I think I've lost one

[sotied]

My father has been a Mac user since the beginning (actually was an early Apple II user) and now seems to be ready to leave the fold.

He's got a PC at his home in FL and at his office up here (Boston).

The only Mac he's using is an iMac at the house and his main tie to the Mac is Quicken and his easy ability to write checks and pay bills.

He wants to know why he should stay with the Mac as opposed to just buying Quicken for the PC and becoming completely consistent across all his machines.

I don't have an argument for him because I truly believe that a person should use the machine that works best for them.

That said, I will NEVER go to a PC and have used a Mac since the beginning with a Mac Plus in college all the way up to a G4 Dual and an iBook 1.27Ghz right now.

If you HAD to go with a PC, do you buy for price (Dell) or for name (no idea)?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[grapes911]

If you HAD to go with a PC, do you buy for price (Dell) or for name (no idea)?

Neither. I'd build one myself. I can build a better, cheeper pc than any company can make for me. Plus it's really easy to build them. Its like legos. You plug one thing here and another there. Real simple.

 

[wordmunger]

If the only thing he uses the Mac for is Quicken, then he might as well just get a PC. Since he already apparently maintains a home PC with no problems, then there's not really much to say. As for advice on which PC to get, I have absolutely no idea. Don't PC people have forums for that kind of thing?

 

[sw1tcher]

If he wants to be consistent, he could always dump the PCs and replace them with Macs.

But if he's happy using PCs, then just let him be. I'd just remind him about potential Windows vulnerabilities (e.g., viruses, spyware/adware, security holes in I.E., etc.) that the Mac platform is virtually immune to.

If he's never had any problems before with Windows, then there probably isn't any really compelling reason you can use to convince him otherwise.

 

[sotied]

Yes, and yes

Yes, PC users probably have forums, but I don't trust PC users - that's why I use a Mac and turn to my fellow Macaddicts for advice.

No, he hasn't had much in the way of issues and he really only uses the PC for some email and Quicken. I'm afraid he's going to get slammed with Spyware, viruses, etc....but I'll lay that out for him tonight when I have the "talk" with him.

Thanks for your help.

Jeff

 

[wide]

If I had to get a PC now, it would definately be a Dell.

I'd want a rather big company to ensure good support, so I could choose Gateway (no point -- bad, slow computers), HP (cheap, ugly), Lenovo (no one knows anything about them, and they really don't offer top-end configs), or Dell (excellent support, and the current lineup looks pretty cool). So Dell it would be.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Neither. I'd build one myself. I can build a better, cheeper pc than any company can make for me. Plus it's really easy to build them. Its like legos. You plug one thing here and another there. Real simple.

I submit that you will not be able to buy the component parts for less than the price of a Dell, unless you are willing to pirate the OS.

 

[ITASOR]

I submit that you will not be able to buy the component parts for less than the price of a Dell, unless you are willing to pirate the OS.

Good point. Think about how cheap DELL must get Windows XP Home for...the $299 DELL comes with XP Home!

 

[grapes911]

I submit that you will not be able to buy the component parts for less than the price of a Dell, unless you are willing to pirate the OS.

True. I would never recommend or advocate pirating any software. Windows is expensive, but I am under the impression that he is replacing a computer. I assume he already has a copy of windows. I guess it could just be a recovery disk that won't install on another computer though. Even if he has to purchase windows, I recommend looking into building a computer.

Blast you Canada!!

 

[wordmunger]

Yes, PC users probably have forums, but I don't trust PC users - that's why I use a Mac and turn to my fellow Macaddicts for advice.

I didn't mean to be dismissive, but I don't think Mac users are going to be especially reliable in offering PC advice.

 

[sotied]

Say it ain't so!!

I submit that you will not be able to buy the component parts for less than the price of a Dell, unless you are willing to pirate the OS.

PIRATE the Windoze OS...heaven forbid! But he does have two other PCs. Don't they let you use the OS on each computer you own or are they a tyrannical conglomerate that grubs money constantly from each misguided soul who buys a Windoze (can't say Wintel anymore with Mac's new announcement) machine.

Jeff

 

[Christofari]

if you have an lcd monitor, build one but dell has REALLY good deals usually on dell business with lcds. even building one yourself you cant beat the price. theres not much difference between dell and hp, they both use generic hardware and you can just reformat as soon as you get it to remove the crap they put on it.

