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I bill $50, maybe I should increase my rate :mad:

I bill more then both of you and use a PC :) I still don't understand the argument of saving money overtime. Can someone please explain this to me? How would someone who is pretty technical save money over time using a Mac?
 
My friend from college has this same 17" Pavilion running Vista except he got his with all the features. It ran him a little over 2 grand. He has sent it off to HP 6 times in the past year. Hist battery lasts 47 minutes with only Firefox pulled up. His hard drives have crashed twice. And now HP is telling him that they have know idea what is wrong with it.
 
Dang it Microsoft! This is by far the worst ad ever! There isn't anything telling about the product. They need to watch themselves.
People still don't get that there are many, many reasons why Macs are more expensive.

I find this funny. Best Buy website:
-AMD Turion™ X2 RM-72* dual-core mobile processor for true multicore processing
HyperTransport™ 3.0, AMD PowerNow!™ and AMD CoolCore™ technologies to extend battery life; improved security with Enhanced Virus Protection.**
Not a great processor. Even though my PC works better on a single AMD than a single Intel I would much prefer an Intel Core 2 Duo over that. I'll get to the "extended battery life" later. Virus protection? Pfff. If you were on OS X there chances of you getting a virus are very, very slim. And you're going to have more of problem keeping the OS stable than viruses since it has Vista.
-4GB DDR2 memory
For multitasking power, expandable to 8GB.
All but one Mac now has DDR3 standard.
- Built-in HP Pavilion webcam with microphone
Makes it easy to chat with and send video mail to family and friends.
Already a standard in all Mac notebooks.
- 4 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
For fast digital video, audio and data transfer. 1 eSATA/USB combo port.
The MacBook Pro has firewire, which is faster than high-speed USB 2.0.
Weighs 7.8 lbs. and measures just 1.7" thin
For portable power.
-The 17-in MBP is a lot smaller and lighter.
Good battery life
Of up to 2 hours and 30 minutes.
HAHHAHAHA! Good battery life?! 2 and a half hours? The shortest an Apple notebook's battery last is 4.5 hours.
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system with Service Pack 1 (SP1) preinstalled
For a stable platform from which to launch games, programs and applications.
There goes half your sales! They should just start shipping computers with Windows 7 beta. And stable? I don't think so.
 
I couldn't make it past the first page at the sheer SNOBBERY of the Mac fanatic crowd on here who will find any way they can imagine (and it IS imagination) to make fun of PCs when the TRUTH is that Apple's hardware IS way overpriced with too few mid-range options. You go from a joke (the Mac-Mini with laptop parts and 1GB of ram for $599, which is ABSURD for that price range compared to the desktop PC you could get for that much money) to a bunch of laptops-in-monitors to the only true desktop out there STARTING at $2499 (with a lousy 3GB of ram and a tiny 640GB hard drive!?!? WTF!?!? That's just plain ridiculous). Don't even get me started at the PC you could buy for $2499. Even the 8-core Mac Pro at $3299 only comes with a 640GB hard drive. When you can get a 1.5TB drive for $120, there is NO EXCUSE for Apple to be such cheapskates on parts when they are robbing you blind for what they do give you. And yet people have the flipping NERVE to make statements about Apple having QUALITY parts. That must be some high quality TINY hard drive there because it's ridiculous what they charge for hard drives and ram. You can now get true quad-core PCs for under $1000 (with fast desktop grade parts, not slow laptop crap). Apple's ONLY quad-core costs $2499 to start with that whopping 3GB of ram and killer 640GB hard drive....

If one good thing might come out of a commercial like this is that it might actually clue Apple in to how RIDICULOUS their hardware offerings are at this point in time. I like OS X better than Windows, but I'll be looking at a Hackintosh or Psystar machine the next time around. Apple seems to think they can charge anything they want because of their virtual monopoly on hardware for the OS X operating system and I'm actually glad that Microsoft is pointing that out for all to see. Maybe they can actually embarrass Apple into offering something better in the future.
 
I just wanted to drop in my two cents. I don't have the time for anything else.

I posted this at another forum and don't feel like editing it. This goes after the nonsensical "total cost" argument that people like to throw around.

But first, let me point out that yes I am typing this on a UniBody MacBook running Leopard with iLife '09.

First, Windows "upgrades" do not cost nearly twice as much as OS X upgrades. A full version of Vista Home Premium 64-bit runs you $99.99 over at Newegg.com with free shipping.

This whole nonsense about total cost of ownership needs to finally be put to rest as well.

