That was a pretty good article. It does seem like if you want a high-quality computer you can buy at retail, Apple's your best bet. The PCs and laptops I see available at retail look pretty shoddy. It's great that they're cheap, but they're not going to last very long either.
One thing not mentioned in the article is the excellent service offered at Apple Computer's retail stores. If you asked the typical CompUSA salesperson or service department the questions I've asked Apple store people, let's just say you wouldn't get an answer, let alone a correct one.
Apple Retail folks know what they're doing and are extremely helpful. The Genius Bar, where the first level of technical support is free, is a great idea that was implemented extremely well. Nothing on the PC side even comes vaguely close to the quality of service I've gotten there.
I'm not going to say it's perfect - but the competition flunks, leaving the field wide open for Apple.
D
I'm looking for a new low-end home desktop.
I've got a new HP laptop which, right now, I use pretty much all of the time (save for at work).
I'm thinking of a Mac Mini. Anyone have any experience with the suckers?
Is a Mac Mini@ $600ish better than a low-end Dell at $500 or so?
Monitors, etc, aren't really a problem. I have a few hundred sitting around.
"It's great that they're cheap, but they're not going to last very long either."
How long do they need to last, seriously? Hip consumers tire of electronics and want new ones long before the old ones wear out, and the zillions of un-hip PC users still hobbling along on Win '95 systems--that's TEN YEARS ago!--give lie to your theory that cheap plastic PC's die early deaths.