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Mercedes vs. Volkswagen

"o sure you could buy a 1.4ghz athlon for the same price as a 500mhz imac, but what about quality. sure that ma and pop shop can slap together your box for the same price but yoru system is going to be crap. im tired of ignorant peecee users runninga round saying they can build a great computer for a few hundred bucks."

And I'm tired of ignorant platform fanatics always singing the same old song, over and over again. If you're a Mac fanatic, it's the luxury car vs. volkswagen BS. If you're a PC fanatic, it's the Mac ain't a "real" computer, whatever that means. If anything is ignorant, it's these kinds of ridiculous statements.

And where did you get the idea that I was a PC user (as if that were a bad thing). I like PCs, but I've never owned one. But because I sing the praises of their cost / value ratio, suddenly I'm an ignorant PC user. And what really kills me is, my comments were in no way directed personally at anyone, and yet Ambitious Lemon took my comments personally. Amazing (but typical).


"you ythink that ma and pa store is going to use top of the line components for each and every part of your box? hell no! they are going to go scrounging around for the cheapest components they can get. your system wont last for 4 months before you have a major meltdown."

Funny... I read in PC World's recent survey that people who had custom-built machines were pretty satisfied. OEMs like Compaq (and one other) got lousy reviews.


"ive fixed so many computers that were "built" by some idiot who that he would save some money and build his own computer. apple's $1000 machine will last years without ever needing any maintenance."

This is a crock. Macs break down just as much. There are some PCs that have been around as long as Macs, nearly ten years in some cases. And there's a reason for this equality: Apple uses much of the same, off-the-shelf components PC OEMs use. Why do you think that the same graphics cards and RAM chips and PCI cards can be swapped between the platforms, with a change in drivers only? How do you think Apple got its prices down from being 2-3x as much as their Windows equivalents to around 1.5x as much? And do you know how many times I've read on the web about a school, e.g., that got a whole shipment of iMacs, and half of them weren't functioning properly out of the box for one reason or another?


"this is because apple actually has pride in their machines and respect for their customers."

You MUST be kidding. I do believe that they take pride in their work. But they're also a business. And this thing about respecting their customers, holy smoke bro. You either have a short memory or are living in denial. The web is full of stories of disgruntled Mac customers who were snubbed by Apple's "the company is always right" mentality.


"and if you think you cant build a mac like you can a pc... you are greatly mistaken. ive built a number of macs from various components, i could build a 700mhz imac for under $300, but just like your slapped together peecee i wouldnt guarentee that imac will function for several years."

I'd love to know how you did this. This is the first time I've ever heard of this. The only thing I can think of is that you Frankensteined one together from other Macs. If you did, that is hardly a great way to accomplish this.


"when you are buying a mac, you are buying a luxury car (call it a bmw or mercedes or whatever). just like these luxury cars your mac will go the distance for you. after 100,000 miles without any major problems you will begin to realize that your beemer is more than just a status symbol, its first class engineering."

LOL. Okay. I'm sure Apple's glad you feel that way.


Look folks, I didn't come in here to start a platform war. Maybe some of you have the energy, desire and time for such nonsense. I do not. But there are market realities we as Mac fans (and more importantly, Apple) need to acknowledge. 5% overall, worldwide market share speaks volumes to my point.

Now I agree with Old Mac. Apple needs to get that price/performance ratio better than what it currently is. It has improved much in the past few years, but it still has a ways to go.

And I know that you get some cool apps with the newest Macs. Heck, with my Rev B iMac, I gotta whole lotta different applications. No question, Apple throws in some good software bundles with their machines. But this is still not going to get the same attention as a 1GHz PPC going for $999.
 
to release a G5 without a new enclosure would be stupid.

agreed to make something thinner it would normally mean compromising in expandability.
But
a) it is possible to achieve a thin elegant look without actually making it thinner.
b) You are saying you can mount a vertically or horizontally.
try to think in 3 dimensions not 2, it opens up many more possibilties for design.

As i have stated before the Quicksilver could be replaced quickly. In Design when a company releases a minor facelift it normally means a completel;y new design is coming out.
The quicksilver is a minor facelift.

I doubt a G5 will be ready by early next year. Mid next year is my bet.
Flat panel imac is still too expensive.
 
I have seen amny well made PCs, and they have lasted ages.
But every PC made by a company i.e TIME computers, has been made really badly with bad components. In the last TIME PC i opened up i saw what looked like sperm smothered on the cpu as thick as butter, and that is what they call thermal paste. Not only that but the cpu wasnt locked in position properly and they had skimped on both the modem (which was practically unusable) and the heatsink (which is essential on an athlon)

If your going to get a PC then build it yourself.
 
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