Why people are using expensive Macs .are there any advantages?

[vitzr]

1) Its true what you say but you have to understand that the Mac community reacts rather sharply to such threads simply because its usually the PC guy who is a "elitist snob". Try going on a average computer forum and mention that you are using a Mac, you will start getting hate posts immediately.

2) The problem is that obviously, people don't have much hand on experience with things (the same applies to Mac users which claim that Windows 7 is less stable than OS X, its clearly not). I remember few years ago having a conversation with an IT guy at a party, who was bashing Macs as being user-unfriendly and not suited for professional work. Funnily enough, he didn't even know that OS X was built upon Unix. BTW, last time I heard from him, he bought a Macbook

1a) I participate in several forums dedicated to different platforms, because I enjoy the multi platform experience. You're right there are PC elitist's as well as Apple elitists, it's human nature. That said, I do think that the issue was exacerbated by Steve Jobs. Like Gerry Garcia, Jobs created a massive cult like following, used polarizing slogans in his advertising campaigns and in general painted a picture of Mac Users as smarter, cooler, richer, etc. Kind of a "my daddy is bigger than your daddy" adolescent argument. If Jobs had not been so narcissistic and made such wild claims such as "It's Magical and Revolutionary", the outlook of many a Mac enthusiast might not be so radical and skewed.

2a) This point you've made is one that is so very true. It's a huge issue when the people that act and speak like experts aren't. Especially when trashing a product or service they have no experience with other than to amplify and use heresy.

Cheers

 

[simon567]

As well as general web browsing etc, I use my computer for web design (which I do professionally), various other amateur graphics projects and also a bit of music making (again, just for fun).

My main requirement is a good (not perfect!) quality screen, of a good size and a high resolution. I also want something that's quiet and hey, since it's in my living room rather than the corner of my bedroom, I want something that looks fairly nice as well!

I hardly ever use it for gaming, i have consoles for that, so counting every cycle of a CPU isn't really an issue for me, I just need something that's 'fast enough'.

Until I bought my iMac in May this year, I had a 24" Dell Ultrasharp screen which I paid £530 UK pounds for several years earlier (a good price at the time!) and a desktop PC which, when I bought it, was fairly high spec (but not the best!). It included things like quiet fans, a nice Lian Li case (not as nice as my iMac mind you!) and Windows XP (pre Win 7 times). This also came in at just over £500 UK pounds, so somewhere in the region of £1100 in total. This is around £150 less than my iMac cost (my sister is a student, so I got a discount), which considering the iMac looks nicer, is quieter than my PC ever was and also has a nicer OS (I'm not Windows bashing as I've never really had any problems with it, but I do prefer OSX) doesn't seem especially expensive!

If I was a PC gamer, I would probably buy a high spec PC. If I just wanted to mess about online, I would probably just own a laptop, but for my requirements, the iMac suits me perfectly and comparing like for like, doesn't really seem overpriced compared with what a PC would cost.

 

[dnordstrom]

I use my "expensive" MacBook Pro 15" i7 for work every single day, sometimes 12 hours per day. I'm a web developer, and for this purpose, the Mac is in my opinion far superior to any other OS. The graphical interface is top notch, everything works, and it's simple and keeps me free from distractions.

Trust me, I've played around quite a lot with Linux as well. Just the other night I was trying out both Gnome 3 on Debian and ScrotWM on CentOS, and I use Linux daily as my choice of server OS.

Simply taking a look at how fonts are rendered, windows and spaces are managed etc, makes me stay in OSX. And I still use common Linux tools such as the Vim editor and weechat or irssi IRC clients.

If MacOS did not exist, I'd use Linux with some minimal desktop environment/window manager. But MacOS does exist; it's beautiful, simple, fast, works reliably, and lets me use the best tools available for what I do for a living.

 

[Lankyman]

Anyway, try building a PC which would match the iMacs characteristics (size, power consumption, weight) and still pack the same high-end hardware. Right, you can't. Not for 1000$, not for 3000$, not for any sum at all. In the end, its not so easy to pack an entire computer tower and a LCD panel into the body of a monitor.

