Are all PC computers junk like this HP 15-r210dx laptop I just got? AAPL is king.

[Modee]

I needed a PC laptop to run some programs that will not run in a Parallels virtual environment. So I got an HP 15-r210dx laptop. The thing cost four or five hundred.

Granted, my top of the line AAPL MacBook Pro cost over six times as much, but still - this HP feels like junk before even starting to use it - right from the junky cheap feel of the keyboard. And there are Mac laptops that cost about a thousand that are FAR higher quality than this junky HP laptop. Is this what PC is all about?

[American Psycho]

HP are the bottom range PCs along the likes of Acer and Asus. I never used them. I've always used Sony PCs and they're terrific, never let me down. Apple Macs are nice and sleek but there's a lot you can't do with them, and computing power added up Apple always come up short.

[Modee]

I have owned Sony laptops costing as much as $6000 over the years and compared to the contemporaneous Apple laptops the Sony's are beyond junk. How about that brilliant "pointing stick" mouse innovation of Sony's - with the eraser on the end?

No one contends that PCs are better - just less expensive.

But that lower initial cost is deceptive. Pay $3000. for a MacBook Pro and three years later you may sell it easily for $1500. Pay $1500 for any PC laptop and just two years later you're lucky to get $200 for it.

So what's the cost per year of the Mac? - $500. versus $650. for the PC. Experienced this countless times firsthand with Apple and PC products.

[American Psycho]

Everybody has their own opinion. I'm not really speaking from a cost perspective, I'm just saying you can do more with a PC and for many that's an important part of it.

[Modee]

What you mean is that there are more programs or applications written for PC. That's just a self serving prophecy whereby since more people use PCs there are more things you may do with them.

But - user friendliness translates to power, which is why Macs are superior. Compare garbage Windows 8 to MAC OSX Yosemite. And again - no one and I mean no one contends that PCs are better made or higher quality than Macs.

[American Psycho]

I agree Windows 8 is garbage. But what I mean is you can't run exe files on a MAC so you're limited to basic consumer level computing. That means any computer professional will be using Windows and that follows down. Nobody could argue about Apple being made for user friendliness from day one, but Windows is just where you get full functionality.

[Modee]

Windows is just a crude imitation of OSX, always years behind the latest OSX capability that until later versions didn't even run except as a sort of emulator on DOS.

I have been programming in both early computer languages and newer computer languages since I was 12 years old. And anyway, no one "programs" in Windows or OSX, but OSX is much more user friendly.

What does exe mean? It's just the format in which PC files are converted to allow running/opening, the functional equivalent of dmg in OSX. What you might be getting at is that there are a lot of exe files on the internet and that OSX will not open/execute these files, but that just gets back to the only argument in favor of PCs: that many use them.

Interesting discussion but if you took that PC pacifier out of your mouth and tried OSX for a while you might never use PCs again. There are people who were reluctant to leave DOS behind too! thinking that it was more powerful than Mac OS.

[American Psycho]

Which Mac model do you recommend as the gold standard?

[Modee]

What Apple computers do I like:
Currently for desktop I like the 27" iMac retina 5K (screen resolution). I always purchase an iMac with the fastest processor available, highest end graphics card, largest hard drive (I like the 3K fusion drive right now - which combines a small flash drive with a large regular hard drive) and maximum memory. These upgrades do bump up the price to about $3500., but with technology, if you buy other than the top of the line you're already behind even before you receive it. One thing you may save money on with the desktop Apples is purchasing them with the standard memory loaded, and then purchase aftermarket equivalent but less expensive memory to install yourself.

For laptops, depends on what you need to do. I do a lot of writing, so I need a large screen. For me, the 15" MacBook Pro, again upgraded to maximum memory and fastest processor, which brings the price to almost $3200., is the ticket. On the MacBook Pros, the memory is soldered onto the motherboard so you must get the maximum memory at purchase time - there is no memory upgrade after manufacture available.

If you go to the Apple Store website and poke around, you will note the various configurations and options.

For a lot of applications, a far less expensive iMac or MacBook will suffice, but for what I do - I need the latest and fastest. I also have a second 27" Apple Thunderbolt display next to my iMac because for website creation, forum creation, writing/editing, stock trading, and any multi tasking operation more than one screen is useful.

The MacPro desktop IS more powerful certainly than the iMac, but (1) I don't need all that power, (2) MacPro is far more expensive especially after adding the cost of the not included display and (3) dollar for processing power, the iMac gives you a lot more bang for the buck than the MacPro.

Before purchasing any Apple product, go to
MacRumors Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy iPhone, Mac, iPad
and check to see what point in inevitable manufacturing update cycle the product is at. MacRumors will advise you as to whether an update is due soon, and to wait to buy.

For example as of July 2015, the MacBook Pros are refreshed all updated models, and it is a good time to buy. The iMacs are probably due for change in the fall, and perhaps best to wait on them. But again, this is if you are interested in the maximum computing power and the latest technology. If not, just getting a good deal on even a used iMac or MacBook Pro is fine.

But, as I mentioned above - resale value of used MACs is SO high, that I have seen people pay practically as much for a recently purchased used Mac as for a new one. I just sold an old used iPhone 4S 16Gb with no box, no charger, no cables, for $140. That's pretty crazy resale value for a three year old phone, and I got not even top dollar but probably the low end of the value.