Re: A Mac User Buys His 1st PC: Or How a $550 Laptop can cost more than $1200

On Sep 19, 9:55 pm, Chance Furlong <t-b...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From My First Mac:

http://tinyurl.com/3sgnpz

Cuss and discuss.

A Mac User Buys His 1st PC: Or How a $550 Laptop can cost more than $1200

By: Chris Kerins

Published: Thursday, September 18, 2008
Categories: BEFORE YOU BUY, NEWS & COMMENTARY
 
Even though I've never owned a PC, my friends like to joke that I know
more about PCs (because of my knowledge of Macs) than your average
person. I doubt that. I used one in an office for a year or so as an
Outlook machine next to my Mac. But really, I prefer to play dumb when
it comes to PCs. Too much demand for tech support out there.

Here see the Maccie starting out by telling us all how smart he is.
This should be good. People who need to point out just how smart they
are seldom are.


Now I know that you readers that are PC fans will think not getting the
best deal is my fault because of not knowing much about PCs,

I doubt that. Most of them probably think you didn't get a good deal
because you're an idiot who ran around whining about how confusing
choice is instead of doing any research.

but I contend that most PC users fit in my knowledge category.

Idiots who refuse to do any research? Not really. Most PC buyers may
not know what the terms mean but they aren't afraid to type 'toshiba
tru-brite' into a search engine.

If you are a big Windows fan (or Mac fan for that matter) you are probably an
advanced user/buyer who knows much more than the average Joe.

None of us was born knowing this stuff, Chester. Instead of whining
about 'confusion' we did a little reading and sorted things out.

So when it came time to buy a PC, I was just like your ordinary buyer,
flipping through the Sunday ads seeing what is a good buy this week.

And because this was the extent of your research is why you took it
dry.

In truth, I was shopping for my Mom, not myself.

Ok, your mom took it dry and you arranged it. Pervert. 8)

As it turns out, it didn't make sense for her to by a Mac, so I steered her to a >PC laptop

So your mom is not good enough for your little cult? How does your mom
feel about that?

and I
was her personal shopper. (Reason: She's in her 70's and uses a PC at
work. I didn't want to teach an old dog new tricks, so to speak.)

So your mom is an 'old dog'? What do we call a female dog? Does your
mom know that you think she's an old bitch? Did you steer her towards
a hellish to use PC (in a typical Maccies' estimation anyway) instead
of the blissful Heaven on earth (again in the typical Maccies'
estimation) Mac Experience because you're angry with her and want her
to suffer?


My First Big Hurdle: What to Buy

Here's our first problem:

Actually its the second. The first one was involving you.

There seems to be an endless variety of makes
and models of PCs. That may sound like a real advantage to a superuser
who can fine tune their selection, but to a novice it's a problem.

You probably crap yourself when you walk down the toothpaste aisle in
a grocery store if a little choice scares you this much.
Most people decide on a brand first. *poof* There goes about 90% of
your choices. Then they narrow things down by features and prices. It
takes about half hour.

Especially in this era where even low end computers have surpassed the
needs of the common user.

You contradict yourself. If what you say above is true then anyone
should be able to close their eyes, grab any computer and be happy
with it.


Add to that, there is no well known and regarded guide to the plethora
of PC products.

There's several actually but don't let your ignorance stop you. You're
on a roll.

I think most people turn to the person who knows a
little bit more about computers than they do and ask for advice. But
what does that get you other than someone's slightly better informed
guess?

They could have asked you. Then they would actually know less than
they did before.


We decided to get a large screen laptop from a reputable manufacturer.
Knowing that my mom's use will be typical (Office, browsing, email) and
won't stress any modern PC, I suggest we shop on price first. We don't
need to squeeze every penny out of the deal, but there is no sense
paying for more computer than she will ever use. So the specs aren't
really important to us, other than screen size.

We're 1/3 of the way into your article before you finally write
something that makes sense.


So Where Do You Go?

If I were buying a computer I'd go to a place that sells computers.
Maybe that's just me though.


I bet I can ask five PC users this question and get five different
answers.

Much like you can with any other product.

This seems like an advantage to the PC guru,

A PC guru wouldn't wander about town asking where he can buy a
computer. He'd already know.

but how does the
novice know if Circuit City is better than Best Buy is better than Frys
is better thanŠ you get the idea. I suppose you could visit them all and
compare,

Remember those ads you were looking at in the beginning of this
cluster***?

but we want to buy a computer, not spend days shopping for one.
Sometimes PC advocates forget time is money.

So you took time off from work to buy a laptop for your mom? Or did
you do it on your day off when you weren't getting paid anyway?


My experience has been that Best Buy has very competitive prices on the
few most popular brands they carry. They seemed to have figured out
which 20% of products 80% of the market buys. That sounds fine to us, so
we go there. It's also nice to know they have the Geek Squad service,
although you have to pay for it.