Btw, try matching iMac's components to a custom build PC. And don't forget a high-end aluminium case, a high-efficiency PSU, a bluetooth and IR receivers and a 27" IPS display. Of course, you also have to trow the price of Windows 7 and a decent bluetooth keyboard/mouse into the mix. And speakers, obviously. Do all this and you'll see that the iMac is not that expensive after all...

Personally I don't buy into any of the above despite the fact I am at present a Mac owner. I say I am at present because I may well try something different next time around. I mean not many of us buy the same make and model of car each time do we, same goes for other products too so why should computers be any different?

Having a black tower under my desk doesn't bother me one little bit, so long as it's quiet then I'm happy with that. Who cares about who's using what hardware? PC parts are mostly stock off the shelf items. All this hyperbole about the IPS screen is another red herring. I can understand someone who does a lot of video or image editing wanting or needing a good IPS monitor but what about the average Joe? I go on holiday maybe twice a year so have some snaps to download when I get home. A few tweaks here and there, plus rotations, add some music as background and my slideshow is ready - to stream to my 42" TV. For that sort of use I can quite happily use a TN screen and in fact do on many occasions. So could thousands of Mac users and never really know the difference. So for me I can quite happily use most any PC and still be happy. In fact there's nothing more satisfying than starting with an empty tower and finishing with a working computer.

 

[jsolares]

The main reason i got the 27" iMac back in 2010 was because a comparable dell (or custom self built) would've cost me a bit more, i'm not in the US so i had to take that into account since i wanted a 27" ips lcd and shipping for it would've been quite a bit.

had i not wanted a 27" i would've probably gone with a self built.

 

[Djay1]

I have simply had better experiences with Macs versus PCs over the years. I started with an Apple IIc in 1984. The business world required many years of PC usage. I've been heavily exposed to both Windows and OSX. The close vertical integration of hardware and software with Apple always gave me fewer headaches over a span of many years. Also, the Apple machines always seemed to have an edge in terms of the photo processing I've done.

The two operating systems probably have narrowed over the years but I see no need to "rock the boat" in terms of preference after all these years. Plus the close integration of my iMac with my other Apple devices cinches my choice.

 

[McGiord]

I have simply had better experiences with Macs versus PCs over the years. I started with an Apple IIc in 1984. The business world required many years of PC usage. I've been heavily exposed to both Windows and OSX. The close vertical integration of hardware and software with Apple always gave me fewer headaches over a span of many years. Also, the Apple machines always seemed to have an edge in terms of the photo processing I've done.

The two operating systems probably have narrowed over the years but I see no need to "rock the boat" in terms of preference after all these years. Plus the close integration of my iMac with my other Apple devices cinches my choice.

Doing things like tapping on words you don't know to get their meaning is just a tiny perk of what using a Mac is all about.
And other simple things like making a quick snapshot of a selection on the screen to sent it to Macrumors...there are like 5 different steps needed to accomplish that in Windows.

 

[Doctor Q]

I have been using Macs since the MacPlus, and what I can tell you is that there are no better personal computers out there.
You are welcome to the real meaningful world of personal computers, and you are saying that you need to learn how to use a Mac?
HAHAHAHA....where is the Manual?
Say bye bye to those XXXX for Dummies books you were used to buy.

When I do computer training I don't recommend training books for new Mac users, although there are certainly some out there. But nothing like this one, which gave me a chuckle when I spotted it in a bookstore the other day. There's even a sequel, which includes a section on parental controls, which in this case is for grandparental control.

Helping newbies get used to Macs isn't that hard, but I've had trouble teaching the Mac interface to long-term Windows users, who don't think to drag a photo into an email, or who get confused looking for the menus they expect in each application window.

 

[jeffg819]

I use "expensive" Macs for a three reasons.

1) My time is worth something. Since switching to Macs in 2004, I'm sure I've saved a few hundred hours in avoided head banging frustration getting things to work. Even today, using Windows in a virtual machine, I'm still amazed how much time I spend just keeping Quicken in working order! In addition, not having to devote a CPU cycles to antivirus software probably has helped me get my work done faster.

