Reality Distortion Field strikes again!
Yesterday, I posted a quick and dirty article entitled “Apple Tax: Stealing your Benjamins, one wallet at a time“, with the purpose of illustrating the difference in cost between a Dell Studio XPS 16 notebook which was fully loaded, and a base model MacBook Pro with memory upgraded to match that of the Dell (so that the configuration was similar).
One of the comments on that article made me wonder if the Reality Distortion Field turns a persons perception of life into pure gold in fields of roses…
gremme had this comment:
You should not buy it if you aren’t willing to pay a premium for good service and construction and a sleek look. Not only that, but you also are buying into the mac experience and lifestyle. If you don’t have the money then buy your dell, you get what you pay for.
A premium for good service? AppleCare in many countries (including Canada) doesn’t even offer mail-in service for MacBooks, which is pretty bad considering Dell, HP, Gateway, Lenovo, and Acer have been doing this for years (some even go above that by offering next business day on-site repair service and accidental damage coverage). Having to drive for an hour to drop a $2,000+ notebook off at an Apple Service Provider isn’t exactly the best solution.
Good construction? Need I mention the many issues with the Mini DisplayPort adapter and external monitors not working? I mean, using an external display with a notebook has only been possible for years… no reason for this not to work. How about those with scratches on the aluminum enclosure straight from the factory… dust under the glass screen covering… glass screen covering coming loose from the display unit… uneven lids… issues waking up from sleep…
As for “buying into the Mac experience and lifestyle”, this statement makes me believe even more that there’s some sort of cult surrounding Apple. Did I miss the memo where spending $2,700 on a notebook, leaving it on your desk and admiring it in all of its “premium design glory” was classified as normal?
As I wrap this post up, I just wanted to also point out a comment left by stephen which just made my day:
“Yes because we buy a laptop to stare at it all day and think about how good-looking it is. Macs are economically just as much as a lifestyle as Starbucks, and you can see where they’re going. Yeesh.”
For the purpose of full disclosure, I was a Mac user for the past year. I never have, and never will, agree with the Reality Distortion Field.
Editors note: This is a guest post by Kristan Kenney.
16 Responses to 'Reality Distortion Field strikes again!'
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As an engineer, I too don’t understand the concept of engineers buying an Apple product and I won’t ever buy an Apple product.. but every industry is about supply/demend. If customers are willing to pay such amount for an Apple product, what’s there to dislike? I guess they just have tones of money to spend on nothing. Or if the sales were bad, Apple themselves will be willing to lower their prices.. Think of as buying a luxary branded automobile. Some people do prefer ‘Lexus’ over ‘Toyota’ even though they have similar engine size, features, design, shape, etc.
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February 20, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Mark:
I still say, get the dell, and dual boot osx86 and windows.
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February 27, 2009 at 8:20 am
Jimmy:
I still look at it as a way for people to snub the rest of us that can’t afford it.. with that said an Apple product is status only!! There is no proof that they can out-perform a Windows machine, if there is proof please let me know as I haven’t seen any! I can’t afford an Apple product, if I could I still wouldn’t buy from Apple. Never! If I ever touch an Apple product someone would have to given one to me.
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March 7, 2009 at 5:30 pm
CDA:
What about the difference in resources spent protecting and repairing problems from virus infections, malware, spyware and all of the other issues associated with owning a computer? Not taking that into account is where the reality is getting distorted.
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Apple superiority over Mac? One word – Virus
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March 9, 2009 at 6:02 am
Stu:
CDA,
Are u serious? Its a lot easier to “protect” an OS from viruses and malware when the community doesnt have the same number of progrmmers and “script kiddies” out there as the MS community has.
Mike,
If u meant apple over ms please read above.
You buy an apple for 1 of 2 reasons..
1. youve always used them
2. you watch a lot of tv and are easily influeenced by peer presure and thnk its “cool” to have one.
If ur really worried about viruses stop dl’ing warez, and dl urself a real AV and malware solution.
