Alright. Sorry TEF, but he asked for it.
This was going to be my response in my previous post, but I left it out. You argued that Macs don't offer much bang for the buck. Well, I have some news for you.
Speaking of money, customer service is also something you're paying for. Apple doesn't outsource their customer service department to India, so you can actually understand them. Also, they not only own up to their own warranties, but they go beyond that. For example, nine months after I bought my Macbook pro (which was 20 months ago), I had a small white spec that showed up on the screen, covering the area of about 20 pixels. I took it to them and they asked if it bothered me. I said yes and they replaced it right there in front of me. Just reciently I had a power brick that the cable cover was pulling back from the connector (computer side), and they willingly replaced it even though my warranty was expired. Another thing is there are Apple stores all around the world. It's simple to get professional service.
With a dell or gateway laptop, you have to call up customer service (in India, so it's impossible to understand) or go to a Best Buy or some 3rd party computer store, and deal with both the manufacturer and the store. It's a nightmare. If you build your own desktop computer, you'll have 10 manufactures to deal with + the website you bought from.
Google search for the recent customer service survey conducted by a 3rd party: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&q=...6ql-CjjEik
And for those who's extensively used both operating systems, then notice that a Mac's integrated features run extremely smoothly (albeit limited options are available, but that's the price). They also are ready to run when you first open them; it takes about 5 minutes to set up a user account. I recently helped my neighbor set up her new Compaq laptop and it was a 2 hour ordeal.
You should go to your nearest Apple store and play around with a Mac. I think you'd enjoy yourself if you kept an open mind.
This was going to be my response in my previous post, but I left it out. You argued that Macs don't offer much bang for the buck. Well, I have some news for you.
Speaking of money, customer service is also something you're paying for. Apple doesn't outsource their customer service department to India, so you can actually understand them. Also, they not only own up to their own warranties, but they go beyond that. For example, nine months after I bought my Macbook pro (which was 20 months ago), I had a small white spec that showed up on the screen, covering the area of about 20 pixels. I took it to them and they asked if it bothered me. I said yes and they replaced it right there in front of me. Just reciently I had a power brick that the cable cover was pulling back from the connector (computer side), and they willingly replaced it even though my warranty was expired. Another thing is there are Apple stores all around the world. It's simple to get professional service.
With a dell or gateway laptop, you have to call up customer service (in India, so it's impossible to understand) or go to a Best Buy or some 3rd party computer store, and deal with both the manufacturer and the store. It's a nightmare. If you build your own desktop computer, you'll have 10 manufactures to deal with + the website you bought from.
Google search for the recent customer service survey conducted by a 3rd party: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&q=...6ql-CjjEik
And for those who's extensively used both operating systems, then notice that a Mac's integrated features run extremely smoothly (albeit limited options are available, but that's the price). They also are ready to run when you first open them; it takes about 5 minutes to set up a user account. I recently helped my neighbor set up her new Compaq laptop and it was a 2 hour ordeal.
You should go to your nearest Apple store and play around with a Mac. I think you'd enjoy yourself if you kept an open mind.