No quad core. Haha I am so glad I bought my iMac when I did... back last september I was sure it would be outdated by now but hey it's still top of the line!! Bring on 65 more days!
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300 Days !!
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No quad core. Haha I am so glad I bought my iMac when I did... back last september I was sure it would be outdated by now but hey it's still top of the line!! Bring on 65 more days!
No, I'm not claiming that, you are. I am saying that the hardware makes up only half the price on a low end machine so it is difficult for Apple to squeeze any more. The profit margin on software is nearly static regardless of machine.
And to be fair to you, I did say cost but I meant cost to the consumer.
An OSX DVD costs Apple a few cents. DVDs are cheap. Software is not a substantial thing that has any real value. You buy the licence and rights to use software. Therefore for the company who owns the software, it costs nothing to give it to others. Therefore the fact that half the Mini's cost is software is crap. It's mostly hardware, with a little bit of tech support.
Since it costs nothing for Apple, by your reasoning, why don't they just give copies of Leopard away for free?
When you purchase a machine from Apple you are also purchasing a license for the software provided with the machine. That software has development costs that have to be accounted for.
Jesus has it seriously been 300 days now!?
My friends waiting to buy a iMac but i keep telling him to wait off for an update (2 months now...) it seriously can't be to much longer before apple release them, my guess would be same day leopard gets released
Let the iPhone die down a bit, apple revolves around it at the moment...
My friends waiting to buy a iMac but i keep telling him to wait off for an update (2 months now...) it seriously can't be to much longer before apple release them, my guess would be same day leopard gets released
Let the iPhone die down a bit, apple revolves around it at the moment...
I think we all understand that software costs money to develop (I hope I do anyway, as that's how I make my money). However, the proportion of this cost to Apple for OS X and iLife on the Mini must be an absolutely tiny percentage, very likely lower than 1%, of the overall cost. It is negligible, and certainly not anywhere near half of the price of the Mini.
You still don't understand. Strip out the price of the software from the mini and you are left with the hardware price. I don't care if it costs Apple one red penny to load all the software on the mini, they are still selling you a license and that is separate issue from the hardware: how much profit did Tiger make or how much profit did iLife make, etc. Now maybe Apple has even decided to take a loss on the mini hardware because they make a huge margin in the software side.
I know its a bit like building a car from a parts book and the finished product is much more expensive, but look at it from Apple's perspective. How many copies of an OS will each hardware purchaser make? One? Two? Most the profit in the OS still has to be made in the initial sale of the machine.
If someone came up to you one day, and offered you a pirated copy of some incredibly expensive piece of software that you would never consider buying, would taking up the offer damage the company who developed the software at all? No.
Yes, software costs money to develop. But unlike almost every other product that a person can buy, software doesn't have a physical value, because it can be copied endlessly for negligable cost. Any analogies with cars, or anything else, are completely wrong for this reason.
Apple doesn't make their profits on software, they make it on hardware, and their software is an incentive to buy the hardware. If Apple decided for some reason they were going to start selling minis without iLife and OSX, they wouldn't immediately subtract $200 from the price, they would continue to sell them at the same cost. The point I'm trying to make is that you pay for the hardware, and the software comes with it. You don't pay $300 for the hardware, $200 for the software and $100 for the tech support.
OK, I admit, I've completely lost my train of thought, but I hope you can agree with some of the things I've said.
Yes, software costs money to develop. But unlike almost every other product that a person can buy, software doesn't have a physical value, because it can be copied endlessly for negligable cost. Any analogies with cars, or anything else, are completely wrong for this reason.
Apple doesn't make their profits on software, they make it on hardware, and their software is an incentive to buy the hardware. If Apple decided for some reason they were going to start selling minis without iLife and OSX, they wouldn't immediately subtract $200 from the price, they would continue to sell them at the same cost. The point I'm trying to make is that you pay for the hardware, and the software comes with it. You don't pay $300 for the hardware, $200 for the software and $100 for the tech support.
