The only good PC is the one you build yourself. Everything else is just like every other retail sector. How many corners can they cut on components to increase their bottom line. Apple is good for the tech illiterate but you are getting raked over the coals on price and you have very little modularity and almost no options for upgrading or future-proofing.
It's incredibly easy to build a PC. I've been building my own since I did my first one in 03'.
1st pic was mid-build of my current tower, was testing some things before I spent too much time on cable management. Next two are the finished product and my home office set up.
View attachment 43049
View attachment 43050
View attachment 43051
I agree that building your own PC if it's something you want to do, is very rewarding.
I've done a lot of tech stuff over the years. I sometimes take old laptops and install Ubuntu Linux on them. It's fun sometimes...
I don't normally don't talk "tech" often. Some geeks get on my nerves. I'm still a geek sometimes and I get on my own nerves...
I worked as a geek for a few major companies (Texas Instruments, Perot Systems, Kraft Foods, etc.) and I liked the money but I always preferred working in mental health and keeping people calm...
I recently upgraded my phone from a Samsung S22 to a Samsung Z Flip 5. I ordered the new phone online and copied the data from my old phone to my new phone without having to call tech support. For me it wasn't that difficult but tech stuff doesn't frustrate me much anymore. In the old days I used to do lots of software and hardware upgrades. I learned some tricks and I learned to not get too frustrated.
At one time I taught Computer Basics, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel to Spanish Speakers. I've also done lots of Bilingual technical support for Customers in Latin America. Being able to do tech support in Spanish and English over the phone is pretty rewarding. Once you learn to listen and not talk down or up to a customer, keep your cool and learn from your mistakes, it's kind of neat...
I live in a small town that's big enough to have a TMobile store. I go in there once in a while and I'm kind of known as the "former Marine who's a retired geek and knows a lot of sh*t"....
Most of the employees will sometimes pick my brain on stuff.
Last Sunday I went into the store to turn in my old Samsung S22 phone. I already had a new case for my Z Flip 5. The TMobile employees asked me about my new phone case. They also asked me if there was anything interesting I'd discovered about the Flip 5...
I have a couple of older sisters who live nearby that sometimes ask me how to do stuff on their phones. I try to teach them but they are to the point in life where they'd rather have me just do it for them instead of being taught how. So I go with the flow...
In life we all have things we are good at and things we are not. My dad was one of the best auto mechanics I ever saw and I tried to learn a lot from him. He just had instincts about gasoline motors where he could fix or fine tune almost any kind of gasoline engine. He wasn't bad at fixing washers and dryers either...
Geek stuff can be intimidating to some but it can also open up worlds and save you time. For me being able to access information efficiently on a phone, laptop, or desktop is what I like most because my brain can't access the information as quickly as it used to.
Having a bible application on my phone is a lot easier for me than carrying a bible around, though I still like to hold a bible in my hand sometimes.
I can watch youtube videos on Escrima(Filipino Martial Arts) and practice old drills or learn new ones. I sometimes create short martial arts videos on my phone for my students. That's why I got the Flip 5, I can fold it and create a short video pretty easily and quickly. It's sometimes easier and faster to explain a concept by demonstrating via video, then putting it into words.
I bought a used Short Scale Bass guitar yesterday (Hofner Ignition Violin Bass) on Reverb. It should arrive early next week. I owned a bass guitar a few years back and enjoyed it. I decided I wanted something smaller to practice unplugged while I watched the Dallas Cowboys get their butts whooped...
I've been watching a few Bass Guitar videos on youtube...it's fun to learn new stuff...
I'll learn a few bass scales. Maybe even "Another Bites the Dust"...
Smart phones can make an older person's life so much easier and keep their brain engaged if the older person is willing to invest a little time each day learning a few basics...
But to each their own...
I try to balance my life between doing stuff physically, studying, helping family/friends, etc, etc....
Being a geek is part of it...
(Mac) would answer that with Mac books. Each year Apple would up their game till they won.
