I have severe buyers remorse.
At first I sounded like everyone in this thread. "I just got it a couple of months ago and I love it!" But as time has gone on, that has quickly changed and basically become the exact opposite. I wish I could have that $1408 I spent on my MacBook back.
My MacBook was originally purchased at the beginning of March of 2007. It was the "middle" white MacBook. 2GHz C2D, 1GB of RAM, "SuperDrive", 80GB HDD.
The "SuperDrive" went bad, and the "top case" started to discolor. So in August I sent it in for repair. System came back a few days later with a new top case, the SuperDrive was untouched, the mouse button no longer worked, and it had about 10,000 (not kidding) more scratches than it went out with. System went back out. Came back with an even worse mouse button, new external casing that had new scratches on it, and the SuperDrive was somehow made even worse. The invoice said that a re-alignment was performed. Somehow this re-alignment took away its ability to read optical discs and made lots of grinding noises. Apple finally replaced it. They replaced it with the "Mid 2007" middle model. 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, SuperDrive, etc. So far it's been problem free.
But that isn't what gave me the "buyers remorse", because even if Apple hadn't cooperated, I live in California and the consumer protection laws are so strong here that I would have been able to sue the pants off of them. Anyway.
After a few months, when the "honeymoon" period was over, I started realizing a few things. First, I found myself in Windows a lot simply because OS X didn't have the software I needed or wanted to use. Even to watch a DVD, I found myself in Windows. Why? DVD Player is awful and the image quality is about on-par with one of those 2002-2003 era Apex $40 DVD players.
So I started asking myself why I even bought the Mac. I didn't use OS X much at all. If I had realized I was going to be using Windows so much, I could have gotten much better hardware for less money.
So I tried to use OS X more. But even so, I still had to switch into Windows if I wanted to use good software or watch a DVD and not have it look awful.
About a month after receiving the new Mac, I had a new HP. SR C2D, dedicated GPU, HDMI output, finger print reader, 2GB of RAM, the whole bit. In fact, you can buy the same system now but with an HD DVD reader (that burns DVDs) for not even $1,000. With taxes taken into account, it's still roughly $400 LESS than the MacBook with a "SuperDrive".
Since then, I've hardly even used my MacBook even after upgrading to Leopard. I just don't see the point in it. I have iLife '08 and Leopard. I even put 2GB of RAM in it.
The software just isn't there for OS X. DVD Player in Leopard is still awful. iPhoto is nice for organizing photos. But thats about it. I only ever used iDVD one time right after I purchased the first system. But really..
Heres the real kicker.. I hardly used OS X for anything, but I had both systems (with Leopard and Tiger) crash more often, combined, than I ever had Windows crash in the 17 years I used it exclusively. I wasn't doing anything either. Just trying to empty the Trash of pictures or click Burn in a "Burn Folder". Ironically, on both systems, Windows NEVER crashed a single time. So it was never a hardware issue, it was always software.
As I said, the software just doesn't do it for me either. I hate how so many utilities want you to spend $5 or $10 or $15 here and there for every little thing you want to do. With Windows, you get countless pieces of freeware to choose from. Look at outbound firewalls for example. Windows has tons of them. Yet OS X only has one and you have to pay for it. I also hate how a lot of utilities have gone from free to crippled shareware, like iFuntastic.
Then there are the issues with the iPod nanos having tilted screens. I'm on my 3rd iPod nano and it still has a tilted screen. Theres also the issues with iPod games. I, like many people, bought quite a few games for the 5/5.5G iPods. Then the new iPods are announced with the ability to play games. Apple nor Steve Jobs EVER give any kind of indication that these already purchased games would have to be REpurchased again to work on the new iPods. But guess what happens? Apple gives us all the finger and tells us all that we essentially threw away all that money we spent on those games. And we don't find this out until AFTER the 14 day return period. Well, I'm tempted to send my iPod nano in again for the tilted screen. It will be the third time. Under California law, if it's not fixed this time, I can demand a refund regardless of the fact that I've had it for 4 months.
