Comment Why can't we have ease of use *and* performance? (Score 1) 770
First of all, I don't mean this as a flame, I'm just talking about my experience using Apple stuff and what I prefer. And also, when I talk about things being good if they're easy to use, I mean it's good for people that just use computers and don't actually mess around with them as a hobby (for those people the open source community has plenty of goodies :-).
When I was using a mac with OS X I loved it, but I'd only experienced Windows before that, so I liked it because it didn't crash on me all the time and it was easy to use (I was interested in things other than computers and generally didn't give a damn about them as long as they didn't get in my way). I then started using Linux, and I've used it ever since (I'm using gentoo w/ FVWM now). I don't mean to say Gentoo and FVWM are great and everything else sucks, but I've learned that what actually matters is how your computer performs when you're using it day after day after day, after day, after day. And then some. So, it took me a week to get everything compiled and configured to my liking, and I had to tweak things after that sometimes, but now when I try using OS X (I've kept that old mac :-) I notice just how much more productive I am when I've configured the computer how *I* like it. And I'm spending much less money too.
The trouble is, now I'm kind of interested in computers, but before I couldn't give a damn. It's not that I didn't CARE about things working how I want them to, or things being fast - everybody wants that! - but I'd only known Windows and OS X, and configuring a Linux system at that time would have scared the shit out of me, and since OS X was so easy to use and stable I thought it was great and didn't realise how much faster and cheaper things could be. And for me, at that time, OS X *was* the best decision, really, since I wouldn't be able to get a Linux system up and running, or find my way around the OS.
The trouble is, making things easy to use is a good thing for non-experts, but Apple has become interested more and more in adding more glitz to OS X, and their hardware is still expensive compared to a PC with the equivalent specs (I know this because I built my PC and compared its spec/price to Apple hardware). I don't see any reason why you can't have a company that makes an OS that's easy to use but focuses on *performance*, and on *cheap* hardware. It's possible, it's all out there, but at the moment you kind of have to know what you're doing to take all the best hardware/software scattered around and put it together yourself.
So what does this have to do with customer service? Well, I've talked to Apple users (and I was one, don't forget), and the pretty OS and shiny hardware seems to go in the 'customer service' department. Perhaps you disagree and see this post as kind of off-topic, but I think it's still relevant enough to warrant a post.
When I was using a mac with OS X I loved it, but I'd only experienced Windows before that, so I liked it because it didn't crash on me all the time and it was easy to use (I was interested in things other than computers and generally didn't give a damn about them as long as they didn't get in my way). I then started using Linux, and I've used it ever since (I'm using gentoo w/ FVWM now). I don't mean to say Gentoo and FVWM are great and everything else sucks, but I've learned that what actually matters is how your computer performs when you're using it day after day after day, after day, after day. And then some. So, it took me a week to get everything compiled and configured to my liking, and I had to tweak things after that sometimes, but now when I try using OS X (I've kept that old mac
The trouble is, now I'm kind of interested in computers, but before I couldn't give a damn. It's not that I didn't CARE about things working how I want them to, or things being fast - everybody wants that! - but I'd only known Windows and OS X, and configuring a Linux system at that time would have scared the shit out of me, and since OS X was so easy to use and stable I thought it was great and didn't realise how much faster and cheaper things could be. And for me, at that time, OS X *was* the best decision, really, since I wouldn't be able to get a Linux system up and running, or find my way around the OS.
The trouble is, making things easy to use is a good thing for non-experts, but Apple has become interested more and more in adding more glitz to OS X, and their hardware is still expensive compared to a PC with the equivalent specs (I know this because I built my PC and compared its spec/price to Apple hardware). I don't see any reason why you can't have a company that makes an OS that's easy to use but focuses on *performance*, and on *cheap* hardware. It's possible, it's all out there, but at the moment you kind of have to know what you're doing to take all the best hardware/software scattered around and put it together yourself.
So what does this have to do with customer service? Well, I've talked to Apple users (and I was one, don't forget), and the pretty OS and shiny hardware seems to go in the 'customer service' department. Perhaps you disagree and see this post as kind of off-topic, but I think it's still relevant enough to warrant a post.
