Yeah, I hear ya. I tend to be a total gear head power user myself and while everything I own isn't and doesn't have to be high-end or fancy by any stretch of the imagination, it has to be functional for my own purposes and expectations, and I prefer to buy things once and never again if possible as an ideal target to aim for. So I will tend to buy something a bit more than I need at the moment to have room to grow into over time, knowing also that software gets more bloated over time, etc. Aesthetics almost never matter to me and if they do, it is only after every other possible practical/logical aspect that matters is weighed in at a higher priority. I can understand people needing higher levels of portability, and situations where weight is important or physical size of a device, etc. but in almost all situations like that for myself, my choice would be to not have any electronic hardware within 50 feet of me anyway. :) If I'm going to be carting along hardware for some reason, it's going to be with a bigger purpose generally. It has to be for me, because I simply don't want to cart around electronic gadgets so the benefit to me has to be massive to consider it. :)

I think I'm the only computer engineer that I know both face to face and over the Internet who has been in the industry for quite a number of years and who has never owned a mobile device nor laptop, at least up until last year where I inherited a laptop but I don't really count that in the same manner for $reasons I wont get into. There were times in the past when I desired such things though too, but first I didn't have money to afford it, then I was so busy that I only did things out of necessity and never had the time to consider gadgets, and somewhere along the way I developed a dislike for the things. :)

So I have a little laptop for reading the news at bedtime and similar light weight things, but if I went to buy one for practical needs it would be some kind of beast of sorts no doubt that would have multiple purposes to really make it worthwhile to me. I really dread the idea of having to research and spec something like that out some day though so I hope I never need one. :) It's funny, people will ask me "well how do you get calls?" or "how do you make calls?" etc. as if there is some reason that we always have to be connected into the Matrix 24 hours a day and available to everyone out there. I'm already a computer/Internet junkie of sorts, I can't imagine how things would be if I became a mobile junkie too... ugh... :) Pad of paper and a pen, and a watch is all I need when I'm roaming around. :)

They just work. Unfortunately that is what sells no matter the quality of the components --- first few iphones used to be made from better quality components ie - they jumped from Wolfson audio chips (high quality well regarded in audio world) to shitty Cirrus Logic chips. Foxconn factories where they churn their shit out are piss poor and ppl get paid peanuts. A friend who is in right circles told me an iPhone costs around $125 USD to make (Samsungs are roughly about same but arguably made in and has much higher quality parts & quality control in korea and vietnam ...the latter apparently seems to churn out stuff on par or better actually) -- imagine how much apple rakes in.The $$$$ profit...

I once lived kind of off the grid for weeks and it is a very refreshing experience. No internet / TV / computer and sleep when the sun sets, bath in the river, only connect with civilization when you need food and stuff, no cars so you walk to where you need to go etc.
It's hard to describe the experience, it is as if every daily life cast a veil of drowsiness on my spirit and living like that lifted the veil and I felt more alive then ever.

Yes the price of such Laptop is massive, I had been considering one year later I would buy a used laptop of today for huge discount or see if there are any cheaper 18' laptop.

The alternative plan is a portable desktop. Gigabyte mini PC caught my attention.

I can buy one for and spend $300 for a portable [url=http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_three_br_2?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A!493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A1292115011%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A3547806011|3547805011|2633653011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A724227011&bbn=1292115011&ie=UTF8&qid=1457493528&rnid=724226011]monitor, , and [url=http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Computer-Add-Ons-Computers/b/ref=sn_gfs_co_pc_172500_5?ie=UTF8&node=172500&pf_rd_p=2404885862&pf_rd_r=0RJBKVY4CPXH81GVEARS&pf_rd_s=pc-subnav-flyout-content-13&pf_rd_t=SubnavFlyout]memory.

It seems like my PC hardware wet dream come true, portable like a laptop,
Able to fit 20' 24' or 30' monitor if I like when the max monitor size for laptop is 18'
Swappable hard disk and memory which is the only things I need to upgrade on a PC until I buy a new PC
No hidden cost for OS that is forced into all new laptop I see.
Power of a PC and cheaper then a laptop.

Problem is the mini PC seems to have thermal restrictions and have to throttle back the performance
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/systems/72173-gigabyte-brix-gaming-gb-bxi5g-760/?page=7

Well the difference between Apple and other big companies is that Apple think their products are good enough to allow them to get away with more different ways of disrespecting customers.

I would also like to add Ding Dong's magic wang shiner to the list. Ding Dong's is a lousy company with horrible costumer service. I also found their Super Slick Hot-Shot boogie cream to be foul smelling and poorly performing as advertised.

How about Miele?

