PC Pro 2006 Awards - Desktop PC's

I've been looking at the results in the mag which arrived today.

They put Evesham at the top with 6 stars for support, reliability and
satisfaction.

Joint second were Dell, HP, Lenovo and Medion. Medion came top for value.

pmj...

& Isn't that what we've been saying for quite some time?
:-)

Actual results for Evesham Medion
Support: 83.9% 75.5%
Reliability: 85.8% 82.8%
Buy Again: 91.1 87.6%
Value: 84% 87.7%

A good result for Medion :-)

Rabbit...

Don't look ray :-)
BTW did Apple feature anywhere ??? :-)

Jeff Gaines...

They came first for Boot Camp in the software award - I think that allows
you to run a proper OS on an Apple :-)

pmj...

LOL!!!
The Apple computers (both the Desktop ones & the Laptop/Notebooks)
already come with a "proper" Operatin gSystem!!!
The Apple mac OS X Operating System is well able to do (& be used for)
pretty much anything that anybody wants.

Jeff Gaines...

Really?

I thought they ran a pretty window manager on top of BSD :-)

pmj...

Yep, sort of!
That's what I was getting at!!!

Underneath a lot of the fancy, pretty, warm & cuddly, easy to use
type Apple Mac OS X stuff is a heavy Duty Unix based Operating System
(partly based on & derived from & developed from) various bits of the
BSD Unix Operating System

It's just that there are some Programs which are only supplied for
(& work with) M$ windoze, so yes, anything that allows you to Run
windoze on anotehr System will be useful.

Bootcamp is a way (& not the only way) of allowing an Apple Mac to
be Set up (Partitioned) as a *Dual Boot* System, having the Apple
Mac OS X Operating System Installed on one Partition & having windoze
Installed in another Partition.

It lets you choose (at Boot Up), which Operating System (Apple Mac
OS X or windoze) you want to use.

BUT...

There's actually anotehr way (& a which is actually much better & more
practical & useful for most people), to do it...

You can Install Parallels on an Apple mac & that lets you Install
windoze on it, so you can then run windoze *at the same time* as the
Apple Mac OS X Operating System.
:-)

Doing it that way, you can Copy & Paste (& Drag & Drop) Files & Text
& Pictures & stuff from one Operating System to the other.

You can even have the windoze Operating System (& thus the Program
Windows within it) Running "Full Screen" (on the Apple Mac) if you
want, or have them all showing in a separate Window, or (now, with
the latest Version of Parallels), you can have the *individual* Windows
of the various windoze Programs Running in their own Windows (which can
be full Screen, if you want), all at the same time, while you're still
running the ("proper"!) Apple Mac OS X Operating System, doing all that
you want to do in that!
:-)

Oh, I expect the mag was produced on an Apple as well, very conservative

pmj...

That's actually a common misconception, though I think you prolly said
that a bit "Tongue in Cheek"?)

Yes, the Apple Mac OS X Operating System *does* look very nice
& it lets you "just do stuff" & it "just works"...
& many Publishing Houses *do* use Apple Macs all the time for their
work ..

But *also*, underneath all the pretty stuff (not "conservative" at all)
it *also* has plenty of stuff that you can find out about & Fiddle
around with, just like (if not more so!) any other Operating System

So it suits everybody!
:-)

The people who "just want to use it", with no "Faffing around"...
& *also* the people who like to dig & poke around, getting to know all
about the different things that can be done with it & making it do all
sorts of other stuff that they want to do.

& *also* (in addition to all those things), it can use the annoying,
complicated & troublesome M$ windoze Operating System & Programs which
some people want to (or have to) use.

Oh! - & yes, it can *also* Run Linux & various other Unix type
Operating Systems as well!
Either as a Dual (or Triple) Boot Installation, or (using Parallels)
*at the same time*!!!
:-)

these publishers.

Michaelangelo...

Apple don't make PC's, they make personal computers. 'PC' is a

Rabbit...

And owners get very personally attached to them ;-)

registered trademark of IBM.

Ali...

In that case few of the Wintel manufacturers are making PCs either.

Michaelangelo...

All of the PC manufacturers are making personal computers under licence
to IBM. As long as they stick to IBM's architecture they are indeed
making 'PCs' and are allowed to use the IBM trademark. IBM went down
that road shortly after developing the PC and realising there was no
way they could keep up with worldwide demand on their own.

Ali...

Yes, but not all of the clone manufacturers bothered with the licence.

Rabbit...

I didn't know that just like not a lot of folk know that the CD logo is
registered to Phillips and that there are so many logos.

Michaelangelo...

A cautionary tale about magazine reviews. This is a true story even

Jeff Gaines...

[snipped]

This was just a report of reader feedback, not a review.