Stu -
March 9, 2009 at 8:03 am
Interesting...:
I do get a kick how every version of Windows seems to look more like Mac OSX. Some of this look and feel must include copying a dizzying array of… annoyances… that require service packs and hot fixes.
Just because the overpriced glossy hardware looks good, believing the propaganda that you don’t have to worry about viruses, that the OS is more stable, etc. indicates to me that you don’t spend a lot of time thinking for yourself.
Apple cranks out its version of service packs and hot fixes quite regularly to fix gaping holes in the OS as they are discovered. Just like Microsoft does for Windows.
If this were not the case, my recent trip to the magazine rack wouldn’t have been littered with MAC-CENTRIC magazines filled with articles on workarounds, patches you need to install “now,” and assorted things you need to do to keep your system safe from the malicious jerks out there. Just like you need to do for Windows, and yes, Linux.
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March 9, 2009 at 12:01 pm
grmarx:
Saying that Dell is a good computer and Windows is a good OS is just about as distorted as reality CAN possibly get without a complete space/time continuuum collapse LOL It’s like saying that caviar is bad because your Double Mac tastes so much better – and that’s really comparable to where your criteria are comparable to those of an Apple user.
At work, I am generally sentenced to using Miserosoft products and Dull make-believe computers; that means that I spend much of my day browsing the ‘Net because not much more can be done with the crap I am given – anti-virus protection sucks up about 70% of all RAM and turning on two programs at a time simeply brings the “system” to a standstill. Fortunately, I can use Firefox so at least browsing is fast and problem-free. Then I go home and do my would-have-been an 8-hour workload on my Mac Pro in about two hours.
Apple, in spite of a small percentage of flawed products that you wave around pretending it is a normn (what a sorry effort! Laughable and pathetic, even by a Miserosoft fan standards!), is essentially comparable to, say BMWs among cars – but you punks like your Hyundais and Ford Pintos, and that’s perfectly fine, too – we all have our place on the scales of intellect, class, education, etc., and somebody has to be a cheap bottom-feeder, otherwise, who’d use Dull and Windoze? See, you don’t even understand the need for an aesthetically pleasing product! So what kind of explanation can be even offered to people so cheap? Like explaining fine arts to cavemen… a waste of time. You don’t understand why Apple is so superior, and that’s fine – not everyone can have a refined taste and quality criteria. I don’t expect you to stop bitching and moaning at Apple, of course, I just wanted you to understand that there are many, many things you’re simply not up to, and will never be; monkeys before a Picasso painting would only screech and throw stuff at the painting… but that only tells something about them. Happy lives in the cesspool of Miserosoft and Dull! -
March 9, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Nicholas:
Hello I am sorry but this war is getting old. THe point is Macs have superior stability have very few of those errors ever happen with Macs. And the virus thing is not just because there are less people who are out there doing it. IT IS BASED ON UNIX the most used server OS and mainframe OS ever. So many things are based off of UNIX, like Linux, Mac OS, BSD, and a multitude of other business grade software that all have less downtime and less problems than ANY version of Windows. You pay not for the brand not for the hardware but rather you pay for ease of use on a great basis that runs more reliably. So say what you will about Mac but go spend some time reading real facts about up time, service, stability and compatibility. Because Macs have all that and more if you are willing to open your mind to new thinking. I used to hate macs to then I found Linux and its easier cousin Mac OS. I am a trained computer technician and I found I now have the time to work on more customers machines, (almost exclusively windows in my area), and less time with my own system cause it stays running and I dont need to sacrifice downloading “warez” as you call it I get to make my cake and eat it too. Can you windows guys? no you keep me fed you put money in my pocket so I thank you but please go use the brain God gave you and read once and awhile.
