A PC do I want one?

Space Ghost wrote:

All I know is that Macs are a royal pain in the ass for statistical computing.

QFT Macs are terrible at crunching large numbers.


[vent]I feel pretty passionate about this because I'm the one that all the older members of my family annoy with their computer problems. These are people that are so technically challenged that they don't understand that in order to print, you need to have a printer. The paper doesn't just come flying out of the back of your laptop. They start by asking me what they should buy. I tell them that they should buy a MacBook, a base station and a printer with wireless capabilities. A laptop, because it's all one piece, so I don't get the "my monitor doesn't work" call, when they unplug it to run the vacuum and don't plug it back in. Everything wireless because once they understand that they need a printer, I don't have to deal with explaining that their computer has to actually be plugged into the printer to print. I recommend this set up because it will do everything they need to do - e-mail, internet, uploading their digital pictures, occasionally writing a simple text document and printing it - and, once I get it set up for them, it's nearly idiot proof.

However, some wise ass always comes in and points out that for the same amount of money they can buy some tricked out PC, that has the MEGAsaurus graphic accelerator, and 36 different useless applications pre-installed, and a "FREE" piece of crap printer and disfunctional webcam. So they buy it. It's like putting grandma behind the wheel of race car and expecting her not to crash.

About two days after they get their ginormous, super cool PC, they start calling me for help. And the calls never stop. I'm having to talk them through all the stupid "wizards," and through how to find their apps, and where their e-mail went. I visit them, and set up shortcuts on their screen, two weeks later they "do something" and their short cuts disappear. The piece of crap printer dies, so they buy a new one, but now they can't print because they don't have the driver. The computer crashes when they are trying upload their digital pictures, and trashes the card. I'm spending hours several times a year backing their shit up, re-formatting their drives, re-installing windows.

So finally I just start playing dumb, and tell them that I'm sorry I don't know PCs. So they take their machines to some service that supposedly fixes up their computer, optimizes their drives, installs security, or some such shit. They pay like $200 for this service. And then things get really bad. The anti-spyware means they can't accept cookies, and they got the pop-ups blocked, and they don't know how to unblock them and they can't shop on Amazon anymore. And they're calling me.

I think I mentioned in another thread that I phone plonk my relations in real life.

So PCs are awesome for many things, but don't dis the Mac. And if you ever overhear a Senior saying, "My son's sister-in-law's cousin says I should get a Mac" resist the urge to start spouting off about PCs to them.[/vent]