My God! You actually took some knowledge and personal experience and
applied it to a real life situation. This is a major breakthrough in
your case! Go, man go!


What About Dell?

What about them?


Yes, I know that Dell offers decent PCs. I have a Dell monitor on my Mac
right now. But we want to hold it and see it before buying.

They sell Dells at WalMart . And Best Buy. Maybe if any of this was
true and you'd actually gone there you would have seen one.

And I know that only fools buy from Dell's list price:

I'm sure you know a lot about what fools know.

The intrepid shopper knows that on the third Thursday of the month, you can use coupon codes for this or that and get $300 off or whatever.

I don't think 'intrepid' means what you think it means.

We're not that into Dell to be in that club.

Too busy with those Maccie Cult meetings, no doubt.

Also, Mom needs a place to bring it in case of trouble.
UPS doesn't count.

'Cause mail in repairs are a really bad idea. Good thing Apple doesn't
offer them or you'd look stupid...oh, wait...


Dell seems to be a great idea for your 2nd or 3rd PC.

Why would that be?


In the Store:

So we walk into Best Buy with the Sunday ad in hand and find that
special, the Toshiba Satellite Pro 355D with 17² Diagonal TruBrite®
Widescreen Display on sale for $550, normally $700. Sounds good. I also
know to never pay list price at Best Buy too.

So you do know something? Good. I was beginning to get worried.


My mom keeps asking me how you know if one of these is better than the
other. Here's the thing: There is no way to know. Really. She will never
push the limits on the chip or RAM or hard drive. So what does that
leave you?

So it was beyond your ability to explain to your mom that they all use
the same parts so the main difference is features and that's where she
should concentrate?

TruBrite® display? What does that even mean?

And it didn't occur to you to look that up until you got to the store.
You already said it was the special in the ad you had. You get rolled
a lot don't you?


Other than the marketing-speak terms, there is no way to judge if this
PC is better than that PC. And I get that labeling your display
"TruBrite®" makes it appear better than the other guys "SupraClear®"
display, but it's not informative in any way. Yes, one can walk around
and try to compare screens, but the variables soon get out of hand
making that exercise useless.

So you are left staring at the computers wondering what makes one better
than another.

Actually YOU are left standing there. The rest of know what's going
on. Remember what I said about people claiming to be smart at the
beginning? Looks like I called it.

I say to her, "You can at least tell if you like the way
it looks and feels." Except that it's locked down and the battery is
gone.

Just like the Macs at the other end of the counter are.


Unfortunately, this is where PC manufacturers fall on their face. This
Toshiba feels like the McDonald's Happy Meal version of a laptop.

I'm sure this is a totally unbiased opinion. *eyeroll*

All
rounded and puffy, you can feel the thin plastic flex between your
fingers when you pinch it. The keys sound like Legos. For $550, you can
only expect so much, so I don't let on to my disappointment.

At least they don't have cases that crack, HDDs that drop dead if you
look at the computer funny and batteries that croak after 2 months.


The PC Taxes

First of all, I think most PC users expect Microsoft Office
automatically comes with each computer.

Again that would be you. I've never come across anyone who thinks
Office comes with every computer. It might have something to do with
the way they make you buy it separately but, again that could just be
me.

It doesn't.

Do tell!

The Student/Teacher
Edition costs $150 (+ $25 installation). The real version: $500.


LOL! You start out by telling us all how big of a computer genius you
are but installing Office is such a daunting task you pay $25 to have
someone with actual knowledge install it.


Then of course there is the anti-virus/Spyware combo. The sales guy
jumps in with the package they promote. We get the Trend AV GS 2008 V.2
anti-virus ($40) and the SpySweeper GS ($30) spyware combo. Yes, I know
they are paid to push these, but again, how do you even know one is
better than another?

You could read one of the many comparisons available online or in many
computer magazines, but that seems to be more than your skills allow
for.

Go over to the Your PC is Insecure So You'll Need
This Software aisle and compare boxes? Installation: $90.

You actually paid $90 to install an anti-virus package? Oh, that's
right. You think your mom is an old bitch and are trying to bleed her
dry. Its the only plausible explanation at this point...that or you're
just an idiot. Of course the two aren't mutually exclusive.


Yes, I know that I could install this for her for free, but as we know,
time is money and in this case it turned out to be A LOT of time as
you'll see.

I suppose actually expecting you to document any income loss by this
venture would be more than you could handle. And installing an anti-
virus package takes 10 minutes tops...and that includes the time it
takes to download AVG.



Let's continue.

So these computers normally come with 1 year warranties. But you have to
send it in to the manufacturer to use it. If you bring it the Geek Squad
for help, they will charge you.

So take it to one of the many authorized service centers the computer
companies have around the country. You really have no idea about any
of this do you?

