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- Thread starter BadDude
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I am currently replying on a 5 year old Powerbook G4 that has been pretty much trouble free on its own part. Only problem i had was when my hard drive crashed which was my own fault. I have dropped this laptop a few times and the hard drive finally broke. At the time it crashed i didnt have enough money for an apple and i wanted to wait cause i knew apple was going to release updated computers soon. This was back in mid Feb 08. I went down to my local best buy and bought me a cheapy dell for $749. it was the dumbest thing i have ever done computer wise. Vista is HORRIBLE! constantly crashes and bogs down. Intel just announced they arent into Vista either. Well a few weeks ago my power supply went out. I figured no problem, ill just call up dell and get a new one seeing as its under warranty. Well after i translated the customer service reps foreign accent, i was told i had to go to best buy. Well at best buy they basically told me i shoulda bought the extended warranty. Called up dell again and again after translation they told me its best buys problem. Went back to best buy and the geek squad informed me that dell warranties are EXTREMELY limited along with many other PCs. They dont warranty much of the computer. They have some of the WORST customer service i have ever dealth with. Now back to when my apple crashed......when i called apple, the tech rep spent almost an hour on the phone with me helping me diagnose the problem. He acknowledged that my warranty AND applecare had already expired but he would see what he could do. Now THATS worth the extra money to me. Service AFTER the sale is so very important in any industry. Apple has always gone far and beyond my highest expectations. They have consistantly led the industry in customer service. I recently went to www.ifixit.com and ordered me a new hard drive and plan on using this old MAC for a few more months till the new updates come out later this year. I will gladly give $2,000-$3000 to apple before i give one red cent to Dell or any other PC manufacturer. If you do get a PC, do yourself a favor and stay away from Dell and Vista. Go with XP and make sure you clarify what is covered under warranty. Get that silly overpriced warranty that Best buy offers. Macmall.com is offering Macbook pros at a huge savings till the end of the day today, and im very tempted myself. 30% savings on one package, $750 off!
That was true in the past, but nothing I have seen within the last years point in that direction anymore.
And how many of our recently bought MBPs (and Airs) will run flawlessly for more than three years?
See above
Yes, that might easily be true. Just don't expect your newly acquired MBP to last even close to that.
Again, you guys are talking computers build and sold years ago. Don't expect a recently puchased laptop from Apple to last anywhere close to, say, a Thinkpad.
Yes, because Apple historically made some good quality hardware, they _still_ have a good reputation. But one has to wonder when the people trusting regurgitated assurances from years ago about the Apple-quality will finally realise they've been had as the quality kept going down and down and down.
Also, I don't think of a design as "nice", when it's riddled with flaws and workarounds (see especially the MBA). But then again, I think I think of "design" from an engineering view point, where you seem to come at from a "shape"-point of view.
Sigh! Again, the more recent designs sucks, and Apple doesn't make "quality products" anymore. They're just like the next crap-chinese manufacturer: Skimping on QC, cutting corners and whatnot, all the while making beautiful ads convincing people this is about "lifestyle" and what not, so they can demand a higher price for their products, than, say, Dell's entry level comps.
Hey, as a student, I get Educational. Then iPod Touch and Printer comes along. I sell them for about $350. Now. 1800-350 is 1450. That ain't much compared to the Blackbook. I'm ordering mine soon, and yes, you can sell iTouch+Printer at about $350 in some markets.
See, that's the thing. They do offer a good sound--certainly one good enough for my needs in an IEM (which are durability first, quality second). I'm well aware of more expensive Shures and Etymotics, but with regards to my needs (there's that word again), it's not worth dropping $100 on an Er-6i or $150 on a pair of e3cs because they won't last 3-5x as long, respectively, as a pair of EP-630s or Senn cx300s.
I run my phones into the ground, and I expect them to follow me every step of the way. And as I've said repeatedly, it does me no good to spend more money for a product if it doesn't last proportionally longer. So you can laugh from here until next year if it thrills you, but you'd do well not to assume your willingness to spend exorbitant amounts of gear on anything (whether computers, headphones, cars, or what have you) had any reflection on your judgment of quality. There's a certain point where "more expensive" no longer means "best choice", and that threshold is rarely tied to a person's resources.
I agree with your post in whole. PC manufacturer's warranties suck and their outsourcing of support sucks even more. Just a heads up people, HP's support is generally better. Once I even got hold of their manager at the place.
Yes, with Apple, even though it might be a little more, so much comes with it. The software, serotonin
, Going the extra mile AppleCare support, and work-as-it-always-should, and a lot of care in to your product.If you just need some basic hardware, sure, go with some PC, but if you need reliability, not too much maintenance, and is tired of the registry, a Mac is always worth its price.
I am not sure what you are seeing, but I have seen hundreds of iBooks that are working flawlessly, in fact, the local high school here has about 80 that are used regularly by students. And in means of interpreting MBP and MBA and how long they will last, we can't tell right now, as they haven't been out as long as past computers, but older MBPs that I have seen work fine and flawlessly. And if we were to take Apple's history of computers and apply that history to the MB, MBP, and the MBA, then we could probably assume that they will last much longer than your average PC. If I wanted to get a PC to last as long as a Mac, then I would have to pay almost $2000 on it, which would set it equal to Macs, you are paying for quality, of both the hardware and the software.
The true cost of a computer is what you pay for it minus what you can sell it for later. With most PC notebooks you really can't sell them for much but Apple computers have always held their value well. You may just find that the Apple MBP will cost you less even if you have to pay more.
When you compare prices you have to look at more than just the CPU and RAM and disk size. Looks at the build quality, the design, the size and weight and then with Apple you get Mac OS X and iLife. Whereas with the OSX86 machine you are paying for these.
I think the OSX86 hackentosh only makes sense if you need a kind of machine that Apple does not make. That is Apple's worst shortcomming, that their line of computers is so limited. They don't even make a "normal" desktop computer, just some niche products.
Hmm, it's been a while since one could buy an iBook.
"Dwindling quality control" and "don't expect to see the same life on recently purchased MBPs and MBAs as you did with you old Mac" is far from saying that Apple didn't at one time produce quality hardware.
Besides, you make the exact same argument: That because some quality hardware would cost the same as a Mac, then Macs must be good quality. It simply doesn't work that way. Yes, quality costs good money, but there is no law of nature that then by extension anything that costs good money then have to be quality.
A including B ≠ B include A
Apple no longer has the hardware advantage. But its the OS which makes it better than any DELL, HP, SONY out there. For me OSX is well worth the premium and limited hardware choice. If you think its not then dell definitely is the right choice for you.
Once Apple loses this OS edge to windows I`ll also switch to the cheaper dell/hp. But till then I cant think of using anything but a MAC for my basic computing needs.
Once Apple loses this OS edge to windows I`ll also switch to the cheaper dell/hp. But till then I cant think of using anything but a MAC for my basic computing needs.
that pretty much sums it up. i think the hardware looks better but i would love to have the robustness of an old ibm thinkpad.
the os is what makes the difference. and it looks like snow leopard will give you an overall faster and more stable system. the next windows will have a hard time to keep up with that.
regarding hardware my strategy is buying less often and less expensive macs.
since there isn't a huge improvement in the macs over time that would make me buy a new mac every year i buy a new mac every three or four years. and since there isn't much in the macbook pro that makes me want it (i don't game) i can get away with a macbook. so in the end apple loses sales because if there was a blueray wimax macbook pro with a dockingstation that is ultrarobust with a high res screen i would pay happily $3300. so i end up with a macbook for $1300. a good deal for me i think.
Summary of Opening Post:
Apple's computers are too expensive so I'll break the law instead.
Nice job.
Apple's computers are too expensive so I'll break the law instead.
Nice job.
sorry
but MBP is worth every penny...everything you get....is way worth the money
Aluminum
Backlit Keyboard
LED, iSight, MacOSX
Multi Touch..
the list goes on and on.........
but MBP is worth every penny...everything you get....is way worth the money
Aluminum
Backlit Keyboard
LED, iSight, MacOSX
Multi Touch..
the list goes on and on.........
