Last time, I wrote about reasons not to buy a Mac (even though I didn’t follow my own advice). This time I’d like to give you a good reason to buy one: iWeb. Note, however, that it wasn’t the Mac I had a problem with – it was the service (more on that below). I’m very happy with my new “Aluminum Macbook,” so far.

But as several readers not enamored of the Mac pointed out to me, there are plenty of laptops out there that can compete favorably with the Macbook on features – many models have built in webcams or backlit keyboards – as well as on processor speed, disk size, etc.

There’s a certain segment of the population that gets antsy when it see such comparisons being made (are they Apple stockholders?). But a computer is just a tool, isn’t it? You use it to get what you need done and you move on. So, the tool that does the job you need to get done in the best possible manner is the tool you should be using, regardless of the nameplate or operating system. There are good cases to be made for any computer/operating system, depending on whom you ask, like at this site (http://tinyurl.com/art68z) that compares Linux vs. Mac OS X vs. Windows Vista vs. Windows XP. They’ve all got their plusses and minuses; what’s “best” depends on what tools you need to do whatever it is you’re trying to get done.

But the Mac has one big advantage over any other system, and that’s the iLife package you get when you buy your computer (http://www.apple.com/ilife/). The package includes five applications – iPhoto (photo organizer), iMovie (movie/video production), iDVD (DVD authoring), GarageBand (music/podcast authoring), and iWeb (web site authoring). iLife (which only works on Macs) comes pre-installed on your computer out of the box (you can upgrade to the latest version for $79, a bargain in itself for a set of programs that provides so much.

From my experience, having used them and their PC equivalents, I can tell you there are acceptable Windows substitutes for iMovie, iDVD, and iPhoto. Like many Mac users, I’ve never really tried GarageBand, but it’s got a lot of fans among those who make music or produce podcasts.

Website authoring, though, is something I know – and there is no program on any platform that compares to iWeb in giving non-technical users the ability to create beautiful web sites. And even though it’s marketed as a program for the casual, home user, there are plenty of people who have used it to produce very professional looking sites to promote their businesses, books, or other commercial ventures.

With iWeb, you don’t have to know, or learn, any web markup languages in order to create a site. The whole site construction process is drag and drop, with all the commands located in a central Inspector toolbox that gives you quick access to everything you need – for text, graphics, video, audio, etc. iWeb ‘09, the latest iteration, includes several improvements over previous versions, such as allowing drag and drop widgets for Youtube videos, Google Maps and Adsense, and other add-ons that required some technical knowledge to add in the past.

Don’t get me wrong; iWeb is no Dreamweaver, but if you’re not a professional web site designer – but you do want a professional-looking web site – you’re not going to find a better deal than iWeb. There are, of course, plenty of online sites where you can mark up a web page, some of them producing very nice looking pages – such as the ones made by Google Sites (http://sites.google.com/). But they don’t give you the flexibility you get with iWeb.

There has been plenty of criticism of iWeb over the years; the HTML it produces isn’t “neat” (true), it doesn’t produce sites that can be easily read by Google web crawlers (also true), you can’t use it unless you fork over $99 a year to Apple for hosting (not true; you can host iWeb sites anywhere), the sites take too long to load (could be a problem for any site production program), you can’t easily edit a site once it’s finished (no longer the case in iWeb ‘09), and others. But there are performance/usage issues with all programs. There are solutions for all of these iWeb issues, and serious users of the program quickly learn a lot about all sorts of web authoring and hosting issues, as they work around the program’s limitations to produce a site that looks and acts the way they want.

I know that sounds like a strange idea – “working around the program’s limitations.” Why put up with any limitations – why not just use a “better” program? That, to me, is the beauty of iWeb; it lets casual users build very nice looking sites for blogs, family photo albums, etc., with little effort, but also lets more sophisticated users tweak their sites, making them look and act more “professional.” Take me, for example – a busy person who wants a nice looking web site, but doesn’t have the time or inclination to learn “deep” html, javascript, PHP, etc. Unable or unwilling to invest time in learning web authoring, I have two choices – either to use a “canned” online service that limits the way I can make my site look and the way I can use it, or to pay a professional to produce a professional site.