Apple's retail stores do not exist everywhere. I live in Southern California and the closest Apple store to me is a 75 mile round trip. So for most people in the world, the Genius bar (which has to send the machine out for repair anyway) is inaccessible. That means calling up support and having a box sent to you. The only problem is that Apple Care closes in the evening. So even if you paid $350 for that warranty for your MacBook Pro and it just happens to be passed a certain time at night, you have to wait until the next day to call in for that box to be sent out. The best part about Apple's support, however, is that if you don't have AppleCare and you're passed the 90 days, you have to pony up a credit card so they can authorize a charge of $60 just in case your problem is software and not hardware. So lets compare, shall we? With HP, Dell, etc, and the standard warranty, up to 1 year I can call in and have a box sent to me if I think something is wrong. With Apple, after 90 days on the standard warranty, I have to give up a credit card number with the possibility of being chard $60 to diagnose hardware issues. After its determined to be hardware, then they send you a box. If you live in the US and own a MacBook you better pray to whatever higher power you do or don't believe in, because its going to Flextronics for repair and I can tell you from experience that it will come back in worse shape than it went out in.

To make things even better, if you bought the extended warranty from Dell for your consumer machine, you get accidental damage coverage as well as on-site support. Someone will actually come to your house and fix your computer rather than you going to some "Genius Bar" who determines your hardware needs to be sent out for a week or more and be returned in worse condition it went out in.

Same goes for HP's business extended warranty. HP's consumer warranties offer accidental damage coverage as well as coverage for peripherals bought from the HP site.

Now lets look at other things. Let's say you're like most people and didn't buy an extended warranty. Oh, your optical drive died a year out of warranty. On most PC notebooks all you need to do is go to newegg.com, lay down $50 for a drive that will most likely be significantly upgraded from the one you had, get it, remove the battery and loosen one screw, pull the drive out, slide new one in, reverse process, done. On a MacBook? Well, if you have the non-UniBody systems, be prepared to perform full system surgery. UniBody systems are only half as difficult to work with. But thats after laying down anywhere between $150-$250 for a drive that is most likely used and not upgraded in any way.

Now lets look at cost of hardware. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220483 $1,299. Same as the UniBody MacBook but competes with the UniBody MacBook Pro at $2,499. What advantages does it have over the computer costing $1200 more? Full size ExpressCard 54, a faster GPU, a higher resolution screen, a 7200RPM HDD, 4 USB ports, 1 eSATA, HDMI, a memory card reader, a 30 day bad pixel warranty, a 2 year standard warranty on top of a 1 year accidental damage warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152099 Now what does this have compared to the $2,499 MacBook Pro? Well, it does have the same processor as the $1,999 MBP, so that is a downside. But it has a 7200RPM HDD, a 1680x1050 screen, a blu-ray reader/DVD writer combo drive, full size ExpressCard, a carrying case, a faster GPU with a full 1GB of video memory, HDMI, eSATA, memory card reader, etc.

Now lets look at software. Anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, basically any types of "Security" software that you only need if you're not too bright are all free. AVG, AdAware, Comodo, etc. IT's all free for personal use. But you don't need it as long as you have a bit of common sense.

Let's look at the bundled software. iLife. Okay, let's look at iPhoto. iPhoto does have neat features that do or don't work depending on who you talk to, like Faces. But for old fashioned organizing and printing, Picassa, Windows Live Photo Gallery, HP Photosmart Express, and countless others all do an equally as good job. In fact, HP's software (free to everyone) let's you make and do all of the same neat photo book stuff as iPhoto. But you know what makes it better? You can print it on your own paper and equipment. You can literally make a book for less than half of what Apple charges, plus you can put more in it and control every aspect of the design instead of choosing Apple's pre-made pages. The best part is that none of that software costs a penny, and if they don't yet have a feature that iPhoto does, they will get it and it won't cost you $80. Not to mention the fact that none of that software is as snail slow as iPhoto. I know people that have been Mac users their entire lives that avoid iPhoto like a plague because it is so slow to import. And I agree. On my Mac it takes forever to import pictures. On my PC? I pop the memory card into the reader and the entire card is read and copied in the just a couple seconds more than it takes for iPhoto just to open and recognize the camera.

Next up is Garageband. Garageband is nothing special. When you consider the fact that you save anywhere between $500-$1200 or more by going with a PC over a Mac, you can get something like this: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/SessionwithFastTrackUSB.html better software than Garageband and a significantly better audio interface than what is included on any PC or Mac.

iMovie and iDVD are irrelevant. Why? Because digital video cameras come with their own video editing software. And not just cheap run of the mill junk either. I remember years ago I bought a $50 TV tuner that came with full version of their http://www.ulead.com/runme.htm software. Not crippled trialware or a then previous version. But the full working and then current version of their video editor, DVD creator, and other video related software. So it makes absolutely no sense for the average person to downgrade to iMovie and iDVD when their digital video camera most likely comes with far more powerful and equally as easy to use software.