I disagree...I have only owned Apple computers(6) and have never bought a replacement part in my life!!! NO replacement hard drives, no replacement modems, no replacement video cards, no replacement motherboards, etc.
My siblings only own PC's (One sister- 5 and my other sister has owned 4.) In the same time period combined they have replaced two video cards, four motherboards, a built in modem, two mice, a keyboard, and three hard drives.
Yes, they did pay less up front for their PC's...some were on the cheaper end and some were higher end models too. However, I bet they ended up paying as much, if not more than I did for all of my Macs when you add in the replacement parts they had to buy. On top of that, they lost data and time with their PC often.
The PC's in each of the last three schools I have taught in had similar difficulties- dozens of hard drives, mother boards, etc. In the school where I had a Mac lab to use, we only had one hard drive go out and one mother board go out...other than that, no hardware quality issues.
I bet you have seen thousands of ibooks that are not working either and most of them due to motherboard failure. Paying $2000 to get on par with Macs? What are you smoking? $1000 laptop or desktop can get on par if not better than an expensive GX or PB. You are BIAS!!!
Wow. You must have had bad luck with your PCs; over here, only one computer has ever died on a family member, and it was a hard drive failure in a laptop. In my experience, they last every bit as long (in some cases, longer) than Macs.
And while they work, you baby them considerably less than Macs. I'd never, never heard of palmrests, keyboard guards, skins, etc. until I joined this website. With PC laptops, you just use them...like laptops, and not like antiques on loan from the MOMA. That's another reason, I suspect, why people tend to choose PCs over Macs (besides the most obvious one, price): they don't need "accessories".
Nice fiction dude. Looking at your past posts, it looks like you either have computer/hardwares contributed to you that people don't use or you're using really old stuff, geezz I wonder why most of the PCs you have doesn't work.
I reckon thats its only a matter of time when people stop saying "i sold my Apple product for more than what I would of sold a PC".
At the moment, it would be fair to say it because people are willing to pay for the old PPC processors. The new Intel ones, people aren't really fussed. Also, its just general common sense. Why would someone in two years time pay as much for an older machine when they could add a $100 for a brand spanking new one? Economics springs into mind?
No doubt Apple is gaining market share and attention, Apple Retail stores being built... I personally think its a matter of time before Apple start seeing a decrease in value for their older products. It's just common sense.
At the moment, it would be fair to say it because people are willing to pay for the old PPC processors. The new Intel ones, people aren't really fussed. Also, its just general common sense. Why would someone in two years time pay as much for an older machine when they could add a $100 for a brand spanking new one? Economics springs into mind?
No doubt Apple is gaining market share and attention, Apple Retail stores being built... I personally think its a matter of time before Apple start seeing a decrease in value for their older products. It's just common sense.
No fiction here...The PC's were not my own "dude", so please read my post thoroughly...they were my siblings comptuers- I am all Mac as I stated.
and none were donated (Although I have donated my Macs to school to continue to use- not sure what the PC ended up doing...probably donated or parted out to a school...but like I said, many were lower end models and ended up being junk.
And I did forget to state that I had one Mac that had some sort of recall on it (I don't recall
what it was, but something on a Performa that I had. Apple took care of it and it was only in the shop for one day at a local reseller that took care of the warranty work.By really old stuff...I am not sure what you mean. They were all (my own macs and my SIBLINGS PC's) bought new over the last 20 years or so. Each one of my Macs I have used with no issues on average for 5 years...some a bit more and overlapped with a new purchase. The PC's my SIBLINGS purchased and used were also used for about the same time period (roughly- I don't have sales receipts for my SIBLINGS purchases...sorry for a bit of "fiction" as you call it.)
Now, that being said, some PC's have really good hardware I think, but most seem to be junk or very low quality component parts.
Oh, I think I might have actually written some fiction before...I think it was only three motherboards that went bad. Will have to check.