move along now, nothing unusual. EVerything normal. Pay at the end.

"Open your wallet and repeat after me, 'Help yourself' "

Glad someone finally wrote an article about this. I know several people who sneered that macs were too expensive and set out to buy a sub-$600 computer, only to spend _more_ than a basic MacBook and end up with less computer to show for it.

Yet they continue to claim they saved a lot of money. The power of self-delusion.

Most of that extra comes from Microsoft Office. Did this person not ever hear of Open Office? I'm a Mac user too but even a with a Mac you have to pay extra for Office.

From the linked article:

"The next hurdle was where to buy it. Five different PC users will have five different answers. Mr. Kerins settled on Best Buy. He didn't go with Dell because he wanted to see the computer before buying, and he knew his mom would need a place to take it if she had problems. "Unfortunately, this is where PC manufacturers fall on their face. This Toshiba feels like the McDonalds Happy Meal version of a laptop. 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," Mr. Kerins wrote.

The interesting part was being introduced to the nickel-and -diming that occurs in the store. Anti-virus, spyware, installation, MS office, installation, extended warranty, California recycling tax. With sales tax the total came to US $1237.

The author spoke to the convenience of Apple stores, the free classes, the confidence of the Apple Genius bar and how they'll often fix a computer under warranty on the spot. He also noted that PCs are ugly. "Have you seen all the crap strewn about on them? Colors, logos, stickers, textures, ports, LEDs, icons ... it's like in the early days of multiple fonts. Oooh ... I can have seven fonts on this flyer!" he noted and added that cheap PCs are cheap.

Perhaps there's a market opportunity for the the Apple-like buying experience, but the author didn't find it this time around."

OK, maybe I'm missing something here but to address a few of the points above:

"...All rounded and puffy, you can feel the thin plastic flex between your fingers when you pinch it. The keys sound like Legos..."

Why would you buy something if you saw it/tried it first and didn't like it?

"...Anti-virus..."

Plenty of FREE ones available.

"...spyware..."

See previous comment.

"...installation..."

Not too difficult if you can research a little and follow "Read Me" files and installer prompt boxes.

"...MS office"

Well, what can I say there except Office for PC is excellent, Mac version, not so much...

Also, see previous comment about FREE alternatives, i.e. OpenOffice at
[url]openoffice.org[/url]

"...installation..."

See above comment.

"...extended warranty..."

I don't think they a put a gun to anyone's head yet to make them get it, but a good idea, even for Macs these days, unfortunately.

"...California recycling tax..."

Again, what can I say but

1) probably a good idea to recycle unless you have something against having a clean, healthy environment.

2) Move to another state?

"...He also noted that PCs are ugly..."

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.[/i]

Mr. Kerins may think he's Mac savvy but his purchase of the add-ons shows he doesn't know much about computers. Extended warranty; both Apple (Applecare) and PC sellers push extended warranties. If he wanted to save money don't buy these super-high profit margin extended warranties. Microsoft Office; why? Apple only gives you "text editor" and MS gives you "Wordpad". Unless Mom needs to be swapping Excel spreadsheets with the neighbors why not use "Open Office" its free for both Macs and PCs. Paying for installation of software just shows more how this guy doesn't know computers. Spyware and Anti-virus software are not included on Macs either. Yes, PCs are more likely to be hit by these malware nuisances but a good spyware/anti-virus can be purchased for < $40. Finally, last time I checked sales tax and California's recycling tax are still charged on purchases of Macs. Listen, I'm not down on Macs, I have an iMac that I love and a PC too. I just don't like crap articles like this that serve no purpose.

Applecare is an extended warranty you'll appreciate if you ever need hardware replaced on a Mac. It isn't crap or a waste of money. As for PC's, antivirus and anti-spyware software can all be loaded easily on your own and are almost given away at other retailers. So why he chose to purchase them at vacuum your wallet prices is beyond me. You don't need antivirus or anti-spyware on Macs because there are no viruses or spyware that effects Macs period. Most cheap PC's also need a lot of hardware upgrades which is why they're so cheap. Macs are number 1 in quality and Apple is number 1 in service, that's a fact. The numbers just show you that those cheap PC adds are just a gimmick and Macs aren't anymore expensive than any PC on the market. Macs come preloaded with useful software that PC's don't have.
Full email, calendar, DVD Player software, ITunes for Music, iPhoto for photos, iMovie for movies, iDVD for burning your videos to DVD. Garageband for making your own music, ringtones, online podcasts and more. Photo Booth for making some fun pictures of yourself to send to family. Oh, and iWeb for making your own websites or photo albums online.
So you get a lot more than meets the eye with buying a Mac and for the same price or even less than a fully packed PC. Oh, one more thing, you can run Windows or linux on your Mac too.

Why exactly did this "Mac Savvy" guy pay someone else to install the software for him? And if his mom didn't actually need MS Office (something he would have had to bought for a Mac too if it was something she needed) then why did he buy it? Also, what's up with paying for anti-virus and anti-spam software, there's plenty of free ones available.

As for picking the Toshiba, why would he buy that one when he was obviously unimpressed by it? He went to a retail store specifically so he could get a hands on feel for the computer, and then he decides to buy it any ways?

