Is Apple worth the extra cost?
Jan 15, 2015 16:14:18 #
Quayne L. Sherwood wrote:
For the most part,I've found Geek Squad to be computer illiterate period.Let me tell you about Macs. I belong to a family ... (show quote)
Jan 15, 2015 16:32:53 #
I sold Apples for 25 years. For photography and viewing your pictures they are the best. Yes they cost more but everything works as it should across all programs. The new retina displays are fantastic. Do get the extended 3 year service contract as
they do run hot and sometimes fail. With the service contract
you also get free help which could prove useful since you have to learn a new operating system and how the thing works.
You are not the target of many viruses either. Your pictures will shine like never before. I don't have a new super sharp screen but have looked at them and viewed my pictures on them at flickr.com.
they do run hot and sometimes fail. With the service contract
you also get free help which could prove useful since you have to learn a new operating system and how the thing works.
You are not the target of many viruses either. Your pictures will shine like never before. I don't have a new super sharp screen but have looked at them and viewed my pictures on them at flickr.com.
Jan 15, 2015 16:48:52 #
Los-Angeles-Shooter
Loc: Los Angeles
My experience is that the Mac is more reliable, needs less maintenance of software and hardware. The system and software is far more integrated and consistent than on a PC. Although Mac hardware appears to cost more than PC hardware, the difference is illusory. The difference is easily made up by the savings in time and money during the life of the product.
Jan 15, 2015 17:07:05 #
Yes, for me it is because I prefer the mac system, interface and graphics. I used windows for 20+ years at work and am relieved that I don't have to fight that battle any more. I'm happy for those who like windows, but it won't be me. We all need to work in our own comfort zone and spend our money on what works best for us.
Jan 15, 2015 17:19:05 #
berchman
Loc: South Central PA
I just got off a 45 minute call to Apple support for two questions I had regarding synching my Google calendar to the iPhone calendar and synching the contacts in Microsoft Outlook 2007 with the Contacts app on the iPhone. The support person had to consult a colleague on the latter question, but both issues finally got resolved. Luckily I am still qualified for the free 90 day support for my new iPhone, the first smart phone I have ever owned. Apple support is wonderful. But after the 90 days are up it will cost $20 per call.
I have not had to seek PC support for some time except for a hardware failure on my Dell desktop which was still in warranty and that got fixed. But God forbid that I'd have to ask for support on using software. You talk to someone in the third world who has to look in his manual for canned responses and who rarely can solve your problem. On the other hand, if you want to use a monitor for your post processing that has a wide gamut and can be calibrated with built in software (NEC comes to mind), you would need to spend very big bucks for a MAC Pro which start at $3000. I can get a very powerful Windows machine for a lot less than that. I might add that I have never had any problem with Windows 7 and have never been infected with a virus. I'm just a non-technical old guy, but I know enough to have a firewall and good anti-virus software and not to click on unknown links and to use Sandboxie on sketchy internet sites.
I bought my wife an iMac Air to replace her ancient iMac with its non-intel chips. When I need to help her I do not find the Mac at all intuitive as they like to claim. It's a whole new system to learn. I am running a four year old Dell which does just fine with 12GB of RAM on Photoshop and Lightroom and humongous files from a Nikon D800.
I have not had to seek PC support for some time except for a hardware failure on my Dell desktop which was still in warranty and that got fixed. But God forbid that I'd have to ask for support on using software. You talk to someone in the third world who has to look in his manual for canned responses and who rarely can solve your problem. On the other hand, if you want to use a monitor for your post processing that has a wide gamut and can be calibrated with built in software (NEC comes to mind), you would need to spend very big bucks for a MAC Pro which start at $3000. I can get a very powerful Windows machine for a lot less than that. I might add that I have never had any problem with Windows 7 and have never been infected with a virus. I'm just a non-technical old guy, but I know enough to have a firewall and good anti-virus software and not to click on unknown links and to use Sandboxie on sketchy internet sites.
I bought my wife an iMac Air to replace her ancient iMac with its non-intel chips. When I need to help her I do not find the Mac at all intuitive as they like to claim. It's a whole new system to learn. I am running a four year old Dell which does just fine with 12GB of RAM on Photoshop and Lightroom and humongous files from a Nikon D800.
Jan 15, 2015 17:27:09 #
Jan 15, 2015 18:31:42 #
Yes-especially with photoshop. Buy a refurbished 1 or 2 year old model--mini or 15 inch laptop-- and you-ll be set for years to come.
Jan 15, 2015 18:55:38 #
My wife is a dedicated Windows user. I am a dedicated Apple user. We've been married 42 years anyway. I find little difference now in quality between that two platforms. Apple is just easier and has fewer hassles. Security better but getting worse. They do change OS probably more than Windows.
Jan 15, 2015 18:58:22 #
My biggest problem with Windows is getting the output to look anything like the screen. Calibrators etc no help
Jan 15, 2015 20:01:04 #
Meganephron wrote:
My wife is a dedicated Windows user. I am a dedicated Apple user. We've been married 42 years anyway. I find little difference now in quality between that two platforms. Apple is just easier and has fewer hassles. Security better but getting worse. They do change OS probably more than Windows.
Perhaps, but unlike Windows, updates are free...
Jan 15, 2015 20:02:36 #
wingnut1956 wrote:
Hi Fellow 'Hoggers..This is probably going to be a... (show quote)
Wingnut
All the suggestions to purchase an Apple MacBook Pro are all trus. I've been a Mac user for over 20 years and to date never had a crash or lost info or pictures. One reason is because I have always purchased the 3 year extended warranty. This warranty gives you access to Apple support 356/24/7 for any problem small or large. This also says nothing about ease of operation and the number of usable apps/programs that are included.
