Back in February 2010, I wrote about when I would replace various pieces of technology that I use. Tonight as I was doing some research on home servers, I thought I would revisit my original predictions, and see what has changed.
As for the home server, I found a solution and am very excited about its potential!
So here we go.
Laptop
Current: MacBook Pro 15″ (early 2008) purchased February 2008
Change every: 3 years
Original next purchase estimate: MacBook Pro 13″ after February 2011
New next purchase: MacBook Pro 15″ at next major update (~February 2012)
Since last year, I have replaced the internal left-side fan. Also, the performance has not worsened significantly. I have decided to stay with a 15″ model because this is my only computer, and that carrying the laptop to university almost everyday does not bother me at all. I also have a 24″ screen that can be used if I need more screen space. Although I aimed to replace it this year, I decided to delay replacement for tax reasons.
Mobile Phone
Current: iPhone 3GS purchased June 2009
Change every: 2 years
Next purchase: Next iPhone after June 2011
The plans for my phone have not changed. Although I am out of contract, I will wait until the release of the next iPhone.
Camera
Current: Nikon D80 purchased March 2008
Change every: 3-5 years, or until image quality deteriorates/equipment fails
Next purchase: Next Nikon dSLR
Nothing has changed here either!
Portable Music Player
Current: iPod (5G) purchased December 2005
Change every: When it breaks
Next purchase: iPod classic
The backlight of the screen began to fail, and I replaced the screen. Repairing is better than throwing stuff out!. It now looks as if it were new! This iPod is now plugged into the car, so at least it has some use. Still has not broken yet. There are rumours that the iPod classic may not be made anymore, so I will have to keep an eye on that.
Portable Hard Drives and their Functions
Current: 2 portable hard drives (80GB and 320GB), one desktop hard drive (500GB)
Change every: When they get full or break
Next purchase: Depends on the current need
Over the last few years, I have bought bigger hard drives as my need for storage grew. The portable hard drives are used for photos and other storage (disk images, archives) and the desktop hard drive is used for Mac backup via Time Machine.
Now I want to consolidate all these drives into one unit, as well as provide file and media sharing services over the home network. Put simply, a box that stores lots of things and can do certain functions. I had originally wanted to build a Linux-based PC with lots of storage, but that proved to be cumbersome.
I looked at network attached storage (NAS) devices, especially this QNAP one (TS-419P+), and knew this was a good enough solution. The spare hard drives can then be sold for dirt cheap!
The network router will need to be upgraded soon, as it is struggling to cope with all the wireless devices (at least 8). Faster network traffic would be a plus. I welcome any suggestions as to what router I should get.
So, that’s made me excited for what is to come. Anyone want to buy the 80GB hard drive for $10?