For myself, I've always ended up buying the cheapest (top-fill 6kg model) washing machine I have found, but admittedly they usually have broken beyond affordable repair in a few years, always. Something like Candy, Matsui etc. (Then again, now that i check it, also Whirlpool and Electrolux makes some very cheap models costing only 200-350€; are you sure they are more dependable than similarly-priced Matsui/Candy?).

In one, some pressure-meter(?) inside the machine had become rusty in a couple of years, making a hole in it. This caused it so that the machine couldn't detect anymore when there was enough water inside, so it just kept filling it forever. I called a repairman, replacing that part would have cost about the same as what the whole damn washing machine had cost. So i bought another (cheap) model instead.

It also lasted only a couple of years. I recall when it got broken, fortunately I happened to be present: it was just to start to spin to get water out of clothes, when the support(s) for the tumbler decided to break. So the wildly spinning tumbler got off balance and the whole washing machine basically started to jump around the bathroom, also making big bumps to the exterior of the machine. I rushed to take the electric cord out so that it would stop. It could have caused some damage in the bathroom.

The next one, after two years or so the knob to select the water temperature got totally stuck, you couldn't move it even with pliers. It was stuck to 40 C degrees.

Then my current one which is also two years old or so, I noticed the other day that the fastening of the lid has become broken, making the lid a bit loose.

I guess it is time to buy a new one, and now I am thinking of buying something much more expensive, especially as I am thinking of buying a 10-12 kg (fill rate) machine this time, instead of a small 6 kg I've always had before. Hopefully something that will last one or two decades, instead of years, like in the old times.

It is just that the more expensive models usually seem to have just more controls and electronics and extra displays in them. I have no idea if they really are more dependable, or is it just all that extra stuff that I wouldn't use anyway that costs extra? The extra controls just make it harder to figure out and use, I want a simple model that just lets me roughly choose the washing time, and how warm I want the water to be.

And please, why do all the damn washing machines have to be some stupid "water savers" nowadays? We have lots of water in Finland, we are not Sahara where they need to spit on their clothes to wash them in sand. I want a washing machine that uses assloads of water to get the clothes really clean, no need to be skimpy!

Maybe I should check if I could buy an industrial level washing machine, from what I've heard they don't care about "saving the nature!" in the expense of getting clean clothes, and they tend to also wash the clothes faster, partly because they use more water.

That reminds me that my current "nature saver" washing machine spends 3½ hours if I want to wash something at 60 C degrees. That is just insane, why does it take that long? Someone claimed to me that it is indeed because these home machines use much less water, and they try to compensate that by making the washing times longer. Stupid.

tl;dr: your loss.

Cirrus Logic has bought Wolfson a while ago, so of course they are using Cirrus Logic chips now if they have previously been using Wolfson chips. Of course the quality of the chips did not change at all.

Wolfson > cirrus Logic. There *is* a difference.

I still use an UPO washing machine, top-loaded I bought in 2002 (?). Still works, once a month run it through with Calgon as the water is very full of Calcium(?), water is rough or something like that, machines get full of limescale very fast. Should start searching for new washing machine, but the lil' bastard has a soft spot in my heart.

Kek, green mode, why even use it, were not in Africa, the time you lose is not worth it, also it'll make the machine use more electricity as it runs longer.

I have used some home appliances from Liebherr and Bosch aswell.
I don't get it from the my loss part.
I usually search the web of ratings and so on before buying new home appliances. Don't care how expensive it might be as long as it works for 6-10 years, then I'm happy.

I know one UPO washing machine that lasted over two decades. At least washing machines used to be much more durable in the old times, but I guess they also used to cost much more (of your yearly wage). Now you can get a washing machine very cheaply, but you shouldn't expect it to last more than 2-3 years.

Maybe I'll look into UPO as well... I'm looking for hopefully a 12kg front-load machine, minimum 10kg, hopefully under 1000€.

I blame EU. Not sure if it is the stingy Germans that are the reason why there are so many EU regulations on how much water washing machines are allowed to use, why we don't have normal light bulbs anymore but mainly just those LED bulbs making us blind etc., but then there are similarly thinking asshats here too...

Don't get me started on the light bulb topic, fortunately stores like K-Rautakesko and Bauhof still sell older type incandescent lightbulbs, fuck those LEDs and fluorescent lamps

I had a desk lamp with light so strong that I make it shine on the opposite direction of me. That is if I am reading south of the lamp, it will shine the wall north of me.

Sorry to disappoint you, but renaming chips does not make them any different internally. That happens all the time when chip manufacturers get bought.

Apple and [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(electronics_company)]Trust[/url].

was talking pre takover. real damn shame that.