[thepostman]

scorcho...this is why I can't stand a lot of apple users...and I mean that in the nicest way possible

[flamesbball84]

fewer features? let's see, i can change the hard drive, the dvd drive, the RAM, the battery, the video card, the audio card, i can watch live cable tv on it, i dont get stupid software i never use, i can backup my hard drive with the push of a button, i can create an image of the hard drive with the push of the button, and i can download software for free, if i wanted too, that allows me to have a lot of the same features as the mac without requiring a virtualization program...

built in webcam and mic? woopity doo, most people dont need to stream their face and voice all over the internet. never have had a need for either one, thus i shouldnt be forced to pay for it. led backlit monitor? yawnnn, my non-led does the job very well. lighted keyboard? no thanks, i have lamps and other source of light and can see in the dark, typing right now in the dark with no problem. already have n wireless and bluetooth built in. magnetic power connector, don't need it like most other people dont. dont have an ssd drive, but i'm not paying over 1000 dollars for it but dell does have an option for that. apple may give you a few more things like that, but mostly all of the extra stuff they give you is impractical, useless, and/or unneccesary and just drives up costs. and with dell i can cut out all that junk and pay more for the IMPORTANT things like RAM, video card, audio card, hard drive...

i'd rather have a more powerful laptop, a more customizable laptop, one i can upgrade on my own, and most importantly one i can replace the battery on. it may only take 7 days to get an apple battery replaced, but thats seven days you cant use it. on my laptop if the battery dies i'm only out of use for the few minutes it takes to replace it. if you dont have it you cant use regardless of how great the thing may or may not be! at least with my "sloppy engineered machine" i can use it without having to wait a week to have the battery replaced. in my book it's more useful than having nothing at all! yes apple has done some very good things, i'll take the more practical and powerful computers that aren't quite as aesthetically pleasing as your fancy looking mac machines everyday of the week since i use it as a computer and not a decoration or as a source to display my self-perceived superiority or arrogance (not saying you think you are superior or arrogant, but i've met quite a few mac fan boys who did just because they are apple users).

[JDUB]

dude, i don't know what kind of dell you have, but i spent 3 hours deleting software i didn't need off of mine.

and i would love to have a backlit keyboard.

ps, i have never owned a mac and am not endorsing it, just trying to bring some sense to this thread

[thepostman]

apple's are better then dell's....apple owners are snobs when it comes to computers

thats about all i know for sure

[flamesbball84]

dell doesn't put all that extra software on their computers anymore. i only had to uninstall a couple programs because I ended not liking them as much as I thought I would. Other than that there was only a few other programs on it, and those are ones I always have had anyways like Adobe Reader and Real Player for example. Besides, why spend 3 hours doing it when you can get an executable file that will uninstall it all for you, and in much less than 3 hours??? lol

[flamesbball84]

apple's are better then dell's....apple owners are snobs when it comes to computers

thats about all i know for sure

Actually, if I based my opinion on Apple computer owners based on the ones I know in person (which is only like 4 I think) I wouldn't think they are snobs at all, they don't seem to act like their mac ownership means they are inherently greater than everyone else, but I go on the internet, see the commercials (which a lot of Apple owners and fanboys don't even like oddly enough), and have read about the smugness of Jobs so it's pretty darn hard not to think that.

I still don't see how you can say Apple's are better than Dell's, maybe we just base our decision on different factors, but the main factors I use when rating computer manufacturers is the hardware specs (30% of decision, and Apple doesn't offer as good hardware), customization (30%, something virtually nonexistent at apple), price (30%), and lastly prettines (10%)

Dell has superior tech specs and greater customization, they just don't look quite as pretty as apple's, but if if one of your main basis for decision relies on prettiness then I would willing to bet in more cases than not that person isn't computer savvy.

Apple gives you a few extra features like a webcam and the other ones mentioned here, but a semipower user like me doesn't even use the the type of extra junk apple puts on theirs. Are those nice features to have if you want them? heck yes they are, but my experiences show that most people don't, and in my opinion, Apple would be able to sell more computers if they made such things optional because then the computers would be more affordable. I still might not buy one of them even if they weren't optional, but if the price became more competitive, at least I would consider getting one, which is more than I did when buying my last computer.

