Letters to the Editor
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Who the hell can afford Macs any more?
I own one. I like it. It's a fine computer for writing and everything. But I bought it used, during the dot-com bust. And when the new Mac applications come out, which won't run on it, I sure won't be able to go out and buy another one.
And for the price of upgrading it with a third-party processor system, which will be buggy and will probably crash and burn anyway, I could buy a very fast Windows machine - already built. (I wouldn't even do that; I'd buy the parts and upgrade an old throwaway computer.)
This will pain my California friend who has several Mac's, who is about ready to sweat the obsolesence of her fastest Mac (she's thinking of turning it into a Linux machine, in other words, a model-train computer that can't run any real applications and requires more care than a baby with AIDS). Sorry, but I'm going to use my Mac until its wheels fall off, and then I'll switch to cheap, functional Windows machines. And Bill Gates can sell his overpriced machines to his millionaire buddies, because nobody else will be able to afford them.
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A lot of people can afford a Mac
The entry-level MacBook is a powerful laptop, equipped with a 2.0 Ghz processor, 1 GB of RAM, a great OS and other features (like built-in iSight and Front Row software), and it goes for $1,100 ($1000 with a student discount). PC makers sell cheap laptops, but you have to mix and match far more than you do with a Mac. You also get the tech support that Consumer Reports has long rated as the best in the industry for customer satisfaction, along with a community that's always glad to help you out. You can't put a price tag on some things.
The entry level iMac goes for the same price and has still better features (but also includes a dedicated video card as well).
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Bill Gates?
Also, Bill Gates can sell his overpriced machines?
That should have been a tip-off that you don't know what you're talking about and haven't tuned in for years, if ever.
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I think he meant Steve Jobs, not Bill Gates?
But anyway, that is the first time I've EVER heard a Mac user contemplating giong back! That's so neat! But if I did that, I would just go all the way and get myself a Commodore 64 and be done with it.
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QuietMind and Anonymous, an explanation.
Yes, I meant Steve Jobs. My bad.
But I maintain a $1000 laptop costs too much. A $500 laptop costs too much. When Jobs releases a new functional laptop for $250, let me know.
And I do like my Mac. But my Mac doesn't like me back. It can't be upgraded, unless I go to people with mysterious "processor upgrades" that look like a component from a nuclear weapon in a movie, all heat sinks and stray wires. Apple does not approve of those and they are only made by one guy, and software compatibility is iffy. That's as bad as buying a new Mac at retail.
Meanwhile, for that $250 (which is what a laptop SHOULD cost) I can still put together a functional, fast PC from a used, discarded case, working power supply and hard drive. Kinda heavy to carry around, but at least I can still afford my daily bowl of gruel.
Since I'm used to women taking everything I have, spitting on me and leaving me in the dust, I can still get along with my Mac. It's familiar treatment. And I can understand how there is an army of masochists - rich masochists, needless to say - who would never take anything but a Mac. But at least I can see there are alternatives to the wifely head-bashing Apple regularly gives to its codependent lovers. I guess you can't.
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An old axiom
You get what you pay for.
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Tomreedtoon, I call BS.
You say that you can't upgrade your system. You have an older PPC Mac, but all Macs made in the last few years use industry-standard hardware/peripherals. Starting first with the Intel (Dual 2 Core, Xeon, etc.) processors. The memory (DDR2), hard drives (SATA), graphics cards (pci-e), etc. You can use off-the-shelf PC components to upgrade them easily and without much fanfare. Secondly, all Intel Macs can run Windows, thus giving more benefit to the user. Modern Macs compare favorably to equally equipped PCs. Your statement of a $250 PC... You'll need the money you saved to buy all the software to protect you from the adware, spyware, malware, worms and viruses.
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Apple bias?
Machinist, I haven't heard you mention how incredibly well abacuses have done in the past, oh, thousand years. Are you an abacus-basher?
Seriously, I don't see why people get bent out of shape when Apple shows some success or someone states a preference for Macs. No one is forcing you to switch, so pick the OS you most prefer and relax. What's not interesting is why you dislike Apple. What is more interesting is trying to determine how Apple's MacOS manages to compete successfully with Windows, or the iPod with Walkman... Could it be that Apple does a better job of building a community for its consumers than others? If that is the case, then I'd say there's room for improvement - and also hopes for other players to build an even better community.
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So, in other words, Mr. Tangent...
...I can upgrade a Mac, but to get a model that can be upgraded I need to buy a NEW Mac? Kinda pointless, isn't it?
I knew what I was doing when I bought the Mac I have (a "Sawtooth" motherboard silver-plastic-case job). I knew I was buying what Steve Jobs would eventually turn into a boondoggle. But I accepted that deal with the Junior Devil, because I liked the way Macs work when you write. Better than the ungainly Word. For that I was willing to sacrifice. And I don't need to run the latest or most complicated software on it. I have four Windows machines in various levels of power for those.
Oh, and for the record...you don't always get what you pay for. You have to pay attention before you pay money. Case in point, the iPhone, the most recent Apple boondoggle. The various soap operas built around that product will be going on for years...software, phone providers, lockouts, hacks. And all that expense to show off a phone for bragging rights.
The person buying a new Mac today will be crying five years from now when the latest Apple software won't run on it. If you can only afford one computer...and with the coming depression one computer will all you'll be able to fit into your cardboard box living arrangement...a Mac is not a wise choice.