I am a pastor at 
Uh, yeah, right. No chance I am rethinking my allegiance to Apple despite the long, long list of recent problems my MacBookPro has had (read about them here). Not only did I have all those problems recently, but some of them were repeated. Just this week I was without my computer again for two days. Seems the logic board failed again and needed to be replaced. So, now i am on my third logic board since I bought this computer. If you are unfamiliar with computer parts, the logic board is pretty much the heart of the computer. So, in a sense, I am on my third machine. Apple told me that if the machine has any problems in the next two months they will just give me an entirely new machine.
So, even with all these problems, why do I stay loyal? I’ve been thinking about this and I realized that the reason I will always be a Mac user is because of the software / user interface experience. Now, I love the look of Apple computers. The design is downright beautiful. I love the minimalist design of their products. In fact, I remember the moment I was hypnotized by the glow of a friend’s apple logo on the back of his G3 iBook. I wanted one at that moment. But, despite what Andre Aggasi said, image is not everything. Also, hardware is not everything. As I have a seen, no matter how high of quality, hardware will fail. In some ways, that unavoidable. It happens to Macs and it happens to PCs. So, that’s not what keeps me loyal.
What keeps me loyal is their software. Mac Os X is so just so smooth, elegant and beautiful. Everything makes sense. Everything works (unless, in my case, the hardware breaks). Every little detail on this operating system has been thought through so carefully and is so darn intuitive. Sometimes I have to go back and use Windows to test a website and I am reminded about why I love the Mac operating system so much. Windows is clunky and unintuitive.
So, yeah go ahead and make fun of me for having my computer out to repair three times in the last 2 months. That’s fine. Honestly, I’d rather have my lemon MacBook Pro than have to use Windows on a daily basis. At least it was only my hardware that was broken. Hardware can be fixed. Operating systems are a different story. And when it comes to OSX, there is no comparison.
Bruce Reyes-Chow said...
1So true. I now tell folks that even though the Mac was more expensive, if I paid myself minimum wage for all the hours I put in scanning, debugging and generally messing with my PC, it makes it more economical to buy a Mac. One blip versus a lifetime of pain! I’ll take the blip any day!
04/23/08 8:03 AM | Comment Link
Tim Etherington said...
2I offer a hearty AMEN! in a deep, barrel-chested, full-throated, standing in the back of the sanctuary, hand in the air fashion.
I’ll take my borken Powerbook over my functional work provided Lenovo ThinkPad any time. Thanks.
04/23/08 8:33 AM | Comment Link
Fred said...
3Both of my kids have MacBook Pro and they have never had any problems at all. They’ve sold me. My next laptop is going to be a Mac.
04/23/08 9:22 AM | Comment Link
D.G. Hollums said...
4I have had several problems with my Mac Book Pro’s hardware, but I will die with Apple, until something cooler comes out, heh heh.. just kidding!
04/23/08 1:45 PM | Comment Link
Tim said...
5That a girl, Todd. I knew there was a reason why I bought my Macbook – and it was because of people like you :)
04/24/08 7:24 AM | Comment Link
Apple said...
6Todd,
We’re sorry to hear about your hardware failure. Thank you for your understanding. We truly believe we have the best software available and are always striving to have the highest quality of hardware to compliment it.
Pro Care might be a great option for you. It provides you with our highest level of service including yearly tune-ups, VIP Genius Bar status and part preference on repairs.
Thank you for choosing apple.
Best,
AppleCare Relations
04/25/08 6:52 AM | Comment Link
Pat said...
7Todd, I hear ya. I use a Macbook Pro and LOVE it, although I’ve had to replace a battery and the screen in the first 6 months – about $800 in repairs. If I were spending my own money, I’m not sure that I’d do a MBP, as much as I like the machine.
Pro Care is a great plan – but it’s an additional expense, paid by the customer, to enable Apple’s Legendary Service, right?
I think the Genius Bar idea is really cool, but… the costs add up fast.
04/25/08 10:10 AM | Comment Link
abelara said...
8another option instead of Pro Care, is to simply sell and then upgrade machines once a year before the original warranty runs out. i’ve done this on my macbook. the price doesn’t depreciate that much from one year to the next. so instead of spending $1,000+ or $2,000+ (if you get the Pro) every 4 years or so. i just spend maybe $200-400 every year for those 4 years and always have the best model.
or it gets even cheaper if you buy from apple’s refurb site. you get the one generation behind models at a great discount. or sometimes even the current models a few months after their introduction.
in fact i plan to do this this summer. but i think i may be spending a little bit more because i’d like to make the jump from a macbook to a macbook pro.
alternatively, you may want to “wish” that something goes wrong in the next two months. it’s rumored that June 9th (keynote at WWDC) will roll out new MBP models. :-)
04/25/08 11:12 AM | Comment Link