Is Apple worth the extra cost? (Page 9): Your experience may well be unique. My wife has gone through THREE HP laptops in the last three years. I'm still using a mid-2010 iMac, now...

JaiGieEse Loc: Foxworth, MS

h2odog wrote:

I have found that Apple laptops don't last as long as PC's. They run very hot and are best used with a cooling pad. On the other hand, Apple iMacs are terrific, especially for photo purposes. They are vey quiet and reliable. Just my $.02.

Your experience may well be unique. My wife has gone through THREE HP laptops in the last three years. I'm still using a mid-2010 iMac, now nearly five years old and still going strong.

There are good reasons why PC's are so cheap, and a lot of it has to do with the quality of materials used in their construction.

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

When Apple switched from the Motorola cpu to Intel, they stopped supporting the older Macs and Power PCs. Yes my Power PC still works but none of the updated software will run on it. The latest versions of PS, Open Office or Microsoft Office can not be loaded or run.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Quite a lively thread ;)

JaiGieEse Loc: Foxworth, MS

SonnyE wrote:

It depends. Do you want a computer you can take into a store and say "fix it." And some techy type sits you down and plugs you in, or takes your computer "in the back" and performs VooDoo on it while you browse products?

There's the rub. I've had Macs repaired. You get a one-year warranty and you can get something called "Apple Care," which extends that warranty.

In the case of my wife's three HP laptops, whien the first two crapped out, the tech at the PC shop said he could fix them, but doing so would cost two to three times the cost of a new laptop. Many PC laptops are like disposable razors. You use them to they aren't too sharp and then you trash them and get a new one.

Mobad58

I've been a "PC" for decades. I love my iphone and ipad but don't appreciate being locked out by Apple. Also, I have too much software that would be useless on a MAC. Someday, if the need arrises, I may get a Mac for my photo work,but, only for that.

JaiGieEse Loc: Foxworth, MS

Edia wrote:

When Apple switched from the Motorola cpu to Intel, they stopped supporting the older Macs and Power PCs. Yes my Power PC still works but none of the updated software will run on it. The latest versions of PS, Open Office or Microsoft Office can not be loaded or run.

Geez, that was, what, ten years ago, more? How may folks use ten pr twelve year oldf computers? Oh, and Microsoft is famous for tweaking its new OS and other software so that one is requited to buy a new computer to use them.

My 27" iMac is near five years old. I'm running Ppple's latest OS - Yosemite - without issues. I know ofmpeople who use Apple OSX versions as far back as four iterations, and they are happy with what they've got.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

Edia wrote:

When Apple switched from the Motorola cpu to Intel, they stopped supporting the older Macs and Power PCs. Yes my Power PC still works but none of the updated software will run on it. The latest versions of PS, Open Office or Microsoft Office can not be loaded or run.

Yep, I still have my 2006 G4 Powerbook (by the way, there is a PPC version of Firefox that is still updated, so at least web browsing is still enabled).

Now the rumor is that Apple may begin using their own chips in Macs (they already do in iPads). When the company transitioned from PPC to Intel, they had an abstraction layer (Rosetta) and and interface (Cocoa) that helped users (and developers) make the move.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

RichardSM wrote:

So tell me how Apple is better now that they use Intel 86 processors which MS PC use the same processors and main PCB and such hardware?

1. Much less susceptible to virus and malware due to unix-like underpinnings.
2. Updates (in my experience) rarely cause problems.
3. Support is fantastic! As others have already stated this does extend beyond the paid 3 year service contract in some instances.
4. Last two OS upgrades have been free.
5. OS X 10.0+ include word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software. Admittedly there are free open source office suites also available (Open Office, Office Libre, et al).
6. Like all good products, there is a monetary cost. I choose to accept this for ease of use and security. I also can run a machine for 5-6 years without a problem.

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

I am not trashing Apple. They're tops in industrial design. I have used Macs since the original in 1984. I own an iphone 6 and an iPad. What I am saying is that the Apple products are less flexible than the PCs. That is not a bad thing but on a return on investment analysis, I think the PC comes out ahead. Also, today much of the software is web bases and the platform is less important.

On the go, a laptop can be used for photo PP. However, the monitor screen is too small for serious work. Larger monitors such as on iMac or with desktop PCs are better for PP.

insaneo Loc: Byram, ms.

wingnut1956 wrote:

I also have been considering a mac as I don't like... (show quote)

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

insaneo

?

insaneo Loc: Byram, ms.

insaneo ? What?

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

So the way I understand what your saying it's not hardware. It's their OS is better because it has Unix built in it and it has less issue's with viruses. Is this correct?

BobHartung wrote:

1. Much less susceptible to virus and malware due... (show quote)

Romac999

I have been a PC user for many years and picked up a MAC a couple of years ago, the MAC is nice but the learning curve can be trying at times. Also if you want to use it for e-mail just take note that MAC Mail is very frustrating and I find Outlook a lot more user freindly....Just my opinion

Rob

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Romac999 wrote:

I have been a PC user for many years and picked up a MAC a couple of years ago, the MAC is nice but the learning curve can be trying at times. Also if you want to use it for e-mail just take note that MAC Mail is very frustrating and I find Outlook a lot more user freindly....Just my opinion

Rob

I thought the same about Apple Mail at first, I used Thunderbird for awhile, but switched back to Apple Mail a few years back and have used it ever since. I like the way it use an SSL certificate for encryption vs an add in like Enigmail plus GPG in Thunderbird.