Posted: 8/29/2007 9:42:12 AM EDT
| Looking at these babies and they look sweet. If you got one, how does it hold up against a Dell? |
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when these were first released the majority were recalled due to their powersupplies AND motherboards. luckily they offered to fix them outside of warranty due to how common the problem was. i had a "friend" have hers serviced upgraded the memory from 512-2gb. started having a different issue and the authorized service center wouldnt fix it. Alot of reasons i would never own a mac, thats one of them. i prefer rolling my own computers. high end dell diminsion or latitudes (preferably) is the way to go |
Are you implying that Macs are poor quality products? I've heard a lot of uninformed charges against Macs on the part of PC users but few that miss the mark farther than this one. I have no comment about iMacs in particular, but in general, Macs are wonderful computers. They're not for everybody, though. Many people are simply more comfortable going with the industry standard (Windows). On the other hand, a lot of people drive Chevys, too . . . Really, it comes down to what you're using the computer for. If you are in the graphics/publishing/creative fields, there is no other choice. Macs are the only way to go. And in that setting, Macs have proven to be bulletproof -- no quality or reliabilty issues at all. If you're a high power business user or a serious gamer, the PC platform is probably a better choice. If you're just looking for a great computer to use for every day home or office activities, Macs are great. But they offer little tangible advantage over PCs, at least nothing that can't be dismissed as "touchy-feely." PCs are typically cheaper and in many application areas, offer more choices. It's easier to upgrade hardware on PCs. You can keep the same carcass and upgrade/replace the guts at will. In almost every way, for normal computing tasks, Macs are more intuitive, easier to set up, simpler to maintain software on and more pleasurable to use. But are they "BETTER"? No, not if things like elegance and sophistication are lost on you. I hope these comments don't fuel the Mac/PC pissing match. Personally, I have used Macs since 1989 but I couldn't care less what anyone else uses or what they think of my macs. FWIW, I'm typing this on a MacBook Pro laptop and I couldn't be happier with the machine or the operating system. |
wow, the arrogance is just oozing off your post and spilling down my monitor. |
. . . I've heard a lot of uninformed charges against Macs on the part of PC users but few that miss the mark farther than this one.
what areas are you concerned about? if you aren't particularly attached to windows or gaming graphics, the imacs compare well in every area. they are a bit harder to work on internally though. for that reason, i'd probably suggest the apple care which does add to the cost. i do think apple's quality has suffered somewhat as they are trying to be more competitive price wise. it's not bad, just not over engineered the way their machiens used to be. side by side, most normal people will choose the imac. |
I think this says a lot about the different philosophies of the two companies: Macs are good computers. They have a Unix-ish  based operating system - probably one of the best GUIs of any *nix distro. The industrial design is excellent - slot loading optical drives, all in one form factor, etc. The glossy white isn't really my thing...but now they're starting to come in black.My advice - if you don't do anything 'hardcore' - like play cutting edge computer games; if you mainly just check your email, surf ARFCOM, etc. - they are well suited for the task. 
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Yeah, having that compact all-in-one design does have it's drawbacks. And I remember a while back they had issues with power supplies and mobos. Certainly not immune to mistakes...BUT Dell has had hardware problems as well (I remember the Dimension 4600 is the reason people associate Dell with shitty PSUs). They have their pros and cons. I think it's best to try it out - if for no other reason than to take a break from Windows and see how *nix is (well...OS X is kinda on the fence since it's a 'hybrid' OS IMHO - not quite *nix....but very similar) |
I've worked in a Mac-based department of a 35 employee organization for quite a while (Macs since 1989). We typically have six to eight desktop Macs plus a few laptops running all the time. In more than 15 years and probably 60 or more Mac computers we've had almost no problems with them. The folks who have Macs at home (I've had about seven of them over the years) would tell you the same thing. In terms of "support" issues (read: user problems/software problems, etc.), our IT guy spends almost all his time messing with PCs, networks and servers. His Mac time mostly involves inventoring and ordering computers. |
