View Full Version : Tried to get my parents to buy a Mac...
sethwerkheiser
May 18, 2004, 01:27 PM
... but they didn't :( Thankfully for my birthday they bought me a new G4 iBook, but insisted that I shop with them at Circuit City and Best Buy for a new PC. Sigh. They eventually bought an HP from Office Max for about $750.
Since that time, though, (they got it Sunday I think) my mom and dad have called me about problems with getting online, or taking the icons/advertisement/AOL crap off their desktops, etc. Since I've had my iBook at home I've been playing Tony Hawk 4 (just a wee bit), surfing the web wirelessly, importing music, etc. etc. etc. Sigh...
I just wish they woulda got a nice entry level eMac. Anyone else watch their loved ones buy a PC and go through the same thing? Heh... :o
PlaceofDis
May 18, 2004, 01:34 PM
ive tried to convince my parents to get a Mac, but they wont, my mom says its pointless, but i think it would be easier for her to use. and my dad is full of **** because he says that he doesnt want to switch because hes an old dos user....sure whatever dad, you still call me for help, it sux that i have to help them with thier bad choice, but whatever i guess
JesseJames
May 18, 2004, 01:36 PM
Well, considering your plight. You must do this.
Get 2 large pieces of paper and fashion them into a cone shape. The bottom should be large enough to accomodate a human head.
Write in very legible words on the cones the word: DUNCE.
Place this on top of their heads the next time they are struggling with their PC.
To add insult, bay like a sheep while walking away.
leftbanke7
May 18, 2004, 01:37 PM
Essentually my whole family are Wintel users outside of my mother, my aunt and I. Not only do they dislike Mac, they like to throw out all those myths about the Mac (programs, cost, etc) due to some sort of weird half-assed hatred for them. I just stopped arguing with them about anymore. It's their money and they can do with it what they want.
jxyama
May 18, 2004, 01:43 PM
well, you can do two things.
1) get to a point where you can just buy them a Mac. (i did this after i got my first job.) afterall, i doubt anyone would be so stubborn to refuse a free computer, even if "it's a Mac."
2) tell them that you will not help them with maintenance of windows. ideally they would be told before they buy their computer, but i guess in your case, reiterate every time you help them that many of the problems they are encountering could have been avoided if they had followed your advice and bought a Mac. (i believe such is the case for most "problems.") if they still don't listen the next time they buy a computer, tell them they are on their own.
mikeyredk
May 18, 2004, 01:54 PM
This is what i did when they got a PC I refused service. Thats right I told them that I will not fix or attempt to fix those computers.
Horrortaxi
May 18, 2004, 01:54 PM
my dad is full of **** because he says that he doesnt want to switch because hes an old dos user....
That's a statement that might be full of it. Does he still use DOS? If he uses DOS then a Mac is probably not the thing for him--unless he wants to learn UNIX, which is a much better command line OS.
If he doesn't still use DOS, then what's the problem? Loyalty to Microsoft? That's just silly. Loyalty to bad products? Man has Microsoft's marketing department done a number on the world. It was amazing enough to convince people to buy that crap once--but for people to keep using the junk and develop loyalty to it is something else. Do they give awards for that kind of thing?
MorganX
May 18, 2004, 02:07 PM
I just wish they woulda got a nice entry level eMac. Anyone else watch their loved ones buy a PC and go through the same thing? Heh... :o
Even though I prefer PCs and Windows 2000/XP I have witnessed loved one go thorugh the 3rd party icon/software thing. Comes with buying a prebuilt PC.
Connecting to the Internet though, shoudl be as easy as deciding who you want to pay. Plugging in the phone line may be an issue for some.
That's a statement that might be full of it. Does he still use DOS? If he uses DOS then a Mac is probably not the thing for him--unless he wants to learn UNIX, which is a much better command line OS.
Millions of people still use DOS. Many Lotteries still use DOS for Keno games. Governemnt apps at all levels still have lots of legacy DOS.
Out of curiosity, what makes you think that the UNIX command line is much better or intuitive than PC DOS?
