Im afraid im going to have to wave my geek e-penis here. Prepare for a schooling
:whistling:
TBH, dump the lot and go Linux,
Its a nice idea but just not practical. In nearly all cases people want things which are not simple for them to do on linux. Even with the advent of great distros such as Ubuntu and Mint there is still pleanty which requires a good working knowledge of the software.
there is a reason why servers run either that or UNIX.
Well practically nothing runs UNIX
But yes Linux servers ftw. (Preferably Red Hat based). But using servers as a base for moving your workstation to the same software is just crazy. I have multiple racks of servers, not one has a monitor.
However to be fair the MAC OS is Linux based.
Near enough, parts from FreeBSD and NetBSD went into NeXTSTEP. But yes its unix background is what makes it great. Its got all the nich shiny bits so you never need to get dirty but if you want to, pop the bonnet and make it dance.
My gripe is just overpriced hardware. Like you said, the only difference is the FW.
And build quality, and support, and a multitude of other fringe benefits.
EG I have swapped out 11 month old machines under warranty. They just ship the latest model and usually better spec with no bother. Dont get that with HP or Sony and the likes.
With regards to replacing £800 laptops each year you need to buy better laptops.
I have experience of practically every manufacturer out there. Nothing could compete with apple in terms of longevity, build quality and performance.
As we know, the hardware is identical, so if you are having issues with PC's then it's most likely a software issue.
Im quite capable of running software, I even ran vista at one point
The issues are many, but it tends to be the physical hardware failing. Circuits failing, ram failing, capacitors failing, hinges, cases etc.
But yes windows is enough to drive anyone to distraction, OSX is simply brilliant. It is so polished. But as above, it does give you the tools to do what you want if you want to go deeper.
If you get a good quality laptop (ie ASUS, who also manufacture Sony laptops & PS3 motherboards) then it will last just as long as the Apple hardware at a fraction of the cost. I don't see why we should be 2x the price for identical hardware in a white case with an Apple logo.
As above, not the hard work I put my hardware through.
I have had my current 13.3" carbon fibre chassis VAIO since xmas 2008. Cos me £1500 at the time, but it's carbon fibre, weighs 1.79kg, LED screen which is literally less than 5mm thick and excellent quality, top build quality, 2x graphics processors, an integrated intel for better battery life and an NVIDIA card for more demanding things, Intel Core2Duo processor, 2GB RAM and even a sim card slot for WWAN etc, etc.
Spledid, £100 more than my better mac for a similar spec
Ok I cheat in that I dont pay retail. I know your point but im afraid in my experience with a large user base it just doesnt stack up.
Was the top spec machine at the time and the only time it has ever missed a beat is when Windows messes up. It still runs everything I throw at it without fail (apart from games of course). Was an expensive buy, but even 3 years later it's never missed a beat and it's literally on 24/7, the only time it gets turned off is when I need to take it somewhere.
Not sure on the spec of your Mac, but if you had paid £2000 for one at the same time I bought mine it would have been less specced for £500 extra (or £800 extra in the case of the ASUS) and that's what annoys me about Apple.
If Id paid £2k for it I would have paid too much being in the trade.
But yes I could have bought a PC cheaper, but I know it would not have had the reliability of this Mac.