2) Some of the software that comes with a Mac just makes computing easier. I can't begin to count how many times I've printed something to PDF to share with friends and family or to save for later reference. iLife is also a group of programs and I'm enjoying the benefits of iCloud at a "reasonable" price.

3) OS X is constantly updated. The operating system I use today is worlds better than OS X from 2004 (can't recall which cat I started with). And while I use and think Windows 7 is fine, it pretty much works like XP did (at least at my level of use).

Once one opens the cost / benefit equation past acquisition price, Macs, to ME, make a great deal of economic sense.

 

[VPrime]

I am asking functionality . People buy those Mercedes not because they want to spend their money but they want fast , secure and luxury cars

Not true. Take the current gen BMW M3. 4 liter V8 with 414HP, 290 ft lbs of torque. 4.4 seconds 0-60, 13.4 second 1/4 mile.
MSRP $67,550.

Now take the Ford Mustang GT.5.0L V8 with 412HP, 390 FT lb of torque, same 4.4 second 0-60 BUT does the 1/4 mile in 12.7 seconds!
The big kicker?
MSRP of 37,845..

That is almost a 30,000 dollar difference for the SAME performance and technology (they also perform very closely on a road coarse)!
The mustang also comes with GPS ford sync, and a whole whack of other 'luxury' options that the M3 you have to pay extra for!

But that doesn't stop people from buying BMW, ask those people why they bought BMW over Ford and you will get similar type response.

 

[B.A.T]

I don't have kids and have a lot more disposable cash than if I had kids.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

I am not sure what about the iMac is supposed to be "dated".

Anyway, try building a PC which would match the iMacs characteristics (size, power consumption, weight) and still pack the same high-end hardware. Right, you can't. Not for 1000$, not for 3000$, not for any sum at all. In the end, its not so easy to pack an entire computer tower and a LCD panel into the body of a monitor.

Btw, try matching iMac's components to a custom build PC. And don't forget a high-end aluminium case, a high-efficiency PSU, a bluetooth and IR receivers and a 27" IPS display. Of course, you also have to trow the price of Windows 7 and a decent bluetooth keyboard/mouse into the mix. And speakers, obviously. Do all this and you'll see that the iMac is not that expensive after all...

No it's not easy to make a all-in-one and that's one reason their are some many qt issues with the iMac.

----------

1a) I participate in several forums dedicated to different platforms, because I enjoy the multi platform experience. You're right there are PC elitist's as well as Apple elitists, it's human nature. That said, I do think that the issue was exacerbated by Steve Jobs. Like Gerry Garcia, Jobs created a massive cult like following, used polarizing slogans in his advertising campaigns and in general painted a picture of Mac Users as smarter, cooler, richer, etc. Kind of a "my daddy is bigger than your daddy" adolescent argument. If Jobs had not been so narcissistic and made such wild claims such as "It's Magical and Revolutionary", the outlook of many a Mac enthusiast might not be so radical and skewed.

2a) This point you've made is one that is so very true. It's a huge issue when the people that act and speak like experts aren't. Especially when trashing a product or service they have no experience with other than to amplify and use heresy.

Cheers

Richer?

 

[iSayuSay]

Oh and one more thing

Apple products, be they are iOS devices, Mac computers, or even Apple's accessories, they don't have those ugly license/sponsor/warranty stickers on their whole body. I bet could put OSX sticker on it and make it look more official and licensed, but they don't. Thank you for that.

I hate the look of a laptop/computer with "Powered by ..." stickers on it, or even a complete rubbish Windows, Intel, Radeon, EnergyStar blah blah blah logo on it. And most of that, I hate Microsoft COA stickers on laptop. Why do they even think of that?

I used to love them when I was in high school .. Oh look at that, I have Intel inside!! Cool Windows XP logo on my chassis, OMG ... Did I really enjoy that? Embarrassing

Just give us the elegant, clean look and nice material along with it, cut the crap and use logo just at the most minimum requirement.

 

[damir00]

5.Mac is Expensive

If you can provide a link to an equivalent of the 27" iMac that is, say, 30% cheaper, I'd be all ears.

If you can't, the "expensive" claim is unsupportable.

I'm coming up on 20 years with Linux. As far as I'm concerned, Macs provide the finest unix experience, ever. By any usability/frustratability/functionality measure, (eg) Ubuntu is buggy, ugly, hard to use crap in comparison.

 

[Abazigal]

The OP has respectfully asked for some thoughts and opinions on the different platforms. Too bad that one can't ask a question without getting treated so rudely as to be called a troll. No wonder people view Mac users as elitist snobs.

I prefer a Mac, but I don't bash PC's to justify the high profit markup Apple charges. I'm honest about it. It's just business. If you want the Apple OS you're going to have to pay Apples price. It's as simple as that.

You must realise that this isn't the first time this sort of thread has come up (people "innocently" asking about the difference, only to start making veiled inflammatory remarks about apple products). Thus, it is understandable that members here would react this way. Too long have they had to put up with this sort of crap. So you must understand and forgive them should their response come across as rather rude and acrimonious.

Besides, if people really want to find out about the difference, google easily turns up many relevant articles, or the OP could have phrased it in a better way.

For instance, "Hi, I have been a PC user for many years now. Recently, my own comp broke down and I have been thinking about making the jump over to Apple for some time now. However, I am somewhat alarmed by the apparently high cost of even an entry level imac, attractive as its design is. Can anyone tell me what the advantages of using an apple computer are?"

There is a huge difference between humbly seeking honest advice, and sounding like an pompous, arrogant know-it-all.

 

[jediborg]

Dollars and Sense!

I work for a small Tv Station that has about equal number of Macs and PC's. Being the most Computer Literate person there I am often called on to deal with a variety of issues. We have a pc consultant company who handles the virus and major network issues, so I don't even mess with that stuff.
Plain and simple 95% of my time dealing with computer issues are PC related. In the 8.5 years I've been there I've put in our "Parts" closet 6 or 7 pc desktops that have failed, and something like 5-6 pc laptop that are busted. There is also an early model G4 that used to run a PEG channel slideshow 24/7 for about 14 months AFTER it was retired from editing service. A dual G4 with bad logic board is in there, I used it's power supply to rescue a newer dual G4 which had previously died. there is also 2 G5's which bit the dust thanks to the limited design life from the liquid cooled cores.
Still running and in use are a 933mHz G4 that is 9 years old, A 1.26mHz dual G4 that is 8 years old, an 8 year old G4 macbook pro, and 5 iMacs ranging in age from new to about 3-4 years old.
Macs last, pure and simple. My father's business runs off PC's. he replaces them every 2.5 years because after that they start to become unstable. He keeps giving them to the kids. I've got closets and a garage full of old pc's that worked for about 4 months of little kids playing elmo games on them before they crashed. Sure, some just need a new HD or power supply but who has the time to track down that or find out what ram they need.
I got a G4 MacMini that's 6 years old. I put it in a suitcase with a external HD and a stripped down monitor and drag it to high school football/basketball games to capture as we tape the game. I will keep using it til it dies or we no longer have cameras with firewire outputs.
I have a 07 MacPro. With 19GB of ram it still paces my work's newest mac and runs circles around all the others mac there...and I can still add 13GB to it. Yes it was $2,800 to buy compared to a $1,800 PC edit machine, but 4 years later I'd be plunking down another $1,800 to replace it. unless it dies in the next year I'm already $800 ahead.
Oh, and another thing, this is a MAC forum, Why are PC owners even posting here. If you are looking to switch then fine, mac users all have gereat advice, but those bozos who are here to simply boast about their PC user experience or how cheap their pc might have been, average it out into usage. how old is your pc, how much did you pay for it new, how much time has it been used - how much time it's been down/buggy. Cost per usage per year against the original cost will be telling. My mac mini has cost me about 22 cent per day over it's life, and each month that cost gets lower and lower. Using it I've earned about 2x what I paid for it. My mac pro has cost me about $1.92 per day since I got it. and that gets lower and lower. I've paid for it and then some, plus bought more camera equipment for my business.
If I had PC I'd be more concerned with having enough cash on hand to replace a computer should I go down for any reason that would delay production. instead I'm improving my equipment and quality because Macs are rock solid.