I realize that extended warranties are
normally a rip off, but if any product needs one, it's laptops.
Especially Happy Meal laptops.

You mean ones with cases that crack, HDDs that die and batteries that
crap out after a bit of use?


The main advantage I wanted from the extended warranty is that she could
bring it to the Geek Squad right away with a problem. No dealing with
Toshiba. So we got 3 years of that for $250. Buying peace of mind for
both of us there.

Lastly there was a California Recycling Fee of $8. A real tax. I don't
remember that with my recent Mac Pro purchase. Whatever.

If you bought it in California it was in there. I can see how $8
wouldn't really standout in a Mac price tag though.

Total Taxes: $598. More than the computer.

Actually total taxes - $8. Buying optional software and then paying an
extra fee to have someone else install it isn't a tax...well maybe its
a dumbass tax. For an office suite you could have downloaded and
installed OpenOffice. For an anti-virus package you could have
downloaded and installed AVG. Both are free. And if you're as smart as
you claim it wouldn't have been any big deal to both in a single
Saturday afternoon when you aren't getting paid anyway so your lame
'time is money' line doesn't really work.

Waiting for Installation

I know, most PC pros will do their own installs when they get home. I'm
sure it goes well for them and it's a pleasure, but in this case, the
Geek Squad couldn't manage to get the spyware app installed.

Apparently the standards at the Geek Squad are so lax that they hire
people with your level of abilities.

They told
my mom to come back in 90 minutes, so she did. Not done. Couldn't get it
to workŠ trying other versions. Come back in 2 hours. So she did. Still
not finished. They told her to come back the next day. So she did.
I did wonder about spending the $105 for installation beforehand, but
not when I heard what happened. That was money well spent!

This part of the story is obvious BS.


So she picked up her new laptop the next day for $1148 + tax, so that's
about $1237 here in California.

The Apple Store Experience:

I know that I am more fortunate than most having TWO Apple Stores right
near by. Maybe I'm spoiled. However, if you don't live near an Apple
Store now, you may soon as they are opening dozens each year.

And I know that you can't make direct comparisons, but there were some
things that were really evident to me that makes me appreciate the Apple
way of doing things.

First, having too many choices can be a problem for a novice. In an
Apple store, your choices are limited, but obvious. Generally, Apple
sticks to the Good, Better, Best theory of product lines.

Only to a Maccie is 'choice' a scary word.


Secondly (and obviously), Anti-virus and spyware software (and
associated costs of time and money) are not necessary with Macs. Money
saved, headache spared.

Because installing that free software and letting it update while
you're sleeping is such a drain.


Thirdly, the Genius Bar folks will install your software for free and
even migrate your old computer's files for you.

As will many resellers.


Fourthly, because of the Genius Bar, I wonder if extended warranties are
as necessary for Macs as they are for PCs. I can always bring my Mac in
to get diagnosed for free. In the first year, repairs are free. Out of
warranty Macs still get looked at for free and often get fixed for free
if the fix can be done right there and then.

And often they aren't.

If it can't, you get
advised on the cost if you have Apple do it AND advice on how to get it
repaired for less. They do refer to local Mac repair shops.

Who frequently are not only authorized to work on Macs but those
Toshibas and Dells that you think can only be looked at by the
factory.

Lastly, (and perhaps most important in this case), Apple provides an
unbelievable amount of free classes and support in their stores for
novices.

Something that wouldn't be necessary if all the BS Maccies spew were
even close to true.

Just check out the calendar for your local store. I wish this
was available for my mom at her local Best Buy or Microsoft storefront.

Try looking at your local library or community college. Many of them
offer the same kind of beginner classes for free. But knowing that
would require to actually know something more than how to make up a
story about computer shopping with your mom.

If there was an equivalent of Apple's $99 year of 1 to 1 training, I'd
pay for her to get that.

You won't even sign her up for the free classes at the library so why
should we believe that?

I didn't really push my mom to get a Mac, but
if I did it would be because there is an Apple store a few miles from
her house and I know she would get the training she needs. Most of her
support issues could be directed there for some real learning.

And you wouldn't have to deal with the old bitch.


So what did I discover on this quest?

Happy PC Conclusions:

Only with a PC could you get a 17" laptop for $550. I'd rather they
bundled the software, warranty and service and just called it $1150. We
still would have bought it.

Switching to a Mac may have been too much of a learning curve for a
non-tech oriented grandmother. I wish they would have offered the laptop
with XP to make it even easier.

'Grandmother'? Your mom is also your grandmother? So either you
couldn't keep one simple lie straight through this adventure in BSLand
or your family tree doesn't have any branches.


Bitter PCs Conclusions:
There needs to be a commonly acknowledged reference for comparing the
value of PCs. Marketing-speak doesn't help consumers.

You could try doing some research instead of whining. That might help.

The one thing I could tell is ...

That you made the whole thing up.


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