Mac vs PC (split from Netbook thread)

[BLINGMW]

How can you seriously argue that Macs "last longer" when their major components (motherboard / CPU) are the exact same as a PC's?

It's the overall design that makes them more reliable. How you tie the components together has a lot to do with their longevity. Cooling design, protecting components from shock, all that kind of stuff. The latch, the power connector, the buttons, Apple just does it right first and a few years later everyone's doing it. And if something weird they tried didn't work out (it happens!), they correct it for the next gen. I'm not saying there aren't PCs out there that aren't as well thought out, I'm sure there are, but they tend to cost more.

75% of all failures were software related, 15% were dead HDs, 9% were user idiocy (the most common was jamming telephone cords into NIC ports which bends the pins), and the other 1% included dead screens or broken keys on keyboards.

Now that's true. Random hardware failures are the least of a computer's problems, Mac or PC. So it's kind of silly to talk much about it I guess. :dunno: And when nothing "kills" it, software complexity does. 5 years is about it, Mac or PC when it comes to needing to upgrade. That used to be different, and I could brag that a 10yr old Mac was still useful and a 10yr old PC was not, but that's just not true anymore. They're both file servers or old game players at best and the internet has left them in the dust.

Thats the entire problem with Mac - you have to buy the hardware from Mac, your OS is made by Mac, and Mac tightly controls the pricing.

This is why the "debate" will never end. If you consider that "the problem", when I and other fanbois consider that one of the biggest reasons why they're better, well, we'll have to agree to disagree! The tying of the OS to the hardware is one of the biggest advantages Apple has. For example, I open the lid of this 3yr old MacBook here, it comes out of sleep in a couple seconds, wireless connection is up and it's ready to GO. I open the lid of my 3yr old work Dell laptop... and... hell, I never know what's going to happen. It's fun! Maybe it'll only take 20 seconds or so to reorient itself. Maybe it won't come back at all. Maybe it will, but it forgot that I would like the display to work. Or the keyboard. Or that stuff's ok, but I have to reset the wireless card. And I have plenty of other experience with other PC laptops to know that's kinda normal.

I'll admit it probably costs more to own a Mac.
I'll admit that I don't even really prefer OSX over Windows nowadays. I've gotten used to XP.
On style and build quality the Mac usually wins though.
AND the extra value is there in the user experience. It's just harder to put on paper. Just one more example and I'll shut up- When I was considering getting a HTPC box, I wanted something super small footprint that would have enough proc/video power to handle the next few years easily. I could have put together or bought a PC that would do it for ~$300. But I paid $500 for a Mac Mini ($100 off retail for a factory refurb, which is what I always buy, so there are significant discounts out there). Why? $200 bought me the piece of mind that it would be very quiet, not use much power, and do its job with little management. I just didn't get the impression through my search that there was a little PC out there that wouldn't fall short on at least one of my requirements, and that frustration is worth, well, at least $200. And if OSX sucked as a HTPC, then it would make a fine windows machine instead!