Okay, so
we've heard just about everything there is to
say about the new iPod mini’s right? (does anybody else
think of mini m&m's when they hear that title?) Good,
so we can move on to something else, then. We just recently had
the first meeting of the Billpalmer.net MUG group, and it was
a great time. If you haven’t joined yet and are considering
it, I urge you to do so.
As great
as the meeting was, it got me to thinking about a few things
about the Mac, the first being
namely, why it is that
PC users have such a hard time “switching.” The short
and curly of it is that it’s not that they are afraid of
switching, it’s that the initial outlay of cash is so expensive.
But let me quantify that a bit.
I bought
my first Macintosh in October of 2002 after being completely
fed up with my Windows
machine. Not that XP wasn't a vast
improvement over previous versions of Windows, but that’s
kind of like saying that having cancer is a vast improvement
over getting shot in the head because you don’t die as
fast. Man that thing crashed all the time. Long story short,
I bought a 17” iMac and I'm STILL in love almost
18 months later (0 system crashes in 18 months).
Now I'm
working on getting my dad to switch and I'm
close to saying "big mistake." The real question
though is why is it so difficult? He’s an intelligent
guy (even if he does work for HP) and can tell me verbatim
all the
benefits of switching. But he still refuses. And I think
in this case the simple answer is the best one. It's
really expensive.
My parents
have had PC's in the house
since the IBM PC Jr. And I don’t mean that they've
bought a computer, kept it, buying nothing else, and then
replaced it at a much
later date. I mean, they bought computers, upgraded it,
upgraded it again, bought software and software and then
bought something
else, gave somebody the hand-me-downs and kept right on
investing.
So why does
this keep him from switching? Because the garbage man would
have a FIT if he came down the street
one day
to find a 10'x10'x15' pile of computerized
and computer-related garbage in front of my parents'
house. (I can just see it now. I can’t talk about it;
I’m
getting all
pukie just thinkin' about it.) Not to mention the
fit that my mother would have at the thought of him throwin'
all that stuff out. (Come to think of it, she might like
this idea more than he does.)
So after
he threw all that stuff out he would have to
buy all-new software, hardware, a good number of accessories
to take advantage
of the new software and hardware, and other gadgets
and doodads as time would permit. I mean for my precious
little
iMac
and accompanying software (remember it was my first)
I spent over
$4500.00 at the drop of a hat (which reminds me, don’t
do the Apple Loan if you can help it, 27% interest,
WOOF). If my Dad had bought the computer and whatnot,
I can
guarantee without
any shadow of a doubt, he wouldn't have been
happy spending anything LESS than oh, say, $8000.00
on all
his stuff. That's
just my Dad.
Unfortunately,
I think that’s an
accurate description of a lot of other people, too.
If not necessarily in dollar amounts,
then at least, in the capabilities they want from
a machine. They expect more from a Macintosh than they
do for a PC, which
is also where part of the idea that Macintoshes are
more expensive than PC’s come from.
On the
PC, they’re thinking they’re doing
great if the machine doesn't crash every
other minute. But with a Mac, people already KNOW
they are reliable,
they KNOW that
they are wonderful to use, most of them KNOW that
it is a better overall system. But when they go
to get a Mac, they don’t
want just the Mac. Suddenly it’s a machine
they can truly accomplish something on, not desperately
attempt to get their
work done on. They want a digital video camera,
they want a digital photo camera, they want an
iPod, and
an iSight, and plenty of
other things. Simply because they KNOW it will
"just work." And
they want to take advantage of that in a big way.
The perceived difference in cost doesn't
come from the machines themselves, it comes from
everything
they want to be able to do with those
machines, because so much is provided freely that
you suddenly have an intrinsic need to put those
software applications to
good use. Believe me, I know these things.
So here’s
what I propose. Someone (anyone… please… are
you listening!?) needs to come up with a “Turn
in and WIN!” retailer
program where if you turn in your PC, provided
1) it’s
in good condition and 2) it’s still feasibly
useful for educational purposes, you get
a credit toward the purchase of
a Macintosh and any related software/hardware.
This would also work with software for the computer,
provided that it is somehow
relatable for educational purposes. These machines
would then be donated to underprivileged students
in districts around the
nation not fortunate enough to have a computer
at their home. It would “level the playing
field” in some communities,
giving them the opportunity to produce quality
papers that are technically equal to more affluent
children’s. Not only
would this become a tax write-off for the company
that is "donating" the
machines, but the consumers buying the best computer
in the world get what they perceive as a price
break on a Mac (which everyone
knows doesn't happen, unless you count
the stupid $3 break that some companies give
as "incentive" to
purchase from them).
So tell your
friends when you're trying to convince them
to switch, it's not about price and never
has been, it's
about value. And bang for the buck, you CANNOT
buy a PC that is equivalent. It doesn't
matter how much it’s got "under
the hood," it just won’t work,
literally and figuratively.
And the congregation said… "Amen."