[Rocketfan]

scorcho...this is why I can't stand a lot of apple users...and I mean that in the nicest way possible

I feel the exact opposite....i love people trying to tell me dell is superior, that could be the funniest thing ive ever heard.

[flamesbball84]

scorcho...this is why I can't stand a lot of apple users...and I mean that in the nicest way possible

I feel the exact opposite....i love people trying to tell me dell is superior, that could be the funniest thing ive ever heard.

so you like arrogance then???

[El Scorcho]

fewer features? let's see, i can change the hard drive, the dvd drive, the RAM, the battery, the video card, the audio card, i can watch live cable tv on it, i dont get stupid software i never use, i can backup my hard drive with the push of a button, i can create an image of the hard drive with the push of the button, and i can download software for free, if i wanted too, that allows me to have a lot of the same features as the mac without requiring a virtualization program...

First of all, are you talking about a desktop or a laptop? You need to make that clear. I've been comparing laptops this entire time, and that makes a difference. If you're replacing the audio and video on your Dell laptop, I'd like to see it. I can watch live cable TV (and over the air HD) on my MacBook Pro. Was doing it just last night, in fact. I can also image my hard drive with one click and I don't even have to push a button to back it up. Fully automated snapshot backups are built into Mac OS X 10.5. It's a nice feature. As for getting stupid software that you never use, I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to. The only bundled software that comes with a Mac is iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, etc.). I use iPhoto weekly and iMovie at least once a month every month. That's the only software they bundle with it, though.

built in webcam and mic? woopity doo, most people dont need to stream their face and voice all over the internet.

I can tell you're young. Apparently you've never traveled for business or wanted to do a video conference call. With the built-in webcam on my Mac I can do a four-way video conference call with a PowerPoint presentation on screen using iChat. It's quite nice.

led backlit monitor? yawnnn, my non-led does the job very well.

You do realize that LEDs use about 18% of the power that the fluorescent backlighting in your laptop uses, right? In a laptop that translates to more battery life, which is always welcome. That's why everyone is trying to switchover to LED backlighting in LCD displays. Apple already has it in their 15" MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. LEDs also display color more accurately than fluorescent lighting, which is important if you do any work with photography or print.

lighted keyboard? no thanks, i have lamps and other source of light and can see in the dark, typing right now in the dark with no problem.

Good for you. I like the backlit keyboard and I like the ambient light sensor even more.

magnetic power connector, don't need it like most other people dont.

That's straight up B.S. Dudes probably don't need one in their mama's basement where all of their action figures and sweet modded computer cases are safe, but for normal people like me, it's nice. I've already lost one laptop to a dog running by a table, catching the power cable and yanking it off to the floor. Toddlers are also drawn to cords they can yank. When my magnetic connector simply breaks away and leaves the laptop in place, it is a thing of beauty. It's one of the best innovations for mobile computing ever.

i'd rather have a more powerful laptop, a more customizable laptop, one i can upgrade on my own, and most importantly one i can replace the battery on.

Which means you're not in the target demographic, and that's fine. For some people, having the thinner and lighter laptop is a fair tradeoff for a higher price. I personally own the MacBook pro, which I can replace the battery on and expand in any way a Dell laptop can be expanded. I'm not in the target demographic for the MacBook Air, either, but it's still an amazing feat of engineering.

yes apple has done some very good things, i'll take the more practical and powerful computers that aren't quite as aesthetically pleasing as your fancy looking mac machines everyday of the week since i use it as a computer and not a decoration or as a source to display my self-perceived superiority or arrogance (not saying you think you are superior or arrogant, but i've met quite a few mac fan boys who did just because they are apple users).

And like I said before, to each their own. You enjoy that. I don't use a Mac because "it looks pretty". PC folks can say Mac users are arrogant all they want but I've heard that little snide remark more than I personally care for. I use a Mac for two reasons. First, because the overall hardware design is superior (in my view) to that of anything else on the market. (What I mean by that is that the value of the entire package is greater than the sum of it's parts.) Second, I use it because I greatly prefer Mac OS X to any other OS that's available to me. And believe me, I've tried them all.

