Microsoft Surface, thank god sanity has returned!

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by swiss

fyp.

You cant crash w7.
unless:
- you OC
- install incompatible/defective hw
- use 3rd party programs which are, uh, "not so well" coded...

lol sure, you should have a look at the tickets of our IT helpdesk. The problem is not the software per se, it's the misuse of it. Users with little or no understanding of how an OS or PC really work will do a lot more damage than savvy ones, and that's where Microsoft loses in terms of quality.

Only that this philosophy can never work for MS.
Didn't you say your a consultant...

I'm not a consultant, but I can tell that my 15 years' experience of use of PCs and Macs for professional use taught me that if you want to work and have a dependable platform for it, nothing comes close to the Apple combo of hardware and software in terms of quality, reliability and above all post-sale service.

If you want to play games obviously PCs are the best choice, but that's just a deformity of the market, where software houses push the boundaries in agreement with GPU makers to raise the bar of quality and increase sales.
Come to think of it, there have been very few innovative game concepts in the last 10 years, it's all been about visually stunning more than anything else.

[swiss]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

lol sure, you should have a look at the tickets of our IT helpdesk. The problem is not the software per se, it's the misuse of it. Users with little or no understanding of how an OS or PC really work will do a lot more damage than savvy ones, and that's where Microsoft loses in terms of quality.

No - it's the IT department. If you have a buddy at Ernest&young you might want to ask him for his laptop - there is nothing you fu, the user is locked out from pretty much everything. Those things wont even accept a foreign usb stick without formating and encrypting it(god knows what else it does to it). After that procedure you can only use it company PCs, that is, unless you format it again.
The problems they are experiencing are related to lotus(iirc) and other 3rd party software.
So yes, you can. Dont ask me how, but you can.

above all post-sale service

I guess you're referring to software, when it comes to hardware their service sux, in CH at least.

[Sternjaeger II]

So limiting the access to the machines is the answer?! I'll keep on working with Apple,thank you!

The hardware support here is perfect: you call,they come pick it up,fix it and bring it back for free,no questions asked. Truth is that hardware problems are a less common occurrence with Macs,at least according to our IT folks.

[Bewolf]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

So limiting the access to the machines is the answer?! I'll keep on working with Apple,thank you!

The hardware support here is perfect: you call,they come pick it up,fix it and bring it back for free,no questions asked. Truth is that hardware problems are a less common occurrence with Macs,at least according to our IT folks.

Fix it, bring it back for free? Is that some kind of special company contract including this service? Certainly does not apply to my devices.

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by Bewolf

Fix it, bring it back for free? Is that some kind of special company contract including this service? Certainly does not apply to my devices.

All Apple products have a compulsory 1 year warranty on hardware and software, once that expires you can buy an extended warranty package that covers for 3 years.

As a private customer you can also have them to pick it up via courier, but I'm not sure whether it's an extra cost or not (my Apple store is not far and I took mine in only once to have a hardware issue fixed).

I believe we have some sort of agreement re. pick up here, but everything else is done for free. They pride themselves about their after sale support, and rightly so!

[Bewolf]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

All Apple products have a compulsory 1 year warranty on hardware and software, once that expires you can buy an extended warranty package that covers for 3 years.

As a private customer you can also have them to pick it up via courier, but I'm not sure whether it's an extra cost or not (my Apple store is not far and I took mine in only once to have a hardware issue fixed).

I believe we have some sort of agreement re. pick up here, but everything else is done for free. They pride themselves about their after sale support, and rightly so!

For software/hardware defects, probably.
When my Iphone hit the ground (from the living room table, 30 cm) the glass immidiatly broke. That gave me some suprises, given how Apple advertises built quality.

The store was unable to replace the glass, I had to get a new one alltogether. Hard cash involved. That cured me from any given Apple fanboyism.

Couple that with what was already said here, a closed system with everything running over the apple store, and my iphone will remain what it is. A cellphone for business soon to be replaced by a Galaxy SIII.

Interestingly enough, lots of folks I meet are making this switch currently, too.

[Sternjaeger II]

[QUOTE=Bewolf;436626]For software/hardware defects, probably.
When my Iphone hit the ground (from the living room table, 30 cm) the glass immidiatly broke. That gave me some suprises, given how Apple advertises built quality.

