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Mac or PC?

S

shouldberunning

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 16, 2008
67
0
lol Wait... I'm just kidding. I'm Mac all the way.

My friend wants help purchasing a new notebook. She's Windows but seems open to change, and I think it would be a good time for her to switch. I think the only thing that's holding her back it getting over paying twice as much for a Mac as she would for an Acer or the like.

Does anyone know of a well produced, informative video that I could link to her that really lets the Mac shine?

If all goes well she will be one of us soon. Mwahahahahaha!
 
hmmm I have developed a sort of guide to follow in converting PC's to Mac faithfuls...

1. Find out what they want out of a laptop... if they're planning to use it for work or if they need to use it for work get them to find out if the programs they will need to run for work are compatible with Macs... in my case the company I work for uses programs that will only work on PC's therefore I am stuck with using a PC laptop for work.

2. Dis-spell the myth that the PC laptop that is half the price has better "specs"... when dealing with specs you have to deal with the programs that will be running on the laptop. For example a Vista based laptop will generally have at least 3GB of Ram, usually 4GB, but it is important for them to understand that there are reasons why the Vista laptop requires such large amounts of ram.

3. Inform them that yes they can get windows office for the Mac. (a lot of people do not realize this for some reason).

4. Inform them that the Mac laptop comes with useful programs already installed. iLife!! where as most PC laptops come with junk trials that eat up space and slow down your computer.

5. Inform them that Apple actually has one of the highest rated customer service departments (I know not everyone here will agree) but if you've ever had to deal with any other computer companies customer service you will soon see the difference.

6. Let them know that if they buy a mac laptop right now they will receive a free ipod touch... that they could always turn around and sell to lessen the cost of the laptop..
 
mcmanus7 said:
hmmm I have developed a sort of guide to follow in converting PC's to Mac faithfuls...

1. Find out what they want out of a laptop... if they're planning to use it for work or if they need to use it for work get them to find out if the programs they will need to run for work are compatible with Macs... in my case the company I work for uses programs that will only work on PC's therefore I am stuck with using a PC laptop for work.

2. Dis-spell the myth that the PC laptop that is half the price has better "specs"... when dealing with specs you have to deal with the programs that will be running on the laptop. For example a Vista based laptop will generally have at least 3GB of Ram, usually 4GB, but it is important for them to understand that there are reasons why the Vista laptop requires such large amounts of ram.

3. Inform them that yes they can get windows office for the Mac. (a lot of people do not realize this for some reason).

4. Inform them that the Mac laptop comes with useful programs already installed. iLife!! where as most PC laptops come with junk trials that eat up space and slow down your computer.

5. Inform them that Apple actually has one of the highest rated customer service departments (I know not everyone here will agree) but if you've ever had to deal with any other computer companies customer service you will soon see the difference.

6. Let them know that if they buy a mac laptop right now they will receive a free ipod touch... that they could always turn around and sell to lessen the cost of the laptop..
Click to expand...

TY, very good points. #2 is interesting. When We purchased an Acer Extensa for my daughter it cam with 3G of ram and my MacBook White only has 1g. I expected her computer to smoke mine while playing Warcraft, but it was not so.
 
mcmanus7 said:
6. Let them know that if they buy a mac laptop right now they will receive a free ipod touch... that they could always turn around and sell to lessen the cost of the laptop..
Click to expand...

totally untrue. Unless they are a higher education student, or a teacher, they are completely ineligible for this deal. Almost everyone who comes into my store has this notion that anyone can get that, and they can't. There are actually fairly specific rules about what kind of ID is needed.
 
shouldberunning said:
If all goes well she will be one of us soon.
Click to expand...

And why is that a desirable goal? So that His Steveness makes another billion?

For most people that I know, it wouldn't make any sense to switch to a Mac. The only result for them would be to burn money, lose software compatibility and to end on a system platform with less software choices and available applications.
 
Winni said:
And why is that a desirable goal? So that His Steveness makes another billion?

For most people that I know, it wouldn't make any sense to switch to a Mac. The only result for them would be to burn money, lose software compatibility and to end on a system platform with less software choices and available applications.
Click to expand...

Well, like I tired to point out, the title of this thread was tongue-in-cheek. I don't really want to start a serious debate because it's all been said, over and over again. That's the joke.

On a serious note there are people I suggest to switch and others I don't. I personally don't drink from the Job's cool-aid pitcher.

Sorry, you won't get a debate out of me. :p
 
mcmanus7 said:
6. Let them know that if they buy a mac laptop right now they will receive a free ipod touch... that they could always turn around and sell to lessen the cost of the laptop..
Click to expand...

See here is what I think is wrong with consumerism in general. This is not free, this is a mail in rebate. It doesn't qualify for a discount either. You pay first, then you got your (partially or entirely) money back. That is sort of dishonest IMHO. That's why I didn't get the iPod touch, feels like a rip off to me. But seems highly in vogue in the US.
 
shouldberunning said:
I think the only thing that's holding her back it getting over paying twice as much for a Mac as she would for an Acer or the like.
Click to expand...
If it's about money, forget it. You will never convince somebody that a mac will ever "return" that extra dough unless you point out the durability and customer care aspects of Apple and their products.

Macs are not short term investments. If your friend plans to use the mac for 3 or more years and keep it as "trouble free" as possible, then it will cost her an extra $400-$600.

The build quality and a support network to back it up is the most important part of any purchase. A lot of PC makers can deliver on the customer service but when it comes to making a $500 laptop they are all crap.
 
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