Relic37

Apple's Solid Triple Play Will Be Hard to Beat

I just replaced a Dell/Windows XP computer with an iMac. After 20 years of frustration with the Gates/Dell duo, Im free at last, I'm free at last, thank God-Almighty, I'm free at last!

Buying Apple Today: Like Buying Microsoft in 1998?

"Think about the Cloud. If I can store my data remotely created using Google based spread sheet and word processing applications on line, why would I want to pay for hardware and software with my files resident on a hard drive that needs constant backing up because the drive may die?"

Putting my data on some server, somewhere "out-there", hoping it will always be accessible (server not down, internet connection available, security of the server not breached, etc.) makes me shudder.

Buying Apple Today: Like Buying Microsoft in 1998?

One thing I rarely see addressed in analyzing Apple is the demographic it serves (averaged broadly) It tends to the younger end of the scale - probably skewed to those under 35-40. As these hyper-loyal customers replace the older generation that grew-up with PCs and Microsoft, the natural evolution of things would seem to be continued growth for Apple and diminishing returns for the PCs and Microsoft. My college aged child is hooked on Apple, and so are most of her college friends. Apple would have to stumble BADLY and probably repeatedly to drive them into the PC world.

I'm in my mid-50s and have thrown in the towel on the Dell / Gates product combo. I find it refreshing to use a computer (Apple) that just works - no crashes, no viruses, no problems. The slightly higher cost is not a deterrent because....it works. At this point, I can't conceive of anything Dell or Microsoft could do to tempt me to ever buy their products again. And more and more of my friends are coming to the same conclusion.

The short-term is always a crap-shoot, but long-term Apple is the 200 pound gorilla, rapidly growing large enough to push the 800 pound gorilla off the mountain top. Some day financial analysts may be comparing Microsoft to Sears.

Apple: OS X Snow Leopard May Beat Timetable

I am reading this article on a Dell computer, running Windows XP. It will be replaced by an Apple iMac running the new Snow Leopard OS sometime this fall. I gave Microsoft and Dell 20 years to get it right. Goodbye Bill. Goodbye Michael.

The Mac vs. PC Debate Was Never Clearer

I've paid 1,000 twice for MacBooks - one for my college-age child and once for myself. The very few occasions that the laptops required help were easily handled at my local Apple store, with English-as-a-first-lan... technicians. OTOH, when my two Dell desktops needed help, I was stuck dealing with techs in India with an unusual twist on English syntax, making the ordeal a good bit more difficult than necessary. And, in fact, all three times I have used Dell technical help, I have ended up with no workable solution.

I really don't care about a few hundred dollar premium for an Apple. It works like it should, so I can do the same.

Apple Upgrade on 'Mac Surge'

"Too bad they weren't lowered years ago, when picking up switchers from the beleaguered Windows franchise would have been easier."

From my perspective, Windows hasn't gotten any better - in any way, shape, or form over the years. As my desktop computers at home come up for replacement, they will be swapped for iMacs. I already use a MacBook at work, and lots of my workmates are migrating to Apple. I'm 55, hardly the swinging, hip, MacBook customer. But continued security and "crash" issues with Windows, and poor customer service from Dell have made the decision to switch quite easy.

Is Oil a Bubble? Part 3

Here is what I see...billions and billions of dollars of infrastructure in the USA known as "streets, roads, and highways" built exclusively for motorized transportation. This motorized transportation is almost exclusively powered by oil, in one of its refined states. These roads are not going away, regardless of the success of alternative fuels such as solar, nuclear, etc. There will still be vehicles, predominantly powered by oil, traveling these surfaces for at least another century. Hydrogen power may someday be feasible. Electric cars may reach practicality. Heck, we might even put sails on the roofs and grab some wind power. But cars, trucks, and buses (not to mention fire engines and ambulances) are here for the long haul. And we are going to HAVE to have sufficient oil for these things. Alternate energy sources will best work for powering the electricity grid for powering factories and heating and cooling our homes. Nuclear will have to play a part here, regardless of what Congress thinks. Unless they want to hold their sessions in the dark.

Dell Makes Headway, But Skeptics Remain

I've had three Dell computers and printers. My last one had issues that needed customer support, repeatedly. After hours on the phone my Indian rep said "I guess it is broken, my friend." My disgust with Dell (and Microsoft) has driven me into the arms of Apple. A pair of Macbooks in the family and the problems have disappeared. How many thousands of times has this same scenario played out accross the globe? Dell's best days are most likely behind them. Windows has become a liability for PCs.

Microsoft's Bid for Yahoo: My Signal To Finally Buy Google

Remember Lotus 123 and WordPerfect - both were Kings of their respective spreadsheet and word processing domains? Then along came Excel and Word, with the muscle of Microsoft and dethroned them both. Windows has become the ugly aunt you have to kiss at family reunions - you can hardly wait for her to die. I relish the thought of Google bumping Microsoft into the wastecan of historical footnotes. Now if Google and Apple would team up against Microsoft....