stupidest questions from PC users

[Sesshi]

My friend is getting a new computer soon and I'm trying to convince him to get a Mac. But no, Dell PC's are cheaper!

me: "But still, Mac's are better quality and run Mac OS X"
him: "But you can run Mac OS X on a Dell too."
me: "No, they don't... Where'd you hear that?"
him: "I dunno I just know you can."

I'm running OS X on a Dell D520. Although it's a hack of course. Works pretty well I have to say. If you don't *have* to run OS X at first I guess this is doable.

Dells are built no better and no worse than a Mac although they can be better supported - Apples are just better looking. If you look inside, truly comparable Dells can be better sorted out in terms of componentry spec / performance. The Precision 690 is certainly more flexible than the Mac Pro for example.

You have to get to the root of your argument - Apples are prettier.

 

[pengu]

Dells are built no better and no worse than a Mac although they can be better supported.

having worked in an IT Support team, where we were FORCED to buy Dells (and some local white-box dodgy machines) they just proved what i'd always heard from others. an entire batch turned up with flat CMOS batteries. despite the original order being in the $MILLIONS, we had to ******** around with indian call centers who NEVER trusted ANYTHING we told them, and always went throught the same "grandma broke the computer" steps to come to the same conclusion we told them 15 minutes before, "the <insert xyz hardware component here> needs to be replaced under warranty".


also, the model of Dells we had (gx520 from memory) had intel graphics (simmilar as the mini), but they were some dodgy Dell implementation that was COMPLETELY unsupported under Linux.


im not sure which part of all that is "better supported".

 

[72930]

You know what be cool? If iPod made a Nano for dogs.



Dumb****s.

What are the four stars. Only two, or am I missing something?

 

[thewhitehart]

Some people you just can't convert. I tried and tried to get my best friend to buy a mac, and he was really excited about it after using mine, but then decided that his mother thought dells were better and cheaper, so he decided to get a dell.

Yep. His 50 something year old mom who can't manage the cable tv box reccommended he get a Dell, and he decided to listen to her instead. Not the computer-saavy friend. "Because everyone uses Dell... we use them at work!" was her answer.

 

[Sesshi]

having worked in an IT Support team, where we were FORCED to buy Dells (and some local white-box dodgy machines) they just proved what i'd always heard from others. an entire batch turned up with flat CMOS batteries. despite the original order being in the $MILLIONS, we had to ******** around with indian call centers who NEVER trusted ANYTHING we told them, and always went throught the same "grandma broke the computer" steps to come to the same conclusion we told them 15 minutes before, "the <insert xyz hardware component here> needs to be replaced under warranty".


also, the model of Dells we had (gx520 from memory) had intel graphics (simmilar as the mini), but they were some dodgy Dell implementation that was COMPLETELY unsupported under Linux.


im not sure which part of all that is "better supported".

If the original order is in the millions, you'll probably get local support - presuming your buyer sorted all that out in the first place. And even if it's Indian, you'll be getting 'level-up' service. My annual recurring IT budget (not including major upgrades) is below £100,000, of which probably about £50,000 goes to Dell mostly in the form of keeping servers and storage current. That's not much, seeing as my first round of Mac hardware purchases this year amounted to a whopping ~£15,000 for a Macbook Pro, two Macbooks and three iMacs + external monitors.

I get local support (if you could call Ireland local) from Dell whereas I would be talking to India if I'd chosen a Dimension/Inspiron, and access to US-based engineers if out of UK hours. I get follow-up emails and calls before I have to ask. I also get next day engineer site visits in case of failure - something I've had to take advantage of much less than truly comparable Apple gear.

I don't compare base Optiplexes or entry-level Dimensions to iMacs because of the disproportionate difference in price and capabilities. Neither do I compare an entry-level Inspiron to a Macbook Pro for the same reason. But for example, I do compare the Precision 690 against my Mac Pro because they are comparable products - And they are comparable in use, with an edge toward the Precision if you really are after sheer power in desktop computing as well as better manufacturer support.

This oft-repeated gap in logic (a suitable analogy would be directly comparing grand cru champagne against mass produced beer) on this forum comes as no surprise, but what is surprising is that people apparently have the burning need to lie or expand upon the truth to press their point home.