TEG
May 18, 2004, 02:16 PM
Thankfully, my parents don't have enough money to buy a new "PC" at this time. However, the two Wintel PCs at home, which BTW belong to me, so I can get rid of them at any time, are complete piles, and they don't take care of them. When I was at work (6 hours from home) they would have me fix them when ever I came home. However, now being at College (3.1 Days away) They take and get them fixed elsewere. Now they know the value of my services. Also, My mom really wants to get a Mac, but my dad is quite scared of doing it, because is is the secretary for the local Masonic Lodge, and all the records are in Windows formats, and he doen't believe that there are PC equliviants that you can then send back to the PCs, or that VPC is worthe the Hassle.
Hopefully with the new business they are thinking of buying they will learn the value of a powerful, reliable computer and get rid of all the PCs in their lives.
TEG
Bhennies
May 18, 2004, 02:29 PM
I think a lot of people have misinformation about Macs. My step-dad, who by the way has little if any computer knowledge, refused to buy a MAc due to "unreliability, cheap build quality, and difficulty of use". Where did he get that info?
p.s. our crappy gateway laptop sits in a complete state of self-destruction with boxes of unsuccessfully installled hardware all over his office, no lie.
Gherkin
May 18, 2004, 02:47 PM
I don't know why on earth I would try and get my parents to switch to a Mac. My dad has used Windows his whole life, and for what he does on a computer, using a Mac wouldn't really be any better or worse. It's a miracle that my mom learned Windows, and getting her to learn a whole new OS would be hell.
CmdrLaForge
May 18, 2004, 02:55 PM
I really understand you. I have the same problem with my parents and my brother. The best thing is they have no idea about PCs and Windows and call me every other day with a problem, but don't follow me and just switch to Macs. The time will come when I will stop helping them. period. Maybe they need to switch then, because I end the support contract.
Savage Henry
May 18, 2004, 03:02 PM
My Dad (a long term hard-line misunderstander of the Mac format) listened to me and bought an eMac, but failed to recommend it to a friend despite his convictions that it was a good move. His friend now has a problem with his new Wintel and they had to ring me to try and sort it out!?
And that problem woiuld not have existed with a Mac, so I just sorted it out with a mock smug smile.
Of course if everyone used Macs I would have this opportunity to feel superiour. :p
xy14
May 18, 2004, 03:27 PM
For all kids out there that want Macs:
Good Luck. Your parents are scared of having to get all new software and they really don't want to have to learn a second operating system. They have been taught in the past that Macs are slow and pieces of crap.
For all the kids that have Macs and their parents have PeeCees:
I love how my grandpa waits like 10 minutes for the computer to even get to the login screen and then about 10 more minutes waiting for everything to 'autostart'.
For all kids that have PeeCees but their parents have Macs:
:p
Macs are superior and they will never be as bad as Windows.
-A kid who got an iBook in December and his dad has a Compaq :)
Crikey
May 18, 2004, 03:53 PM
Out of curiosity, what makes you think that the UNIX command line is much better or intuitive than PC DOS?
I wouldn't argue that a UNIX shell prompt is any more "intuitive" than a DOS one -- they are both blank slates, and if you don't know the commands you're going to be lost.
UNIX is a better command-line OS because there are way more commands at your disposal, you can multitask them, and most of the shells are way more powerful than DOS's COMMAND.COM shell. Most UNIX shells offer powerful features like command-line completion and editing, filename completion, aliases, way more memory for storing environment variables, and more powerful scripting facilities (offering programming facilities that make UNIX "shell scripts" more like real programs than DOS "batch files" can be). You can fake some of this with MS-DOS, or better with the Command Prompt in WinNT/2000/XP, by getting a better third-party shell like 4DOS/4OS2/4NT and installing a host of third-party ports of UNIX shell utilities like grep, sed, awk, and so on. But why do those products exist? To try to make DOS/Windows as powerful as UNIX is out of the box.