I'm not arguing to be a Mac snob or to say that they're absolutely better. I personally advocate using whatever works best for you. For me, in my limited amount of computing experience, that's Apple hardware running Mac OS X. I understand you identify yourself as a semi-power user and that you need a Dell to accomplish whatever it is you're doing. If that's the case, awesome for you. I'm really just a total computer amateur, and Macs work best for me. So I'll stick with them.

[Rocketfan]

scorcho...this is why I can't stand a lot of apple users...and I mean that in the nicest way possible

I feel the exact opposite....i love people trying to tell me dell is superior, that could be the funniest thing ive ever heard.

so you like arrogance then???

If i did, i sure could have learned at lot from your first 200 posts.

[LUconn]

zing!

[Hold My Own]

I'm a diehard PC user but that Macbook Air may be my next investment....I've been wanting to make my everyday laptop a Mac for it's reliability but have always been afraid b/c of software issues but I think that's a thing of the past

[flamesbball84]

fair enough scorcho. i was talkinga bout laptops. i have a dell laptop and don't hve on board audio or video. i haven't changed the audio or video card on this dell specifically, but I have on previous ones I owned and the inside of this dell is designed essentially the same, so i'm assuming unless something has changed without me knowing i can still change it.

i agree, i'm not in the target. if i were to get one, it would be as a replacement for my current laptop, and considering it has no user replacable parts and no internal optical drive, I can't justify getting one. for my purposes, if I wanted a portable computing device (which is what this thing amounts to cosndering its lack of upgradability), it would be wiser to just get a full fledged PDA or a UMPC, which both are smaller.

but just to make a point that i'm NOT arrogant or a microsoft fanboy, i actually own an iPod. i liked it until iTunes decided to delete everything on it three times, then i stopped using iTunes and went with winamp and it worked fine since then. actually going to get rid of it and get an iPod Touch - and hopefully not having to pay more money for updates in the future!

[flamesbball84]

I'm a diehard PC user but that Macbook Air may be my next investment....I've been wanting to make my everyday laptop a Mac for it's reliability but have always been afraid b/c of software issues but I think that's a thing of the past

so is your PC unreliable or do you just think that Macs are more reliable? I've always heard that Mac's are more reliable, yet i've never had a reliability problem on PCs at work (although I've had computers that were way too slow because my employer refused to upgrade them) and only minor problems at home, and those problems have mainly dealt with third party software that claimed it worked with so and so yet didnt work with so and so. I've had no major problems that required me to format my hard drive or reinstall windows or anything like that, so i've never understood the whole reliability issue. Not trying to say PCs are more reliable than Macs, but perhaps others can shed light on it since i've never really had a problem and i've been using PC's since the beginning of the Windows 95 era.

[RubberMallet]

a pc user user within a family of mac users...

i have 2 laptops and 2 homebuilt desktops..

all 4 rarely ever have an issue...

there are 3 guys here at work with dells...2 xps's and 1 inspiron....all 3 laptops....all 3? multiple calls to techsupport..not just *beep boop beepp beep boop bop beep* - ring - hello this is diane how can i help you" calls i'm talking grueling hours on the phone...

i will never buy a dell...

as for the mac?

not for me...it may be for other people but it ain't for me....

as for people who claim that macs rarely ever hardlock or "bluescreen"....its bs....nearly every time i get onto one of my families macs that friggin rainbow circle will just sit there and go round and round for 10 minutes before i reboot...

[flamesbball84]

there are 3 guys here at work with dells...2 xps's and 1 inspiron....all 3 laptops....all 3? multiple calls to techsupport..not just *beep boop beepp beep boop bop beep* - ring - hello this is diane how can i help you" calls i'm talking grueling hours on the phone...

