For Homeslice: Mac people and PC people

[Flexin]

I thought Iworks was included with the Mac? I was just on Dell and Apple trying to build to systems that are close. From the order set up Iworks is included if you include $79 with the rest of your money. There is a lot of other software that can be added as well. Pricing them up the Dell was $900 less for an I7 XPS. $1299 for an HP.

For me that is a lot of money. I'm not going to knock anyone for buying one, just the people that think its the only computer to buy.

James

[anthonyk]

Originally Posted by Papa_Complex

Actually Dell set the business model, that other manufacturers have struggled to try and emulate.

Which business model would that be? Maybe with their enterprise stuff, but they seem to botch the consumer side of things on a regular basis.

[anthonyk]

Originally Posted by Flexin

I thought Iworks was included with the Mac? I was just on Dell and Apple trying to build to systems that are close. From the order set up Iworks is included if you include $79 with the rest of your money. There is a lot of other software that can be added as well. Pricing them up the Dell was $900 less for an I7 XPS. $1299 for an HP.

For me that is a lot of money. I'm not going to knock anyone for buying one, just the people that think its the only computer to buy.

James

It's the iLife bundle that's included (editing software for movies, photos, DVDs, music, etc.).

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by anthonyk

Which business model would that be? Maybe with their enterprise stuff, but they seem to botch the consumer side of things on a regular basis.

That would be the internet sales model, that's the envy of the computer sales world. You say that they botch things. I say that they have almost 24% of the US market.

[Flexin]

Originally Posted by anthonyk

It's the iLife bundle that's included (editing software for movies, photos, DVDs, music, etc.).

Ok thanks. The i in front of everything can make your head spin if you don't really pay attention to it or care.

I just read it again. I see the iworks is word processing software. So it looks like they offer iLife and then have upgraded software for everything that it does.

James

[Trip]

Originally Posted by Papa_Complex

Actually Dell set the business model, that other manufacturers have struggled to try and emulate. The only issue that I had to deal with, on the system I'm typing this on, was an iffy video driver. I fixed that pretty quickly. For me, it was easy. For anyone else it would have taken no more than a 5 minute internet search.

The other systems, that I use, are business grade Dell systems. I've never had a compatibility issue with one. They work, right out of the box, and are stable in configuration for no less than 6 months.

Sorry, that system Dell used to create themselves was devised by Sony and imported by Steve Jobs. Steve visited a Sony factory and brought that shit over here.

I am not talking about an internet sales model. I am talking about quality control and how the factory was run to assemble the products. Steve took their visually appealing style a step further though. Dell has gotten away from this process on their consumer side.

Dell use to mean reliability, it doesn't anymore. TVA is all Dell and we have nothing but issues, but that is mainly due to our sloppy IT program more than anything. We have been getting a ton of recalled Dell models lately though. Seems we are shipping every other model back for battery or hard drive issues.

[anthonyk]

Originally Posted by Papa_Complex

That would be the internet sales model, that's the envy of the computer sales world. You say that they botch things. I say that they have almost 24% of the US market.

A few short years ago, that used to be almost 35%, if I remember right. They've managed to halt the slide recently (so far), but they're far from being the envy of everyone else.

Good point about internet sales, though. They deserve some props for establishing that a while back.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by Trip

Sorry, that system Dell used to create themselves was devised by Sony and imported by Steve Jobs. Steve visited a Sony factory and brought that shit over here.

I am not talking about an internet sales model. I am talking about quality control and how the factory was run to assemble the products. Steve took their visually appealing style a step further though. Dell has gotten away from this process on their consumer side.

Dell use to mean reliability, it doesn't anymore. TVA is all Dell and we have nothing but issues, but that is mainly due to our sloppy IT program more than anything. We have been getting a ton of recalled Dell models lately though. Seems we are shipping every other model back for battery or hard drive issues.

What models are you using? For notebooks, we're exclusively Latitude. The most recent models are trivial to disassemble, and repair, due to some very well thought-out changes to the case design. We don't support XPS or Inspiron. In desktops we're primarily Optiplex, with a smattering of Precision.

Given our install base of somewhere around 2500 units, our down-time is remarkably low. Then again myself, and my closest co-workers, are part of an authorized service centre. If we need parts they're in-hand, generally in 24-48 hours.

To me, quality control is about avoiding DOA units. I can't remember the last time I had a Dell DOA. Don't get me started on quality control though. The things that I've seen, in the various companies in which I've worked or toured, piss me right off. I wrote the QA and product testing procedures for the first computer manufacturer in which I worked, and they tossed it all out within a month of my leaving them. I don't think that they lasted a year after that, though, before going bankrupt.

Originally Posted by anthonyk

A few short years ago, that used to be almost 35%, if I remember right. They've managed to halt the slide recently (so far), but they're far from being the envy of everyone else.

Good point about internet sales, though. They deserve some props for establishing that a while back.

I think that they almost hit 40% (38, or somesuch), before dropping. In response to their success companies like HP dropped their pants on profits, and aggressively marketed through discount/big box chains. Dell responded in kind, where the big box stores are concerned, which to my mind was a poorly countenanced marketing misstep. They didn't gain a whole lot there.

[EpyonXero]

Originally Posted by Trip

Sorry, that system Dell used to create themselves was devised by Sony and imported by Steve Jobs. Steve visited a Sony factory and brought that shit over here.

I am not talking about an internet sales model. I am talking about quality control and how the factory was run to assemble the products. Steve took their visually appealing style a step further though. Dell has gotten away from this process on their consumer side.

Dell use to mean reliability, it doesn't anymore. TVA is all Dell and we have nothing but issues, but that is mainly due to our sloppy IT program more than anything. We have been getting a ton of recalled Dell models lately though. Seems we are shipping every other model back for battery or hard drive issues.

Just my experience:

I bought a $1300 Dell XPS M1330 laptop with all the bells and whistles in 2007 and the video card died 2 years later which was out of warranty and couldnt be fixed so I replaced it with a $500 MSI laptop this summer. I have owned 4 Macs and since 1992 (the first was my parents but I used it 90% of the time) and none of them have failed. the only problem Ive had was a dead power supply on my G5 Mac Pro which I just took down to the Apple Store and got replaced for $100. Every Mac Ive had worked right up to the day I upgraded to something newer and continued to work afterwards.

[Flexin]

Coming soon to a Mac near you: serious malware

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/comin...s-malware/3212

James