Now let's talk about longevity. Some people say Macs last longer than PCs. How is that even remotely true? A MacBook with a Core Duo 2GHz and 2GB of RAM and Intel GMA 950 from 3 years ago is no different than a PC with the same specs from that time. How is that MacBook going to last longer? Especially when you consider the fact that the plastic MacBooks were some of the most poorly built computers ever. I know this from experience. In the year and a half from my original purchase, I went through two with a total of being out for repair for a combined total of 2 months thanks to cracking plastics. Which is funny because after the first system was replaced after several botched repairs, I barely used the second system and it still managed to get major cracking in various areas of the case.

So how does the total cost of ownership come in to play again? PCs cost less, have free equivalent software or, in the case you have to buy it, you still come out several hundred or even a thousand dollars less than a Mac that isn't even hardware equivalent. Extended warranties offer more coverage and support and, in some cases, a person is sent to YOU not the computer sent away. So, how are Macs a better value? I own a Mac. It's my third one thanks to botched repairs that were a result of poor build quality. I truly wish I could have just gotten my money back. I would have sold the UniBody MacBook I eventually ended up with if the economy hadn't tanked and nobody wanted to buy it for less than half of what it was worth.

I also want to add another thing. Upgradability. Let's say that, when USB 3.0 comes out, I want to add it to my computer. Thankfully my PC has a full size ExpressCard slot. A small card later and I have more Firewire, eSATA, and USB 3.0. Want USB 3.0 or eSATA on a Mac? Well, better hope Apple supports it first! And if they do, toss out your current system and buy a new one. Add that to your total cost of ownership. And what about the dongles? If I want to connect my MacBook to an external display I need any one of a number of dongles. If I want to connect it to my HDTV I need either a mini-DisplayPort to DVI connector with DVI to HDMI adapter or a mini-DisplayPort to HDMI adapter made by a 3rd party, as well as a mini-TOSLink to TOSLink adapter and an optical cable to get audio. That also means I don't get any of the current high end "high definition" audio formats available on blu-ray. With my notebook PC I have HDMI, its all done on one cable with support for 8 channel linear PCM over the same cable or passing the Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master HD signal to my receiver. Add that to the total cost of ownership as well.
 
Ok... PCs are cheaper but... you get to run Windows...

I have saying for thta: is not the place, is the company.

Before you read further, I run Linux on most of my machines. I like Windows for gaming only.

Two things:

1. Learn how to type.

2. There are a couple of things stopping me from buying an Apple product, other than an iPhone. The first is the price. If I can buy a computer for half the price with the same specs, I am going to buy it. Second, it is a closed system. I can go to almost any store and buy upgrades for my PC. I can not build a system on my own and install OS X, and upgrades cost way too much. For example, Apple wanted nearly $200 to upgrade a Mac from 1gb of RAM to 4gb of RAM. I can do the same upgrade on a PC for $59!

I do, however, recommend Macs to people who are computer stupid. Yes there are people out there still like that. Because it is closed source, these individuals have less to worry about.

With all that being said, if someone can give me a LOGICAL reason why I should switch, then I may listen. Be advised, the typical "fanboy" arguments do not work.
 
With all that being said, if someone can give me a LOGICAL reason why I should switch, then I may listen. Be advised, the typical "fanboy" arguments do not work.
One word: Leopard

Forget hardware, design, etc. I'll assume i find the same exact specs on a Windows PC for $500 that i paid for my new iMac ($2000) guess what.. i'd still pay $2000 for the Mac for OS X alone!
 
My friend and I always laugh at these Windows ads. They are hilariously horrible attempts. Everything about this ad makes PCs seem uncool and bland. Above all the color correction is stale and yellow and makes the experience of buying a PC seem horrible. "Oh man I can't wait to go stand under ugly fluorescent lights and compare all these bland looking machines and make an economical, unexciting decision."

I mean, is portraying PC buyers as uncool really gonna help sell PCs? Isn't the whole point of advertising to make things, and the people who buy them, seem cool? Couldn't they at least make an ad with vibrant colors and shoot it in such a way as to make the buying experience seem the least bit enjoyable? This is painful stuff to watch.
 