 

[pengu]

but what is surprising is that people apparently have the burning need to lie or expand upon the truth to press their point home.

fine, you get great support from Dell. I just told you of a case where thier support is **** and you flat out call me a liar because you dont like it.


why should we have to purchase workstations to get decent support (or even a decent product it seems) when the machines (when working) were more than adequate for the job.

 

[Sesshi]

fine, you get great support from Dell. I just told you of a case where thier support is **** and you flat out call me a liar because you dont like it.


why should we have to purchase workstations to get decent support (or even a decent product it seems) when the machines (when working) were more than adequate for the job.

I'm just saying that it's more appropriate to compare like for like and most people here make the mistake of comparing some bottom-dollar machine they bought against a new Mac. You don't have to buy a workstation but if you're going to compare a Mac against Dell, you should compare the same-class machinery & support.

Who knows, you might have had crap support from Dell, it's perfectly possible but your post leads me to suspect that you're not being entirely forward - either your operation was much smaller than you claim, or your buyer was an idiot.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

HEY! i got a pneu-mail!

i know what you guys are talking about, some people are just SO STUPID! what i really hate is when salespeople are dumb, and yet I get turned down for the job that they are screwing up!!! You know because i'm under 18, that means i have no idea about computers.

This is kind of unrelated, but it did come a PC user when he got his (iPod) mini:
"Do all the songs get erased when the battery dies?"

Yes. All the songs get erased when it dies.

 

[pengu]

you tell me how small it was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAFE_SA

and even if you forget the linux graphics support. i repeat. why should we get "worse" support because we bought office machines, not workstations?

as for the buyer, if the above link didnt give you the hint, it was a government contract.

 

[dylan6950204]

f**k window users

i think if they are stupid enoph to use windows then dont convert them to macs i think every one who is smart enoph to use macs are the only ones who deserve to use them


sorry bout the spelling i cant spell and i am to lazy to look them up

 

[Sdashiki]

i think if they are stupid enoph to use windows then dont convert them to macs i think every one who is smart enoph to use macs are the only ones who deserve to use them


sorry bout the spelling i cant spell and i am to lazy to look them up

this is one of the worst things in this whole thread.

its barely on topic, mostly fanboyism crap this thread certainly didnt need.

 

[dukebound85]

i think if they are stupid enoph to use windows then dont convert them to macs i think every one who is smart enoph to use macs are the only ones who deserve to use them


sorry bout the spelling i cant spell and i am to lazy to look them up

claiming mac users are smart while you can't even spell seems quite funny.

dude, they are just computers get over it

 

[Sesshi]

you tell me how small it was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAFE_SA

and even if you forget the linux graphics support. i repeat. why should we get "worse" support because we bought office machines, not workstations?

as for the buyer, if the above link didnt give you the hint, it was a government contract.

Ah... well, it kind of makes sense now although I obviously don't know the exact situation. Appropriate levels / layers of service were probably excluded due to misplanning or misbudgeting. It's also significantly rarer that I meet people who actually know what they're doing in terms of public-sector IT - at all levels - than in my fields.

 

[chapinmesa]

I'm running OS X on a Dell D520. Although it's a hack of course. Works pretty well I have to say. If you don't *have* to run OS X at first I guess this is doable.

Dells are built no better and no worse than a Mac although they can be better supported - Apples are just better looking. If you look inside, truly comparable Dells can be better sorted out in terms of componentry spec / performance. The Precision 690 is certainly more flexible than the Mac Pro for example.

You have to get to the root of your argument - Apples are prettier.

Yep, I just saw a Dell laptop with a Core Duo, 1 gig of ram, and a 128mb graphics card for $799 in a flyer...but I'm still hoping to get a Macbook with less power just cause of the prettiness factor, and the factor that I can have all of my Tiger / Leopard goodness later on.

 

[chapinmesa]

I've seen a great stupid questions thread by tazo, but it's been closed. What is the stupidest question/story you have?

For me, easy. Got the Mac Book, and my friend asked me why i would get a laptop that only worked when I connected it to another computer...
I brought him over to my house to show him that it did work w/out any assistance. He brought out a CD-R, and told me that i could'nt get any of the songs from it. I put it in, and imported every one into itunes, and copied some of my synched songs on to his CD-R. He asked me why I would get it if I could not get games for it because it has no video card. I told him that's why I have an alienware desktop. He called me a hypocrite, and bought the mac book a month later...