The first choice is clearly a non-starter – and so is the second. Not so much because of the money, but because I would want to be constantly tweaking things, improving the site incrementally. You have to work according to the web site author’s schedule, nudging, pleading, and threatening in turn, in order to get their attention. But iWeb gives me the power to produce what I want, make it look the way I want, and do with it what I want – right away, without having to delve into the esoterica of web markup languages. And the limitations in iWeb were what prompted me to break down and learn the web authoring technologies I needed in order to get what I wanted done – which I would not have even attempted without iWeb. So, it’s not just a web authoring program – iWeb is a teaching tool, too!

And as a result, I have two nice sites (http://digital.newzgeek.com and http://www.newzgeek.com) that contain an archive of articles I’ve written for the Post, that I can proudly show people who want to see what I’ve written. I wouldn’t recommend iWeb for a high-traffic commercial site that needs all the bells and whistles, but if you have a small business or project (or maybe something even bigger) and you want a web site – and you are paying a designer to build one – you can have your site, and a Mac, for almost the same money!

Regading iDigital: Here is the response to the article I wrote about my dissatisfaction with Apple service in Israel by a company spokesperson. “iDigital is the sole authorized Apple dealer in Israel, and goes out of its way to give customers superior service on all Apple products and accessories. Since the beginning of iDigital’s operations in Israel a year and a half ago, the number of users of Apple products – and especially of Macs – has grown considerably, and we attribute this increase to the efforts of iDigital, especially in the area of service. In order to ensure even better service, we have just opened a new service center in Petach Tikvah, staffed by top professionals who have been trained by Apple’s worldwide training staff.

“Customers at iDigital’s flagship store in the Ramat Aviv Mall are invited to speak to experts at the Guru Bar – our version of the Genius Bar that can be found in Apple Stores around the world. Hundreds of satisfied customers make use of the Genius Bar’s services on a daily basis. In addition, the iDigital Store sponsors daily training programs for both Mac and PC users on making the most of Apple’s “digital lifestyle,” enabling users to use their equipment to create music, movies, photos and web sites using Apple and Mac tools. In addition, we advise PC users on how to make the switch to Macs.

“Over the past year iDigital has engineered a true revolution when it comes to acquainting the Israeli public with Apple products, with an emphasis on high quality service for out customers. Today, Israelis interested in Apple products have a true home at iDigital, enabling them to adopt Apple’s “digital lifestyle” technology.

“Regarding the writer’s experience in attempting to get his Macbook repaired: We wish to make clear that we are bound by the specific procedures set in place by Apple Worldwide when users seek to service products they purchased abroad under the one-year standard, or three year extended Apple warranties. Apple Worldwide requires us to clear all requests for service with Apple Worldwide, and we are permitted to begin the repair process only upon that approval. iDigital has no say in the length of time required for this process, and we are not permitted to perform any repairs without the relevant permission. With that, iDigital works hard to prioritize service for customers once Apple Worldwide gives its authorization.”

But I can’t help it. I’m a rebel. So I went out and bought another Macbook.

When I say “signs,” I mean it. Macbook number one, after a bit more than two years, is on its last legs. The “white stallion” that swept me off my feet in ‘07 developed a bad case of overheating, and some kind of fan allergy – very noisy and slow. The fan slowed down, the processor temperature shot up, and when it hit 85 degrees or so – shutdown!

Of course, the thing to do would be to get it serviced (after all, I had the extended warranty). But iDigital, the local Apple dealer really makes you jump through some hoops in order to get the service you paid for. You can’t just bring your computer to the Genius Bar like you can in the States (there are no Genius Bars in Israel). If you want to have your computer serviced, you have to call up Apple in the U.S. (at your own expense, of course), and request a “case number,” which you then bring to the local Apple dealer, who then checks out the case number to make sure you opened up the file. Only when that case number is authorized do they consider working on your machine. You can expect to wait about two weeks (“five business days”) before you get your computer back. And don’t dare bring it in on a Sunday or Thursday – you lose out on an extra couple of days because of the weekend. Clearly, not a user-friendly operation. Of course, the hassle can all be avoided if you buy your computer here, and pay the “Israeli price” – but that’s for rich Israelis, who can afford to pay 50% more than what the thing costs in the States. And other than iDigital, there are few (I know of just one) other organizations that can service your Mac.