The store was unable to replace the glass, I had to get a new one alltogether. Hard cash involved. That cured me from any given Apple fanboyism.
[quote]
That is odd. Not that it broke I mean, but that they weren't unable to replace the glass. Besides you can find many independent shops that can do it for a fraction of the cost (or do it yourself!). I hope you didn't throw yours away!
Mobile phones are a reality per se though.

Couple that with what was already said here, a closed system with everything running over the apple store, and my iphone will remain what it is. A cellphone for business soon to be replaced by a Galaxy SIII.

Interestingly enough, lots of folks I meet are making this switch currently, too.

this is because you need to put a stricter control to ensure quality. If people don't accept this, they're gonna end up with a crippled product that won't work in the end (and that's why many people damage their android based mobiles). Apple has been the first company to deliver a mobile phone that has an extensive support for millions (!!!) of apps, making sure they respect the required standards and do not cause trouble to the phone, and many of them are free! I have a fantastic free satnav that works a treat on my iPhone, and got so many other useful apps in there!

A friend of mine just got himself a Galaxy, she wanted to install Facebook on it and it turns out you need a Google account to do it on Android.. it's this kind of patched up wonky things that really put me off android.

[swiss]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

So limiting the access to the machines is the answer?! I'll keep on working with Apple,thank you!

This is actually exactly what apple does - hide crucial functions so deep in the the OS the average user never stumbles across them. Smart move.
W7 made a huge step there compared to XP.
Again, I'm not arguing which OS is better, it's just your points of criticism are wrong(in general).

Truth is that hardware problems are a less common occurrence with Macs,at least according to our IT folks.

I thought we had an agreement on MS only being the software supplier?
Now, who specifies your machine? Maybe the IT folks?

Or do you really think it's the OS damaging the HW...

Originally Posted by bewolf

The new phone cost me 150€

That's exactly what the apple store in zürich charges for the repair of the just the glass.
The procedure is a PITA btw, I was researching it because a buddy of mine dropped his 4s too*. Since I'm pretty proficient on older Motorolas I thought maybe I could... it's not gonna happen.

*and he had an Apple OE Aluminum hardcover! What are those things supposed to protect the phone from? Sunlight?

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by swiss

This is actually exactly what apple does - hide crucial functions so deep in the the OS the average user never stumbles across them. Smart move.
W7 made a huge step there compared to XP.
Again, I'm not arguing which OS is better, it's just your points of criticism are wrong(in general).

Wrong according to who, you? Oh well, I know nuffink really, but I'm sure you know more than an IT office that services 10k PCs and Macs all over the UK

I thought we had an agreement on MS only being the software supplier?
Now, who specifies your machine? Maybe the IT folks?

Or do you really think it's the OS damaging the HW...

you're missing the point, it's the whole concept of providing "software only" that is at the base of the problem. The potential given by a PC in terms of access to bios, regedit and other vital settings of the machine is totally unnecessary in most cases, and puts the machine at a seriously high potential risk of damage, data loss, virus attack etc... your Win7 still needs a sound antivirus and firewall to work safely, Macs can well live without one.

That's exactly what the apple store in zürich charges for the repair of the just the glass.
The procedure is a PITA btw, I was researching it because a buddy of mine dropped his 4s too*. Since I'm pretty proficient on older Motorolas I thought maybe I could... it's not gonna happen.

*and he had an Apple OE Aluminum hardcover! What are those things supposed to protect the phone from? Sunlight?

they don't repair yours, they flash your memory and apply it to a refurbished one in most cases.

As I said, I've fixed several myself for friends and colleagues and it's easier once you know what you're doing and have the right tools.

[Hood]

Speaking personally I'm an Apple fanboy for my phone (gimme gimme iPhone 5) and W7 for my computing - I've never had a problem with it at home or in the office running bespoke software, roaming profiles, virtual networking etc etc. I've used OSX extensively but don't like the "feel" of it.

Unless you're a hater of the large hardware/software companies either does fine. For stability I'd probably go with OSX because the possible combinations of hardware/peripherals is smaller so stability is easier to obtain. I'll stick with W7 though.

Hood