Re: Apple's ways

[wbdesnoy@acs5.acs.ucalgary.ca (Byron Desnoyers Winmill)]

Supertimer (supertimer@aol.com) wrote:
: The only competition they can see...they are ALLOWED to see...is Mac versus
: the MYTH of Wintel.

Like it or not, a Wintel computer feels like a Wintel whether you are using
an AMD, IBM, or Intel processor.  A Wintel computer also feels like a Wintel
computer whether you are running DOS, Geoworks, Linux, OS/2, or Windows.  No,
this is not an over generalization.  You are always futzing around with the
same issues (particularly if you are looking for legacy support), and the
same mentality.  The competition seems to drive the market towards the same
low quality solutions.

As for the high price of Apple computers, it is a myth too.  If you want a PC
which is as reliable as an Apple (at least the Apples of times past) you have
to dump a lot of money into high quality hardware.  Even then, you are going
to have to wade through a lot of marketing hype, because the computer industry
seems to equate quality with performance.  Indeed, my reason for dumping my
486 (about four years back) for an Apple IIe was the cost of replacing a
failing string of components.  The situation is not uncommon.  I often service
(Wintel) machine for other people.  Hard drives will fail simply because an
I/O board pops out of the slot, due to a poorly designed case.  You also have
to be more careful when servicing the machines, because unsocketed connectors
and unkeyed cables make it an simple matter to incorrectly connect and mangle
hardware.  Boards are often poorly labeled and have to be removed to locate
pin 1.  In comparison, digging inside the Macintosh is a pleasure.

Byron.