Dell. It just fixes.

Oh great. Another refresh to Apple's too tiny or too big duo. I had a Mac mini once. I ended up hating it. It was too tiny, making it a pain to replace the slow and less than rugged laptop hard drive when it died. Waiting for the replacement drive to arrive, I was amazed at how snappy my full-sized external drive was. I never did get the cover to fit back on properly. I also once had a Mac Pro-sized Mac too. Far too big and noisy. I needed it like I need a turbo-diesel F-350 truck--Not. Like the story of the three bears, Apple needs a computer that is 'just right.'

The non-proft where I work just replaced every computer in a very major upgrade. I didn't bother to suggest going with Macs instead of Dells because that would have been a stupid move. Dell knows business. Work desktops need to be versatile and easily fixed. They have computers that fit the bill. Nothing Apple has does.

An iMac would be a disaster at a budget-stressed non-profit or a business that doesn't have Apple's fat profit margins. When a major component dies it needs to be replaced quickly and cheaply. Replacing the display on a Dell component system takes about five minutes if you are clumsy. Replacing the hard drive might take twenty. Replacing either on an iMac requires a lot of unnecessarily tedious work or dropping it off an Apple store and picking it up hours or days later, your wallet emptied.

Apple execs seem to think that technology is changing because their desktops aren't selling. The truth is that their desktops aren't selling because they're making nothing a seasoned and sensible buyer would want to own. Their iMac is a pretty toy that affluent suburbanites play with on evenings and weekends. It's not a tool and you certainly don't want to have to fix one.

If I were Dell, I'd be bold enough to create a stop-motion ad contrasting the ease and speed of fixing a Dell with the many and increasing hassles of fixing an iMac. An on-screen time would contrast the differences. There'd be a problem. The Dell owner would beam in minutes. The iMac owner would be pulling out his hair for hours. I'd even create a mocking slogan. "Dell. It just fixes."