Really? My brother has had problems with his three Dells in the past, but I chalk that up to his own fault because he's always going to types of websites notorious for viruses (filesharing stuff like bittorrent for example, anime, etc.), so he's basically asking for his computer to get screwed up on a daily basis. my father has owned 2 Dells, very, very few problems. mother owns a dell, but all she does is use microsoft office on it. i've had two dells and the only problem I had is when they tried to charge me for something they said was free. i actually got a dell laptop a few months ago and it's been the best computer i've ever had, and it has vista (which everyone seems to love to hate on, but it's been better to me than 95, 98, ME, or XP).

[Rocketfan]

there are 3 guys here at work with dells...2 xps's and 1 inspiron....all 3 laptops....all 3? multiple calls to techsupport..not just *beep boop beepp beep boop bop beep* - ring - hello this is diane how can i help you" calls i'm talking grueling hours on the phone...

Really? My brother has had problems with his three Dells in the past, but I chalk that up to his own fault because he's always going to types of websites notorious for viruses (filesharing stuff like bittorrent for example, anime, etc.), so he's basically asking for his computer to get screwed up on a daily basis. my father has owned 2 Dells, very, very few problems. mother owns a dell, but all she does is use microsoft office on it. i've had two dells and the only problem I had is when they tried to charge me for something they said was free. i actually got a dell laptop a few months ago and it's been the best computer i've ever had, and it has vista (which everyone seems to love to hate on, but it's been better to me than 95, 98, ME, or XP).

Are you like the Dell President? I mean i just got a new Dell Laptop 2 months ago and this thing is a piece of junk. Its a work laptop so its the nicest one they have and my IT tells me this upon getting it " This thing is really fast, but just be prepared i have one and so do a lot of others that work here....they have have some kind of problems." Vista, for every compliment ive heard, 10 complaints will follow. ( all this is coming from a guy who doesn't even own a MAC, i just know quality when i see it, Dell is pushing quantity and it clealy shows) That doesn't meant i have never used MAC's because i have used them plenty just to clarify.

[mrmacphisto]

Are you like the Dell President?

Hahaha...

Vista, for every compliment ive heard, 10 complaints will follow. ( all this is coming from a guy who doesn't even own a MAC, i just know quality when i see it, Dell is pushing quantity and it clealy shows)...

This has always been my main argument in the PC vs. Mac debate: The people who trash Macs are over-defensive Windows users. The people who trash Windows are Mac people, Windows people, Linux people, DOS people, etc...

[RubberMallet]

there are 3 guys here at work with dells...2 xps's and 1 inspiron....all 3 laptops....all 3? multiple calls to techsupport..not just *beep boop beepp beep boop bop beep* - ring - hello this is diane how can i help you" calls i'm talking grueling hours on the phone...

Really? My brother has had problems with his three Dells in the past, but I chalk that up to his own fault because he's always going to types of websites notorious for viruses (filesharing stuff like bittorrent for example, anime, etc.), so he's basically asking for his computer to get screwed up on a daily basis. my father has owned 2 Dells, very, very few problems. mother owns a dell, but all she does is use microsoft office on it. i've had two dells and the only problem I had is when they tried to charge me for something they said was free. i actually got a dell laptop a few months ago and it's been the best computer i've ever had, and it has vista (which everyone seems to love to hate on, but it's been better to me than 95, 98, ME, or XP).

yeah and these aren't computer illiterate bozos either...one is a developer and the other 2 are networking specialists....these are strictly their work computers...

and the problems they are having aren't OS specific as 2 use ubuntu.... its actually hardware problems..

[El Scorcho]

Well, again, everything I said was just my opinion. Use what gets the job done the best for you. My knowledge about computers and technology is all pretty amateur, so I'll let you folks sort it out.

[flamesbball84]

i dont know what the heck these people are doing to the computers, but me and my family have had little to no hardware problems for years and my family is composed of the tech saavy and the tech ignorant. sure we've had hard drives and other parts die after using them for a long time, for example the hard drive in my old laptop died after 6 years, but that's a pretty good life for a hard drive in my opinion. i've never had any hardware problems after using it for like 2 months. i've had this laptop since june I believe, haven't had any ahrdware problems yet that i'm aware of. i'm not going to come out and say dell's are crappy when they have been quite the opposite for me and everyone else i know, if they were crappy, i'd buy from someone else, but i've had a good track record and have had no reason to look into a different company yet.