Ti or alu? A 2005 laptop showing signs of age in 2009 is kinda weak.

Signed, an eight-year-old Thinkpad user.

He didn't say it was a 2005 version; it could have been a 2001 version for all we know.

Also, I owned and used a G4 PowerBook from 2002 til 2010, when I sold it to a friend, who is still using it. I bow to nobody in my respect for the longevity of Apple's laptops lately. Just saying, if he had it for 4-8 years and was touring with it, yeah, it's kinda not shocking that it might show its age a bit.

You think a low-end plastic Dell (which will be far slower than the Mac he'd get) will beat an Apple over 4+ years as a touring musician? I don't.

It'd be nice, as an aside, if there were more dates and details in this story. Wonder why he didn't include those.

On tour duty? Believe me, it's still a testament to the laptop's quality if it stood up to four years of touring.

Also, how come he really needed a, judging by the $3000 pricetag, 17" or a fully upgraded 15" MacBook Pro but was able to do just fine with a refurbished lower-end Dell?

I believe the $3000 price tag being talked about is hardware + software.