Local Mac Dealers Offer Something Special: Their Time
, 2005.03.24
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94, New 2008 iMac 2GB $46. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 / 1GB $23--Free shipping available.
Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Burn DVDs, DVD-DL, CDs, DVD-Ram - FAST! Superdrive upgrades from OWC starting from $31.99 with options for nearly every Mac. Models with Lightscribe, Blu-Ray too!
Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.
MacBook/MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO DDR2 667Mhz 4GB Kit $84, 3GB Kit $60, 2GB Kit $40 1GB $20. Click to Maximize your Macs...
When you purchased an Apple computer 15 years ago, you were buying something a little bit different. It wasn't in vogue, and it didn't run the same applications as DOS machines, but if you had some familiarity with a graphical user interface you could be very productive with a Macintosh.
These days, you buy a Macintosh and you're buying a fashion statement along with your stable and secure operating system (despite the Symantec warnings). When Apple started shipping blue, red, green, orange, and purple computers, it was clear that the somewhat higher starting price wasn't just for the technology inside, but also for the design outside. And the Mac mini is now there for the fashion-conscious on a budget.
Back then you would generally go through your local Mac dealer when buying your Mac, who would provide you with subsequent phone support and even free operating system updates (until System 7.1 came out).
In the early 90s, Apple's Performa line aimed to get Macs out of the dealers and into mainstream stores so consumers who otherwise wouldn't consider a Mac, would buy them. Part of what ended up happening was a combination of Apple quality control (many Performas were poorly made in the first place) and the fact that salespeople in many mainstream computer stores, electronics stores, and office supply stores knew about as much about the Mac as a car salesman knows about television sets.
It was fairly common practice for a salesman to steer you over toward the Windows machines if they felt that's what they could better sell you.
Eventually Apple started its own stores so it could better concentrate on selling Apple products. When you walk into an Apple Store (and they all look pretty much the same), everything's light colored (white, light colored wooden tables), and Apple products clearly take the spotlight. Instead of having rows of computers and accessories in their boxes with only one or two (usually broken) demonstration machines, Apple has many machines loaded with software and frequently connected to third party equipment, all available for you to play with.
iPods are there for you to listen to, preloaded with songs. The stores usually appear in malls, although there are a few downtown locations (such as the Pasadena, California location) as well.
Have these stores become victims of their own success? Apple Stores are never empty, and, in fact, I don't think I've ever seen one without a line of 3-5 people at the cash register. This means if you're trying to get help with purchasing something, it makes things a little bit difficult.
The store in the Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, Connecticut, is one of the smaller Apple stores and therefore fills up quickly. They only seem to have a limited number of staff, and buying a computer has become a very systematic, impersonal process so that they can get to as many customers as possible.
Sure, I suppose that when I ordered my 12" PowerBook from Apple's website it was in a way no more personal, but if I'm going to order the machine online (which they have you do at the store, too), why go into the store in the first place?
This brings me to the local Apple resellers, such as TBI Computer in Westport, Connecticut. As Apple Eats Its Own (in Chicago Business) illustrates, the relationship between Apple and their resellers has become strained, and consumers have been increasingly turning away from resellers.
It's tough to make a case for buying your next Mac from a reseller - you can often get a better price ordering online, and if you purchase your computer from an Apple Store, you can get to play with several different machines beforehand (as compared to the one or two a reseller might have on display).
However, I believe that buying from a reseller has its advantages. If you're one of those people who frequently seems to have problems with your computer, a reseller will help you over the phone (instead of you calling Apple and waiting on hold). If you ever need upgrades for your computer, a reseller would be able to make some suggestions, whereas Apple will probably try to sell you a new machine altogether.
Plus, there's just the friendly atmosphere at a reseller that you can't get at an Apple Store. When my mother was ordering her 500 MHz indigo iMac, the people at TBI actually asked us if we wanted to share some of the food they were about to order for dinner!
The sad reality is that independent Apple resellers are disappearing, not only due to the opening of Apple Stores, but also online resellers offering lower prices and the educational discounts available through Apple's website (which was the reason I purchased my PowerBook online instead of through TBI).
However, I think that as long as Apple allows it, some resellers will stay open. For people like my mother - those who know enough about the Mac to use the basic functions of the OS and various common applications but still are confused by many of the technology aspects - resellers can take a lot of the stress out of buying a new computer.
For those who are interested in computers, resellers definitely
provide a more interesting computer shopping experience than
clicking "Buy Now" on
Apple.com.