Jediborg

 

[Joel Horn]

Here is the truth that PC folks do not want to hear!

Macs work better in almost every situation.

I often travel with business associates who have PCs and my mac is alwasy fastest to find a wireless network, easier to connect and always faster/easier to find networked printers. When we go to a lawyer's or banker's office I can almost always just login and my partners with pcs have to get the IT guy to help them figure out how to get on the network. Then their is reboots; Macs win this one 10:1 or 20:1. The style and the cool factor is just icing on the cake when it comes to pure performance on the road, the pc is pre-historic compared to a mac....sorry to my pc friends.

Joel

 

[anothername]

As someone that's only starting using a Mac the past year, I'll mention one thing most people haven't touched on: Apple itself.

Part of why I am willing to pay more for a Mac is that I actually get an awesome customer experience with Apple. When something goes wrong, I can walk into an Apple store and they deal with it. With my Windows machines, if something goes wrong, it's always up to me to deal with it if it's a machine I built. I've bought machines from places like Best Buy and they don't have any interest in fixing or replacing stuff I've bought from them.

Let me give you an example: I had an Ipad that I accidentally dropped and I broke the screen. I went to the store and even though it wasn't officially covered by the warranty they replaced it FOR FREE. Do you think Best Buy would ever do that? And Apple has done things like this for me on several occasions.

And here's another example: I had an XPS laptop from Dell (bought at Best Buy). I was having blue screen issues and couldn't figure out what was wrong. When I contacted Dell "customer support", it took literally over three hours on the phone and talked with SIX different people before they finally connected me with someone who actually tried to help me. Helping in Dell's world apparently means spending the next three hours doing tech support tasks for the guy on the phone. He actually had me OPEN THE CASE and pull memory sticks out, rearrange them, run tests, repeat. Even though I had paid for their "deluxe" warranty service I spent over 8 hours total doing the tech support for them until they finally agreed to try sending me some replacement memory sticks. Neither Dell nor Best Buy would just let me hand them back my brand new laptop and give me one that would work.

Apple and their retail stores are the only game in town for good support that doesn't force me to waste hours of my time, arguing over what's wrong, waiting for weeks to get replacements parts, etc. I can walk in, hand them my laptop, and get the problem addressed in that visit. I'm happy to pay more when it means I get taken care of very well. No matter how much I'm willing to pay, Best Buy, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, etc. just can't/won't offer me that kind of support. I've never been to the Microsoft store (they only have a couple right now) so who knows if they do anything similar.

For me, this difference is worth paying for. I rely on my computers to be up and available and I can't be waiting around for days/weeks to get running again.

I still use Windows in addition to OSX and like both. Any computer can have problems, no matter who makes it. The question is, when something happens, how easy/fast is it to get it fixed.

 

[benjanos]

Hello asifnaz;

I bought my iMac 2 years ago because I needed a new computer and was tired of all the cables/mess associated with my Dell at that time. My girlfriend had been a Mac user for a long while and I hated ever having to use her MBP, so making this step was a big one for me.

2 years on I love my Mac. I use a PC all day at work and it's a pleasure to come home, boot up the Mac and play! Everything seems to work better, even big things like the OS Lion upgrade were just seamless. I don't even know what a PC like a Dell costs these days, but the iMac's seems like good value to me for such a quality device that will last for a number of year + for me I get an overall experience that PC does not do for me. So for me it's about much more that just $ and specs.

My 2 cents

 

[TrollToddington]

