Because It Is My Life, And It Sucks

[drpaisley]

As some of you know, I have been in the market for a new(er) computer for some time. I have been working on a Mac G4 Dual 450MHz since 2003. It has been a good machine, but is no longer able to use most of the current software, much less the more recent iterations of the OS.

So, when Rohanna got a nice bonus from work, she used her Ebay fu to find me a better machine. There were a number of near misses, but last week she came to the stairs to let me know I had finally won! A Mac Pro 2008 8-core desktop with 6Gb of RAM was shortly to be mine! Huzzah! Excessive exclamation point use! Leventy!

Then it began. First, the FedEx ground people tried to deliver it Wednesday, but after I had reluctantly gone to work. When I called about picking it up, I was informed Ground didn't work like that so much, and the best bet was to have it delivered Saturday. OK, fine, I can wait a few more days. That allowed me to get a 2TB hard drive to put in it. And wait. And wait.

Saturday morning I rose at 7.30a, and did my usual morning things (cup of tea, read the paper, check the interwebs, etc). At 9.30 I went downstairs to do some cleaning, and shortly thereafter, I looked up to see the FedEx truck pulling up. A quick signature later, and it was mine!

I hauled the 40+ lbs of computer upstairs, pulled it from its original box, and set it up. It had a pristine version of Snow Leopard (the newest OS, until this summer), so I went through the basic setup for it. At one point I went to check something on the web, and it told me I wasn't connected. Silly me, I had failed to plug in the Ethernet cable. But wait, I thought, this baby should have an Airport card, and I should be able to connect to our wireless router!

And that's when it really went wrong. No Airport card (which turned out to be optional on the machine I thought I bought). And no Bluetooth, which the box said was standard. I went to the "About this Mac" screen, and my worst fears were confirmed. This was not a 2008 dual 2.8GHz machine, but the original dual 2.66GHz first iteration Mac Pro, from 2006. Not happy.

We contacted the seller, who was quite apologetic (he's got a perfect record on Ebay), is willing to either a) refund us an amount to be determined if I decide to keep it, or 2) take it back, full refund, he pays shipping.

I am torn. On the one hand, it's not the machine I wanted, and being the earliest of the Mac Pro models, most likely to become obsolete.

On the other hand, IT's RIGHT HERE IN THE BELFRY! And a metric shitload faster than what I am typing this on.

Depending on how much he's willing to refund, I am leaning towards sending it back. I am not looking forward to another round of bidding wars on Ebay, though. It took several weeks to get this one.

Gaaaaaaaaah.

Comments

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

What a mess! I think you're leaning in the right direction, though: better to keep hunting for a machine that isn't obsolete soon after you get it. Hope you find something cheaper and better!

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Well, that sucks.

Given how long you're likely to keep whatever computer you end up with, going through the hassle of returning this one and holding out for the one you want seems well-advised.

Question: given the perfect eBay record of the seller, is it possible that he might be able to come up with a 2008 dual 2.8GHz machine for the price you paid? Even if that took another handful of weeks, it might be worth it in terms of ease and comfort.

[earthwmn.livejournal.com]

Don't settle. Send it back. Get what you want. You won't be happy in the long run if you don't. This because when I got my kitchen Aid mixer, it was not the one i wanted. I should have taken it back and ponied up for the model that was dear to me.. and I remember that every time i use it.