Cheers,
Crikey
dbauer
May 18, 2004, 04:47 PM
Ok, so I finally switched last year after supporting Wintel for 15 years and I never looked back (except at work of course). My parents have been my biggest and most frequent clients with problems so finally I did what any sensible adult would do, I bought my mom a clamshell iBook and my dad a 1ghz eMac. Problem solved.
Now I never hear from either of them. I kind of miss them actually.
7on
May 18, 2004, 05:10 PM
A simple way to switch them. Buy them a Mac. Older people usually won't not use something if they have it. I'm getting my Mom an older ibook over the summer or a Pismo.
Inspector Lee
May 18, 2004, 05:55 PM
My mom, Frau Lee, wants to get an iBook. She also wants to get a mini. She currently hauls around a 15" Toshiba that weighs in at a Type II diabetic 8.65 lbs. I have had to deal with Blaster and Sasser on that POS. She has had all kinds of problems with very very basic tasks and isn't exactly computer literate (Note: the Toshiba was given to her by her employer). I find myself getting very frustrated trying to troubleshoot over the phone and need to apply a little pressure.
Had a service technician in our lab today and he was drooling over my TiBook - the slot-loader, the thinness, the screen, etc. He mumbled something along the lines of "... boxy dell latitude..." and left with his head down and lower lip quivering.
musicpyrite
May 18, 2004, 06:35 PM
Am I the only one here who started using a Mac as their first computer? My father introduced me to Macs and I have loved them since 8.6. Although recently I have branched out to Linux (I want to be familiar with all platforms).
FuzzyBallz
May 18, 2004, 06:42 PM
Fixing PC problems for relatives suck ass. Well, can't your folks return that piece of HP junk? I mean it's less than 30 days right? At least make CC give them store credit for it. eMac would've been nice for them, seriously.
cjc343
May 18, 2004, 06:50 PM
Am I the only one here who started using a Mac as their first computer? My father introduced me to Macs and I have loved them since 8.6. Although recently I have branched out to Linux (I want to be familiar with all platforms).
No, you aren't alone... I have used macs my entire life.... it has only been very recently that I "had" to get a PC (because of school) and couldn't afford VPC (yes, the PC was cheaper...) Now the PC just sits on my desk and folds....
hvfsl
May 18, 2004, 06:55 PM
The people I know, generally come to me about which computer to buy. So I usually stear them in the right direction. :D Although my parent's first computer was a PC (I did not know any better back then) all their computers ever since have been Macs though.
I do have 2 PCs now, but they are just for gaming.
Mav451
May 18, 2004, 06:57 PM
Am I the only one here who started using a Mac as their first computer? My father introduced me to Macs and I have loved them since 8.6. Although recently I have branched out to Linux (I want to be familiar with all platforms).
Yeah my mom's first computer musta been those old Apple I or II's (no idea, but it had that Apple game on it). But now she uses a crippled government win2k box running on a P3...uggh
This is the reason I refused to use anything but my computer in my house...everything is just slow when you compare it to my own AMD box which is still clean as a whistle. I'm gonna have to format my brother's computer (again) b/c he downloaded another DAMN toolbar and still uses OE (no idea what has gotten through by now!). I told him to use firefox, and nothing else, but he never listens!
Sometimes it sucks being the older brother/only computer literate man in the house, but its my responsiblity :(
JesseJames
May 18, 2004, 06:57 PM
My mom, Frau Lee, wants to get an iBook. She also wants to get a mini. She currently hauls around a 15" Toshiba that weighs in at a Type II diabetic 8.65 lbs. I have had to deal with Blaster and Sasser on that POS. She has had all kinds of problems with very very basic tasks and isn't exactly computer literate (Note: the Toshiba was given to her by her employer). I find myself getting very frustrated trying to troubleshoot over the phone and need to apply a little pressure.
Had a service technician in our lab today and he was drooling over my TiBook - the slot-loader, the thinness, the screen, etc. He mumbled something along the lines of "... boxy dell latitude..." and left with his head down and lower lip quivering.
