[tlug] Need Purchasing Advice [SOLVED]

[Joseph Essertier <essertier@example.com>]

TLUG,
	I just wanted to let everyone know who helped me with thinking through
the various options when buying a Linux-compatible computer in Japan,
that thanks to you, the computer I bought is working great.  In Ubuntu I
tried out every function that I could think of, including burning
various kinds of CDs and DVDs, and photo editing, and it's amazing to me
how quickly it responds.  For me, the performance is more than
satisfactory.  The gap in price between this Linux-compatible machine
with generic parts and a good quality Mac (the price always ends up
around 300,000 yen) seems huge.  I asked myself, "Is a 300,000 yen Mac
really 200,000 yen better than what I bought?  Why was this thing so
cheap?"  It's like, "There's got to be some major glitch.  Is the hard
drive going to die on me the day after the 1 year warranty is up?"
	Something tells me, "No.  You just got a great deal because you were
equipped with more information about your options (thanks to TLUG),
you're not paying for outrageous corporate profits, and you're not
paying for stuff you don't need."  Every Mac I bought, I paid for fancy
stuff I didn't need -- a stylish case, new capabilities like firewire
ports, and fancy graphics.  No doubt there are people out there who need
that stuff, like graphic artists and musicians, and who want their work
tools to be decorated in a pretty way, but I didn't.  I just didn't want
to wait 5 to 10 seconds for one kana-kanji conversion in MS Word, and
wanted to use more recent versions of Word, Excel, etc.  Also Mac OS 10
had a few advantages over OS 9.  If you wanted to use OS 10 though, you
had to buy a really expensive computer, even just a few years ago.
	So whoever said that Apple is going to lose more market share to Linux
than Microsoft is going to lose to Linux, was probably right.  (I can't
remember where I heard that, but it might have been at TLUG).  I have a
feeling there are a lot of Mac users out there like me, who just want
something that does the basics, and don't want to pay a fortune for it,
but also are not fond of the Monster Monopoly Corp.  People in Mac user
groups also are fairly cooperative (although I've never heard of any Mac
group anywhere near as helpful and responsive as this Linux one), and
many/most of them like to have a community of users whom they can rely
on when they can't figure out TFM and when the AppleCare person on the
phone doesn't really care, or just doesn't know.  So the community
benefits of Linux are going to be really appealing to Mac users.
	And in Japan, even something pretty minor goes wrong, like the screen
on your laptop will not work and requires a 2,000 yen part replacement,
and you are computer-less for weeks, as you wait for the repair center
in Tokyo to fix it.  They will eventually fix it, and probably for free
if it's under warranty still, but you have to wait forever!  In many
ways, a Linux computer is simply going to be more efficient.  
	A lot of long-term Mac users don't want to buy a new computer every 3
years either, but lately with OS 10, Apple's switching to Intel chips,
and other constant switching to new technology (demonstrating the greed
of both the company and the consumers) the Monster Monopoly computers
are probably not any worse in that respect.
	Moral of the story:  Definitely give Knoppix and Ubuntu CDs to all the
savvy Mac users you know.  (Yes, all 3 of them).  I would emphasize
"savvy" because most of us do demand that "the thing just work" out of
the box.  A year later some of them may thank you from the bottom of
their hearts.
	I'm still using Mac OS10 for music, and will probably use it for
printing at work because I read that my Epson Laser printer is one of
the hard-to-get-to-work ones for Linux, but now more than ever, I am
saying farewell to the Mac world and, "Hello Linux."

Thanks again for all the help.
Joe