My god, doesn't the guy know how to stick with a budget? Let's see what the hardware was, in the article it says that he went to BestBuy and chose a "Toshiba Satellite Pro 355D with 17? Diagonal TruBrite Widescreen Display," here's what I found on bestbuy.com:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmprd97400050007&skuId=999997300050007&type=product&childSku=8897624&count=1

It's got a 1.9Ghz AMD Athlon(TM) 64 X2, not the fastest processor on the block (not even from AMD) but a semi-ok processor none the less. 3GB of PC6400 DDR2 SDRAM, again not the fastest or best ram available, but considering what it is, exceptable. And considering it's the 32-bit version of Vista on it, it really wouldn't benefit from more RAM. The video card is an ATI RADEON X3100 with 256 MB of shared memory, meaning that it uses 256 MB of the 3GB of DDR2 SDRAM for it's memory. Once again, not ideal. 160GB Hard Drive, kinda small, but I don't think she's going to be running around with all that much in the way of movies and videos on the laptop. Has a Dual-layer DVD rewriter, acceptable. Built in wifi too. As long as she's not trying to run Oblivion on it, it should be able to run anything she throws at it. Oh, and the average consumer rating for this laptop is just over 4 stars out of 5 stars, pretty good in my opinion.

To the best of my knowledge Apple only has one laptop with a 17 inch display (I have no idea why they decided that her one and only prerequisite was a 17 inch display, but whatever) and that's the MacBook Pro. Starting at $2799, the MacBook Pro 17 inch has a few things over the Toshiba Satellite Pro, but considering it's about 5 times as expensive for the base unit, I'd expect that. Ofcourse there's a bunch of things that can be added on to this base price much like the author did to increase the price of his mother's laptop. You know, things like Microsoft Office since contrary to popular thought, no Mac comes with MS Office for free. And while you don't necessarily need anti-virus or anti-spyware software for a Mac, you could buy it, or download a free version. And I guess since the author is so Mac Savvy he'd just pay the Apple Genius to do it for him, instead of doing it himself.

You guests don't get it. He was approaching his purchase as a typical PC user, not as some knowledgeable geek--and actually, this was for his mom, so purchasing the software, with the assumed support, and purchasing the extended software meant that he was left out of the equation, and the geek squad would take care of her. The only proper conclusion in this case, comparing the _retail_ experience of buying a PC over a Mac is that buying a PC stinks, and is loaded with tons of hidden costs, and buying a Mac is a pleasant experience, with far fewer hidden costs. I really think his mom would have been better served with a Mac, IMO. My parents knew the old Mac OS and Windows, but they still prefer their eMac over either, even though there was a lot of relearning, and they are nearly 80.

One other point. I have a friend who is a savvy PC purchaser and user, and knows his way around things. He bought a laptop a couple years ago. I tried at the time to talk him into purchasing a MB Pro, but he thought it wouldn't work for him. He ended up buying a more expensive Toshiba laptop, and _still_ got taken by hidden surprises and costs. Worse, that was the worst computer he's ever owned. This past year, he bit the bullet and bought a MB Pro, and has never been happier! No more mucking with a resistant system. He just works, and so does his Mac. He wishes he had listened to me in the first place! He still has his copy of Parallels he bought and his older retail XP install, but I don't think he has yet to install them.

-Jon

It doesn't matter if you're buying a computer or a car or an appliance there will always be situations where sales staff will try to talk you into buying more than what the sticker says it costs. As a buyer you need to be informed and make decisions based upon what you want, what you need, and what you're willing to spend. I've been buying Macs since 1984 and they have not always been a great experience (e.g. $10K Mac IIx). I've purchased many PCs as well and the experience depends upon where you go to make your purchase. Your friend doesn't sound to savvy if he was taken by hidden costs.

No, he did not do this as a typical PC user. If this article had been about the trials and tribulations of the typical PC user when buying a new cheap laptop, then he would have let his mom buy it herself, instead of doing it for her (keep in mind, she chose him to do it because he's supposed to have some sort of computer specialized knowledge that is greater than her's).

As for your friend who bought a Toshiba that was more expensive than a MB Pro, what was the specs of the Toshiba? And exactly what hidden surprises and costs were there?

Quote

JonGl wrote:
You guests don't get it. He was approaching his purchase as a typical PC user, not as some knowledgeable geek--and actually, this was for his mom, so purchasing the software, with the assumed support, and purchasing the extended software meant that he was left out of the equation, and the geek squad would take care of her. The only proper conclusion in this case, comparing the _retail_ experience of buying a PC over a Mac is that buying a PC stinks, and is loaded with tons of hidden costs, and buying a Mac is a pleasant experience, with far fewer hidden costs. I really think his mom would have been better served with a Mac, IMO. My parents knew the old Mac OS and Windows, but they still prefer their eMac over either, even though there was a lot of relearning, and they are nearly 80.

One other point. I have a friend who is a savvy PC purchaser and user, and knows his way around things. He bought a laptop a couple years ago. I tried at the time to talk him into purchasing a MB Pro, but he thought it wouldn't work for him. He ended up buying a more expensive Toshiba laptop, and _still_ got taken by hidden surprises and costs. Worse, that was the worst computer he's ever owned. This past year, he bit the bullet and bought a MB Pro, and has never been happier! No more mucking with a resistant system. He just works, and so does his Mac. He wishes he had listened to me in the first place! He still has his copy of Parallels he bought and his older retail XP install, but I don't think he has yet to install them.

-Jon

I blame Jerry Seinfeld.

I've always believed that if you want something great, it's not gonna be cheap. If you want something cheap, it's not gonna be great. (And usually doesn't end up being cheap in the long run, either!)

The PC world doesn't make it easy with all the possible choices? If I didn't have choices I would have paid more than the $350 for a brand new Toshiba laptop with a DVD burner last year. And I think the Apple-like buying experience is waiting a year for the Mac version of popular PC software.

Quote

Hengemasta wrote:
I've always believed that if you want something great, it's not gonna be cheap. If you want something cheap, it's not gonna be great. (And usually doesn't end up being cheap in the long run, either!)

Quote

Guest wrote:
I think the Apple-like buying experience is waiting a year for the Mac version of popular PC software.

Quote

daemon wrote:

I don't know, I've had some surprisingly great times with cheap girls.