Thinking of getting an Apple.

[Andyuk2007]

Try a refurb. You wont regret it.

I've looked on ebay for a used one but they are still around £1000 quid. Its gonna have to wait a while

 

[gunslinger]

I've looked on ebay for a used one but they are still around £1000 quid. Its gonna have to wait a while

Apple Certified Refurbished on apple.com. I have seen Macbooks as low as $849.
I got mine for just over $900 and then went to newegg for a $30 4 gig RAM upgrade.

 

[Andyuk2007]

Apple Certified Refurbished on apple.com. I have seen Macbooks as low as $849.
I got mine for just over $900 and then went to newegg for a $30 4 gig RAM upgrade.

thats great but i'm in england, i did check on the apple store under the refurbished section but sadly they are still around £1000 even for a used one

 

[gunslinger]

I see. I was not aware there was such a price difference in England.

Well, If I get the new Macbook Pro I'll sell you mine for cheep

 

[Andyuk2007]

I see. I was not aware there was such a price difference in England.

Well, If I get the new Macbook Pro I'll sell you mine for cheep

hehe thanks i did think of ordering from america and having it shipped to the uk but the plugs are different over here e.t.c

also the current exchange rate with the pound vs the dollar is terrible

700.00 GBP = 1,036.50 USD
United Kingdom Pounds United States Dollars
1 GBP = 1.48072 USD 1 USD = 0.675349 GBP

darn recession

 

[bigdippin]

I just purchased a MacBook. I've only been on it for a few hours and I'm loving it. Wish I would have switched before. Its costly but IMO its worth every cent.

 

[gunslinger]

I just purchased a MacBook. I've only been on it for a few hours and I'm loving it. Wish I would have switched before. Its costly but IMO its worth every cent.

I have yet to meet one person who has used a newer Mac running OS X who did not love it. Glad to see you are having fun with it.

 

[Bryce W]

Gunslinger, I am looking to get either a iMac 2.4 for $1499 AUD, or a Mac Mini 1.83/1G Ram/80g/Combo drive for $829 AUD.

Now, this is where im having trouble deciding. I believe the iMac is a little better value since its a higher end machine and comes with an LCD/Keyboard and Mouse.
However, I already have 2 great 19" screens in my current setup and a great keyboard and mouse, so I think the Mac Mini would be better.
I defintely have the space for the Mac Mini and Ill just KVM switch it with my current PC gear. Ill have to make some room for the iMac though.

What do you think I should get? I dont think I'll be using either of them for high end video editing, even if I do it wont be often.

 

[Flyingbull]

I've got to say, that the keyboards that mac produces are hard to beat, for some reason I like the feel of their keyboards to any other one I've used (laptops).

Anyway, I was wondering if if you guys know if there would be a differnece in quality between a scan to a PC versus a Mac? I'm thinking about buying a Mac to fix a problem my wife is having when she scans in her Oil Paintings. The scanner she just bought seems to scan at a brightness level that actually goes through the paint. I was wondering if you have more discrete control over the scanner in a mac versus a PC. -- The reason I ask, is she got the scanner on the good reviews from other oil painters/illustrators, but they use macs where she uses a PC.

 

[gunslinger]

I would go with the iMac. Even with OS X the specs on the mini are a little on the light side for me. I would get it with the least amount of RAM you can and upgrade it yourself, you will save money and end up with a machine that will do pretty much anything you would need a desktop system to do. Also with the iMac you can upgrade the RAM more easily. I think you will enjoy the iMac more.

 

[Bryce W]

Thanks gunslinger.

 

[MLCS]

Nice topic and discussion. I'll honestly say I don't know jack about macs, so I won't be adding anything to the disgruntled bickering about which is better. Like many here I am also looking to purchase a mac when possible to learn on so I can add that to my service list.

The one thing I do "have" to make note about though...

Gunslinger,

I enjoy almost all of your posts, and you have a lot of great information... but what's up with the fanboy comments? From everything in this thread it's easy to see that you're one of the biggest mac fanboys out there. So I don't understand you using the "fanboy" term to try to flame others... That's like one Christian Religion Zealot calling a Baptist Religion Zealot a "Pretentious Radical Extremist Baptist Fanatic"... when the Christian Zealot is just a "Pretentious Radical Extremist Christian Fanatc"... what's the difference?

