Given the thread title, it strikes me that it is time to make a contribution.
As it happens, I am currently at home, on what might be termed leave, and, as a consequence, I have splurged on a spending spree the like of which I have never engaged in throughout my entire life over the past fortnight. At one level, it bestows a whole new meaning to the term 'retail therapy', and has been hugely - almost insanely - satisfying; at another, much of what I have bought, I would have bought anyway, - if not immediately (MBA 11" excepted) as some had been needed (if delayed) purchases.
My current MBA was bought in September 2010, and the subsequently purchased Applecare is reaching its natural end of cover; thus, for that reason, I usually buy Apple computers at, or around, or near, the three year mark. My brother is set to inherit this computer, although I was offered a trade in by the Apple store.....
Okay: Apple products: 1. An iPad mini (along with a Logitech keyboard); the mini (cellular and wifi enabled, is a 64GB and is a refurb), contrary to expectations is not a seamless learning experience, but we are now beyond the stage of shaking hands with one another. A tutorial is planned; whether the tutor is a friend's preternaturally clued in ten year old (to whom all this is second nature, needless to say) or an Apple store (who have now offered - twice - this service) remains to be seen.
2. An MBA 11" refurb (not this year's model, the 2012 version); 256 GB and 8 GB RAM. That arrived today, and I am still sniggering happily. An impulsive buy, but one which I had been debating for quite some time, as I travel a lot and portability is a huge issue.
3. On order: A 13" MBA CTO (yes, yes, this one is this year's model, and I have ordered 8 GB RAM and a whopping 512 GB SSD); this is not ready yet, even though it was ordered (and paid for) nearly a fortnight ago; I expect that I shall collect it at the end of August or early September when I next plan to return home, and have appraised the store accordingly.
4. Other Products: Two BookBook covers for the MBA, - the 13" - as, when I ordered these, I hadn't planned on buying the 11" - and the iPad mini.
I have much to thank this forum for, not least making me aware of some wonderful companies based in the US, which otherwise, I would never have come across. As it happens, I first heard of BookBook on these very fora, and perused their site with undisguised fascination. Beautiful things, almost objects of art. For at least the past year, I have promised myself that I would treat myself to a BookBook cover for my next computer, but today's 11" will have to wait for a couple of months. The BookBook cover for the iPad mini is excellent, because it easily - well, at a slight squeeze - includes the Logitech keyboard as well.
5. A lens for my (recently bought - as in last spring - and, yes, used) Leica M camera. (I've had a Leica R for years). (No, don't ask. You do not want to know. You really do not want to know).
6. And, (MR has a lot to answer for), an extraordinary product from another US company - a passing but intriguing reference to which - I tripped over on these fora. Indeed, interestingly, on their website, in the section which asks 'where did you hear about us?' MacRumors is one of the answers which the (mercifully brief) drop down menu offers by way of default answer, an answer I clicked on.
The company is called Saddleback Leather Company, and they produce some of the most extraordinary leather pieces it has ever been my privilege to encounter. Anyway, as I needed something rather rugged, I purchased a product that they call a "Waterbag" in the discontinued 'small' size. This is a solid, sturdy, muscular piece of formidably engineered leather. I have plans for it, but, as it comes with a 100 years (yes, a century) guarantee, I daresay it will readily cope with the plans I have in mind for it.