My God, geek envy.
rdowns
May 18, 2004, 07:05 PM
... but they didn't :( Thankfully for my birthday they bought me a new G4 iBook, but insisted that I shop with them at Circuit City and Best Buy for a new PC. Sigh. They eventually bought an HP from Office Max for about $750.
Since that time, though, (they got it Sunday I think) my mom and dad have called me about problems with getting online, or taking the icons/advertisement/AOL crap off their desktops, etc. Since I've had my iBook at home I've been playing Tony Hawk 4 (just a wee bit), surfing the web wirelessly, importing music, etc. etc. etc. Sigh...
I just wish they woulda got a nice entry level eMac. Anyone else watch their loved ones buy a PC and go through the same thing? Heh... :o
Nope, I have a rule. I was a reseller for about 11 years and have always chose Macs (since my SE) and recommended them to family and friends. After a few years, my rule was born. Buy a Mac and call for help anytime you need it. Buy a PC, lose my number.
Capt Underpants
May 18, 2004, 07:11 PM
For all kids out there that want Macs:
Good Luck. Your parents are scared of having to get all new software and they really don't want to have to learn a second operating system. They have been taught in the past that Macs are slow and pieces of crap.
For all the kids that have Macs and their parents have PeeCees:
I love how my grandpa waits like 10 minutes for the computer to even get to the login screen and then about 10 more minutes waiting for everything to 'autostart'.
For all kids that have PeeCees but their parents have Macs:
:p
Macs are superior and they will never be as bad as Windows.
-A kid who got an iBook in December and his dad has a Compaq :)
Exactly. I tried to explain to my mom the ease of use, no virii, spyware, etc. She uses windows at work, though, so she's windoze all the way. She didn't listen. I ended up just buying my self a PB a couple of weeks ago. It's an awesome machine. My mom still uses the dell. The other day she was in the living room and called me in to watch a news special on some windoze worm. I said," I have a mac, now", and left. It was a defining moment in my life (okay, maybe not, but it was cool not to have to worry about it). Needless to say, I still do have to do the windoze update, vuris software updates, driver updates, etc. for her, which sucks. I wish we could get a SD eMac for the living room.
Anyways, kids, if you really want a mac, you'll find a way to get one.
realityisterror
May 18, 2004, 08:44 PM
i, like so many of you, have also been through these ordeals...
my sister is pretty computer literate, she's just a bit rusty with some more recent things...
my dad rarely uses the computer, only for the occasional email and to find info on products online...
my mom uses computers a lot, but barely gets through her use... she's generally the one i have to help....
when i was about 11 years old, i fell in love with macs... i, like most peecee users, though macs were overpriced pieces of gargbage; that is, until i met OS X. the look was what captivated me. the internet helped me decide it was for me...
last september when i was 13 i finally bought my iMac (around 1100 total for everything) since then, i have ;) unfortunately ;) been getting rustier with my windows skills. oh darn... my mom still has to get me to help with everything, and she still i thinks i am the one that messed everything up by "unloading" something...
just today, i was trying to explain to a friend how to install a font... i had to find a webpage for him to follow along... he was totally confused by unzipping something (i was tempted to just say double-click and wait for panther to do it itself) and how to install it. (double-click and click "install font")...
instead, it was a terrible time... i couldn't explain getting through the winzip menus so i just had to download the .zip for him, unzip it, and send it back... it also took awhile to realize that he wasn't using the classic view in the control panel. at first, i told him to just drag-and-drop the font in to the folder... (but of course, that's the mac way... that would only make too much sense for windows)... some research on google showed that you have to go to File-->Install New Font... who would have guessed...
sorry if this is unclear; i've been "studying" for some finals,
reality
jaw04005
May 18, 2004, 08:53 PM
I think a lot of people have misinformation about Macs. My step-dad, who by the way has little if any computer knowledge, refused to buy a MAc due to "unreliability, cheap build quality, and difficulty of use". Where did he get that info?
p.s. our crappy gateway laptop sits in a complete state of self-destruction with boxes of unsuccessfully installled hardware all over his office, no lie.
