And how much longer will those automatic updates be coming out with XP support officially dropped by MS now? I guess the choices are still a buggy Vista, or the brand-spanking-new Windows 7 shortly... Yeah - MS's record with introduced OS is really great (sarcasm intended). Windows 7 might be the best MS has ever produced, after the SP1 version is released - but until then, it is basically beta for the mass audiences.
And it sure is "funny" (again, sarcasm intended) how this thread fired right up as a full-frontal assault on Apple.
I am, as is quite obvious, an Apple fan. But I have never, EVER tried to hide any faults in Apple. Steve Jobs is a liberal - but no more so than Bill and his Microsoft bunch. But Apple hardware, despite what so many on threads like this would like to deny (I think because PC/Windows keep those builders and technicians in a job), is generally some of the best made factory hardware available. Apple hardware still benchmarks WINDOWS better than the closest comparable PC hardware from any of the big makers.
Has Apple ever made a mistake - certainly - and some that were fairly public and ugly. But overall, Apple quality is not met by other market vendors. Customer satisfaction, year after year, rates Apple at the top - and this isn't just "Apple Fan Boys" rating their experience.
Some of you guys who "roll your own" - I am happy for you. I have put together a few PC's myself. The "ability" to do that just doesn't impress me. I for one like to buy a piece of hardware, plug it in, and it work as it is suppose to.
I learned a windows lesson the hard way just in the last week. My work laptop (I had no choice - it was purchased before I came here) - an HP Pavilion that is less than a year old - started acting odd, freezing/hanging, etc. All anti-virus current (Hmmmm... haven't yet had a need for that on any of my Apple products...), AdAware, SpamBot, etc. all functioning... found it to be a hardware issue.
Ok, call HP - laptop still under warranty. Sending me a new hard drive. Ok. Well, what about restore discs? Suppose to make those from my hard drive? Huh?
Sure enough, I dig up the packet that came with the laptop - and there is a picture of a disc with instructions how to make a restore disc... So - I tell HP on phone - and he promises to send a set of discs with my drive.
Fast forward 24 hours. I have purchased two external hard drives. One for my machine at home (to use TimeMachine as automatic backup solution) and one for the work laptop. Drive is formatted NTFS - so should be ready to go connected by USB 2. Wrong. The PC, running the most up-to-date Vista could not recognize it as a usable drive. After calling a friend - I found that this isn't unusual, and that I need to reformat (same file system) using Vista management.... ok... Finally got it working. But why? The other drive - I brought it home, unpacked, plugged in power brick, plugged in USB cable - and it was immediately recognized and available for use. Oh - that was on my PowerMac... Again, just works.
And I am sure I will get personally attacked on my comment - which has become a norm on here for Apple users - even if we state a simply fact - it is sliced and diced - even if completely accurate by those who are every bit as rabidly anti-Apple as the most ardent Apple "fan boys"...
I spent five hours recently, getting a new Dell with Vista set up for a coworker. Could not ping out, no internet connection. Call Roadrunner, back and forth, back and forth, it’s a hardware problem, call Dell. Call Dell, go through at least four different tech support reps, none of whom had a firm grasp of English. Finally get a native English speaker, their best tech, and am told that the router is incompatible with Vista. Need a new router.
Five hours!