It's Only A Machine

I recently started building my dream machine.

A MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012) with Intel Core i7 Quad 2.7GHz processor, 16GB 1600MHz memory, 500GB HDD and 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M Graphics.

When I said building, I meant it. The machine came to me as a box of disassembled parts, covered in dried hot chocolate and various grit, dented and battered from a hard life as someone’s daily driver.

But I wanted this machine, and since then it’s become my own weapon of choice. Cleaned and detailed, with a replacement case and keyboard, replacement heatsink assembly with ceramic compound thermal paste, optional hi-resolution display (1680x1050), replacement battery, additional memory and an SSD still to come.

A modern MacBook Pro smokes it. But it’s a beautiful machine to run. I have newer Macs, including some Retina models, but this machine is the one I want. A strong record of reliability, coupled with outstanding performance, a modular and serviceable construction with readily available parts, a reasonable weight and enough connectivity on board to handle anything I could ever need it for.

It doesn’t make much sense to invest so much time, money and effort into an old system. But the more I work on modern machines and spend time servicing components inside them for clients, the more I appreciate certain models and eras of computer. They become more than the throwaway tools they were intended to be and become classics in their own right. I find excitement in restoring them, like someone restoring an old car to drive, the value of the machine becomes more than the sum of the parts alone.

That’s a concept lost on some. My colleagues that are accustomed to turning their machines for new ones as the warranties expire think I have a screw loose upstairs. After all computers are tools, meant to be used and disposed of as they become older.

But after several years in the service game, I’ve started to become attached to these tools. They will need maintenance and their capabilities may be overshadowed, but no matter what new machines become available, with their improved performance, longer battery life or touch bars, these venerable Macs will continue to be my favourite workhorses.

So in recent times, where it’s become commonplace to voice displeasure about Apple’s newest product offerings, lets take a moment to appreciate the machines that were awesome to us and share the reasons they were.

Cheers,
~ M.

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Thanks for an awesome post. Brings it right back to when I used to build my own x86 PCs in the 90s…

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Non serviceable appliances were not always Apple’s philosophy. I had a 20 inch iMac G5 that when you [easily] opened the rear of the case the nicely and systematically laid out guts were almost as pleasant to behold as the front. Johnny Ive designed the interior that way. HDD, DVD drive and RAM were easy to rplace, and the whole inside was easy to clean.

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My first and only experiment in user upgrading, and the closest I’ve come to building anything, was replacing a hard drive and memory in a 486 PC, one of those upright 2ft tall models with plenty of airspace inside. It did eventually work but took me far longer than it should have done, and it was more frustrating than it was satisfying. This goes someway to explain why I’m not in the camp clamouring for user upgradable macbooks, leave it to the professionals! :slight_smile:

Only a Machine… Once upon a time, the specs of a Mac meant everything to me. Upgrading from a Mac Classic to an LCIII was massive… I mean - I was doubling up on the RAM and Hard Drive, PLUS getting an Audio-In port, AND A COLOUR MONITOR!!!

These days, I couldn’t even care. Ok, I could, cos I’d love “the best”, just because I like to feel more important than I evidently am. But I’d be happy with The Best iMac 2011 could offer, rather than The Best of whatever Apple’s currently flogging.

I doubt that there will be much that 2011’s best can’t do, that 2016 can… at least that’s of interest to me.