This makes me laugh because I ran into the same thing at first with my grandparents. About three years ago, they told me they would buy me a new computer for graduation. I said I wanted an Apple iMac, and my grandma (whos in her early 50's) said "Why would you want us to buy something that nobody uses?". I told them if they didn't want to get me the computer I wanted then they could just get me something else.. I would buy my own. They bought me what I wanted... and now that iMac is at their house and they use it daily checking stocks, browsing the net, and emailing me. Now they say they wouldn't buy anything else, and they have only called me once for help---and that was the phone companies fault.
JW
Mav451
May 18, 2004, 09:07 PM
Font installation in XP IS drag and drop. Now, the question is whether your friend was using XP or something older? If he was using 98/ME, I'm not sure anymore, as I haven't touched that trash since March 2003.
Mav451
May 18, 2004, 09:09 PM
This makes me laugh because I ran into the same thing at first with my grandparents. About three years ago, they told me they would buy me a new computer for graduation. I said I wanted an Apple iMac, and my grandma (whos in her early 50's) said "Why would you want us to buy something that nobody uses?". I told them if they didn't want to get me the computer I wanted then they could just get me something else.. I would buy my own. They bought me what I wanted... and now that iMac is at their house and they use it daily checking stocks, browsing the net, and emailing me. Now they say they wouldn't buy anything else, and they have only called me once for help---and that was the phone companies fault.
JW
That's actually a great story. Nothing better than visiting your grandparents JUST to visit them (and not fixing their computer). That's what I call great time management :)
quagmire
May 18, 2004, 09:10 PM
My friend parents has a pc. He wanted to buy a notebook. He had 2 choices. Choice 1 was to get a HP and his parents will pay for it. Choice 2 get a powerbook and he will have to pay for it. He ending up buying his powerbook. All $2200( including all the software he put on it). It comes to show how parents are so mean to macs.
ingenious
May 18, 2004, 09:30 PM
The people I know, generally come to me about which computer to buy. So I usually stear them in the right direction. :D Although my parent's first computer was a PC (I did not know any better back then) all their computers ever since have been Macs though.
...
That's the same with me. I was so excited when Windows ME was going to come out because I thought that M$ might have actually changed it for once. Then they didn't. :( :D Then I started to seriously think that the OS 9 iMacs at school were pretty nice! Then stupid Windows XP came out with "tons of new featuers." I spent my hard saved money on a cheapo PC, and it's been horrid. Then I got a new PowerBook through my school! I fell in love with Jaguar. Not immediately. As an ignorant PC user, I tried to find everything wrong with it; I tried to see how long it would take to feeze up. Then, it didn't happen. Nothing was wrong, and it didn't freeze up. Plus, the OS was really intuitive. Much better than XP. I was like, I gotta show everybody! I was in love. Then we got Panther at school, and it was like blah Jaguar, you're better than XP, but sorry, gotta ditch ya! Panther was less stable, still is, and it has made me re-evaluate my PC, but in the end, I never reconsider the PC for long! LOL. Then Mom got a new eMac at school. She loved it. Now, we're going to *hopefully soon* ditch this piece of junk $600 HP (WinME) for a new eMac. My sister wants a new iBook and so does my dad. I'm saving up for a PowerBook of my own, as well as some desktop extension items (BookEndz, Cinema Display, external keyboard and mouse, etc.)
So I guess I'm a succes story.
adamjay
May 19, 2004, 01:38 AM
the extent of tech-support that i give to my family or friends is simply saying "get a mac"
::ring ring...:: "Adam, whats up man. So i have this worm or virus on my computer, and i dont know how it got there. anyways my computer is totally messed up now, you know alot about computers right? can you take a look at it?"
answer: "Get a Mac"
::ring ring...:: "Son, i don't know what happened, i downloaded a movie last night and now i cannot connect to the internet at all. I've been on the phone with Compaq all afternoon and they're really not helping me at all, just frustrating me even more."
answer: "Dad, you've only had that computer for a month... remember what i told you before you bought it?" "yea, you said get a mac... but.."
"exactly, Dad."
now, friends of mine who have actually bought mac's, by my recommendation or not... when they call, the topic of computing never comes up. because why talk about something that isn't a problem. what a concept.
