think_too_mut Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 >give me some good reasons to choose a Macintosh instead of a PC today. Betamax video tapes were superior to VHS and we know how it ended... You are not buying a computer, you are buying: - ability to choose between 40-50 models from hundreds of different suppliers - certainity that your product will advance even if one supplier fails - whatever comes new on the market, will first have PC connectivity and drivers ready - ability to choose between hundreds of inexpensive peripherals - ability to easily exchange whatever you have - unparalleled technical support - ability to access thousands of books, software packages, training courses Can you recognize Mac in any of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 Hi! - ability to easily exchange whatever you have- unparalleled technical support I take it that you have never used a Compaq. :devil: regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 I did not mean only placing a call. A wide variety of options available for the platform - starting from friends and neighbour whiz kids, corner shops, chat groups... Whatever Mac has, it's in the proportion of their total market share : 5%, if that. An exception or two in some nice area won't make a big change. Did you see what happened to Sun Microsystems? They are abandoning their world leading Sparc chips, turning to Intel clones, AMD. Nobody has been as successful as them in the Unix world. Was it not Linux that runs on Intel that killed off Sun and is on it's way to crush HP-UX and AIX? And there is no real marketing force behind Linux - just sheer popularity and commonality of the Intel platform that it runs on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 I did not mean only placing a call. A wide variety of options available for the platform - starting from friends and neighbour whiz kids, corner shops, chat groups... Whatever Mac has, it's in the proportion of their total market share : 5%, if that. Well if we are not limiting ourselves to 'official' support don't you think that that a small Mac community is at a decided advantage because of the very limited hardware set that the Mac OS actually runs on. I think that If I said that my 7200/120 with Motorola PPC 603E in a Mac forum that someone would pick up the error much faster than if I said my Compaq Professional Workstation 5000 with 2XPentium II 333 in a forum for PC users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 >don't you think that that a small Mac community is at a decided advantage because of the very limited hardware set that the Mac OS actually runs on. I agree - you are right but IMO for the wrong reason. More choice, not less, is what we are after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 Hi! Was it not Linux that runs on Intel that killed off Sun and is on it's way to crush HP-UX and AIX? I doubt that. Linux runs just as well on a Sparc as it does on a x86. Also IBM to my knowledge hasn't abandoned AIX. They just offer Linux as an alternative. My comment was indeed about Compaq's support organisation. A couple of years ago while I was still working as a consultant at an Ericsson plant Compaq took over the helpdesk. Due to a power failure my file system got screwed up. As consultants aren't alowed to have root access to their workstaion I had to call the aforementiond help desk. The first thing I had to do was to choose if I wanted to speak to the Windows or the Solaris help desk. I chose the Solaris help desk and had to answer heaps of stupid questions that som bloke obviously was reading from a form. The last question he asked was "WHAT OPERATING SYSTEM ARE YOU USING". Needless to say the geezer that fixed my workstation wasn't from Compaq. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 >I doubt that. Linux runs just as well on a Sparc as it does on a x86. It may run on anything but how many people/companies buy Sparc to run Linux on it. >Also IBM to my knowledge hasn't abandoned AIX. They just offer Linux as an alternative. Nobody will ask IBM when they are ready to abandon AIX. The market will shift and they will have to follow. So far, Sun and HP server division are on their knees because of Linux and Win. 10 years ago there were 20 dialects of Unix, coming from reputable vendors, with altogether significant market share. Where are now NCR's, Pyramid's, Data General, Unisys's, Olivetti's...Even SCO, an el-chipo predecessor of low demanding OS is struggling. Almost 80% of world's mission critical computers connect to my gear and I can see the change. 3 years ago there was no Linux. 5 years ago there were no Win NT boxes. All Solaris, HP-UX and AIX and mainframes. Now, of all new coming servers, 50% are Win NT, 15% Linux. And we are talking about half a million servers. Anecdotes about PC support: believe me, I can tell you thousands and they are all worthless incidents that are not a norm. Otherwise, companies running like that won't be around for very long, let alone be world leaders like Compaq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 Otherwise, companies running like that won't be around for very long, let alone be world leaders like Compaq. Er, that's now HP We had a standing joke at my old company : as a longtime Digital vendor, we watched the Compaq takeover and, more recently, the HP merger with interest. The line went something like 'HP are doomed - they've swallowed the Digital pill, and look what it did to Compaq !'. Seriously, Compaq did some things very well, but supporting enterprise customers just wasnt one of them. Thats somewhat off-topic : getting back to Apple, I have found the local Apple service people to be extremely helpful, and thats a startk contrast to many of the cowboys who populate the larger PC-repair market, particularly in regional centres (read 'backwaters') like the one I currently find myself in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 "It may run on anything but how many people/companies buy Sparc to run Linux on it." That could change, look at what SGI HPC units are running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 >That could change, look at what SGI HPC units are running. I would be even more certain: that will change. By simple fact that Sun will abandon Sparc and turn to AMD Intel clone. It was in industry press last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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