Where are all the geniuses when you need them? Apple Computer puts enough confidence in their technical support personnel to set up a Genuis Bar in every company store, saying “Our Geniuses will answer all your technical questions, troubleshoot problems, and explain it all in language that’s easy to understand.” That’s quite a big claim and not many organizations would be willing to put something like that in writing.
Since I was visiting family several months ago in Birmingham, Alabama, I scheduled a tech support session at the local Genius Bar to have my Mac laptop examined by one of these Apple wizards at The Summit. The young man (honestly, he looked like a sixteen-year-old) was quick and thorough in his diagnosis, discovering the problem and arranging the repair in a matter of minutes. And all this took place while I stood there and watched the whole process. No smoke and mirrors…no leaving my computer to disappear into a mysterious back room for days on end…no lengthy list of obscure charges on an invoice. I left the store as a happy and satisfied customer. And it didn’t cost me a penny, since my computer was covered under the AppleCare Protection Plan.
No wonder people are switching to the Macintosh platform by the millions! Apple technology is amazing, simple to use, loaded with pre-installed software applications, beautifully designed, and every dual-core Pentium-based Mac can run Windows (if you really need it for unusual things, like my genealogy software—Legacy— that’s not available as a native Mac software application). I’m running Windows XP Professional and it’s actually quicker on the Mac than my previous AMD-powered desktop or my Pentium-based Dell laptop. Thankfully, my desktop PC’s motherboard died and I replaced it with a Mac Mini. Some people think the Macs are too expensive, but you can get a cute little Mac Mini for £399 (in the UK) or $599 (in the USA) and use your existing keyboard, mouse, and display. That’s what I did and I’m glad the AMD beast is no longer breathing out its decibels from its home beneath my desk: now it’s so quiet I can hear the cockroaches moving about. Actually we don’t have cockroaches in Wales, but if we did they would quickly be discovered and dealt with severely.
Mac’s actually aren’t any more expensive than a comparably equipped PC. If you match a PC to a Mac hardware for hardware you’ll usually find they’re about the same price and sometimes the Mac is cheaper.
Bill,
You are so right! I love the Mac. I was a window user for 10 years before switching to the Mac, and I will never go back! I am using a Macbook Pro 15, with an apple 20 inch external monitor, an apple wireless keyboard and mouse. It is a pleasure to work with this equipment!
Thanks for the great posts!
I became a Mac user in 1984 when they first hit the U.S. market. Several years later, I found myself working as the manager for a retail computer store that sold both Apples and IBM PC’s; and then I worked as a desktop publishing sales person for Heath Zenith Computers. I was the only Mac specialist on their staff and ran circles around the other guys by selling to ad agencies, printing companies, and publishers.
In all my years, I have never known the Mac to crash, get a virus, overheat, arrive DOA from Apple, or manifest strange behavior in its daily operation, unlike the horror stories I have heard and personally experienced with Windows PC’s. It just gets the job done, all day, every day!
Due to job requirements (a company-issued Pentium computer), I wandered in the DOS/Windows desert for ten years before returning to the Mac about three years ago. Wow! I had never seen Mac OS X before, but it’s been a wonderful reacquaintance with an old friend.
how the heck do you not have cockroaches? I live in North Carolina and they’re everywhere!! Okay, not really…but there are plenty of them if you go looking. Seriously, no cockroaches? Please tell me you have a comparable pest of some sort!
We have virtually NO flying, biting, stinging insects, much less cockroaches in the UK. Homes don’t even need screens on the windows!! And with no A/C, we leave our windows open six months of the year. Hard to believe, I know, but all we have are a few flies and some pretty benign spiders, daddy long legs. And are you ready for this? NO MOSQUITOS!