Apple essentially lost me as a customer because of the iPod games. They basically stole $50 from me. Stealing $50 from me is no different than stealing $5,000.
But all of my buyers remorse stems from the fact that OS X isn't nearly all its cracked up to be. It's extremely overhyped and not even close to what Apple and the fanboys say it is. Unfortunately, you don't realize that until it is well passed the return date so you're stuck with a system you're disappointed with. Plus the hardware just isn't anywhere near as good as what you get on the PC side. I look at the new MacBooks and I can't help but laugh at how people react to the GMA X3100. Some people say "it's so much better than the Intel GMA 950". Yeah, on paper it is. But the real world performance shows a completely different story. Going from 12 to 14 or 14 to 17 frames per second in some games is essentially no improvement at all. I can get more of an improvement in my GeForce drivers by changing the texture quality settings. The X3100 finally has an MPEG-2 decoding feature that all other GPUs had for nearly the entire decade, but it doesn't matter because Apple doesn't use it. Apple's video decoding is all software based.
Because of the iPod games, and the prices, I won't buy another Apple product. I have an iPhone and I am even on the edge of paying the termination fee, unlocking it, and using it with T-Mobile. Realistically, right now, how can anyone knowingly purchase a Mac? OS X isn't all its cracked up to be, you still have to run Windows. Then when you look at that hardware... why buy a MacBook for $1400 after taxes when around $1,000 after taxes will get you a system with double the memory, more HDD space, a bigger screen, an HD DVD drive with HDCP certified HDMI output? Why buy a MacBook Pro when PCs in the same price range come with much more powerful GPUs or multiple GPUs with up to 1GB or more of dedicated video memory? Buying a Mac just doesn't make sense. If the prices were more in-line with what they should be.. then maybe. But with the way Apple treats their customers (iPod games, AppleCare phone support CLOSING), and the absolutely insane pricing of the systems.. it just doesn't make sense.
At first I sounded like everyone in this thread. "I just got it a couple of months ago and I love it!" But as time has gone on, that has quickly changed and basically become the exact opposite. I wish I could have that $1408 I spent on my MacBook back.
My MacBook was originally purchased at the beginning of March of 2007. It was the "middle" white MacBook. 2GHz C2D, 1GB of RAM, "SuperDrive", 80GB HDD.
The "SuperDrive" went bad, and the "top case" started to discolor. So in August I sent it in for repair. System came back a few days later with a new top case, the SuperDrive was untouched, the mouse button no longer worked, and it had about 10,000 (not kidding) more scratches than it went out with. System went back out. Came back with an even worse mouse button, new external casing that had new scratches on it, and the SuperDrive was somehow made even worse. The invoice said that a re-alignment was performed. Somehow this re-alignment took away its ability to read optical discs and made lots of grinding noises. Apple finally replaced it. They replaced it with the "Mid 2007" middle model. 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, SuperDrive, etc. So far it's been problem free.
But that isn't what gave me the "buyers remorse", because even if Apple hadn't cooperated, I live in California and the consumer protection laws are so strong here that I would have been able to sue the pants off of them. Anyway.
After a few months, when the "honeymoon" period was over, I started realizing a few things. First, I found myself in Windows a lot simply because OS X didn't have the software I needed or wanted to use. Even to watch a DVD, I found myself in Windows. Why? DVD Player is awful and the image quality is about on-par with one of those 2002-2003 era Apex $40 DVD players.
So I started asking myself why I even bought the Mac. I didn't use OS X much at all. If I had realized I was going to be using Windows so much, I could have gotten much better hardware for less money.
So I tried to use OS X more. But even so, I still had to switch into Windows if I wanted to use good software or watch a DVD and not have it look awful.
About a month after receiving the new Mac, I had a new HP. SR C2D, dedicated GPU, HDMI output, finger print reader, 2GB of RAM, the whole bit. In fact, you can buy the same system now but with an HD DVD reader (that burns DVDs) for not even $1,000. With taxes taken into account, it's still roughly $400 LESS than the MacBook with a "SuperDrive".