I don’t mean to put down the iDigital people, who now operate the Apple concession in Israel, because they’re at least more polite than the old Yeda crowd, which used to run the authorized dealership here. And iDigital will, if you ask them, very politely point out the reasons why they “have to” run their shop the way they do, whether it’s repair policies or prices. My point is that you really have to like Macs to want to buy one for use in Israel. I guess I’m one to talk, though, because I now have in my home five Macs – 2 Macbooks, 1 iMac, and 2 Mac Minis (for those inclined to do so, please reread that sentence before you drop me a nasty e-mail about my anti-Mac feelings). But in terms of convenience, etc., it’s just much easier to go with a PC.

And if you’re in the market for a PC laptop, now’s a great time to go shopping. Netbooks, those mini-laptops that started out as half-pint notebooks designed for web surfing have undergone some “feature creep,” and many of them have robust hard drives and enough memory to qualify as a “real” laptop. And the prices can’t be beat – around $500 or so in the U.S. (order it here, and with the shipping and VAT, the price is still great).

And yet, and yet. Many of the bargain laptops/netbooks still come with Windows XP, which fits like an old glove. Windows 7, a much nicer OS, is still in beta, and the computers you can get for less than $1,000 aren’t powerful enough to run it anyway. With the better machines, you get a version of Vista, which, if you’re used to the simplicity of OS X or even the unclutteredness of XP, can be a shocker. And indeed, all the laptops I could have considered to replace Macbook I would have required my adapting to Vista. Which I could do, if I had to, just like I could install a Linux distro (which, if you know how to work with it, would be a refreshing choice instead of Vista).

Or, I could spend a little more and get another Macbook. As so many have pointed out so many times, the Mac in general comes with stuff you would have to add if you were buying a PC – like the iLife software or its equivalent, the built-in video camera, etc. Price was never the issue, though – as mentioned, it was reliability, and the ability to get the machine serviced, if necessary.

The latter is something no one, other than the people in charge of the local Apple operation, can do anything about. If enough of us complain, I suppose they might take these issues more seriously. But what about reliability? Was I ready to take a chance on another weak-fanned hot-running first-generation experiment?

Absolutely not – but the Macbooks are now in at least their third generation, and from what I gather, Apple has learned something about heat control and fans (and processors) that help these computers. And what a generation it is! I got the $1200 Aluminum 2.0 gHz Macbook, immediately upgraded to 4 GB of RAM (it can supposedly take up to 8 GB), so I could run XP on VMWare (so you really get two machines for the price of one). The aluminum shell (crafted out of a single piece of the material) is just beautiful, and although the processor on this machine is nominally slower than the processor on the original Macbook, a faster bus and faster and more efficient memory actually makes the machine faster. The graphics are great (LED screen, nVidia GeForce 9400 graphics chip), and despite the misgivings some have, I personally love the glossy display (the matte one on the Macbook now seems much duller). It just feels like a solid machine, It was enough to sell me – hopefully, I’ll be able to void the repair bench altogether. So, despite the signs, I went with a Macbook – again. And I’m very glad I did.

As you’ve no doubt heard, the Israeli version of an Apple Store is up and running, in a 300 square meter space in the Ramat Aviv mall – very classy digs, with a nice layout. The store looks like other Apple Stores around the world, only smaller. It has a Genius Bar, where you can go in and check out equipment or pick the brain of an expert on hardware or software. And, there are displays of not only computers and laptops, but of peripherals – equipment that is sometimes hard to find.

But the store is just one aspect – albeit the major one – of iDigital’s efforts to make Macs for popular here. As Mac sales have taken out throughout the world, Israel has remained woefully behind the pack. Israelis are said to be “afraid” of Macs, having been intimidated into believing that they’ll be paying more money for a “toy” (I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard this from). The iDigital store (not an official Apple Store, but close enough) is apparently intended to be a center for “missionizing the masses,” trying to educate Israelis about the benefits of using Macs.

