6 years? How so?
It isn't 6 years throughout the EU and for every product, though. The EU directive (= the text the EU writes that tells member countries what to achieve through their laws) states (paraphrasing a lot) that consumers may expect a device they buy to be what is advertised and to last as long as a typical device of what is advertised lasts (Business-to-business is different; there, it is more 'buyer beware')
As is typical for EU directives, that isn't very specific (partly for the better, as being specific would mean that such directives need to be revised all the time) and only describes a goal, not how to reach it.
Individual countries will vary in how they translate that into law. Apparently, Norway went for a very strong consumer protection.
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My wife uses my older T420 with a dual core i7 and an nvidia workstation GPU of some sort as a Sims 3/4 machine with Windows 8 and never has heat issues. I'm currently using a W530 with Red Hat 6 for work and it gets hot occasionally but never enough to feel more than mildly uncomfortable to the touch and certainly never enough to cause any short term problems. Granted, I only ever use it for running a few VMs, not f…
Not real Red Hat 6 though right? I used 6.2 all those years ago. Do you mean RHEL 6? :-)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation release 6.5 (Santiago).
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Insurance is about pooling and distributing risk. What you describe might be the right move on average . But people live in the world of specifics, not long-term averages. If your new laptop suddenly breaks a few months after purchase and the replacement cost would cause you distress, then the $20 you have saved in an account doesn't help much. By this logic, nobody should buy life insurance because the insurance com…
"Insurance is about pooling and distributing risk." It is also about making insurance companies fabulously wealthy.
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No, that what you gave is awful advice, to anyone who cares about their money! Go talk to an _honest_ insurance broker (not some State Farm or other company you see on TV commercials) or better yet a financial adviser. You should reserve an insurance claim for catastrophic issues only. You should also have max deductibles. Forking over 500 for a lost iPhone is a MUCH cheaper deal than paying insurance premiums for th…
Why not put the money in the bank only and skip the insurance then, if you're not going to use it anyway? Don't be a sucker.
As a counterexample, for all but the richest people having catastrophic health insurance is a good idea.
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This is awful advice! Losing a smartphone isn't going to ruin me, but it sure would piss me off to have to fork out £500 or whatever because it gets jacked. Similarly, someone could break into my house and clean it out. Not going to ruin me, but I'd rather not have to replace everything. The whole point of insurance is collective risk-spreading. Yes, this means that the majority (by value) of people with insurance wi…
"The whole point of insurance is collective risk-spreading" If you can afford to replace the item yourself you can instead spread that risk over time (and multiple items) by essentially self-insuring. I absolutely agree you should buy insurance for "large, uncertain costs", but a smartphone or laptop is not that for a lot of people. Healthcare and liability (auto, homeowners/renters, etc) are two examples of actually…