 

[gunslinger]

Nice topic and discussion. I'll honestly say I don't know jack about macs, so I won't be adding anything to the disgruntled bickering about which is better. Like many here I am also looking to purchase a mac when possible to learn on so I can add that to my service list.

The one thing I do "have" to make note about though...

Gunslinger,

I enjoy almost all of your posts, and you have a lot of great information... but what's up with the fanboy comments? From everything in this thread it's easy to see that you're one of the biggest mac fanboys out there. So I don't understand you using the "fanboy" term to try to flame others... That's like one Christian Religion Zealot calling a Baptist Religion Zealot a "Pretentious Radical Extremist Baptist Fanatic"... when the Christian Zealot is just a "Pretentious Radical Extremist Christian Fanatc"... what's the difference?

I think a fanboy comment is one that you can't back up with facts. Saying you like chocolate Ice cream and telling everyone vanilla Ice cream sucks is an opinion is a fanboy comment.

When I say Macs are more secure than Windows its because they are, its not an opinion.

When I say Macs can run pretty much any OS its a fact, they can.

Macs have better resale value. A fact.

When someone says Mac sucks because they can play games better on their PC, thats a fanboy comment.


I like PCs as much as the next guy. I like building them, upgrading them and tweaking them. I love Windows XP. But, let me state that I like Macs and OS X and now I'm a fanboy?

I say what I think is right, and most of the time I can back it up. Maybe the reason I come across that way is because most of the time I'm making a response to someone who had made ignorant comments like: "You can't upgrade Macs", "you can't play games on Macs", "Macs suck", "you can't right click on a Mac". When I hear complete crap like this day in and day out I tend to get a bit on the defensive.

 

[Flyingbull]

I would go with the iMac. Even with OS X the specs on the mini are a little on the light side for me. I would get it with the least amount of RAM you can and upgrade it yourself, you will save money and end up with a machine that will do pretty much anything you would need a desktop system to do. Also with the iMac you can upgrade the RAM more easily. I think you will enjoy the iMac more.

Thanks for that!

 

[MLCS]

I see your point on flying remarks without any backing of reasoning to their claims. I just see fanboys as people the do get very defensive over their "preferred" product because they think it's the l33test and no one else is going to tell them any different. Myself I don't generally care, true I don't care for Vista, but I hold no beef against Mac vs Windows or any of the above really. At the end of the day, they're all different tools that I need to know inside and out to make me money. That's all I need to care about. If the person loves mac to death I just need to be able to fix it when they have issues, if they love PC's to death.. well same thing... all applies to Linux as well.

We can complain all day about computer illiterate idiots and the whole PEBKAC errors etc... but myself, I'm glad they're out there, because they're giving me a career at the moment. All of us should think about that next time before we go ranting about how stupid a customer was. I don't care if he looks at porn ALL day long and keeps getting viruses over and over, as long as he's willing to pay me to come remove them, he can keep on his quest to browse the entire index of every porn site on the web for all I care.

 

[purple_minion]

I see your point on flying remarks without any backing of reasoning to their claims. I just see fanboys as people the do get very defensive over their "preferred" product because they think it's the l33test and no one else is going to tell them any different. Myself I don't generally care, true I don't care for Vista, but I hold no beef against Mac vs Windows or any of the above really. At the end of the day, they're all different tools that I need to know inside and out to make me money. That's all I need to care about. If the person loves mac to death I just need to be able to fix it when they have issues, if they love PC's to death.. well same thing... all applies to Linux as well.

We can complain all day about computer illiterate idiots and the whole PEBKAC errors etc... but myself, I'm glad they're out there, because they're giving me a career at the moment. All of us should think about that next time before we go ranting about how stupid a customer was. I don't care if he looks at porn ALL day long and keeps getting viruses over and over, as long as he's willing to pay me to come remove them, he can keep on his quest to browse the entire index of every porn site on the web for all I care.

I think you're missing the point. It's like a car, some people like Chevy, Ford, Honda, whatever. They are all tools right? Yet people have groups and get togethers etc. because they prefer that tool over the other.

