Mac Vs. Pc Commercials

[TogaMario]

Heh, well, it's quite up to date and it happens every couple days or so, and has since I bought it. So the "just turn it off and forget about it" solution doesn't fly. I appreciate the tips, but those haven't helped either, and I've gone through quite a few other motions to try and fix it after I got it. Out of the box, it shouldn't require repair work ... but it does, apparently. I'd like to see them advertise that away. Like I said when I opened this thread, no different than a well kept PC.

"Macs just act wonky once in a blue moon." Yours might, but mine acts wonky once or twice per sitting (barring last night when I had Acrobat / Illustrator / Photoshop and "Preview" crashing constantly from 20kb files, so I had to switch over to my PC to preview a workorder). Within a 24 hour period (not including parts order/shipped) I could diagnose/fix my (or anyone's) PC problems. The fact is with all the time in the world you'll never fix a Mac problem because you can't access all that "esoteric" stuff.

Edit: I could say that even a new PC doesn't have problems out of the box, but it would be a lie. Truth of the matter is manufacturers have flaws, software have memory leaks, hardware will conflict, and operating systems try to juggle it all. I'm not saying all Macs are bad, and all PCs are good. But if you want to have a true range of freedom for all types of applications, you need a good PC. Not a PC from Best Buy, not a 200 dollar laptop, not a $4000 mac. Aside from programmer errors and manufacturing flaws, a good PC will always do more than a good Mac.

 

[tonym]

If it was wonky out of the box, you should've returned it for a replacement. A percentage of everything arrives defective, after all.

The PC mentality of "everything can be fixed if I waste enough time troubleshooting it" doesn't apply to Macs, IMO.

The average Mac works perfectly. Yours must be one of the defective ones.

Tony M

 

[TogaMario]

The same could be said for PCs. But I run a business that requires 24 hour turnaround, and if I send this Mac off to be fixed or replaced, I risk losing a very large supplement to my paycheck over a couple of days. I'll deal with wonky, but I don't like it. Granted, I haven't had a major catastrophe with the Mac yet, and that makes if much better than the first PC I ever owned. But I won't base my whole experience with just one machine. As I said, I've worked with 6-7 different Macs at my previous job, ranging from G3 to G5 and although the nicer G5 system never gave me any problems, it cost the company over $3000.

For the common Mac user, would you say that a major problem generally requires someone else to fix it? Because it's the same for PCs, although, I know enough about mine that I can fix it without paying an over-priced service charge plus parts and shipping. There's no way that you can base an entire brand so generally in advertising, because each user has different needs, and although I applaud Apple's method of making anything potentially hazardous hidden, it certainly doesn't make the entire system more stable. To start off, I can tell you that I enjoy the heck out Garageband on my Mac, but that's not what I use it for. (Edit) Oh, I also like the widgets a lot . It's supposed to be reliable for media production. This hasn't been the case on any of the 8 Macs I've worked with except one (the really expensive one).

(Double Edit) Let's be honest. The average computer that you buy from anywhere works perfectly, regardless of Apple/PC heritage. If you buy it from Target for $200, you're trading money for lifespan. Apple doesn't have a computer for $200, but if they did, you can guarantee some corners were cut, and that sucker would be belly-up in a year or less. The better you arm yourself with knowledge on either side of the fence [and, sadly, the more money you spend], the longer your computer will last and the less problems you'll have. But they don't advertise this, of course, because it's all about who is better, when neither are. Your computer is only as good as the person operating it.

 

[tonym]

...For the common Mac user, would you say that a major problem generally requires someone else to fix it? Because it's the same for PCs, although, I know enough about mine that I can fix it without paying an over-priced service charge plus parts and shipping....

Yeh, I'd say that. With a Mac, a major problem requires somebody to fix it. Just like a PC.

The difference is that an average Mac has very few average-sized problems, while an average PC has many. (A newer Mac, at any rate.)

Average-sized problems are horrible because they might actually be minor, self-fixable problems, but you're not sure. So you take a stab at troubleshooting...

"Let's try...this." But that doesn't work, so you try something else. Then you spend a couple hours researching the problem, then try something else. All this is time wasted.

PCs have so many potential problems, even the computer-fixers at Best Buy have a terrible reputation for not knowing what to do when people bring in their wonky PCs for repair-jobs.

My point is, it's much easier to identify problems as fixible or not fixable with a Mac...which saves time. Plus most problems are fixed easily.


Tony M

 

[TogaMario]

I agree, it's very convenient that I can turn the Mac on and off to fix most problems. It would be nice if Windows was a little less breakable, but as long as it's known that most computer problems stim from poor decisions made by users. A lot of times, it's people doing something they shouldn't have been. But the fact that they could do those things in the first place is unsettling. Maybe they should have two versions of Windows to choose from at startup. "Protect me from myself." and "Bring it on!", lol.

Most of the people at Best Buy (at least the one I live near) can't be real technical support people. I almost applied for a job there a few years ago, but then I talked to a few of them separately on different subjects. It's like they read a website or a pamphlet on computer repair that they can recite, and nothing else.

Thanks for the good counter points, Tony! I was hoping nobody would be close-minded (or downright rude and unexplanatory) with this one. I know PC vs Mac is a touchy subject, but I think we're doing it right, lol.

 

[tonym]

Cool. I was afraid I might be coming across as a Mac zealot.

Haha, protect-me-from-myself mode. Maybe that'll be an option in Vista! Quick, email Bill Gates!



Tony M

 

[Dimwhit]

I was just kiddin' about that actually.

Yeah, I figured you were kidding. You fear my wrath if you actually permabanned me, don't you. Admit it.

Then admit I'm better than you and we can all move on.

 

[Rel]

Yeah, I figured you were kidding. You fear my wrath if you actually permabanned me, don't you. Admit it.

Then admit I'm better than you and we can all move on.

NEVAH!!

 

[R-man]

My wife and I have five computers in our house, three macs and two PC's, of which only two of them (one of each) are new machines. We both are believers in using the right tool for the job and will switch back and forth between the machines regularly.

We use the macs for work, both professional and casual (all my Pc character sheets are in excel on the mac) We also use the macs exclusively for websurfing as they just don't have the problems with spyware and viruses that pcs do.

We use the Pc's for pc specific applications that will not work on the mac, this includes my wifes involvement with Girl Guides Canada and my enjoyment of computer games.

For us the Macs are for work and the PC's are for play.

However we are unusual in that we are comfortable on both machines and are familier with the shortcuts and easy workarounds etc on the machines.

Incidentally the three macs are running OS X ,9 and 8 on the three machines that we have. Yes the system 8 machine is very very old. Performa 6200CD built about 1994-95 or so.

 

[Rel]

For us the Macs are for work and the PC's are for play.

Is it just me or is that hilarious in light of the commercials being discussed?