benorubin said:
I took the wife to try out an iMac this evening. She seemed to get the hang of it fairly quickly. She was impressed by all the widgets in dashboard and the ease of the iPics and iDVD. She even got used to the mouse, something I am still having issues with (I'm sure I'll get over it). After doing some research, all I need to do is download IE for Mac to get around some website issues. I may not even need to load Win XP.
Now the big question: Is it worth the $500 - $900 over a similarly equipped Dell PC?
I looked at both the 17" and 20" iMac and there was about a $350 difference (the 17" I priced with 1GB of RAM and the larger 250GB HD). I like the bigger screen but she is not convinced we need it (we currently have a 15" LCD). The options we wanted were Office for Mac and AppleCare. Normally I wouldn't consider an extended warrenty but seeing how this is my first Mac, I may need it (any thoughts on this?).
As for the Dell, I priced an XPS400 with a 19" digital monitor and a few other options. It came to $1190 with tax (free shipping, as with the iMac).
I personally would really like a Mac, but it is hard to justify the price difference. We need to make a decision within the week. Keep the comments coming.
Benorubin,
my advice, you want a happy wife, get a Mac. Mine was so pro windows it made my ears bleed. But when I got a mac and didnt have to reboot for 2 weeks solid, she was amazed. When her computer crashed because she got infected, she ran to tell me not to download the attachment. I just smiled and showed her the email, attatchment and all, and a working Mac.
Look, its not the hardware anymore Ben. Hardware you can get anywhere. For the purposes of this thread we wont talk hardware, sufficent to say that you should MAX out your memory. (more on that later, so please read all the way though, ok?) The hardware is not an issue anymore. What you're paying for, the REASON to buy a mac is the operating system. Windows or Mac OS X. Its the OS. Thats why you pay for a Mac. The software, the ease of use, the operating system built on 'nix, no virus', no spyware, no malware, no hakers making your pc a zombie spam machine.
It takes time to get used to the idea, but its sooooo simple people sometimes dont believe it. It just works. (haha.. insert joke here about the .mac outtage) It takes time getting used to the idea that you really DONT have to update your spywareblaster, zone alarm, spybot searcha dn destroy, MS antispyware, and avg antivirus, THEN do your windows updates every day. You dont need to do that every day. Amazing I know. But thats how things work if you build it right, from the start, and continue to do it right, every time, every way, every day.
Please consider this when considering the prices. You can buy that Ford Fiestiva, sure its cheap, its sporty, and it goes... but are you going to have maintainence problems along the way?
Then there's the Mercedes. More than likely you'll pay for it and pay for gas, but little else. It'll just run. And run. And run.... you get the idea right?
Let me give it to you in PC terms. Its called AFTERCARE. Its something that people do NOT take into account when buying a PC. Aftercare is pretty simple. After you purchase it, you WILL wind up having some sort of problem. More than likely you'll need to pay a PC repair tech to fix it. Usally costing well over $150. Thats my expierience. Alot of my customers are dell buyers who wind up calling me when dell couldnt fix their problem, or they got a virus and need the drive cleaned off. Or something else....whatever. Usually people get so fed up with pc repair... and they never account for that in the pricing.
Now, most pc repairs in my shop are software related. Virus removal, spyware removal, XP reinstalls after infection, etc... consider that.
Vs. the Mac, where there are no virus'. And the easiest tip I give ALL my Mac customers. When you first set up your Mac, create a test account on the computer. Call it TEST, or whatever. But create it and leave it alone. Dont log into it, dont use it. When you have a problem, switch to that account, see if the problem still happens on that account. If it does not, the transfer your mailbox, address book and other stuff, and you're done. Easy. Simple. If you'd like to know more about this... just PM me. But I can tell you that I've saved my customers more money by giving them this tip. 9 out of 10, it solves the issue, it was just a hangup on their user account.
Anyways my advice, get the Mac. Take the plunge. Your wife will love you for it. Take the time to get it set up right. if worse comes to worse, you can spend the $150 for Parallels and an OEM disc of XP. ($50 for parrallels and $100 for the OEM disc of XP) Come here on the forum. Ask questions. I cant speak to anyone else's work with XP here, as most seem to be just end users, but since I make my living off of MS and its inability to make a solid, secure OS, I got TONS of advice for how to get your Mac up and running right.
My basic philosophy holds true... If you put out the initial money, time and effort now, 1 week into it, you're going to say it was the best spent money ever. Your family will love the way it works. It will take a few days to get adjusted but once you do, you'll never go back.
PM me if you want to know more.
Bishop
