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This article just goes to show you, minds change all the time, enjoy.
Why I Was
Wrong With Apple
by Dylan Jovine
June 13, 2007
"ONCE YOU GO MAC, YOU NEVER GO BACK."
At least that's what Chris Rowe has been saying ever since buying his first
Mac laptop a few months ago.
Acting as if his Mac has liberated him from the unstable, cheap hardware,
virus-filled world of Microsoft, he's been cheerfully surfing the web with
nary a care in the world lately.
I must confess that I've been insanely jealous about it.
During the past two years, I've gone through three Microsoft-based computers.
And each one has seemed worse than the one before.
The laptop I ordered from Dell two years ago simply shut down and stopped
working a week after I transferred all of my files and emails.
Dell told me to mail it in and wait for them to fix it. I told them that I
run a business and couldn't do that. They didn't know how to help me so I
mailed in the computer and asked for my money back.
Afterwards I decided to go to Office Depot and buy a brand new computer in
person. As much as I love shopping on the web, there is something to be said
for the peace-of-mind you get when you walk into a store and look a salesman
straight in the eye.
I ended up buying a $3,000 top-of-the-line Toshiba.
The good news is that after the Dell experience, it only took me two days to
transfer all my files and emails to the new computer.
The bad news is that the Toshiba began crashing due to overheating problems
within the month. No matter how many times I went to the local
Toshiba-certified repair office (at least two visits and countless phone
support,) they couldn't fix the problem.
So not only did my computer continue to shut down when it overheated, but it
started wheezing like a 600-lb. man walking up a flight of stairs every time I
used it.
After a while, I just gave up, too busy to purchase a new computer again and
go through the whole transfer again.
Several months ago, however, I was using "Wheezer", and it crashed for the
ump-teenth time. I had lost an important document for the last time!
So I marched right over to Best Buy and decided to buy a top-of-the-line
Gateway DESKTOP with two huge 17" screens (makes me look like more like an
uber-trader).
I decided to go for a desktop because it seems that almost everybody in my
circle of friends who has a laptop is having problems these days.
It took the full weekend to transfer all of my files and set the computer up
properly. As I trudged through my 3rd set-up in two years, I was comforted by
the incredible speed of the computer.
Long time since I've felt the speed and power of a strong desktop computer.
But my excitement was short-lived: within 45 days, the desktop began to
overheat and crash.
I was told by a computer-savvy friend who looked at it that my "fan" was
broken. At this point I was gonna break somebody's friggin' neck.
So I called Best Buy. Their "Best Solution" was to send over somebody from
the Geek Squad for $200 and fix it.
I declined, figuring that I would wring the neck of the poor guy Best Buy sent
over just out of computer frustration. And the concept of giving more money
to people who should back up their products pisses me off to no end.
That's when I had my "Darth Vadar" moment: I decided to take off my Microsoft
mask and quit the dark side of the force forever.
Goodbye, Emperor Bill. Hello, Yoda Steve.
No more cheap computers made and marketed by companies that don't care much
about satisfying their customers.
No more cheap computers made and marketed by companies that price their
machines to be replaced.
(Contrary to popular belief, the real cost of computers has risen. The
machines may be less expensive, but they are made so poorly that you have to
replace them seemingly every two years.)
And that brings me to my main point....
Several weeks ago, I purchased my first MAC laptop, and I can't express how
pleasurable it has been to learn and use. Much easier than I expected, and
who wants to learn Microsoft Vista, anyway?.
Two years ago, however, I wrote an article chastising Steve Jobs and Apple for
their "halo" strategy (their claim that iPod usage would create a halo effect
and get people to purchase computers made by Apple.)
But I was wrong. I own this MAC today in large part because I'm an iPod
fanatic.
So I'd like to apologize to Steve Jobs (who has increased the stock 300% since
I wrote my article) and officially declare that your love for your customers
(as reflected through your design and quality) has made me a believer.
The King is Dead. LONG LIVE THE KING!
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