hrm...
"Apple may build some good computers, but the arrogance of so many Apple users just turns me off. I seriously doubt they are worth the price and my friends in the publishing world have even worse headaches with repairs and in-warranty service than Dell users."
First, I'd like to mention that I am a computer geek for a living, and also say that I have been an Apple Certified Desktop Tech for a number of years. I use Macintoshes 90% of the time, and they just work better with my brain.
That said, I also administer the service plans for the Dell computers we have in our fleet. I get to see both sides of things.
Today, computers are mostly the same inside. You can compare Apples to oranges, so to speak, because we are all wearing the same technological underpants.
From a service standpoint, I see about as many macs in for service as I do Dells. Computers break. No manufaturer, in my opinion, is doing a stellar job in reliability. These are complicated things, and its very hard to get them right.
From a durability standpoint, I have to say, the Apple computer will win hands down. A Toyota is durable, a Center-Dial Maytag is durable, and a Macintosh is durable. I put 700 Apple laptops in the hands of inner-city school children, and nearly as many Dells in another school, and the Apples come back year after year, where the Dells are damaged beyond repair. For a fleet, the Apples are worth servicing because we get a longer, more useful life out of them, with their guts hanging together longer than our Dells.
As far as cost, well, you saw the Dell Chad was looking at was over $1300. His Toshiba was a great deal at $950. For what its worth, the MacBook starts at $1099, so while its a bit more expensive, but you do get a nice little webcam built in, and the neat power cord that prevents you from dragging your lappy off the table when you trip in the cord. And you can run Windows all day long and not apologise for it, 100% natively, at full speed. And you can run the MacOs as well, and play with all the neat bundled toys, like the iLife suite, that come bundled, instead of McAffee, which is kinda no fun to play with.
I'm not trying to be arrogant. I honestly don't care what kindsa computers you all use. I think you should buy whatever computer you can afford, and whatever one makes sense to you and suits your needs, be it a Mac, a Dell, a Sony, a Toshiba, a Kaypro, or a Commodore 64.
The arrogance you detect form Mac users is misguided exuberance. When you really "get" it about the Mac, when you use one, and when it clicks for you, using the computer goes from being a chore and a means to and end, and instead it frees you. The computer fades into the backround, and you feel like you are just getting things done. There are very few snags, bumps, crashes, or intrusions into your train of thought.
Its hard not to be excited about that; its appealing to a lot of people. Thats why mac folks tend to get preachy and all... they simply can't understand why you would want to use anything else. Its as if you said "No thanks, no automatic for me, i'll just stick to doing laundry by beating my clothes on a rock down in the river." If you had a small minority of people telling you that one type of washing machines was soo much better than just about anything out there, wouldn't you be curious?
What it all comes down to is that if you are happy using what you have, use it. Who cares... life is too short. But if you are frustrated and you want an alternative, or you think that maybe there might be more to the whole computer thing than you are getting from the mainstream OS, then you should check out the alternative. Don't go assuming that something might not be as good as it is, because you don't know - the Mac wouldn't have hung around for 23 years in the face of Windows if there wasn't something to it.
Not meant to be a flame, just trying to help the windows folks understand where we are coming from. At this point, in real life, I would make a joke about Steve Jobs and his Magic Cool-Aide. And then say "Screw this, lets all go out for a beer."
