Quote Originally Posted by handrawn View Post
I'm not against apple kit at all - just the pricing....

we all decide for our selves, plus I like to customise my hardware which is easy with windows based kit, and [possibly as a result of that] I have an aversion to buying second hand technology
I used to buy loads of PC kit and make my own computers and my wife once paid over £1,000 on a Sony VAIO Laptop ( a beautiful design) and it made her very happy.. until there was a problem with the power plug and then it was a nightmare to source parts.

Besides that I regularly purchased second-hand Dell laptops because they are so easy to upgrade and repair because parts are easily available.

If we had plenty of surplus cash I'd just buy new stuff too, but that's not the case. We have saved a fortune buying second-hand kit, but that's probably because I'm happy to take it apart and fix it or enhance it. I can't do that with any of our current kit apart from my wife's laptop.

I think the Apple experience shows the value of real user experience vs bullet-point features and part of that experience.

I know plenty of PC people that spend a lot more money on their PC systems than I do on my Apple kit.

In terms of customisation, I have an Arduino sitting in a box together with a kit of parts to build a replica PDP-11, switches and flashing lights and all. One day I'll get the soldering iron out!