It seems that I have in the past spoken about how I’m not a fan of Dell computers. I used to be, who doesn’t like a cheap PC? I encouraged my mom to buy one, as well as my sister and both of those machines are running great. I used to have plenty of love for Dell and I used to tell people to buy them all the time but lately in the absence of Michael Dell (who has recently been brought back into the company) Dell made some choices and cut some corners I just cannot stand behind. Case in point: My moms dell, the last one I have recommended someone buy, came out of the box with spyware installed on the system. I practically fell of the chair when I saw that.
It’s pretty common these days to bundle a ton of crap software on new computers. If Dell for instance pre-installs ‘Yo Mamma’s Video Editing sweet!’ onto you system the maker of that software will give dell some money, money which dell uses in large part to lower the price of their systems. I understand that, I don’t like it but I can understand it. When Dell bundles ‘WhenU – SaveNow’ (I believe that was the program) and other spyware apps I have to walk away. At least the video software does something helpful for some people. ‘WhenU – SaveNow’ is simply a program thats sits on your PC and watches what you are doing. Then, as if that was not enough it puts ads on your screen –popup ads. So, you leave for a while and come back then voila! Your screen is filled with advertisements! This is what Dell had preinstalled on the PC we bought new, direct from Dell’s Online store.
I cannot stand behind a company doing that.
Going forward, I try to encourage home users to buy Apple computers. They run Microsoft office if you need it and will handle all of you typical internet and email based needs. You might also be surprised to see the long list of software that is available for the Mac these days, even Quickbooks is available not to mention a growing list of great games. Plus, from a end user stand point, not needing to run anti-virus or anti-spyware programs is a real time and money saver. The old ‘Macs are more expensive’ mantra no longer holds true either. If you spec out a Dell, or an HP to be as identical as possible to the Mac you will find that the mac is very competitive and often times cheaper then it’s PC counterpart. Apple will notsell you a bottom of the barrel machine built on last years technology though. All of their machines are current and built to last, not built to be thrown away in 18 months, this makes people think they are more expensive. They just aren’t cheap. If you want last years technology.. buy a used mac 🙂
Some people though just have to have a PC, they seem to think they won’t be able to use the Mac or they are afraid of ‘switching.’ Thats fine, it’s all preference. I’m not going to tell you you have to use a Mac, hell I hated them for years myself. When it’s not appropriate to buy a Mac, I recommend HP computers. Good build quality on all of the machines I’ve used from laptops to desktops and servers. Also of note is that I’ve had nothing but great luck with their tech support. Always very helpful and knowledgeable. I’ve asked some tough questions where they have asked to call me back.. and oddly enough they actually did.
So there you go… My humble thoughts on computer purchases.
Topslakr