yeah those dells cost what 500 bucks. the imac NOW start at 1200. i bet years ago they costed even more than that. i would think they would have been better made. |
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Got an imac in Dec. Love it. It just friggin works. No crashes, no viruses, no problems. Easy to learn how to operate. It takes a couple days to get comfy with it after using windows pc's but after that pure joy. Found all the programs I wanted on the net for little money or free. Checkbook etc. I couldnt be happier with it. Worth every penny. |
since you *clearly* have more technical experience than me with my BS in Computer Science and more than 6 years of network engineering. Can you tell me why Macs are the end-all be-all of graphics? I mean, there's got to be technical reason for it right? It can't possibly be just the same line that's been spouted since the early 90s without substantial basis right? |
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You know what would be cool for a change, is for Apple to launch a PC based OS platform to compete with Windows instead of sticking with their proprietary hardware strategy. Bill Gates ( the biggest plagiarist in history) would then have a problem since he has to wait for Apple's lead before copying it and calling it a MS product. Imagine the look on Bill Gates face if Steve Jobs were to announce that they (Apple) were releasing a PC OS that would blow the socks off of Vista. As for MAC vs PC, most of the comments posted here are true (gaming power users vs publishing, surfing). I have a sentimental connection with Apple/Mac's and was one of the first certified apple engineers. I've always chosen Mac's over PC's. Unfortunately, while Apple is a leader and innovator in the software realm, they have been slacking on the hardware side and allowed their HW limitations to cause most people to migrate to PC's and at a much cheaper price. The truth is that all of the leading vendors have cubicles at MS in Redmond and they all source there parts from pretty much the lowest bidder. Dell seems to have the most stable Hardware/windows rigs, but unless you buy there expensive customer dis-service program, good luck getting help, even under warranty. |
To be fair, part of the reason Windows does worse than Mac is because it is used in tons of different configurations with tons of weird hardware, etc. OS X is stable...but partly because it only has to work with Mac hardware and it's a lot easier to design it around the same parts (i.e. PowerPC/Intel chips, Apple LCD monitors, etc.) whereas Windows has to deal with weird soundcards from unheard of hardware companies and tons of different MP3 players and etc. There already are Linux/UNIX OS that work on PC hardware - like Ubuntu - the problem is that since none of them are profit driven, proprietary systems, stuff moves slower. |
I just got a new I Mac,20" 2gz with 2 gigs of ram. Also got the new I work software.It does everything we need it to do with no problems.Its easy to setup and use. also, no spyware or popups I have aroud $1400.00 in it If I bought a pc I would have @$1100 in it and would also need software. fwiwAlso got a free printer and 4 gig I pod with it.
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Ah an editor so you probably had some classes on how to inject your bias into an "even handed" piece of writing. Here I'll just go ahead and give you some examples.
Even handed huh? No signs of bias here? Yeah, and I'm the king of jolly old England.
Oh yeah, that's not biased and pretentious at all.... My butt cob has to do with the fact you are spewing arrogance, and acting like a pretentious douche bag while claiming to be even handed. That bothers me. Hey, it could also be the fact that I'm posting this at 6am after working for 20 hours straight. |
OK, I'll cut you some slack since you work so hard. But I've got to tell you, you're drinking too much coffee there bud. You obviously care about this shit way too much. Get some sleep buddy, there's more important things to do than attack Mac users. Like y'all love to point out, Macs have just 3 to 5 percent of the market. You wouldn't think you Windows guys would even notice a computer company that essentially amounts to a flea in the great scheme of the computer industry. But you guys sure get worked up over it. I wonder why that is. BTW, if I come across as pretentious and arrogant, that's only because I'm right all the time. Get over it and simply take solice in the fact that I'm willing to grace you with my attention . . .