Since then, I've hardly even used my MacBook even after upgrading to Leopard. I just don't see the point in it. I have iLife '08 and Leopard. I even put 2GB of RAM in it.
The software just isn't there for OS X. DVD Player in Leopard is still awful. iPhoto is nice for organizing photos. But thats about it. I only ever used iDVD one time right after I purchased the first system. But really..
Heres the real kicker.. I hardly used OS X for anything, but I had both systems (with Leopard and Tiger) crash more often, combined, than I ever had Windows crash in the 17 years I used it exclusively. I wasn't doing anything either. Just trying to empty the Trash of pictures or click Burn in a "Burn Folder". Ironically, on both systems, Windows NEVER crashed a single time. So it was never a hardware issue, it was always software.
As I said, the software just doesn't do it for me either. I hate how so many utilities want you to spend $5 or $10 or $15 here and there for every little thing you want to do. With Windows, you get countless pieces of freeware to choose from. Look at outbound firewalls for example. Windows has tons of them. Yet OS X only has one and you have to pay for it. I also hate how a lot of utilities have gone from free to crippled shareware, like iFuntastic.
Then there are the issues with the iPod nanos having tilted screens. I'm on my 3rd iPod nano and it still has a tilted screen. Theres also the issues with iPod games. I, like many people, bought quite a few games for the 5/5.5G iPods. Then the new iPods are announced with the ability to play games. Apple nor Steve Jobs EVER give any kind of indication that these already purchased games would have to be REpurchased again to work on the new iPods. But guess what happens? Apple gives us all the finger and tells us all that we essentially threw away all that money we spent on those games. And we don't find this out until AFTER the 14 day return period. Well, I'm tempted to send my iPod nano in again for the tilted screen. It will be the third time. Under California law, if it's not fixed this time, I can demand a refund regardless of the fact that I've had it for 4 months.
Apple essentially lost me as a customer because of the iPod games. They basically stole $50 from me. Stealing $50 from me is no different than stealing $5,000.
But all of my buyers remorse stems from the fact that OS X isn't nearly all its cracked up to be. It's extremely overhyped and not even close to what Apple and the fanboys say it is. Unfortunately, you don't realize that until it is well passed the return date so you're stuck with a system you're disappointed with. Plus the hardware just isn't anywhere near as good as what you get on the PC side. I look at the new MacBooks and I can't help but laugh at how people react to the GMA X3100. Some people say "it's so much better than the Intel GMA 950". Yeah, on paper it is. But the real world performance shows a completely different story. Going from 12 to 14 or 14 to 17 frames per second in some games is essentially no improvement at all. I can get more of an improvement in my GeForce drivers by changing the texture quality settings. The X3100 finally has an MPEG-2 decoding feature that all other GPUs had for nearly the entire decade, but it doesn't matter because Apple doesn't use it. Apple's video decoding is all software based.
Because of the iPod games, and the prices, I won't buy another Apple product. I have an iPhone and I am even on the edge of paying the termination fee, unlocking it, and using it with T-Mobile. Realistically, right now, how can anyone knowingly purchase a Mac? OS X isn't all its cracked up to be, you still have to run Windows. Then when you look at that hardware... why buy a MacBook for $1400 after taxes when around $1,000 after taxes will get you a system with double the memory, more HDD space, a bigger screen, an HD DVD drive with HDCP certified HDMI output? Why buy a MacBook Pro when PCs in the same price range come with much more powerful GPUs or multiple GPUs with up to 1GB or more of dedicated video memory? Buying a Mac just doesn't make sense. If the prices were more in-line with what they should be.. then maybe. But with the way Apple treats their customers (iPod games, AppleCare phone support CLOSING), and the absolutely insane pricing of the systems.. it just doesn't make sense.
However, if you want to bring company related employee discounts into the mix, I can apply that to either HP or Apple thanks to family members. In that case, the HP still wins by an even bigger margin. That same 14.1" notebook I just mentioned suddenly goes under $900. 