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March 9, 2009 at 10:40 pm
strife:
the never ending battle.
most of this debate has been about how much more a mac is and how it is a status thing.
macs are good for those people that like lexus sure and those that want a easy system that for the most part is stable and free of virus’s… more so at least than windows being run by a user that doesn’t know what they are doing.but i find it weird that someone said they don’t understand how an engineer would buy a mac.
macs are great for engineers or developers or very tech savy people
mac is unix and comes with good developer tools such as java and xcode
i just wanted to say that cause it seemed to never be said.
i wouldn’t mind a mac but only if someone got me one.
with my money i would buy a pc.
then i could download everything i want.
and if i am careful and smart won’t have to deal with virus’s.but all the positives i talk about with macs could be had without the expensive price tag if you opt for linux.
but linux has its flaws.
if you don’t want to deal with drivers or the steep learning curve and you can afford a mac then get a mac. you can have the pros of linux with everything set up for you … drivers ..slick gui … software that is tested to work well on your machine etc.some of the negatives about macs are what make it a big positive.
you have less software and have to spend more
cause they take away your freedom to assure you that if you use this and that it will work fine.so it is up to you what you want
they all have their pros and cons
and they all suffer from the same problems
they all have to be maintainedi have been on macs that are slow and buggy.
i have seen a linux system crash … well let me rephrase that, i have seen x crash (the GUI). you still have control of the system and can kill or restart the guiso do you want a system that is cool, trendy, easy, powerful, pretty stable, expensive, good for beginners and developers, and tested to work with a certain small set of software, then get a MAC
do you want a system that is cheap, easy, powerful, can be stable if you know what you are doing and are not stupid, great for beginners and developers and gamers, with almost infinite software selection, get a PC
if you want a system that is free, very powerful, very stable, extremely great for developers, but small set of software and drivers, and not good for beginners, than get Linux
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March 10, 2009 at 10:49 am
Jug:
I personally got a Mac to be able to legally use OS X as my primary OS, and in the near future, Windows 7 as my secondary. THAT is awesome for my needs as a software developer that cares about more than either one of the operating systems.
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March 12, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Jeremy:
I keep seeing “virus” tossed around a lot as a reason to stay away from a PC. Well your right lets all go out and get an apple machine let Apple take 70-80% of the market share and guess what happens. virus writers stop writers viruses for pc and start writing them for mac. The fact that most viruses are written for PC does not show a flaw it show how much of the market share is PC. Plan and simple if mac started to even get close to 40% market share you would see a lot more viruses, spy ware ans mal-ware written for them. When it comes down to it no one cares to write much of it for mac’s because so few have them it’s not worth the time or effort.
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March 26, 2009 at 7:55 am
Dave:
He is a self-righteous, arrogant, condescending, whining elitist, as well as a purveyor of distortions who needs to spend some years assessing his lack of class and dignity. As for my “taste’ perversion for the lowly PC, I would add that the only Mac in my life is the McIntosh audio equipment that I listen to Bach, Mozart and Frank Zappa on. My car is a Ford ZX-2/Escort because I don’t suffer from the phallic insecurity that many Mac heads do. Most detestable is his utter presumption of authority and supremacy to the rest of us “low-life” trash who have not attained the lofty pinnacle “Mac ownership”. Grmarx is obviously the kind of chap who would buy a $4000.00 Moving-coil phonograph cartridge and brag about it’s sharp transients while being too ignorant to realize that his $4000.00 trophy POS has poor to non-existent tracking ability and a huge peak at 15kHz!
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I’ve been running XP on 3 computers for about 2 Years,
-downloaded everything under the sun
-never ran AV SFW (and don’t believe in it)
-Never had any problemsI have crashed my computer about 300 times, but I know what i can do, and what not to touch.
Lack of intelligence?
Wasted time?
or
80% more resources on my computer?ALL my systems run great. ALL the time.
. . . also (for windows)
I think MS could ‘lighten the load’ in some respects; however, they also support a broad assortment of Hardware (More Convenient).
I feel that windows offers me a lot of ‘back doors’, and is very customizable. -
April 24, 2009 at 12:03 am
Frank:
This is some realy great SFW:
http://download.cnet.com/Trend-Micro-HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10227353.html
AKA: HyjackThisVery simple, and effective.
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August 31, 2010 at 9:37 am
Very well written article. I’m really impressed by you knowledge of the subject. Fell free to write more.
February 20, 2009 at 2:00 am
YG: