Nobody uses computers like I do anymore
I grew up in a particularly odd moment in tech history: everyone had a computer, but nobody really knew why.
This was that window of time after the release of the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, when computers became accessible to average people, but before the internet, which provides so many of the services and functions we use our devices for today.
Back then, everyone I knew had a computer. But there wasn’t really any specific reason for it. Some were used to type simple documents; some were for the occasional game; some used them to do a bit of work at home; others had it “for the kids” — something about homework, or Microsoft Encarta.
More often than not, it was all of those reasons at once: an everything machine that you had to have because everyone had one, and they were useful enough in certain situations, and well, they’re just a bit exciting, right?
It’s a marked difference to how computers are used today, especially desktops.
If you’ve got a desktop computer right now, odds are that you’ve got it for a very specific reason. Maybe you’re a video editor, or a trader, or even a huge gamer; someone who needs a big rig with multiple screens and special equipment. You have that setup because it is a tool to perform a certain task. Sure, computers are versatile, and you can do a whole lot with it. But you probably don’t use it for everything, because your real “everything machine” is the smartphone in your pocket. The computer is an appliance; a focused device dedicated to getting a task done. (Even if that task is Elden Ring.)
That’s not what I do with my computer.
I do a bit of writing. Editing my drone photos. Video transcoding. Scanning and archiving old photo albums. Keeping a library of old games. Messing around with HomeKit and Shortcuts. Dabbling in building websites. Trying to figure out how to compile native ports of N64 games. And not to mention my actual job, which involves lots of browser windows, Trello, Slack and Zoom.
In short, I do a whole lot of niche, silly things that aren’t really possible (or practical) on a phone or iPad. But that’s exactly what computers are good at.
I am obviously overstating things with the headline; I’m sure there are others who use their computers like I do. But it feels like there are increasingly fewer of us, because there aren’t really computers for people like me anymore. I used to use Power Macs, but their modern-day successors (the Mac Pro line) are overkill; too expensive, too powerful. The M1 Mac mini and iMac, on the other hand, are too basic; my current computer has 64GB of RAM, so moving down to 16GB feels like a massive downgrade.
It makes sense, of course; most regular people are fine with what the 24” iMac offers. And most professionals are fine with the higher-end options, needing all of that power for their jobs. But there doesn’t seem to be room for people in the middle like me, who just need a little more than the basic spec for all our tinkering.
(In the end, I bought a Mac Studio. It’s a bit much for my needs, but felt like a better fit to go up in power instead of down to the 24” iMac.)