As far as reviews are concerned I have found that you do have to read the
review, not just the summary, because, as you say, what is important to
you may not be so important to the reviewers. In addition you really need
to look at a couple of magazines as some show clear bias towards Intel
related stuff and some to AMD. Finally an online check at somewhere like
TomsHardware and a few questions in the technical groups.

Having done that I feel free to go and buy what I wanted to in the first
place :-)

though my memory is a bit vague about the actual detail. I have often
wished that I had kept the particular issue of the mag concerned.

Some years ago a well known and respected UK PC magazine decided to
expand its review section to include some of the newer types of
ancillary equipment that was appearing on the market. One such category
was digital cameras which had been around for about three years and
were gaining in popularity as performance improved and prices dropped.

The very first review compared eight cameras and produced a 'best buy'
and two 'recommended' purchases. My memory refuses to tell me which
make and model got the 'best buy' award but I do remember the content
of the body of the review. "This camera," it said, "is incapable of
taking sharp pictures!" Further study revealed that the cameras spec
fell well short of it's review rivals and that it consistently produced
muddy colours which could not be satisfactorily corrected with even top
of the range image editing software. However, this camera's saving
grace, apparently, was the fact that it cost less than half what the
othes did (surprise, surprise!). The brownie points that this low price
attracted were sufficient to override the negatives and so this
over-priced paperweight sat triumphantly at the top of the chart for
several weeks.

Most mags put great emphasis on price in their reviews of equipment and
often it's price rather than performance, quality or reliability that
wins the day. Personally I wish they would leave price out of the
equation - other than quoting it and perhaps making some comment if
they feel a product is over-priced and therefore not good value. I'm a

Aries...

Interesting :) I must say I'm a Dell fan, but have never tried Evesham ?

Michaelangelo...

My mate has one. He's thinking of inviting the Evesham technician to
move in with him. The machine's been virtually rebuilt twice in two
years (under warranty) and is very noisy.

datasmog...

Evesham have either made a startlingly rapid improvement or this survey
isn't worth the ink used to print it.
They very recently got roasted on Watchdog if I recall correctly. Their
machines were unreliable, poorly made and their service stank.

Just how did this magazine compile these results and how many of these
companies have large advertising spends with the publishing group?

Jeff Gaines...

It's based entirely on input from readers, i.e. the real life experience
of readers.

I know thee are lots of Dell fans in here but after the Intel debacle I
wouldn't deal with them on principle.

datasmog...

I have a client with a Dell Inspiron laptop on order and I have to go
set it up when it arrives. Plus he uses AOL so I'm not anticipating a
fun afternoon.
Some people just won't listen to advice despite asking for it.

big boy now. I know what I want and what I'm willing/able to pay for

Rabbit...

PARDON!!! You want to join pmj in those adult movies ??? ;-)

Michaelangelo...

Sorry, Sandra, you've lost me there.

Rabbit...

See
In the *Three in a row* thread posted by ray today.

pmj...

Yep, *you* may be!!!
but you have to remember that a lot of people (when it comes to buying
Computer/Technology/Electronic Equipment type stuff) *don't* actually
"know what they want"!

Michaelangelo...

Exactly, and these are the very people who are likely to look at the
'table' of results without reading the detail in the body of the
review.

They "want" something (in many cases) because they've heard about it,
or seen it Advertised.

Michaelangelo...

So how does giving a clearly inferior product that doesn't do the job
at all a 'best buy' tag help these people?

Many people actually only want (& need) fairly basic, simple stuff.
(These days, even the "base Models" of many ranges are plenty Powerful
enough & have most of the features & facilities that people need)

& the Manufacturers & Suppliers of stuff are forever trying to think
of ways to get people to buy stuff that they don't really *need*
(or even want)

Michaelangelo...

Aided and abetted in the case I quoted by the PC mag concerned which
described the product's performance in rubbish terms and then suggested
to the world at large that it was the best one to buy!

it. Prices I can see for myself in shops and adverts. What I can't get
from these sources is an objective comparison of performance and

pmj...

Good point!!!

BUT...

It's actually very difficult to do an *objective* comparison of things
like "Performance" & "Quality", isn't it? [*1]

Michaelangelo...

Not really.

[*1]
OK - In *theory* "Performance" *should* be measurable objectively,
but then we all know (or should do) that good (or bad) performance
in one area doesn't necessarily mean (or equate to) good (or bad)
performance in other areas.

Michaelangelo...

But a good review will test, and comment on, all areas. It's not that
difficult, especially when most magazine reviewers use benchmark tests
to make those comparisons.

quality. I wish the mags would stick to those comparisons and not skew
the results by awarding points for, and constantly commending,
cheapness.

PC Pro 2006 Awards - Desktop PC's - Medion Does Well