You raise some good counter-points. I don’t claim the article is right, but it made me think. I consider computers to be “disposable” or “consumable”: 2 quarts of milk, a pound of sugar, and a couple of gigahertz with a side of RAM. I use a computer until it no longer delivers the value I want: pretty much what you say you do, only my threshold for replacement comes a lot sooner because I play a lot of games and generally like the newer toys.

But what if computers were more like cars? I buy a car wanting a good, solid vehicle with some features I want, sure, but a part of my decision process is definitely driven by resale value. If I actually thought someone would want my computer in a few years, and would pay me something for it, might that not be part of the purchase decision just like with a car? The rate at which computer technology is changing seems to be slowing down: maybe that will lead to a situation where the resale market has a lot more meaning than it does now.

Regarding what people are paying for when they pay more for a used Mac…some of it is certainly that they recognize the name. But another factor is that a Macintosh from three or four years ago can still run the latest OS. A four year old PC would have a devil of a time running Vista. I’m not saying that the four year old Mac would be as fast….but it would still work, and it would still identifiably be a Macintosh.

Not that *I* would want a four or five year old Macintosh 🙂