My friends Margaret and Jim are in the market for a new computer.
I’ve been offering advice because I bought an Apple desk top in January of 2008.
The Apple has worked pretty well for me. It has a 24-inch screen. I can get a blog post on the screen and look up articles in the space beside it; both are full size.
I’ve only had a few problems with my iMac. When I started blogging, I couldn’t figure out how to make links underneath highlighted words. I struggled and struggled. Finally, I determined it was the Safari browser. You needed to do special steps in the TypePad blog platform if you use Safari.
My biggest problem was the screen intensity of the iMac. It felt like the screen was "frying" my eyes after several hours of computer work. I went to the Apple store in Tukwila, Wash., for two sessions to get the screen brightness turned down beyond the lowest setting for brightness.
When it came time to buy a laptop to use when I’m traveling, I bought a PC. I didn’t want two computers that gave me eye strain.
Now that I have glasses that darken in bright light, the problem has largely disappeared.
I went with my friends today to the Apple store at University Village in Seattle. The store is much larger than the one in Tukwila. The staff was friendly and helpful – much superior to the customer service I received at Verizon Wireless this weekend. I’ll be blogging about that Saturday.
My friends are probably going to buy the 21 inch desktop iMac.
What about you? Do you love Apple computers or is the PC the one for you? Leave me a comment below and let me know how your computer is working for you. Also, what would you advise my friends to buy?
See the article "Should You Upgrade to the Latest Windows or Mac Operating System?" on the Boomer Technophobia Web site for information on the Mac-PC question.
Apple Macs.
I’ve been using computers regularly since 1979. Started programming on a DEC PDP11.
The Mac’s interface has been and continues to be remarkably intuitive; like any great product you can tell that the producers actually use their product and refine it based on feedback and their own use.
There are far too many products in the marketplace that have such obvious issues (quality, usability, etc…) that I can’t help but believe the business owners do not even use their own products.
Apple’s operating systems have put the user, the consumer, in the driver’s seat. It has a full-fledged UNIX system running underneath it, for maximum power and stability, open for all power users to customize, but not mandatory to be exposed to.
Apple seems to have the philosophy that computer owners should not have to become PhDs, or hire computer consultants, to handle daily tasks or various maintenance issues.
In my opinion they do an outstanding job of assisting novice users as well as not locking out power users, usually in a pretty and fun way.
Are they perfect? Ha, I didn’t say that. 🙂
Hi Drew,
Thanks for your comments about Apple computers. I agree they are a great product.
I bought a PC laptop for traveling because the screen is too bright on my iMac, even with the brightness turned all the way down and color adjustments from the Apple staff. I find the PC laptop much slower not as intuitive as the Apple system.
I took my Apple back to the store after reading about the problem Apple is having with some of their iMac screens being yellow. Apple is going to give me a new computer. Hurrah.
Rita