Jan 15, 2015 20:33:02 #
I was forced to switch to Macs at gunpoint (well, my employer, a newspaper, was exclusively Mac. So, go Mac, or get another job.) I didn't find the Apple stuff at all intuitive. I wasn't swooning over all things Apple, like most of the Apple devotees I'd known. I never got the warm and fuzzy BS about Apple. I thought the company's ethics were as slimy as anything that I'd encountered with Microsoft or the PC side of the world; Apple cuts you loose with no support after just a few years, if you don't keep up with their new hardware and software, screw you. Just like Microsoft and all the PC makers (except maybe Lenovo, they seem to take the IBM ThinkPad legacy seriously, or at least they did for quite a while after buying the rights from IBM.)
BUT, the Apple stuff worked. It always worked. I'd spent hundreds of hours in my PC days rebuilding machines after virus and software clashes and crashes. I didn't have that problem with the Macs at work, nor the used ones I bought as personal machines (laptops and desktops for me, my wife and kids.) I've never, knock wood, had a virus problem with any of my Macs. I've never had a software conflict that crashed the machine. My iPads and iPod have also been bulletproof. One of my only resentments regarding Apple and Macs is actually a compliment: The hardware lasts so long, in most cases, it's still running great when it's abandoned for support and parts by Apple. I had a 1999 production date MacBook Pro (the model was named after some city) that the IT guy at the newspaper gave me to use in 2004. It had been flogged by a staff photog (those guys are beasts on their equipment, at least company gear), saying, "If you can make this work, it's yours. But they don't give laptops to reporters." So, I took it, bought a new battery for it, and flogged it until 2008 or 09, when I bought a more modern MacBook Pro that I flogged as my work and home machine for both reporting and photography. No problem. My son is using it today. I bought a virtually identical one for myself. Still works. Much as I loved the real MilSpec old top-of-the-line IBM ThinkPads and desktops, the Macs have been just as reliable, or more so. And they're much better than the Compaq, HP and other PC crap I used. It does piss me off that Apple doesn't sell the video card for my beautiful but old, no longer supported, 27" iMac, which crapped a couple months ago. It's the first hardware failure I've had on a Mac in 11 years of pounding on them. I'm looking for a used or rebuilt on the aftermarket So, I'm not an Apple groupie, but I'd honestly rather have a used Mac than a new PC. My wife, by the way, still hates the Mac. She doesn't get the filing system and therefore loathes our desktop. She uses a Lenovo laptop for work, running some outdated version of Windows that will soon be abandoned by Microsoft and then she'll hate the way the new version of Windows her company adopts looks, too. I think you have to get used to anything new. To me, it comes down to this: I spend less time dealing with software failures/conflicts and viruses since going Mac. That's good enough for me. I know there are Mac viruses out there, but so far . . .
BUT, the Apple stuff worked. It always worked. I'd spent hundreds of hours in my PC days rebuilding machines after virus and software clashes and crashes. I didn't have that problem with the Macs at work, nor the used ones I bought as personal machines (laptops and desktops for me, my wife and kids.) I've never, knock wood, had a virus problem with any of my Macs. I've never had a software conflict that crashed the machine. My iPads and iPod have also been bulletproof. One of my only resentments regarding Apple and Macs is actually a compliment: The hardware lasts so long, in most cases, it's still running great when it's abandoned for support and parts by Apple. I had a 1999 production date MacBook Pro (the model was named after some city) that the IT guy at the newspaper gave me to use in 2004. It had been flogged by a staff photog (those guys are beasts on their equipment, at least company gear), saying, "If you can make this work, it's yours. But they don't give laptops to reporters." So, I took it, bought a new battery for it, and flogged it until 2008 or 09, when I bought a more modern MacBook Pro that I flogged as my work and home machine for both reporting and photography. No problem. My son is using it today. I bought a virtually identical one for myself. Still works. Much as I loved the real MilSpec old top-of-the-line IBM ThinkPads and desktops, the Macs have been just as reliable, or more so. And they're much better than the Compaq, HP and other PC crap I used. It does piss me off that Apple doesn't sell the video card for my beautiful but old, no longer supported, 27" iMac, which crapped a couple months ago. It's the first hardware failure I've had on a Mac in 11 years of pounding on them. I'm looking for a used or rebuilt on the aftermarket So, I'm not an Apple groupie, but I'd honestly rather have a used Mac than a new PC. My wife, by the way, still hates the Mac. She doesn't get the filing system and therefore loathes our desktop. She uses a Lenovo laptop for work, running some outdated version of Windows that will soon be abandoned by Microsoft and then she'll hate the way the new version of Windows her company adopts looks, too. I think you have to get used to anything new. To me, it comes down to this: I spend less time dealing with software failures/conflicts and viruses since going Mac. That's good enough for me. I know there are Mac viruses out there, but so far . . .
Jan 15, 2015 20:37:09 #
DanSorenson wrote:
... It does piss me off that Apple doesn't sell the video card for my beautiful but old, no longer supported, 27" iMac, which crapped a couple months ago. It's the first hardware failure I've had on a Mac in 11 years of pounding on them. I'm looking for a used or rebuilt on the aftermarket ...
Check with Other World Computing.
http://www.macsales.com/
Jan 15, 2015 20:48:14 #
One more thing, Microsoft announced that they are soon quitting all support of Win7... If you like Win8 then you'll never like anything Mac.
Jan 15, 2015 21:03:40 #
berchman
Loc: South Central PA
SNicker317 wrote:
One more thing, Microsoft announced that they are soon quitting all support of Win7... If you like Win8 then you'll never like anything Mac.
Extended support ends Jan 14, 2020. "Soon"?
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