Also look at consumer reports, they have whole issues that deal with RELIABILITY which leads right back to how the product was engineered. Did they skip corners on the engine so you will have a lot of repairs later on? Or did they spend the time and money and do it right the first time. I'll bet from a mechanics view they LOVE the unreliable cars, because it keeps them in work. Same with OS's. If microsoft did it right, from a users perspective, then it would always get them from A to B quickly and efficiently, and they could do whatever they wanted with their car. I bet when you go shopping and drive around you don't worry if your door is going to fall off out of no where because of some vulnerability.

From another perspective if everyone was a gourmet chef at home how many people would go out to eat, I bet restaurants are happy that people are lazy and can't cook. Why offer lawn care service, how hard is it to mow your lawn? I bet those people are happy they have people too lazy or busy to cut their lawns. It's always going to be important to you to have customers, but you are still entitled to saying "Geez, people sure are lazy."

 

[MLCS]

Everyone has preferences on cars? Wouldn't those people be put into "fanboy" status as well? "This car is better because it has better accelaration" "This one is better because of the braking and handling" "This car is better because it LOOKS better" "This car is better because it has 2 more cup holders than the rest"...

Who cares? Seriously if the door is falling off, it's not a car, it's a 30 year old rust bucket. But can you tell me that I can go buy a Dodge right now and it "will not" have any problems in the next 2 months, where a Chevy you can tell me everything is going to fall off? To the mechanic working on the cars, the only thing that matters is where they put the *@(#! starter and if they have to tear the whole dash apart just to replace a heater core.

That's me, if it's a Dell the parts are more than likely going to be crammed into the case so tight you half expect the guts to pop out the second you open it. The hard drive is going to be LATCHED to the side of the case somewhere with 8 bolts and the wiring is going to be a complete rats nest. But when the computer boots, it's going to work, it's going to provide our average customer with a calculator, word processor, internet with lots of porn... and of course... FreeCell.

If any of the above aren't working we'll get the call. Some of us will complain and moan about how they bought a Dell, and mutter under our breath while trying to find that LAST screw holding in the hard drive bracket (check the bottom), or thinking how stupid this person is for paying us as much as they are just so they can get their FreeCell back... Others will go fix the product as they were hired to do, keep their opinions about Dell and Windows, and common users to themselves, get paid and go home.

#1 Try to turn your users into Mac people and watch their hair catch fire while they try to learn the differences, but you recommended it because it's "superior".

#2 Turn your users to Linux because it's solid and programable and the best network base around, and watch your customers shoot you in the head with a 9MM because instead of FreeCell they have a game where they have to throw stuff at Bill Gates as he carries Windows Boxes across the screen (very amusing imo, loved that game)

#3 Let your customers use whatever they want, and fix it for them when they need, pass Go and collect $200.00.

I'm not even sure this post makes sense, I found out I have pneumonia today. So I'm a bit out of whack.

 

[gunslinger]

I think you're missing the point. It's like a car, some people like Chevy, Ford, Honda, whatever. They are all tools right? Yet people have groups and get togethers etc. because they prefer that tool over the other.

I think you may be missing the point. It is like a car and some people like Chevy and some like ford. But if given a choice and you can afford it, do you buy the BMW or the ford escort?

They will both get you from point 'a' to point 'b' , but I don't see you arguing the escort is the better car.

Try to turn your users into Mac people and watch their hair catch fire while they try to learn the differences, but you recommended it because it's "superior"

I would never try to get my customers to switch to Mac, if they all did I would not have a job because about 70-80% of what I do is spyware/malware removal.
I do get a small kick out of the looks on their faces when I show up with an Apple cap on, and use my Mac for trouble shooting.

 

[MLCS]

I would never try to get my customers to switch to Mac, if they all did I would not have a job because about 70-80% of what I do is spyware/malware removal.

LoL, like the Maytag guy, give all of your customer a perfect product, and you'll have no income from repairs.

So is installing Windows on customers machines like a tire repair shop throwing nails in the road in front of their business?

 

[gunslinger]

So is installing Windows on customers machines like a tire repair shop throwing nails in the road in front of their business?

lol....yeah pretty much. Even more so with Norton 360 or Mcafee on it.


Think of it this way. If your job consists 70-80% of replacing burned out light bulbs, would you go around recommending light bulbs that last 10 years?