Which is better? Archives - Complicated To Simple

iPad vs Other e-Readers, the Verdict

In relating all the details of my Apple vs PC series, I almost forgot to tell you all about the result of my e-reader search. I actually bought several, and brought them back, as well as tried a few more that I never bought.

In the end I decided on the iPad. This device was so superior and had so many more features than anything else, it became a very easy decision.

One of the most important deciding factors was the size. I like to read a variety of things and when it came to magazines and newspapers, the other e-readers just made the experience too unpleasant. Maybe this would not be an issue for someone with younger eyes, but for me there was no question.

Another very important factor was the LCD screen. I do a great deal of my reading at night and I liked the idea of being able to read without adding any extra light to the situation. This brings up another thing that has turned out to be fantastic for me.

I tend to come up with most of my creative ideas at night; usually while sleeping. I’ll wake up at 3am with this great idea that needs to be written down or it will be gone from my mind in a matter of seconds.

In the past, I either didn’t bother writing it down, or rudely woke up my wife by turning on a light so I could jot down my idea. Now I can just reach over to the night stand, tap one button and the iPad is instantly ready for input. Tap the “Notes” icon and up comes an electronic version of a yellow legal pad. Tap anywhere on the pad and up comes an extremely easy to use keyboard to quickly enter the idea.

I have the iPad housed in a thin case that opens up like a book. Since you can rotate the iPad in any direction and the screen will stay upright, I can position the cover of the case so the light does not bother my wife. Also, the iPad screen can be dimmed down quite low.

I also chose the iPad because of it’s functionality in other areas. In this high-tech age we live in, you can really get carried away carrying around lots of gadgets. The iPad combines so many of them that not much else is needed.

It has an amazing calendar, email, notes, calculator, and the Safari web browser. Then there’s the GPS with extremely fast response time and very detailed, high-resolution maps. And finally there’s iTunes, a headphone jack, decent sounding speaker, apps for Nook and Kindle books, it’s own iBook reader, and apps for just about anything else you could want. I have Sudoku, Scrabble, and Chess and they all look and work great.

Combine all that with 10 hours of battery life (for continuous use) and you have a really nice device. 10 hours may not seem like much compared to the days and weeks of e-ink readers, but I find that I only need to charge it about once a week.

Even though I leave it on all the time, when the screen turns off the battery life is greatly extended. So if you’re using it like a Daytimer and organizer and not using it constantly all day long, I suspect one charge could last 3 or 4 weeks.

There are some additional technical reason I chose the iPad but I’ll get into those in a later post.

So now it’s your turn! If you’ve got an e-reader already, which one did you get? If not, which one do YOU think is the best? Please leave a comment and also click the “Like” button in the Facebook box in the left margin if you enjoyed the article.

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Mac vs PC – Part 6 of 6 – Why Mac CRUSHES the Competition

Part 6 of this series continues the amazing Apple repair saga. If you missed part 5 you might want to go back by clicking here and read that so you know what this part is all about

When I got to the Genius Bar, I explained the problems the computer was having. I added one issue that I’ve not talked about before. When the screen brightness buttons did work, if I brightened it up all the way, it would go completely black and I’d have to restart using the power button.

I was seriously impressed with Apple’s method of diagnosis. The customer actually gets to sit there and talk to the tech while they work on diagnosing the problem. It was also impressive to see how deep and technical this diagnosis got in just a few minutes. In very short order, he had gotten into the computer’s log entries and found a pattern of USB faults each time I had needed to forcefully restart the computer. From this he concluded that the keyboard and the trackpad, which are attached to the USB hub, both needed to be replaced. These are all built into the top case so that part was ordered and I left my computer there to have the parts installed when they arrived. I might mention that I was fortunate to have the computer actually malfunction for the technician right off. He would have found the log entries anyway, but it was nice to have him see the problem immediately.

So in under 15 minutes, he had discovered the problem and I was on my way. If this wasn’t impressive to you, what I’m going to tell you next most certainly will be.

A few days later I called to check on the repair. I was informed that they had decided, after getting into the computer, to replace the motherboard too. Apple calls this a logic board. This all happened over the New Years’ Holiday and so the part did not get ordered until January 3rd which was the day I was talking to them.

Instead of talking to a clerk or a receptionist, I actually got to talk with the person doing the repair. I was informed that they had found some other hardware problems (loose cables that should never be loose) which is why they decided to replace the logic board.

Since I wanted to make sure this repair fixed the problem, I suggested that since ram can sometimes be a cause of intermittent problems, maybe they should just replace that too. To my amazement, they instantly agreed and added new ram to the repair list too.