In all seriousness, none of the Microsoft ads have impressed me, except that foreign one where a boyfriend couldn't remove his girlfriend's bra without getting past Microsoft security. Not that I think Microsoft's security is all that great necessarily, but at least the ad had some vibe and character to it. All this other stuff they've been putting out domestically, I mean... who the hell do they have for an ad agency? And why haven't they fired them already?

Those ads don't look like professional ads. They look more like... amateur hour on YouTube or something.
 
Those ads don't look like professional ads. They look more like... amateur hour on YouTube or something.

Exactly, and I think the effect is that it makes the Apple ads, with their attractive colors and sharp images looks all the more attractive, and the image of the PC seem all the more bland and completely in line with the I'm a PC guy.
 
Sorry guys, but I think the ad makes a great point. Macs are not for everybody - we know it, Apple knows it, in fact it's probably part of the appeal of the product for some.

(Disclosure: I am typing this on my MacBook Pro, but could also never give up my self-built Windows PC).
 
For example, Apple wanted nearly $200 to upgrade a Mac from 1gb of RAM to 4gb of RAM. I can do the same upgrade on a PC for $59!

Anyone with half-a-brain doesn't buy memory upgrades from Apple. They order DIMM's from OWC or some other source and install it themselves (like you describe doing on your PC). For example, I can buy a 4GB RAM upgrade for my MBP for $59.99 from OWC.
 
Now see funny you mention industrial design of a mac. To me they are now taking the easy route design wise instead of progressing computers design. Oh I add black and its a new design. I'm all for the Unibody technique but thats one of those processes where you just wonder why this wasn't already being done. I'm not saying I don't like the look of my Mac, but their are computers out there that catch my attention, to me I skip past the mac now because I feel "its been done."

I'd have to agree with you there. If anything Apple's industrial design is becoming more.. um.. conservative? mainstream? The radical but awesome designs of the G4 MDD or even the earlier B&W G3 is long past I think.

Considering it's what helped set Apple back on track with the multi-coloured iMacs and clamshell iBooks, and even all-white iBook, it's a shame to not see them taking such daring design risks now they're 'safe' and don't have to. They're going more for the premium image now rather than the different image.

Well you obviously don't own any Armani suits :)

Very true! I wouldn't be caught dead in any suit, even at my own funeral. :)
 
With all that being said, if someone can give me a LOGICAL reason why I should switch, then I may listen. Be advised, the typical "fanboy" arguments do not work.

Well, if you have to be talked into it, then maybe you shouldn’t buy a Mac.

Look, I’m not a fanboy. Sure, I have a MacBook and I like it a lot, but I also have a Dell Vostro 1700 dual booted with XP and Ubuntu – AND I like it a lot was well. By the way, my Dell cost $1000 more than the MacBook.

I don’t think anyone HAS to switch. I didn’t. I still use other operating systems. In fact, I think I’ve got the best of both worlds as virtually every piece of software is available to me.

But if I could only buy one laptop, it would be the MacBook – and I would dual boot it with XP. It’s like having two laptops in one.
 
2. There are a couple of things stopping me from buying an Apple product, other than an iPhone. The first is the price. If I can buy a computer for half the price with the same specs, I am going to buy it. Second, it is a closed system. I can go to almost any store and buy upgrades for my PC. I can not build a system on my own and install OS X, and upgrades cost way too much. For example, Apple wanted nearly $200 to upgrade a Mac from 1gb of RAM to 4gb of RAM. I can do the same upgrade on a PC for $59!

That's definitely not recently. Currently the only Mac with 1GB memory is the base Mac mini and it's $150 to upgrade it to 4GB, not $200.
And as a previous poster before me stated, we can get 4GB of ram and put it into a Mac ourselves just as cheap as someone can do it to their PC. If it's Mac Pro or Apple notebook, other than the Macbook Air, it's just as easy to upgrade the memory.
 
Everybody Knows

Hey,
What can you say.... Everybody knows you get what you pay for! I always explain it this way. Remember Beta and VHS, Beta had a great picture no tracking errors was smaller and all around had better quality. It failed because it was more expensive. People want CHEAP and ended up being stuck with crappy VHS. Kinda like Windoze.....
 
Never thought I'd see the day that self-proclaimed Mac snobs are defending Windows/PCs because they ran into someone with "too much" Mac snobbery that was over the line to them. LOL
 
My Say

A few mistakes from a tight budget ad:
30lkz6t.jpg

The next clip two seconds later:
33vlquq.jpg


I believe those are macs, your not cool enough to buy those:
29nidyd.jpg


Casting FAIL:
b9j2me.jpg
 
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