Hi All! On 2/2/07 5:38 AM, "Paul" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Paul Weaver wrote: >> Reg asked why its difficult for most people to buy a Mac? >> >> Well Reg, I feel sure you know what I meant. >> >> Electrical stores in Perth are full of PCs to suit every budget and all the >> gizmos which go with them. It's been like this for a long time. You simply >> walk into a store, pay your money and walk out with the machine of your >> choice. > > Can we make that '*limited* choice' > You cannot go into Macdonald's and ask for a nice curry either, so do > you accept the cheeseburger at a 'great' price or do you keep shopping? > A rhetorical question of course ;-) > >> Software for PCs abounds too. For example the latest Officeworks >> catalogue has a page of security and business software, none for Macs. Plus >> a lot of this stuff has cashback deals or other enticements. The big >> electrical retailers are uninterested in Macs. If anything suitable turns >> up on their shelves then its accidental. >> > > Could this have something to do with profit margins for the reseller? > I think Apple cares more about us, its end users, than even its own > licensed retailers let alone Officeworks. Well, there is also a pretty good reason why there is security software for PCs and not Macs (I'm assuming you mean security as in virus, not in share trading). BTW, there is one mac dealer in Perth that does advertise quite heavily - Digilife. Considering nextbyte have 2 stores in Perth now, it is quite disappointing that the largest Apple retailer in Australia has very non-existent advertising :-( Furthermore, pick up any DJs or Myers catalogue - there's Macs in there. Apple also care about their margins too :-) Why sell Macs through a discount electrical retailer, who will do a poor job on the sale (the sales staff will sell whatever product has the best kickback for them), and the customer already has a poor experience in switching from PC to Mac. Ever taken an iPod back to a non-AppleCentre? Horrible experience! > >> It seems like hardly a day passes here without some glossy brochure arriving >> with the latest PC offerings. Already they have Vista installed. As for >> reliability, one of my sons has used a Windoze machine for five years and >> never had any trouble. He recently bought a PC laptop because his GPS >> software won't run on Macs. There is plenty of people who can fix them too. >> > > It doesn't sadden me that most of the times I sort a customer out with a > Mac that they never call back to do more business. Aside from the odd > gem where they want another one or they send a friend my way. > There is rarely any; 'can you come over and run through that again' or > 'I cant find my thing'. > > Friends and customers who refuse to take my advice and adhere to windows > still call me regularly to have me organise clean and disinfect, despite > the income it offers I am now avoiding this as it feels like I'm in a > time warp going round and round! It's like they just don't get it and I > am talking about the same kind of five year period Paul has mentioned. > Like Paul's son, I too can and have kept an XP box going, that doesn't > make it a good system though. > >> I think you can even do a repair course at TAFE. >> > > The shame is your TAFE will not offer anything meaningful in Mac courses > anyway. It would be pointless, as only Apple-certified service centres can repair Macs, thus you can only get parts through these centres. Yes, there are non-certified ones out there, but none can do warranty work. Apple have their own training courses, btw. > The networking course I did was a shocker! > Two years of MS curriculum *straight* from MS text books. The grammar > alone was infuriating!! > > One particular teacher (who was unaware of my preferred system) would > stand out the front and regularly volunteer much anti-mac sentiment. > It was like he saw himself as a crusader. > Fair enough if he was countering someone who was spouting Mac this and > Mac that but no one ever even mentioned Macs, they all 'hated' them > already anyway! > Once a fellow student secretly confided in me the reason he 'hated' them > was that they were the computers he had to use while at school. > So he had a negative association with Macs as they were 'for school > kids'. So upon leaving school all he wanted to use was an 'adults computer'. > He also admitted Macs 'were probably' good computers, secretly mind you, > he didn't want to rock the boat. > > *I* know why he never saw PC/Windows computers at school. > Now can you tell me why children? ;-) (Sorry, I get very cheeky sometimes) > >> Don't get me wrong, I like my Macs, but there are many aspects about the PC >> world I as a consumer envy. >> > > I wonder if that is like how it is much easier to buy Christmas presents > these days. > There are millions more 'things' marketed and sold as Christmas > presents, albeit crappily designed and produced, not to mention the harm > felt by bona fide local manufacturers and the short life span of those > products. Not, IMHO, an improvement. Quite the opposite. > >> Will the Mac desktop computer eventually go the same way as the Microbee? >> >> The easiest way to buy a Mac seems to be online from Apple. This is not >> easy for people buying their first computer. >> > > As I've never bought a new Mac I'd like to know why going into your > nearest licensed store makes it difficult to buy one. > For such an important and large purchase I'd hate to think convenience > is a major deciding factor. Well, there is only one Apple store south of the river, and that happens to be at Carousel. Hopefully someone will fix that soon, as there is a new shopping complex on Leach Highway in Myaree, that has Sony Central, Bose Store, JB Hifi etc. Would be a prefect place to showcase Macs :-) The other factor is stock. Not all stores can afford to keep everything in stock, and they all have to be careful of model changeovers. You can predict to some extent, but its not foolproof. > > It seems to me similar to the purchase of a new prestige car, excuse my > lack of experience here too, but that never seems too convenient either. > Perhaps until the dust of the initial stampede settles that is ;-) > >> Also, I think the educational pricing discount is a very unfair >> discriminatory sales tactic, even though I am entitled by their rules to use >> it. >> >> Cheers, Paul. > > I do hear what you are saying Paul, that the grass seems greener and I > agree that there are a few tasty patches, but I am a healthier herding > animal, both physically and mentally for sticking mainly to this side of > the fence. > > I can use both platforms, if I had to choose between them... well you > know what I would choose :-) > > > > Cheers > > Paul Seeya Rod!
