Jump to content

are macs overrated?


jonathan_matos5

Recommended Posts

  • Members

If you get one, get "Applecare", their 3-year extended warranty. It's worth the extra money when the hardware starts having problems a year after you bought it.

 

Within two years, my iMac's superdrive got buggy, the lcd screen has two dead pixel lines, and the hard drive just crashed (for good, lost all my {censored}).

 

But you know what? As pissed as I am right now, my next computer will likely be another iMac. Windows is simply not an alternative for me, and while I like the idea of a Linux system, I don't have the time/motivation to learn how to handle/maintain another operating system. OSX is where it's at for me, OS-wise. And the iMacs are great value for the money. BUT I WILL SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY ON APPLECARE NEXT TIME, AND I WILL BE BITTER ABOUT IT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 65
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

 

If you get one, get "Applecare", their 3-year extended warranty. It's worth the extra money when the hardware starts having problems a year after you bought it.


Within two years, my iMac's superdrive got buggy, the lcd screen has two dead pixel lines, and the hard drive just crashed (for good, lost all my {censored}).


But you know what? As pissed as I am right now, my next computer will likely be another iMac. Windows is simply not an alternative for me, and while I like the idea of a Linux system, I don't have the time/motivation to learn how to handle/maintain another operating system. OSX is where it's at for me, OS-wise. And the iMacs are great value for the money. BUT I WILL SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY ON APPLECARE NEXT TIME, AND I WILL BE BITTER ABOUT IT.

 

 

Here in Norway at least, Applecare doesn't give a lot of extra rights to the consumer on top of what the consumer law does. We have 5yr warranty on all laptops/mobile phones etc by law. I would think you have similar laws in the EU as well.

 

My MacBook Pro was sendt in to be fixed last weekend, and it is over 1yr old. I haven't got any applecare-deal, but they still fix it free of charge, which is nice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Here in Norway at least, Applecare doesn't give a lot of extra rights to the consumer on top of what the consumer law does. We have 5yr warranty on all laptops/mobile phones etc by law. I would think you have similar laws in the EU as well.


My MacBook Pro was sendt in to be fixed last weekend, and it is over 1yr old. I haven't got any applecare-deal, but they still fix it free of charge, which is nice.

 

 

That is way better than what we get here in the US. on cell phones we get a year, but computers if you dont buy an extended care plan the manufacturers warranty can be a month or less

 

I bought a compaq desktop about 5 years ago (i know now that buying HP or compaq is a bad idea) it crashed 2 weeks later and the store wouldnt fix it because of their "arrangment" with compaq. i called compaq/HP and they said ship it to us and we will fix it but they wanted everything that came with the desktop i purchased. I checked the shipping cost and it was more than i paid for the computer. Im never dealing with that store or compaq again:mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

That is way better than what we get here in the US. on cell phones we get a year, but computers if you dont buy an extended care plan the manufacturers warranty can be a month or less


I bought a compaq desktop about 5 years ago (i know now that buying HP or compaq is a bad idea) it crashed 2 weeks later and the store wouldnt fix it because of their "arrangment" with compaq. i called compaq/HP and they said ship it to us and we will fix it but they wanted everything that came with the desktop i purchased. I checked the shipping cost and it was more than i paid for the computer. Im never dealing with that store or compaq again:mad:

 

 

Under warranty, it shouldn't have cost you a penny to send it to Compaq to get repaired. I had a Compaq laptop that got f'ed up after a few months, sent it to them 4 times I think (4th being for a refund). They paid for all of the shipping... They sent me an empty box with shipping tags, and I just put my laptop in the box and slapped the tags on, and off it went. And they fixed all the minor issues, but never dealt with the overheating that caused games to crash (video card was overheating and ceasing to function properly, I think), and the mouse touchpad was burning hot to the touch. I decided to never get an HP/Compaq computer again after that. They even tried to find reasons to void my warranty on me - When the guy was troubleshooting network issues with me, he was asking if I had tried removing the network card and putting it back in, suggesting that I should... But opening my laptop and messing with the insides would've voided my warranty. Now I have a self-built PC that has caused me little grief.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think Mac's are very overrated for the hardware specs you get. If you like the Mac OS, then they're great though.

It is possible to install the Mac OS on pretty much any PC hardware, but if you want to get into that then you really wouldnt consider paying extra for an Apple to begin with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Is Sibelius Mac-exclusive? Is there some functionality that you gain with the Mac version that isn't there with the Windows version?


The only compelling factor for the Macintosh, IMO, is iLife. If you think that you'll see some value from GarageBand, iPhoto, iWeb, and iMovie, then you should probably get the Mac. Just keep in mind that the Mac doesn't come with a word processor, spreadsheet app, or anything office-related, unless you buy iWork or Office for Mac 2004 with it. That might come as a shock when you need to write a term paper, and there really aren't any good, free, and easy-to-install office suites for OS X as there are with Windows.


For me, it would come down to the money issue. If you don't need Apple's bundled-in apps, then just get a slightly older Dell Latitude off of Ebay, like a D800 or D810 with the high-resolution screen (marked as WUXGA or 1920x1200) and a 1.8GHZ or higher Pentium M in it. This will run you about $500. Put 2GB of memory in it, grab Audacity off the web,
and get Office 2007 for $60.
You'll never miss the Mac, you'll save hundreds of dollars, and you'll able to do everything you could possibly need to do in a college computing environment. If something breaks, parts are abundant, easy to replace, and usually dirt-cheap. They're also built like tanks.


:idk:

 

 

 

Regarding your comment about a word processor:

AbiWord, OpenOffice, and NeoOffice are all free. NeoOffice does not require X11 (not sure about AbiWord). Word for Mac is available at a discount for students. Word 2008 is supposed to be coming out soon, but Word 2004 works fine, even with EndNote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Do you use Final Cut Pro?


Will you be using any version of Logic?


Do you want your computer to "just work" most of the time?


Do you mind visiting an Apple Store every time something hardware-related goes wrong with the machine?


Do you have a lot of disposable income?


Get a Mac if any or all of the above is the case. Everything else that can be done on a Mac can be done on any other computer, and aside from the Mac Pro, you'll be paying more for marginal benefits. The MacBook isn't cheap for what it is, and OS X isn't going to change your life by the mere fact of your using it. If you like them, then by all means, get one. Just be aware that 90% of the perceived benefits of one are hyped-up marketing.

 

 

What he said !

Macs are great for music, but so are other laptops in the same price-range.

I bought myself a Sony Vaio, preinstalled with XP and it just works too.

OS X might be a great operating system, but they are not far superior.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

as a mac user for years, i can say it works great for me, but not for everybody. lots of people use macs for music n stuff, and there's a reason for it. there's just less bull{censored}, period. there's not a million things popping up every 5 seconds like everyone's pc i've ever used. best bet if you're not sure is use someone's mac (if they let you) for a minute or go to a store that sells 'em

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

If Apple had to deal with the plethora of hardware combinations Microsoft does, they would be screwed.

 

 

if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle. but she doesn't, and she's not.

 

robb.

(posted on a dual boot pc/ubuntu, but wishing my wife had an apple, because it's what she needs.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...