Re: [tlug] Laptop and Macbook related query

[Lyle H Saxon <llletters@example.com>]

On Sat, Sep 26, 2020 at 4:22 PM Deepika Ghuriani <deepika.ghuriani@example.com> wrote:

1.  What is the maximum life of a macbook / windows /linux laptop you have used and during that period how often did you have to replace its accessories ?

For desktop machines, if you get an ex-sold-to-companies/hospitals/etc-only model, they tend to be built for very heavy use and usually last a long time.  For laptop computers, likewise they're not all equal!  Heat shortens the life of internal components so running a laptop on a cooling table helps.

Regarding power cables.  The less they get bent, the better.  If instead of coiling them, you bend them in the same place (bend - flat stretch - bend - flat stretch, etc) the straight sections get very little wear and the bend sections are going from wide-loop U-bend to almost straight and back to same-direction wide-loop bend (and never bent in the opposite direction).  For the area near where the DC plug is, never bend that at all.  Naturally there will be some movement of the cord when in use, but basically always leave that section straight (both in usage and in storage).  If you're very careful with power cords and mindful of there being metal in them (they're not the same as rope), they can last a long time.

And then there's what I call "time-death".  I've had old soft LCD screens crack and start emitting a very nasty toxic chemical smell just through the passage of time, but I don't think that happens with modern displays.  There was the era of defective capacitors when those would bulge and leak after just a couple of years (I think we're past that now, aren't we?).  CMOS batteries go dead eventually, but usually aren't too difficult to replace and the computer can still be used without them, but you have to reset the clock each time you boot the machine.

There's a lot of variability with keyboards (in laptops especially).  Rugged ones can withstand a beating and keep working, while more delicate ones begin to not work after hard use (in which case you can use an external USB keyboard).

Anyway, there are a lot of variables, but it's a combination of the quality of the parts used in the machine, the design of the machine, how you use it, heat, time, and cooling... etc.  Things built to be used in a corporate work space generally are much tougher than things sold only to consumers, since corporations expect their machines to work and have the power to hold a manufacturer's feet to the fire if they don't, while consumer models are competing for fickle buyers looking at glitter, flash and numbers (high specs, low prices), in which case quality often goes out the window.

Lyle