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THE FIRST COMPUTER I ever bought was a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, which I
purchased in 1982. It was a state-of-the-art machine, and I remember debating
whether to choose the 16K version or opt for the massive 48K model. After much
soul searching, I chose the 48K version: after all, I reasoned, this one was future-
proof. Today, that computing power would barely run a singing greetings card.
The classified ads columns of newspapers and the listings in eBay are littered
with advertisements from readers who have decided it’s time to upgrade their
equipment, and want to recoup the cost of their original purchase. Frequently,
the prices demanded are well in excess of the aged computer’s true value: often,
readers will ask for more than it would cost to buy a new machine that offers twice
as much power.
Their reasoning runs as follows: I bought this computer three years ago, and
now it’s obsolete thanks to the software developers, in league with the Devil, who
have upped the requirements for their new versions so much that they won’t run
on my old machine. And I’m damned if I’m going to shell out that much money
simply to run Photoshop, so I want my money back before I commit myself to
buying a new computer.
It’s a fallacious argument, for several reasons. The first is that there’s nothing
wrong with their old computer. It will still run the software they used on it when
they bought it, it will still access the internet and it will still enable them to do
their job in the same way as they have for the last three years. If they want to take
advantage of the tempting features the latest software versions have to offer, then
they’ll need compatible hardware; otherwise, they can just stick with the software
they already have.
You can’t blame software for needing a higher specified operating platform
each time it brings new functionality: if this wasn’t the case, we’d still be editing
images one black and white pixel at a time on our Spectrums. The demands made
by Photoshop are colossal in terms of processing power, disk access and chip
speed; only the most diehard Luddite would advocate the withdrawal of new
I N T E R L U D E
Upgrade and replace
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features simply in order to ensure
compatibility with antique equipment.
But the main problem I have with those who
complain about the cost of upgrading is that they rarely take into
account how much work their computer has done for them in the intervening
period. My Mac enables me to do all my illustration work, as well as letting me do
my accounts, watch DVDs and play Portal 2, for a relatively tiny cost compared
with the revenue I generate from it. At the end of its three-year lifespan I reckon it
now owes me nothing. In return, I’ll get a computer that’s more than twice as fast,
with a hard disk vast enough to hold the sum total of human knowledge in the 21st
century. A year ago I bought a top-of-the-range 27-inch iMac, which cost around
half what I’d paid for my now obsolete Mac Pro a few years previously.
I now consider the ownership of my computer to be more like a rental than
an outright purchase. I need to top up my payments every few years, in return for
which I get a pristine new piece of technology that has none of the grouchiness
my old computer had acquired, and offers blistering speed in return. And I even
have the opportunity to pass my old machine on to an aged relative or impecunious
acquaintance – or, failing that, to convert it into a state-of-the-art fishtank. And I
only resent the cost of the new one for a week or two.
How to Cheat in Photoshop CC
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