 

[grapes911]

PIRATE the Windoze OS...heaven forbid! But he does have two other PCs. Don't they let you use the OS on each computer you own or are they a tyrannical conglomerate that grubs money constantly from each misguided soul who buys a Windoze (can't say Wintel anymore with Mac's new announcement) machine.

Jeff

First, it is spelled 'Windows'. Second you can only install an OS on one computer at a time (just like Apple, the "tyrannical conglomerate that grubs money constantly from each misguided soul who buys" a Mac). If you replace a computer, you may or may not be able to use the disk on another computer.

 

[mkrishnan]

I just wanted to chime in... if it's a notebook, I'd recommend, as I usually do, IBM, because they have much better quality than most others, and their designs are really nice. (Or, I guess, Toshiba, which also receives good quality feedback, although I have personally never liked their H/W.)

If it's a desktop, I tend to agree that you will not be able to build one for less than Dell will sell it to you, unless you choose very specialized hardware. I would say that the biggest differentiator for me between desktops would be the ability to clean install the OS. If you only get the OS in such a way that you have to install all of the junk that the OEM puts on -- stupid toolbars and systray bling and other stuff that just incapacitates the computer while failing miserably to work properly -- I would prefer to stay away from such computers. Although I'm guessing that's the deal with most of the really cheap ones. It's much easier to start without that stuff than to remove it once it's put there without breaking anything. But desktop quality is somewhat less likely to be a big differentiator between brands, because of how modular desktops are, I think.

 

[tsk]

I submit that you will not be able to buy the component parts for less than the price of a Dell, unless you are willing to pirate the OS.

You're probably right. I think you can buy it for about the same price (not exactly sure about OS price since I use Fedora). The main thing you gain is the ability to pick out quality components and exactly what you want (right down to the brand of HD).

 

[sotied]

Contrary, I've found us to be smarter

I didn't mean to be dismissive, but I don't think Mac users are going to be especially reliable in offering PC advice.

While the general population probably sees us as fanatics for a certain OS, I've found that our approach to choosing a computer platform and manufacturer has been based on sound decision making. That means to me, even if you think Mac is best (as I do), you can see the benefit of a different tool for a different use.

When we make an argument for the Mac over a PC (and the spelling Windoze was purposeful), Mac users have known the other options better than most. We can easily make the argument each way because we know the products backwards and forwards.

I've found that we also are open-minded when it comes to seeing what tool is best for a certain job. You don't hammer too well with a ruler.

I would never tell my brother to switch to a Mac because he knows how to work his PC quite well and is happy with it as a tool. My father is a different case because he's been very happy with both but now is looking for the easiest way to make all of his life consistent when it comes to computers.

If he were a Photoshop genius and wrote for a living (as I do) I would push him to switch out the other two machines and go full-on Mac. But the rest of his office is on PCs, he owns two PCs already, and he's looking for the right tool for his projects.

Thanks for your help.

**Are you serious about the Mac OS system disk SINGULARITY? I'm not sure if I've been doing right by Mac since I used one set of system CDs for both of my personal machines. Now they're both updated to 10.39, but if I go to Tiger, can't I use the CDs for both? I'm only able to be on one at a time.

Jeff

 

[grapes911]

**Are you serious about the Mac OS system disk SINGULARITY? I'm not sure if I've been doing right by Mac since I used one set of system CDs for both of my personal machines. Now they're both updated to 10.39, but if I go to Tiger, can't I use the CDs for both? I'm only able to be on one at a time.

Unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn't require activation. Technically you could install it on an infinite number of machines. Legally you can only install it on one machine. You have to remove the OS from one computer before you install it on another machine. It doesn't matter that you are the only user of both computers and you can only use one at a time. There are family packs that come with multiple licenses (five I think).

 

[bodeh6]

I would go for Dell. With all of the coupons circulating the net, they are definitely the cheaper PC companies out there after the coupons. My Dell XPS T450 from 1999 is still going. Just need more power now and am getting a PB.

 

[SurfinSHELL23]

You get waht you pay for. Dell will have poor quality and crap support (despite the reports). I can say this because I own one.

Your best bet is with IBM or Sony.

Brian

 

[BTS]

Acer's support is also outstanding, though their notebooks come with a slightly lower build quality.

On the other hand ASUS notebooks are comparable to Apple *books in build quality, but their support is not as good as Acer's.

 

[mduser63]

I'd build my own because that way I could pick quality components, and do it cheaply. Dell is one of the last companies I'd buy from. I have too many friends who have Dells with problems, and contrary to what is sometimes said, their experience has been that Dell's support is nearly worthless.