Counterfit
May 19, 2004, 01:57 AM
You aren't alone musicpyrite :)
Our first "real" computer (no more Atari's or TI's for us :p) was a IIgs. My parents are on their third Mac now. Well, second Mac, third Apple. I believe that I have told them, if they ever bought a Windows computer, I would not help them with it. I don't have to worry though, my mother has a hard enough time using a Mac, I could hardly imagine her using Windows :eek:
dopefiend
May 19, 2004, 01:59 AM
You aren't alone musicpyrite :)
my mother has a hard enough time using a Mac, I could hardly imagine her using Windows :eek:
Hehe, Windows is just as simple :p
garybUK
May 19, 2004, 02:47 AM
My family all use custom built pc's, My Sister has a Compaq P4 laptop, my brother a AMD XP2400+ and my dad the same.
My dad has to run Adaware every time he boot's his computer up and it always comes up with about 30 items at least. I have ended up adding all the XP Machines to a domain controller and restricting things like 'Disallow changing of homepage' and 'Disallow changing of toolbars'
My brother's PC (XP) has gotten to a stage if he clicks on Internet Explorer it crashes his whole PC. So what I did was remove IE (Through the Add/Remove Control Panel -> Application Association wizzard thingie) and install firefox. Firefox is just like safari, google search box, tabbed browsing and on the whole is a lot better than Internet Exploder.
But since my mum had her CC details nicked (thankfully all CC's are insured) they always use my Powerbook for banking/purchases and my dad does a lot of Music work on his pc and he always borrows my G5 <sigh>
He's convinced in getting a mac now and will be getting one after our family holidays and when my sister spills another glass of milk in her laptop we will replace it under the insurance with a ibook.
abc123
May 19, 2004, 02:57 AM
me: my new computer came today
dad: where is it, bring it out
i produce a powerbook
dad: not another mac, why the bloody hell do you kids keep buying macs
:D
caveman_uk
May 19, 2004, 05:49 AM
Funnily enough I've got an appointment in a couple of weeks re-installing WinXP on the in-laws PC. The install is totally trashed. My fault really as they got the PC about 3 years ago on my recommendation - I had a PC at the time and hadn't switched. It's come back to haunt me :(
Anyway. After a lot of demo's of the mac, using the iLife stuff etc, may father-in-law said that his next 'toy' was going to be a G5. Oh happy day...I'll be holding him to it ;)
denm316
May 19, 2004, 06:18 AM
I will join in as well, I tyry to convince my mom all the time to get a Mac, she just doent care, I will probably just buy her an iMac.
Colonel Panik
May 19, 2004, 10:51 AM
It's easy to convice folks to get macs.
First, ask them if they use a PC at work.
Answer is usually yes.
Ask them if they have problems with their PC at work.
Answer is yes.
Ask them if they fix their PC at work.
Answer is no, helpdesk or IT do it.
Ask them who'll fix their computer at home.
They'll start to say, 'you', but you shake your head at them...
Then they ask you what to do.
You say, get a mac.
g30ffr3y
May 19, 2004, 11:31 AM
i switched both my dad and brother december 1, 2002...
my dad's pc is finally dead and he refuses to get another one... awsome!!!
Paulo the Limey
May 19, 2004, 11:31 AM
I’ve been trying to fix my girlfriends XP box for weeks now. Ever since they got broadband the computer has ran like an asthmatic slug going through treacle. Unfortunately she doesn’t have any XP install disks (lost them), so I’m having to go through all the updates, patches, virus check etc one by one. I’m already scouring E-bay as a cheap iMac replacement, enough of this already!
sethwerkheiser
May 19, 2004, 11:52 AM
Wow - what stories! Hehe... Yea, my parents have already called me to help fix something. Thankfully though, somehow, they contacted HP Help Support and they actually helped them through it. So I get to go over to their house tonite and help take off all the AOL - FREE! and other crap icons on their desktop, sys tray, quick launch, start menues.. blah blah blah....
neoelectronaut
May 19, 2004, 12:04 PM
I spent the weekend at my girlfriend's, and some of that time was assisting her in getting spyware and other junk off of her XP machine.
