I have been considering an Apple computer for a while now, and have been reluctant to buy because of the high price tag, compared to PCs with similar technical specs. For example, a Dell Inspiron All in One with 4GB SDD3 RAM, 500GB hard drive, 2.8Ghz processor, comparable graphics card and larger, brighter 23" screen retails for 599. For 1199, you can get the same Dell model with a touch screen, 1TB hard drive, 8GB RAM, 1GB video card, and a bunch of other stuff, running Windows 7. That's twice as much computer, right?
Maybe not. I went into a Best Buy store to play with a Mac, and spent almost two hours comparing this computer to the ones I just mentioned. I ended up buying the Mac, and am entirely convinced that it is well worth the price tag. First of all, even with less RAM, the Mac was faster and performed much better than a tech spec superior PC. It ran several memory draining and intensive applications, like video editing software, iTunes, and web browsers playing video SIMULTANEOUSLY without any noticeable lag. The programs all started up almost instantly, and everything just seemed to work. The PC that had 8 gigs of RAM could not perform all of those tasks at once without slowing down. Second, the Mac doesn't require a seperate anti-virus software purchase. It's supposed to be virtually unhackable, and you won't have like a dozen McAfee processes running in the background to slow your computer down. That peace of mind for internet security alone is worth the extra money to me.
One of my other reservations for buying a Mac was having to use a different operating system, and after years of running Windows, I didn't want to have to learn how to use a computer again. However, after playing with the Mac even for just a few minutes, I realized that it was very intuitive, and as easy to use as a PC. For example, when you want to print a document on a PC, you click the tab on the upper right hand corner, find "print" and clicksame thing as on the Mac. All of the menus are pretty much identical for the word processors and internet browsers, and unless you're planning on writing or editing the DOS, there isn't much you'll have to adapt to.
Finally, the software that comes with this thing is AWESOME. The photo/video software is amazingly useful, and I can't imagine anything out there that you can buy that is as good as this stock software. There is music editing, and a bunch of other stuff that is just as good as the photo software, and while I haven't had the opportunity to really try everything out yet, I don't think I will be disappointed with any of it. To top it off, everyone raves about the customer support you get when you get an apple product. I hope I'll never have to use it, but it helps to know that Apple stands behind their products. Bottom line is, I'm really happy with my purchase.
*Update Dec 28 2011*
I just read some of the comments on my review, and I just don't understand why people can be so defensive about why I think this outperformed the PCs that I tried and have used. I can say that I've owned dozens of computers in the last two decades, and I don't think I've ever had one that is as solid as this one. I've used it for almost a year, and to this date have not had even a SINGLE glitch. All of the programs perform as expected, I have not had problems with passwords or emails being hacked, and I don't notice any performance degradation. I don't know or understand technical specs as well as most folks, I don't need to "mod" my computer or do anything that's resource draining besides video editing, I'm just an average user. I know that PCs have their strengths over Macs, but as far as what an average user would need, I don't think it gets any better than a Mac. I've tried to find used Macs for my kids room on craigslist, and most go for about 3/4 80% RETAIL!!! Show me a PC that gets that kind of resale value. As far as the defensive PC users are concerned, I'm glad that you can buy a product that you are happy with at a fraction of a cost. For me, peace of mind is worth a little extra bread.
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