The iDigital website has been refurbished to look more like official Apple websites around the world. That, too, is part of the effort to popularize Macs, whether or not that was the intent of iDigital in putting together such a site; by standardizing the local persona of the products to match those in the rest of the world, Israelis can feel more connected to the international Mac community, and not have to feel that they’re doing something “crazy” by buying an Apple.

The company has gone a long way towards reaching out towards Israelis. Several weeks ago, iDigital released the first Hebrew localization package for Leopard (OS X 10.5.4 minimum). The package converts all Apple system menus and applications (like Safari) into Hebrew – although, of course, you can write your documents in English (or any language). The localization package is free to download from the iDigital site, http://www/idigital.co.il. And you can also download a helpful guide to Leopard – in Hebrew – from the site as well, also for free. iDigital is also offering classes on various aspects of the Mac experience – how to use Leopard, making movies with iMovie, etc. – free for customers, and NIS 70 or so for people who bought their Macs abroad.

They’ve also opened a new service center in Haifa – making it more convenient for people up north to get their products service without having to to run down to the service center in Rosh Ha’ayin. iDigital is even offering a local version of AppleCare- the extended warranty package Mac owners can buy to extend their worldwide warranty.

So, even though iDigital is “only” an independent Apple distributor, the company has gone a long way into emulating the total, authentic Apple experience here in Israel. Now, of course, comes the several thousand shekel question: Should you actually buy an Apple product from iDigital? Prices have even come down at iDigital – as much as 33% on some items – although they are still extremely high, relative to almost everywhere else. For example, a 20 inch iMac with 1 GB of memory and a 250 GB hard drive sells for NIS 6,199, instead of the previous price of NIS 7,699. At NIS 3.50/dollar, the new price works out to $1,771.

The only problem is that the same iMac sells for $1,199 at the Apple USA web site, making the iMac $572 more expensive here. The Apple site price does not include sales tax – which you wouldn’t have to pay anyway if you were having your computer shipped. If one were to buy the iMac at the popular J & R Music World in Manhattan, they would pay 8.375% sales tax – making the total cost $1,288.58, with $99.58 sales tax added to J & R’s price of $1,189 for the iMac. That makes the retail iMac $482 cheaper than the iDigital version.

In a recent interview with someone from iDigital, I was told that one of the reasons Apple products are more expensive here is because Israel orders its products European distribution channels, which are more expensive. Note, however, that the price for the iMac at Apple’s UK site is 799 pounds, VAT included – which translates into NIS 5029.89, or $334 more. That’s less of a differential than the US price, but still significant. The 2.4 ghz/2GB/160 gb HD Macbook costs NIS 6,699 – or $1,914 – $1,299 at the US Apple site, or 829 pounds (NIS 5,218) at the UK Apple store.

The last time I wrote about this phenomenon, I suggested that you might consider pickup up a Mac if you were traveling anyway during your summer vacation. Now that the prices at iDigital have been reduced (about as far as they are going to go, I guess), we still see a stark differential in prices (the higher end the product, the bigger the gap). You get the same exact one year worldwide warranty (three years, if you buy AppleCare), with the same service provided by iDigital as they would provide to their own customers no matter where you buy your Mac. You can’t really blame anyone for deciding that it makes more sense to fly abroad if they need to buy a couple of Apple computers (a Macbook and an iMac, say). It would be like getting a free trip to New York!

But maybe it’s not a such a great idea to run off to New York or London to buy a computer. Travel is a hassle nowadays, as everyone knows – and more importantly for our purposes, it’s expensive. Let’s face it: There’s no way you’re going to get off the plane at JFK, take the train to the city and go to the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, and then go back home the same day. Any savings on the computer would be wiped out by your hotel bill! If you have friends in New York, you can save money by not going to a hotel, but of course you have to bring them a gift. That’s more money spent! And how could you avoid the “landmarks,” which for Israelis in Manhattan entails lots of shopping. You do pay more at iDigital – but at least you know what the computer is costing you. Macs here in Israel may be more expensive, but if you’re the type that can’t resist a bargain (New York is full of ‘em), you might find it cheaper to pay more money for the same product here in Israel. It’s a paradox, really – one of the miracles of the Holy Land!