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Posted on 08/22/2006 8:22:41 PM PDT by HAL9000
"The similarities are almost eerie. This year, readers gave us the lowdown on over 13,000 desktop PCs—enough data to rate eight of the country's leading brands. And the final tally looks an awful lot like last year's survey results," Cade Metz reports for PC Magazine on "The 19th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey."Metz reports, "This year, you diehard PC Mag readers detailed your experiences with nearly 20,000 PCs (notebooks and desktops) and more than 6,500 printers (from mono lasers to color ink jet all-in-ones). And what you say about the leading manufacturers isn't always what we'd expect. No big name is above criticism. (Well, maybe one is, but we're inclined to believe that's due to more than just spiked apple juice.) If you're in the market for a new desktop, notebook, or printer, this report is a must-read."
"Look no further than Apple, the leader of the pack, whose overall score holds steady at 9.1. Last year, Apple's score on units needing repair was an impressive 11 percent—well below that of any other company in the survey. But according to readers, the company has managed to cut repair rates even further over the past 12 months. This year, Apple's score on units needing repair drops to 8 percent. Among first-year systems, it's only 5 percent. That's nothing less than astonishing," Metz reports.
Metz reports, "As we've said in the past, Mac owners are unusually passionate about their machines, and this may have had an effect on the company's unusually high Service and Reliability scores. But the score for percentage needing repair is less subjective than others. Either Apple is doing something right when it comes to quality control, or its restrictive warranty makes people less likely to have their systems repaired."
"Just how satisfied are Mac owners? That 9.1 overall score is significantly better than the average for Windows PCs. And the same can be said of the company's scores for reliability and the likelihood of recommending. It should be noted, however, that Apple's score on technical support is down this year (from 8.4 to 8.1)," Metz reports, "Is that a reflection of Apple's standard warranty, which allows only 90 days of telephone support for software issues? Probably not. Readers say that, among first-year Apple systems, 88 percent of tech support issues are covered by warranty (either Apple's or a third party's)—the highest rate among leading vendors."
Metz reports, "[In notebooks], once again, Apple is at the top. Its overall score, 9.1, is significantly better than the average for Windows notebooks—and a full seven-tenths of a point better than Lenovo's overall score, 8.4. Its scores for reliability (9.2), tech support (8.5), and likelihood of recommending (9.4) are also significantly better than average. Yes, its score on percentage needing repair is merely average, but at 16 percent, it's the lowest of the survey (alongside Sony's 16 percent)."
"Is this a function of that unique passion Apple users have for the company's products? Perhaps. But, again, it's hard to question the number of units needing repair. Among first-year systems, only 7 percent needed repair—2 points better than Sony," Metz reports.
Full article here. (pcmag.com)
hmmm, Apple uses the same hardware as everyone else(made by child labor) but yet, somehow they need less repairs... hmmmm....
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
I'm so satisfied that FreeRepublic duplicated my PING!
Usually *not* made by child labor, but if you think the hardware used in a Dell Dimension 2400 is the same grade as what's used in a Mac, well, you're smoking something.
That's like saying that since Mercedes and Chevrolet use the same steel to start, they should have the same reliability.
"Either Apple is doing something right when it comes to quality control, or its restrictive warranty makes people less likely to have their systems repaired."
So, Mac users just junk their computer instead of having them fixed??? And then STILL report satisfaction with Apple's service? Right. Sure.
oh boy... what brand hard drive does Apple use? Seagate, Western Digital? What about Video cards? Nvidia? ATI? What about DVD players? Samsung, Sony, Nec, Benq, Plextor? uhh huh... like i said same stuff.. and Foxconn motherboards, taiwan just like the rest of them. Personally i'd rather have Asus.
they spend so much for the computer that they dont want to look stupid when sonething fails on it, just like someone that buys an expensive foreign car thats a lemon, they tell you its the best car that they have ever had, until you talk to their
wife and she tell you that hes had it in the shop longer then hes had it at home...
LOL. I wish I could junk my 3 1/2 year old rev. A Powerbook and get a slick, new Macbook Pro but the darn thing is working just as well as the day I bought it and my wife won't let me replace it! BTW, I can't comment on the quality of Apple's service since I've never had a problem with any of my family's four Mac laptops.
Apple designs their own motherboards. And they don't just pick a random assortment of parts and shovel it out the door, like the junk you are using.
Apple's children get nap breaks.
Believe it or not, just because a component comes from the same manufacturer, doesn't mean it is 100% identical to every other product that manufacturer...
Example:
The ATI video card - although ATI Makes cards for many companies, Apple has specific specifications for their cards. Most companies do - BUT - in the case of most Windows PC manufacturers, they spec out a "stock" or comodity-level product, while Apple may spec out with some specific qualities/features they want (like the proprietary video connector they use for their amazing monitors...).
Apple has been using primarily Pioneer drives, but again with a few firmware and other tweaks.
Hard Drives they do use run-of-the-mill because all that is different is the formatting, which takes seconds when the machine is assembled (Don't know if they order them pre-formatted).
Motherboards - lay any Apple Motherboard next to any "other" motherboard and find how NOT similar they are. Even with the switch to Intel processors, the motherboards are very specific to Apple, as are the power supplies.
This specification list at least partially explains the former cost differential between Apple and other PC's. But with the most expensive component of all - the actual processor, now being shared with the rest of the PC world (with only possibly minor tweaks), the price for comparable hardware has dropped significantly for Apple.
I know. I tried to tell her I needed the new machine to play the new games but she just gave me that look.
I'd never buy another pioneer drive again after a horrible experience and with 2 of them(slot loaded dvd-rom drives), also horrendous support. the hardware and component's are pretty much the same just arranged differently, are you saying that we have a conspiracy in the manufacturing where they are keeping all the good stuff for 4% of the population? :)
i have had lots of computers and have built many for other people friends and family, here are a list of parts that i have had fail... (this has been over about an 8 year span with about 30 different machines)
1 X bad powersupply(it was a cheep case powersupply that came with a case it lasted about 1.5years)
1 X bad motherboard(i just replaced this about 2 weeks ago, it was a computer made for a friend) bad capacitors
Leadtek K7NCR18D PRO(I have built 2 others with the same motherboard I still have one and another friend has the other I inspected the caps on those motherboards and they are fine, I use one of them as my spare/backup computer)
2 X bad pioneer slot loading dvd-rom drives, they worked for about 1-2 months then started having all kinds of problems, including the drive actually scratching disks(upon ejection)..
1 bad memory module (512MB G.Skill TCCD) this was bad from the factory, returned it for a replacement and im using it right now to type this...
2 x IBM Deathstar hard drives 45GB(the worst hard drives ever created!) sheesh...
now this isnt talking about just one computer, its a span of about umm 25-30 all home built.
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