I swear I think I'm going to start saving and buy her a Mac for an engagement gift.
http://www.applegeeks.com/comic_archive/viewcomic.php?issue=98
wPod
May 19, 2004, 01:10 PM
heh, yeah im in the proccess of converting everyone. i saved my little bro from the dark side when i gave him my old iBook in exchange for a PS2 (hey, im a nice big bro!) and every time my dad has a problem with his windows machine i say 'my mac doesnt do that. .. you know you would really like a mac' and after about 30 days (and probably 40 or so calls of something being wrong with his computer) he is finally starting to give in. the only problem is he still has DOS programs that he uses!!!! so i said keep the wintel box in the corner for the once-every-two-months that you might use DOS and then get an e-mac. he is mostly convinced of that. except now that ive shown him apple he wants an i-mac 'cause it has one of those thin monitors' the only problem is most windows machines are cheaper than the imacs. . . so my mom (the actual controler of the purse strings) may not let him spend as much. an emac is comparably priced. so i must keep up my dillagent work at selling him on a mac. . . at least that way i could have a conversation with him that doesnt start 'my computer wont. . . ' or ' it says it cant connect to the server. . . did you break the server?'
Horrortaxi
May 19, 2004, 01:59 PM
Out of curiosity, what makes you think that the UNIX command line is much better or intuitive than PC DOS?
I don't think tha either one are intuitive. They both use strange and esoteric commands. Unix is a much more robust OS than DOS though. It can do anything you can imagine and has all the built-in goodies. DOS will move files around. There isn't much comparison.
sethwerkheiser
May 20, 2004, 01:16 PM
So you ready for this? My parents buy an HP Pavillion at Office Max. Yea. They paid like $900 total, with like $150 rebate. They had it for a few hours and started having problems.
Firstly it would only connect to the internet at like 20Kpbs. So I sat down and tried to help them with that. Suddenly, as I was on hold with their ISP, I was unable to open the Settings window. Also, all the program folders (in the start menu) came up (Empty)! I couldn't open anything.
So I call up HP Tech support. A computer voice comes on, asks me for my model of computer. Then on hold, where i hear:
"Due to a virus that's affecting the PC industry... we are experiancing heavy call volume" hehe..
So then someone comes on, "Hi, can I get your model number?"
Fine. I tell them again. On hold. I hear that cute virus message again.
Then finalyl someone else comes on.." Can I get your model number?"
AGAIN! Three times. Hehe...
So I talk to "Joshua", for awhile. It took me about 10 minutes to get through the serial# and everything. Grr... he then asked me if restarting makes the dissapearing programs problem go away.
Sigh.
At this point, after like 40 minutes my parents say forget it - we're taking it back..
So quick update: they took the HP back, and now they're looking to buy ANOTHER! ARGH!
But my dad is wising up. He said, "HOw do I know the next one I get is going to work?"
Think of me guys, there's still hope for an eMac :)
rueyeet
May 20, 2004, 04:43 PM
Good luck convincing them!
My dad is a DOS guy, but if Longhorn doesn't have DOS capabilities, he might be ripe for Mac conversion. I've already laid the seeds and told him to expect not to have DOS on his next computer, and that he'll have to keep an older system around if he wants DOS.
Mom will be easier. Granted, I gave her my old ThinkPad so it's technically my fault she's running Windows, but when that either gives up the ghost or becomes completely obsolete, I'll put her on a Mac--because that's what I'm willing to support.