OK, I admit, I've completely lost my train of thought, but I hope you can agree with some of the things I've said.
Bad analogy. Many people buy Macs because of the software.
True, no physical cost to reproduce but there is a limited demand and the initial copy has a fixed known cost. This cost has to be amortized over the limited demand to come up with a per unit cost.
They would have to drop the price as no one would buy a mini at that price when they could buy a PC of the same spec for half the price.
I agree that it is difficult, particularly in IT, to dissect a product into its constituent costs but I can't see Apple willing to give away and thus devalue its software, which is why people buy Macs.
Let me add one more thing. If it costs Apple $1 to make a mini, they would charge at least $284.
October with Leopard, everyone...
As far as back-to-school, isn't that what the free iPod deal is for?
As far as back-to-school, isn't that what the free iPod deal is for?
I wonder if Apple is hoping the free ipod deal is all it takes to hold students over until the update. Still the Mac Book Pro was updated and still gets the ipod deal also.
I would have to say it wouldnt be so bad if the prices of the current lineup dropped alittle. I mean that stuff isn't brand new anymore...
The Mini is even worse in that regard...Core Duo and Combo DrivesI still can't believe Apple ship combo drives at the prices
they charge for a computer (MacBook).
some of apples stuff is really really dated...I work at futureshop and we only sell two 17" monitors - the one that's in the iMac (well, that's a computer too) and one other standalone monitor. The macbook is the only laptop we have with a combo drive and 512 mb ram I'm quite sure.
the mac mini specs are laughable for that price...no matter how good OS X is, for the price of the mac mini, you could easily find a C2D, DVD burner, 250 gb HD, 1 GB ram, etc,...
I hope Apple still realizes there are people like me who love and buy Macs but despise cell phones. Seems all you hear about Apple anymore is iPhone this and iPhone that. Meh.
i really agree with you on this. i think that its the people that have made th eiphone so important, apple hasnt really done anything more than usual... there are so many users hu still want their computers. i hope apple will maintain this and still be a computer company!!!
Is Apple Inc. just a shadow of Apple Computer Inc? I don't think so, but they're being swamped with so many things right now... but the mini and iMac should not be this old... it's inexcusable. 300 days????? OMG Apple, hire me, I'll make an new iMac for you (it'll be riddled with problems, but hey). I think the desktops are suffering because they are essentially laptops that don't go anywhere... think about it... the mini is essentially leftovers from a MB and the iMac is used to be = to a MBP. Why pay for a laptop that doesn't go anywhere if you can get one that does. Make the desktops desktops Apple, and don't let this long of a gap gap go by.
I would like to think that the delay is because Apple is waiting for something from someone else. Santa Rosa is here so that can't be it. The 8800 video chipsets have just started (or are just about to start?) delivery. That could be it and would be wonderful if it was. Perhaps some other part that they need is not available in quantity yet.
yes im thinking that its the availability of components.. i heard that 500gb harddrives were in low quanitity and were also having a lot of problems, like alot of them are corrupt and have to be sent back..
It's been known for some time that the delay in Leopard and the lack of new products is becuase Apple chose to concentrate on the iPhone...
Same here. The iMac and the Mini are one of the few desktops in the world which I believe that I can tolerate. Their design and form factor are excellent. Whatever is coming, it better be magical, because I'm trying to convert my Dad to Mac, and a Mini would be perfect for him.
I can see 2 gigs becoming the standard for the 24 inch iMac.
Basically we should expect the same specs from the MacBook Pro to the new iMac.
still waiting for the multitouch 16 core imac.. with 2 copies of leopard built in. that comes with vista ultimate , office ultimate and linux ultimate... 4 nvidia 8850gts that are compatible with 2 extra ati 2950s XT .. with a 3 terabyte hdd... all in laptop components.. hopefully as skinny as the iphone but a 30" Cinema Display... but those are just my thoughts.. all these predictions are done by thinksecret lol 