Let me digress a moment in saying that when I purchased this computer, I mulled over the decision of whether or not to upgrade the ram to 8GB’s from 4GB’s. So I asked if it would be possible to just replace it with 8GB’s and charge me for the difference. They apologized and said they had no way of doing that. I was about to leave it at this point when I happened to make a comment, which you can see from all this writing, I’m fond of doing.

I happened to mention how much I absolutely loved this computer and was really missing it while it was in the shop. I had grown accustomed to using it for all my web blogs and maintenance and I was having to go back to my unpleasant Windows computers to perform this task while my Mac was out of commission. If you recall from a previous post, I said I now always try to make up for my years of bashing Apple and honestly express how I feel about their products. This was the main reason for the comment. It was heartfelt and true. I just wanted to say how enjoyable it was and that I really did miss it.

It must have sounded very heartfelt because suddenly the tech was not getting off the phone. He thought for a second and said, “I tell you what: considering how long you’ve been waiting for this, how would you feel about just getting a new computer?” After I picked myself up off the floor I said, “sure, when could I pick it up?” It was about 3pm when this conversation took place and the store closed at 8pm. They said I should be able to pick it up that day if they had time to transfer all my stuff over to the new computer.

This was not the end of this amazing story though. Before I got off the phone, the tech asked me if I’d mind a faster processor. Apparently they didn’t have a 2.66GHz in stock in my computer’s configuration so he offered me a 2.8GHz upgrade free of charge. Also, since my charger was not in brand new condition, he let me keep that too. And finally, as if all this was not enough, he said he would be able to upgrade the ram to 8GB’s if I wanted to do that. I declined this offer after hearing how much it would cost but thanked him for his very kind offer. This incidentally, will be the inspiration for another blog post about how you can save a great deal of money upgrading your own ram on you Mac. More about that later…

So basically all I had to give back, besides the computer they already had, was my empty box. They gave me a brand new computer with new software, new charger, and new box. They also transferred all my information so when I opened my computer it was EXACTLY like the old one was. Oh, and I forgot to mention one other thing. They restarted my warranty on the day of the replacement. They also did have the computer ready that night and I happily drove the 50 miles (we live way out!) to go and pick it up.

Honestly, in all the years I’ve been working with computers (since the first version of DOS) I have never, ever seen service like this. Even when repairs are performed, or a new product is issued (very rare), I have never seen a warranty restarted. I ended up with nearly an 18 month warranty and a new battery to boot! I guess the other part I’ve never seen before is such a willingness and desire to make the customer happy. Several times during my conversation with the tech, he told me how glad it made them to be able to make a customer happy like they had done for me.

Later when I was talking to my business contact at the store, he was delighted to hear that they had completely replaced the computer. He also mentioned how happy it made them to be able to do that sort of thing. Is it any wonder Mac users are so loyal? We’ve barely talked about how great the product itself is and already Apple has won this customer over for life.

Lastly, I told all the employees that were involved that I intended to write about this whole episode on my blog. I wanted as many people as possible to know about this amazing adventure. They then asked me to send them a link to it once I had it written. Again, I have never had any employees be that interested in what I had to say about them. So here is the fulfillment of that promise. As soon as I’m done here I’m going to send them the link.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story. I certainly enjoy telling it. If you did enjoy it, please click the “like” button and leave a comment. Also, join me on my Facebook page here or click on the like box in the upper left.

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Mac vs PC – Part 3 of 6 – Why Mac CRUSHES the Competition

To read part 2 of this series, click here

Let me tell you about my first couple of visits to the Apple Store while deciding to get my Mac. I still can’t quite put my finger on what it was about the ambiance of that place. I know ambiance might sound like a strange word to use to describe a computer store but it actually fits. Let me explain.

Most computer stores are filled with sales people that seem to know very little about about their product. They also seem to be more interested in the sale than in the customer. Neither of these were the case at the Apple Store. I know they really are concerned about sales, but they don’t act like it. Both times I visited prior to my purchase, I received absolutely delightful service from a young man in the business services area. He was not pushy or forceful but carefully listened to all my needs and concerns for probably 90 minutes.

This was impressive considering how many people were in the store. It was packed! It reminded me of a bunch of college students trying to see how many people they could stuff in a phone booth. Normally when you get that many people stuffed in one place it’s not very pleasant. This was different though. Everybody, including the employees, looked happy and actually seemed to enjoy being there. I think part of this comes from representing such a fun and functional product.