I've spent entire weekends at their house doing computer troubleshooting and such, the most recent when my dad thought to clean up his hard drive a little, and deleted win.com..... :rolleyes: It must END!! :p
michelle
May 20, 2004, 04:46 PM
Luckily, my mom (the smart shopper) was savvy enough to start my sister and I out on a Mac LC as our first computer. Her PeeCee friends may have laughed then, but all the time we had that computer, we never had any problems with it. And when I got to Jr. High, guess what kind of computers we had in our lab? Mac LCs! So while other kids were struggling through Mac Basics, I was helping them out and doing other stuff like perfecting my typing skills. Thanks Mom! :D
thejazzman10
May 20, 2004, 05:52 PM
Ahhh!! i hate this "racism" towards macs!!! In my school (which has close to 1000 people in it) there are only 2 people who like macs!!!! me and this other girl( :D ) and even the teachers diss them!! one day, i was talking my friend into buying a mac, but my science teacher comes up and insults them with the common myths!!! And one day, i was struggling with a cripled windows monitor(the speakers were skewwed up), my teacher comes up and says (this is a QUOTE!!) "I bet if it was a mac that wouldnt be happening, huh?" and she gave me this wierd look
AAAHAHHHHHH!!! im so tired of it!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
winwintoo
May 20, 2004, 06:53 PM
We noticed that Mom (83 years old) was having trouble seeing the screen on her aging iMac so we thought maybe a new iMac with the better LCD monitor might be better for her.
I told her I was going to the computer store to look for a new computer for me and stopped to look at the iMac sitting there. I turned my back and when I looked back, there was Mom leaning on her cane, playing with the new computer. Now it's in her bedroom and she's playing with it for real.
AND she doesn't need to squint and wear her reading glasses to try and see the screen. I feel sorry for people who buy those cheapo machines from the office stores - the machines are no good we all agree on that, but even worse is the crappy monitors. Most older people are having eye problems and it's a shame they are inflicting that on themselves.
m
Oh BTW, they also had a sweet 1Ghz 12" PB that fit nice under my arm heehee!!
michelle
May 20, 2004, 07:00 PM
Ahhh!! i hate this "racism" towards macs!!! In my school (which has close to 1000 people in it) there are only 2 people who like macs!!!! me and this other girl( :D ) and even the teachers diss them!! one day, i was talking my friend into buying a mac, but my science teacher comes up and insults them with the common myths!!! And one day, i was struggling with a cripled windows monitor(the speakers were skewwed up), my teacher comes up and says (this is a QUOTE!!) "I bet if it was a mac that wouldnt be happening, huh?" and she gave me this wierd look
AAAHAHHHHHH!!! im so tired of it!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
Don't worry about those Mac "haters", I'm sure a lot of them (students AND teachers) are closet Mac users. They just don't wanna admit it because they are PeeCee-pressured. PCs are the so-called "norm" so some people are just afraid to "think different"-they just want to fit in and be accepted like all the other clones. So just be proud of being a Mac lover, and hang with that other girl who also likes Macs; maybe fate brought the two of you together ;)
nyprospect
May 20, 2004, 08:13 PM
Its funny every time i visit my local computer tech,I ask him what he thinks about macs.He doesnt even answer it.All of the sudden he forgets the english language.Im want to switch but i have a p4 3 gig and going to a g4 maybe be painful but i dont game.The g5 is to big for my small room. :(
Gyroscope
May 21, 2004, 12:36 AM
Ahhh!! i hate this "racism" towards macs!!! In my school (which has close to 1000 people in it) there are only 2 people who like macs!!!! me and this other girl( :D ) and even the teachers diss them!! one day, i was talking my friend into buying a mac, but my science teacher comes up and insults them with the common myths!!! And one day, i was struggling with a cripled windows monitor(the speakers were skewwed up), my teacher comes up and says (this is a QUOTE!!) "I bet if it was a mac that wouldnt be happening, huh?" and she gave me this wierd look
AAAHAHHHHHH!!! im so tired of it!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
geez im so afraid for future generations, being taught by single minded morons
like your teacher. :o
sethwerkheiser
May 21, 2004, 09:34 AM
Awww yea.
After my parents called several places they finally called a local Apple Re-Seller and they're going to buy an eMac tonite!
Every small PC shop was like, "Yea, we'll just build you one" and "yea, Windows XP always has problems" and such. Gee - what a great way to sell a computer!
So tonite I'm going with my dad to pick it up. He's all excited about it!
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