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I ordered what was supposed to be the latest, hottest, fastest, slickest Dell money could buy three years ago. It arrived and it took many hours on the phone with Dell and their shipping me some componants to swap out before I finally boxed the damned thing back up and told them to come get their piece of shit computer. I order my wife an Imac and myself a laptop and we took the plunge, leaving Windows behind. I can only speak to our personal experience, but we have enjoyed three years of trouble-free Mac usage and now own four of them. Even if for some reason I had to go back to a Windows machine (court order? term of release? gun to head?) I still wouldn't get a Dell. My last experience soured me forever on that brand. I don't have any reason to promote Macs other than my history with them and refuse to play that Us / Them stuff - I'm just tellin' you what happened around here. |
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I've owned computers since about 1980. Been through the PC, XT, 286, 386, 486, Pentium. IN work I have been provided with a variaety of platforms from earlier Macs and PCs to Sun Sparcstations running native Unix. Like most products, ALL computers are getting better. PC or Mac you wil have a better product today than you could buy 10 years ago. Chances are you'll be happy with Dell or Apple. What do I prefer? Macs. Why? I really don't want to be a computer expert. I just want to USE them. And my experience is that you will need to have a deeper knowledge of PCs and need to do more manually than with Macs. Having said that, one aspect of Macs I hate is that many of their programs (iTunes, iPhoto) have their own little method of building a database and much of it is behind mirrors or something. As an experienced user I prefer knowing where I put stuff and doing it manually. But I admit for the casual user it is probably prefereable. At the end of the day it really boils down to what you want. Both platforms run pretty much all the normal software packages and both can be upgraded and both are similarly priced (a small premium for the Macs). Both will probably have way more performance than you will need. My decision weighed in Apples favor for the following reasons: 1) Fewer if any virii or hacks on the Mac OS 2) I prefer the Mac OS to Windows (and Vista isn't changing my opinion any) 3) Form factor. The picture below is my old iMac (which is now doing nothing but garageband/recording in my music room now). The new one is an Intel based iMac 24" with only ONE cord on the desk. The power cord. Mouse, keyboard, internet, printer, everything is wireless. Very small footprint and pleasing to me versus the older style.  |
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All I've ever owned were Macs. Let's see . . . since 1981, I've owned . . . six. I have never had a problem with any of them - well, except for outgrowing the one I was on! Or, just HAVING to have the advanced capabilities of a new one! LOL All the +'s have been mentioned. So, I won't bore you with a repeat. Suffice to say, I've worked with PC's and I wouldn't switch for anything. If Apple went out of business and my Macs finally died of old age, I'd stop using a computer. It's that simple. As a matter of fact, I've only been ONLINE for around 6 years. Before that, I couldn't have cared less about the internet. I thought (from talking to my friends), that the internet was only for gaming, shopping, chat-rooms and porn! My Macs were always about creating - and still are. (Although, I AM glad I finally broke down and went online! I buy online, a lot - especially, SF stuff! Yeah, baby! And, I've made some damn fine friends; in the couple forums in which I post.) To the OP, if you don't want to be a "computer guru" and you just want you computer to do what you want - when you want, and you don't want to spend hours on the phone with technical support, and you want the computer to work straight out of the box w/o hours of set up, and you don't want to chase down mysterious crashes/gremlins all the time, if you don't want to worry about software conflicts and viruses . . . I'd suggest you get any of the available Macs. I currently have three in my household and we love every one of them. *"You" wanna' call me an arrogant snob. Go ahead. Anyone who gets so worked up (over someone else's personal computing preference), is probably someone whose opinion I'm not all that interested in, anyway. |
+1 Power users will always require extra set-up/maintenance but most of us just want a computer that works, with minimum hassle. The idea of computer as appliance really is the goal for the common user. Macs have always been easy to use but Apple has gotten even better at plug and play as the years march on. Maybe that's why true PC-hardware geeks hate them so much. The simplicity of the Mac really makes a lot of these guys and their knowlege/skill base irrelevant. Again, I've used Macs for years but I'm really digging my new MacBook Pro. Whatever projector, printer, etc. I plug into it just works. Connecting to the different wireless networks I encounter when I travel is seemless. The computer just does it for me. Maybe the PC laptops are this good too. I really don't know. But this machine is even nicer in its operation than my old Mac Lombard laptop (which I thought was a pretty decent machine). They really are just beautiful machines, both in appearance and function. I think that's really the difference. It comes down to elegance and simplicity. |
now that I've had about 8 hours of sleep I should probably apologize. I was mixing redbull with coffee there for a bit. I was wound up like you would not believe. Thank god for long weekends. |
See there, if everybody used Macs you wouldn't have that trouble . . . but then you'd be out of a job, wouldn't you? . . . . . . . (I'm just teasing, please don't blow a gasket . . . )
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Did you get Apple Care for the Macbook Pro, if so they will replace the display? |
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No, I didn't get the extended warranty. In my opinion, it is a poor gamble to pay for these extended warranties on appliances. For a laptop that might have been a mistake but in general I still think it is true. End of the day, I am still hopeful Apple will do a recall. I am not alone. There are a lot of them. And so far my computer is still useable with about 10 verticle lines. |
| Mrs. Bananas has used Macs since 1985. She has worked professionally on an iMac for the past six or seven years (whenever they came out with the hemisphere and LCD model). She is an illustrator and graphic designer who uses Photoshop, Illustrator and several other processor/RAM intensive program and hasn't had a problem with her iMacs. They've been reliable and function incredibly well. I use a Mac, too, along with PCs at work. I can tell you that I've had ten times the amount of hardware and software problems on my PC as I have had with my Mac. I am a very tech savvy guy who often spends hours fixing other peoples' computer problems. I see problems in the same ratio described above. I ride with the Mac and will never go back. |