Recent Apple Archive articles
- iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
- Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
- Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
- Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
- More in the Apple Archive index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Quadra 700, Oct. 1991 - The successor to the Mac IIci ran a 'wicked fast' 25 MHz 68040 processor.
- List of the Day: Apple TV List The Apple TV List is a forum to discuss the Apple TV.
- August 29 in LEM history: 00: My lowest low-end Mac - 01: Uncluttered organization - Microsoft wins over Mac user - 02: Salute to SatireWire - 03: Wireless Internet popping up everywhere - 05: World domination, online or off - A 3-dimensional Dock replacement - 06: Productive at the low end - PowerPC vs. Intel - Secure wireless
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Looking for a Content Management System That's as Easy as Mac, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 08.29. Low End Mac needs to move to a content management system, but the few we've tried just don't cut it for people used to the simple elegance of the Mac.
- First 3 Million Mac Quarter, Skinny on Mac mini Pricing, Mac-like gOS, and More, Mac News Review, 08.29. More plan to buy Apple products than ever before, complete reset can fix MobileMac synch problems, Apple boosting computer and smartphone share, and more.
- iPhone 3G Reception 'Completely Normal', AT&T International Data Plans for iPhone, and More, iNews Review, 08.29. Also longer life for iPod earbuds, an alternative to MobileMe, new cases and apps for iPhone, AppStoreGems website launched, and more.
- New 'Books Likely in September, 17" PowerBook Display Fault Site, SSD Security, and More, The 'Book Review, 08.29. Also 6 ways to speed up your MacBook, next generation MacBook Air CPU, MacBook Air Update, LapStrap carrying solution, rise and fall of ultraportables, bargains from $220 to $2,699, and more.
- Best Power Mac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.29. Used 450 MHz AGP, $75; 500, $99; 800 QS, $199; 1.25 GHz MDD, $375; 450 MHz dual, $179; 867 dual, $300; 1 GHz dual, $395; 1.42 dual, $575.
- Best iBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.29. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 500 CD, $150; 800, $200; 600 CD-RW, $240; 900 Combo, $300; 14" 600, $360; 900, $400.
- Best iPod nano Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.29. Used 2 GB iPod nano, $89; refurb 3G 4 GB, $99; new, $140; refurb 8 GB, $149; new, $179.
- 10 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 08.28. A look at Internet Explorer, Radon, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, Flock, and Camino running in Leopard.
- Clone and Boot: Another Advantage of the Mac OS, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 08.28. Unlike Windows, Apple makes it possible to clone a bootable drive (Classic Mac OS or OS X) and use it with another supported Mac.
- Best MacBook Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.28. Used 1.83 GHz, $799; 2.0 black, $875; refurb 2.1 GHz, $899; 2.4, $1,099; black, $1,299; new 2.1, $1,019 after rebate; 22, $1,094; 2.4, $1,219 a/r; black, $1,394 a/r.
- Best iMac G5 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.28. Used 17" 1.6 GHz Combo, $499; 1.8 SuperDrive, $530; 2.0, $600; 1.9 iSight, $625; 20" 1.8 GHz, $580; 2.0, $650; 2.1 iSight, $700.
- Best classic Mac OS Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.28. System 6, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5.1, $4; Mac OS 7.6, $13; 8.0, $13; 8.1, $48; 8.5, $25; 8.6, $20; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $20; more.
- CrossOver Strikes Out, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 08.27. Running Windows apps on a Mac without paying for Windows is great in theory, but actually getting Windows software working is another story.
- MacDrought: 4 Months with No New Macs, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 08.27. The most recent Mac update was over four months ago, and the Mac mini has been unchanged for over a year.
- Resurrecting a Dead Pismo, Spotlight Search Tip, and EasyFind a Good File Finder, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 08.27. Lots of tips on bringing a comatose Pismo back to life, a Spotlight file name search tip, and EasyFind as an alternative to Spotlight.
- Best Intel iMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.27. Used 17" 1.83 GHz, $625; 20", $599; 2.16, $749; 24", $950; refurb 20" 2.4, $999; 2.66, $1,299; 24" 2.4, $1,299; 2.8, $1,549; new 3.06, $2,094 after rebate; more.
- Best 15" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.27. Used 1.25 GHz Combo, $600; SuperDrive, $650; 1.33 Combo, $640; 1.5, $680; SD, $725; 1.67, $730; hi-res, $800.
- Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 08.27. 500 GB Time Capsule, $294; 1 TB, $468; AirPort Extreme Card, $39; 802.11n Base Station, $166; 802.11g AirPort Express, $60; 802.11n, $98.
- More links in our archive.
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