This is what I like about my iMac

• It's an all-in-one design which takes less space. I hate having a big box humming below my desk
• The colours of the monitor are gorgeous and add up for a nice experience with the computer regardless what task I do on it.
• It's absolutely quiet
• I expect it to last 5 years before I upgrade it.
• No cable cluttering on my desk any more. The iMac is powered up by only 1 (one) cable. I can easily take it to the other room without having to plug and unplug a dozen of cables.
• I don't have to take care about where my pictures are stored and where my mp3s are stored. The software takes care about it. The OS also takes care of backing up my HDD.
• I know I've written this several times but I'll repeat it - I am not rich enough to buy cheap things. Why shouldn't I pamper myself with a beautiful machine which makes my desktop look cleaner? I also like the OS
• Image. Whenever I see someone with a MacBook with the glowing apple my initial reaction always is "look at that guy/girl, s/he's got enough money to buy a Mac!". In reality, macs need to be upgraded twice less often (and besides that, they have a better resale value than PCs ) which means macs are as expensive as the PCs. But in the same time, they have a much better design
• Easy to upgrade. Huh? Who upgrades their computer at present? I can easily add more RAM or add an external firewire disk should I need to. The "crappy" video 256MB runs my favorite games (SimCity 4, NFS Underground 2, Civ 4 ) like charm.

 

[colonelbutt]

Can I calmly say that I don't think the iMac is as overpriced as the mac books
The cheapest one is actually good value considering the ips screen and the 2nd generation i5 CPU
I priced up the dell equivalent , and it's actually a very similar price, IPS screens are not cheap and far superior, especially for photo editing.

With the iMac you considerably reduce clutter.

I only use four apps, MS office, adobe Lightroom , Internet browser and steam(valve)

As they are all on ios now I am happy

 

[leman]

Personally I don't buy into any of the above despite the fact I am at present a Mac owner. I say I am at present because I may well try something different next time around. I mean not many of us buy the same make and model of car each time do we, same goes for other products too so why should computers be any different?

Having a black tower under my desk doesn't bother me one little bit, so long as it's quiet then I'm happy with that. Who cares about who's using what hardware? PC parts are mostly stock off the shelf items. All this hyperbole about the IPS screen is another red herring. I can understand someone who does a lot of video or image editing wanting or needing a good IPS monitor but what about the average Joe? I go on holiday maybe twice a year so have some snaps to download when I get home. A few tweaks here and there, plus rotations, add some music as background and my slideshow is ready - to stream to my 42" TV. For that sort of use I can quite happily use a TN screen and in fact do on many occasions. So could thousands of Mac users and never really know the difference. So for me I can quite happily use most any PC and still be happy. In fact there's nothing more satisfying than starting with an empty tower and finishing with a working computer.

You are right of course, and yet you miss the point. The question here is not whether an average joe needs all the goodies which come with the iMac (size, LCD etc.). It's simply a fact that an iMac *has* al this stuff and that's why it can be only compared to a pc with similar characteristics and build quality. Saying "but similar stuff costs less" would be simply an unfair comparison because apple does not use that "similar" stuff.

I will agree with you though that I'd gladly buy a compact cheapish Mac tower if thy had one (aka cube).

Btw, the comparison gets much worse when talking about laptops. I've been to a computer store yesterday, looking at the windows notebooks with my gf (she needs a new one). I was honestly very disappointed. Every laptop that had was either too big, too heavy or too ugly (blinking lights everywhere), the cases felt like cheap toys (you pick the laptop up and the plastic body starts denting under your fingers), and the touchpads are all but catastrophe - after my years of being spoiled by apple they felt like sandpaper. Simply put, even if I wanted to migrate from os x to, say, Ubuntu, I couldn't find a laptop which could even approach apple's in that smooth, minimalist, distractionless and functional quality.

Somehow my impression from all that computer stuff over the last years (and I've been building custom pcs since I was 12) is that in a Mac world, you are the boss of your computer - its simply there, unobtrusive and ready to do what you need without any fuss. In a pc world, the computer is the boss of you.

 

[old-wiz]

I don't have kids and have a lot more disposable cash than if I had kids.

And your Mac won't wake you up at night crying.
And your Mac won't sneak out at night and get arrested.
And your Mac is perfectly happy to be left at home while you take a vacation.
And your Mac doesn't cost $200K to go to college.
etc

 

[Thetonyk123]

well pc's are good to throw out windows. they make a loud bang

 

[cirus]

I had been a Windows PC user most of my life, and had taken for granted that one must diligently defrag hard drives, perform regular adware and malware scans, restart after a crash and other bits of weekly/daily maintenance.

.

Why does everyone bring up the defragmentation of hard drives issue? Its automatic now. Just like most malware scans.