He's much better w/ pc's then I am, but i kick his MicroAss on a mac any day, at least I converted him.

It really irritates me when people always say "I don't have a video card so I can't play games" or "oh, your laptop doesn't have a video card so whats the use?" I feel like ripping out their video card and seeing what they say then...I mean, if you didn't have a video card you wouldn't even be using a computer.

 

[Max Payne]

My contribution:

Last year my friend came house so excited. He told me he used an Apple in the Uni. It is so unique, so beautiful and has transparent folders.. bla bla. He also decided to buy a Mac.

My reaction was, WTF. What have I been telling you for a year now? Why do you think I have been planning to buy a Mac since 1999? Why do you think I am waiting since the second generation MacBook Pros?

I had no stupid respondes from my friends when I bought the MBP. I convinced 3 to convert. Of course I had to tell them they can use MS Office, matlab and so many other programs so they don't need to be afraid. I turned into an Apple fanboy and informed them of the things that are different in Mac OS X so they don't get confused. I also showed them the "cool" stuff they can do. Like slow minimizing, right click, expose, cool eject feature.

They loved it. I also tend to use Win XP when they are around and curse it as hell. Finally a friend (PC user)told me that he is disappointed on me because I am using Win XP. A Mac user friend told me he doesn't really need Win XP because he has all the programs he needed in Mac OS X. This is when I decided to delete Win XP. I proved to my friends that Win XP is $h!t and they don't need it so what's the point of showing them how crap it is.

Now, my MBP doesn't leave the sitting room and all I get is admiration of its beauty.

No one dares cursing Apple infront of me.

P.S. Damn, this post was off-topic and too long.

 

[SMM]

MacNewbieTroll:

"I am thinking about buying a Mac, but after all the reading.........."

 

[SkyBell]

After a recent visit to an Apple store with my PC using sister.

Me: Well, how do you like Macs?
Sister: Pretty nice, I guess. *Pause* I didn't know Macs had iTunes.

 

[Radam]

We are having problems with the cable internet in our area and i called road runner to see what was up, and after running some trace routes and telling her that there was some huge lag between some of the hops, she told me that my brand new macbook pro must be broken and that apple isn't supported by road runner and that i should send my computer back and get a different one if i wanted to use road runner.

People are sooo dumb.


and my one friend who thinks my mac is sweet still tries to argue that vista is going to be revolutionary and that its going to be better than Os x by a long shot.

this is also the kid who gets about 2-3 virus's amonth on his pc and has to reformat ever time, what an idiot.

 

[tech4all]

and my one friend who thinks my mac is sweet still tries to argue that vista is going to be revolutionary and that its going to be better than Os x by a long shot.

this is also the kid who gets about 2-3 virus's amonth on his pc and has to reformat ever time, what an idiot.

Next time ask them why they think it's going to be revolutionary and better than OS X. That way you'll know if they actually have a clue or not.

 

[Xander562]

I just got one recently,

"Oh you can instant message people if you have a mac?"
*shakes head*

 

[26139]

Wtf?

i think if they are stupid enoph to use windows then dont convert them to macs i think every one who is smart enoph to use macs are the only ones who deserve to use them


sorry bout the spelling i cant spell and i am to lazy to look them up

People like you embarrass the rest of us. If you're going to bash someone, at least do it while not making an ass of yourself.

Enoph? Seriously? Does that REALLY look like a word to you?

 

[Aperture]

i think if they are stupid enoph to use windows then dont convert them to macs i think every one who is smart enoph to use macs are the only ones who deserve to use them


sorry bout the spelling i cant spell and i am to lazy to look them up

You have to look up "enough"?

 

[BengalDuck]

A friend told me she doesn't like Macs because she can't "right click, and stuff..."

 

[0010101]

i think if they are stupid enoph to use windows then dont convert them to macs i think every one who is smart enoph to use macs are the only ones who deserve to use them


sorry bout the spelling i cant spell and i am to lazy to look them up

If you were using OSX, you wouldn't have to look words up. Just highlight the text , right click, and select 'Spelling' from the pop up menu.. or if you're using Tiger, the spelling errors would have red lines under them. Just right click on the misspelled word, and select the correct spelling from the pop up menu.