First off, I have a question: Does anyone know where a Mac machine would be mailed for repair? In Bakersfield, Comp USA is the authorized dealer/repair center for Macs. I have no idea if Best Buy is authorized. In Las Vegas, I would think there are several authorized repair facilities. Perhaps Frys--my Disneyland. I'm not a Mac hater, but I need to say the following: Second, for anyone who thinks Macs never break, that is simply not true. Mac definitely puts out a high-quality product; otherwise, the components are the same as a PC--motherboard, processor, memory, etc. A high-quality PC and a Mac are comparable on many levels, but the PC provides limitless options. Yes, limitless. What is the basic difference between a PC and a Mac? The operating system. When one buys a Mac, he or she is choosing to purchase a computer operating system and its accompanying proprietary software. OS-X (or the 10th release of a Macintosh operating system) is the open source Free-BSD UNIX operating system with a proprietary graphic user interface (GUI). Please correct me if I'm wrong.
The only reason I clown Mac is because they took something that is free and down-loadable all over the Internet, repackaged it, and sell it for an absurd price. Three or four decent quality PCs for the price of one Mac is nuts.
And guess what, Mac components still break--nothing lasts forever. One of my relatives and three people from VBF have approached me in the last month or so concerning a broken or improperly working Mac. And guess what, too, Macs are not immune from viruses as advocates would have you believe. It's just that some 97% of the world uses PCs - why should a hacker write invasive, malicious code to obtain the personal data of some 2.3% of the world's computer market? (Sources available) If you think PC repair is expensive, pay for a Mac repair. If you want to setup a business network, try to do it with all Macs and see what kind of trouble you have. Networking is PC based for a reason. As far as I can tell, Mac problems arrived with the prevalence of iPods. Consumers assumed high-quality mp3 players equated to high quality computers. What's the lesson? Don't believe the marketing hype. Right now it is "cool" to own a Mac, just ask your teenager; but, the market will NEVER become Mac exclusive. I say that to say this: everything is driven by application. Buy a computer based on your needs, not because your children tell you a Mac is better than a PC. If they need it for school, consider how their computer will interface with the school's software requirements. If you want to browse the Internet, a PC is sufficient. If you own a Mac and you've ever seen a screwy looking web-page, it is probably because the web-page was developed for Internet Explorer - the world's most widely used browser. That is not to say IE is perfect, as a web developer I know better. If you want to maintain your office, either PC or Mac will run Microsoft Word, the industry standard, but don't plan on expanding your company with Mac based servers. The standard is PC. If you want to play games, again PC dominates and software developers always develop for PC first. Even Mac users who like gaming own a PC. If you work in graphic arts, Mac is the industry standard, but PC will run the same professional software and render the work just as effectively and in some cases faster. If you are a rock-star, you don't need a Mac, you need an iPod to play your backing tracks. Mac is a great tool for song-writing using its built in Garage Band software (based on Sonic Foundry's (now Sony) Acid loops based software - yes, the PC did it first).Mac is still used in pro studio recording with Protools. However, we built a PC based Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) in 2000 using an M-Audio asio sound card and Cakewalk (for multi-track recording). Like I said, I'm not a Mac hater. Just think about what you need before you make a decision to purchase. I gotta hand it to Mac in one area in particular: It usually works every time you turn it on.Then again, so do all of my PCs. Trivia question: What mp3 player comes with built-in Wi Fi (internet), wireless file sharing (no cables), FM tuner (radio), customizable background graphics, 3.2" lcd monitor (bigger screen), higher resolution for television output, unlimited downloads for $15 per month (1 pass good for 3 players), social networking, 4.5 ounces (lighter), and high-quality headphones right out of the box - all for the same price as an iPod? Microsoft Zune! It also plays more industry standard audio formats than iPod. That said, iPod owns only 72% of the mp3 player market. G <>< |
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