Apple has also figured out how to make the sales experience as high-tech and enjoyable as actually using the product. In spite of the store being packed to the limit, there is almost no waiting to get help from a salesperson or to buy something. Each employee is a walking point-of-sale Terminal. Each has an iPod with a special back that contains a card reader and is connected to the store’s computer network. So at time of purchase, your card can be swiped anywhere in the store and the employee simply walks a few feet and gets your receipts. You are also given the choice of having your receipt emailed to you. Even the signature process is done with ones fingernail on the iPod screen.

Add to this the fact that every product that Apple sells is on display. All are in full working order, come in various colors and configurations, and are just waiting for the customer to try out for as long as they like. Compare that to many stores where most of the displays are either broken or non-functioning, “empty” versions of the product that were never intended to work.

This whole experience is already very impressive before the customer even touches a product. And touching and using the product is where all the magic begins….

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Mac vs PC – Part 2 of 6 – Why Mac CRUSHES the Competition

To read Part 1 of this series, click here

My entry into the Mac world was a rather unexpected one. As I said in the first post, I was really a Mac hater and needed a very good reason to even consider getting one. The event that changed my mind was a class I took in Seattle at the beginning of 2010. It was T. Harv Eker’s, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind seminar.

As is common in these introductory seminars, he did a lot of plugging for his other seminars. One of these was a course called The Ultimate Internet Boot Camp (UIBC). I knew from the moment I heard about this class that I had to take it and it’s what I’d been waiting for. After a lot of planning, preparation, and pretraining, I took the class in Los Angeles in December 0f 2010. Part of the pretraining included a coaching telephone call that proved to be the pivotal moment in my decision process.

The idea of the coaching call was to answer any questions participants might have and to introduce the methodology of the class. At the time, I was considering replacing my Sony Laptop as it had a lot of problems that made it a real pain to use. I happened to ask this coach for his thoughts on the matter. He said, in no uncertain terms, to get a Mac! This comment was totally unexpected and I asked him to explain why I would possibly need a Mac to take this class. Surely a Windows computer would be adequate…wouldn’t it?

The coach proceeded to go through a long list of why he thought Macs were superior for this kind of task. I was pretty dubious for the entire 90 minutes of this call. Being the skeptical researcher that I am, I wanted all the facts. After getting off the phone, I spent weeks researching the question. I even called him back two more times to discuss my research. At the time, I thought I’d be taking the class in the summer so I didn’t think I had much time to switch platforms and learn the new one before the class started. As it turned out, I rescheduled for December which permitted plenty of time for both.

The result of all this research is that I decided either platform would work fine for the class. I still had my doubts though because this coach seemed so adamant that a Mac would be better. By the third phone call, the coach realized that I was a very savvy Windows user and would do fine with a Windows PC. Interestingly though, he predicted that when all was said and done, I would end up using a Mac. So, he reasoned, I might as well get one now and enjoy the ease, simplicity, and time savings made possible by this platform.

As a side note, I have to say that part of my decision was based on an issue that had nothing to do with any research results. I had invested a lot of time, money (more than a nice Mac would even cost), and planning in this class, and I didn’t want to do anything that would make me get less than the maximum benefit from it. So since the coach was recommending it, and clearly he knew what would be going on in the class, I thought it wise to take his advice. So that was probably the single factor that finally tipped the scales.

As it turned out, when I got to the class, only about 20% of the participants had Macs. As far as I could tell, the success in this class really had nothing to do with which platform was being used. That however, is a story for a future post.

During the months between purchasing the Mac and taking the class, I used it exclusively for everything except my office work. By the time I got to the class I was as comfortable with using it as I had been with using Windows for all the years since Windows had been invented. That’s a telling statement about the Mac because it takes a while to really know your way around Windows. I don’t know how many books I read over the years about using and tweaking it. I was completely shocked at how easy it was to use a Mac right out of the box.

I still haven’t said that much about the difference between PC and Macs. Again, things don’t always turn out how we expect. So I’ll save for tomorrow most of what I thought I was going to write about today. I do think that all this preamble will help you have a better appreciation for what I’m going to say in in the remaining parts of this series. So stay tuned and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

By the way, just in cased I’ve influenced you to look into T Harv Eker’s Ultimate Internet Boot Camp, I think it’s only right that I give you another bit of advice. Although this was an amazing class, and I’m glad I attended, I believe there are less expensive ways to get the same information. However, if you’re a hands-on learner and don’t like to dig things out for yourself, by all means take his class. You won’t regret it!

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Click here to read part 3 of this series