I don't know if this is under the correct topic, but it seems to be a general comment so I will post it here anyway.
A friend of the family who I haven't seen for about 4 months stopped in where I work yesterday to ask about getting a new computer and what I would reccomend. He has a Compaq Presario back from a long time ago that came preinstalled with Windows 98. It was always booting up into Safe Mode and BSODing all the time, and he was getting fed up.
Anyway, he said he had gone to Dell and they had a nice system, blah blah for $499 but he really didn't need a new screen and printer and didn't want to hassle with rebates and preferred to go with someone "local".
I told him to go downtown to SimplyMac and ask about the Mac mini and to give me a call when he buys it so I can come set it up for him. An hour later I'm done with work, he called to let me know that he had bought it. I called him back to let him know that I would be coming down the next morning to set it up for him and would bring along a new keyboard and mouse for him to have, since his old ones wouldn't work.
This morning (the 11th) I drove 15 miles to his town, hooked it up, configured the internet and Mail settings, and he was ready to go! He was totally amazed by how small the computer was and by how easy it was to set everthing up.
Now, this guy knows nothing about computers. In Windows 98 he would "X out" of programs when he closes them. To him, the internet is the "E" on his desktop (which was IE 4.0, by the way). This non-computer-literate individual who types with one finger sat down and learned how to use his new OS X computer in about an hour.
Of course, I had to use little sayings like "click the compass to go on an internet safari" and "just click the stamp to open the envelope to read your mail" and corny things like that, but amazingly he remembered. He was very worried about viruses and spyware since that was his main problem on the old computer and it was hard to convince him that none exist for his Mac.
Now, he can surf, check his e-mail and print his work schedule and chat with his brother, cousin, and friend from work in iChat. (They use AIM) The printer was recognized immediately and the only thing that doesn't work is the Logitech webcam, even after installing the Mac software it still doesn't recognize the camera.
My only qualm was that the authorized reseller only had the old minis with 256 MB RAM and Panther and wouldn't upgrade to Tiger for free, though he did offer to install the RAM upgrade for free.
Well, just thought I would share a successful switch story, as I have never actually convinced another person to totally switch to a Mac before! His new Mac is nicer than mine!
Now, he is going to show it off to everyone who comes over and try to convince his friends who need new computers to buy one of these. Remember folks, this is a 40 year old man working for a paper mill. If a Mac is that easy for people like him who know nothing about computers and are concerned about working, think about how much good word of mouth like this will do!
For those of you who read through this entire thing, thanks!
Please post your switcher stories here as well! Maybe if the name of the topic could be changed to "share your switcher stories"......
A friend of the family who I haven't seen for about 4 months stopped in where I work yesterday to ask about getting a new computer and what I would reccomend. He has a Compaq Presario back from a long time ago that came preinstalled with Windows 98. It was always booting up into Safe Mode and BSODing all the time, and he was getting fed up.
Anyway, he said he had gone to Dell and they had a nice system, blah blah for $499 but he really didn't need a new screen and printer and didn't want to hassle with rebates and preferred to go with someone "local".
I told him to go downtown to SimplyMac and ask about the Mac mini and to give me a call when he buys it so I can come set it up for him. An hour later I'm done with work, he called to let me know that he had bought it. I called him back to let him know that I would be coming down the next morning to set it up for him and would bring along a new keyboard and mouse for him to have, since his old ones wouldn't work.
This morning (the 11th) I drove 15 miles to his town, hooked it up, configured the internet and Mail settings, and he was ready to go! He was totally amazed by how small the computer was and by how easy it was to set everthing up.
Now, this guy knows nothing about computers. In Windows 98 he would "X out" of programs when he closes them. To him, the internet is the "E" on his desktop (which was IE 4.0, by the way). This non-computer-literate individual who types with one finger sat down and learned how to use his new OS X computer in about an hour.
Of course, I had to use little sayings like "click the compass to go on an internet safari" and "just click the stamp to open the envelope to read your mail" and corny things like that, but amazingly he remembered. He was very worried about viruses and spyware since that was his main problem on the old computer and it was hard to convince him that none exist for his Mac.
Now, he can surf, check his e-mail and print his work schedule and chat with his brother, cousin, and friend from work in iChat. (They use AIM) The printer was recognized immediately and the only thing that doesn't work is the Logitech webcam, even after installing the Mac software it still doesn't recognize the camera.
My only qualm was that the authorized reseller only had the old minis with 256 MB RAM and Panther and wouldn't upgrade to Tiger for free, though he did offer to install the RAM upgrade for free.
Well, just thought I would share a successful switch story, as I have never actually convinced another person to totally switch to a Mac before! His new Mac is nicer than mine!
Now, he is going to show it off to everyone who comes over and try to convince his friends who need new computers to buy one of these. Remember folks, this is a 40 year old man working for a paper mill. If a Mac is that easy for people like him who know nothing about computers and are concerned about working, think about how much good word of mouth like this will do!
For those of you who read through this entire thing, thanks!
Please post your switcher stories here as well! Maybe if the name of the topic could be changed to "share your switcher stories"......
