Are we still cutting edge?

[bobbytomorow]

i was just thinking that since the death of PPC (yeah I know this has been pondered millions of times) and a complete generic intel line-up now, what separates us from the pc peasants? Like aside from an operating system? what happened to our ideals? it feels like apple did a 180 on me but it was so subtle only now i notice it.

sure 2 years ago a backlit keyboard, slim LED screen, 2 gpu's and a C2D was still somewhat cutting edge, especially wrapped in apple's perfect sculpture like shell and shipping with the best os ever.

but is it enough now? if i have buddies throwing leopard on a netbook, and making a $600 quad core into a $4000 Mac Pro then what exactly are we still fighting for?

Just remind me

 

[prism]

Lets see...

awesome multitouch glass trackpad that actually works?
way longer batter life?
a proprietary chip that switches gpu on the fly?
super thin and slick unibody laptop design?
the option for AG screens?

Need more convincing?

 

[bigjobby]

Are we still cutting edge?

Nope... never was, never will be. If you want cutting edge, try working in the military's R&D dept. If you ever think you are 'cutting edge', don't kid yourself. By the time you thought about it, you're already way behind.

what exactly are we still fighting for?

Who's fighting?

 

[johnalan]

Yeah i've thought about that $700 hackintosh vs a $4000 Mac Pro,


and as a software developer, who is not afraid of hacking around a machine or playing with software etc, I just don't want to spend time making things work, it's worth paying 5 times the price because I want it stable and easy to use.

 

[dr. shdw]

I like the gigantic best in the industry multi-touch trackpad.

 

[maflynn]

Depends on where you look.
Apple's computer line (including desktop and laptops) are far from cutting edge. In fact they're generally a bit behind the curve, which makes paying the premium for the product that much more difficult.

The iPad is a cutting edge device, where apple truly took the tablet computer to a new and popular direction.

The iPhone is a bit long in the tooth and what was cutting edge two years ago is not. (last years offering was not cutting edge)

I see apple looking to maximize profits, and appeal to a wider audience, both of those aspects typically mean avoiding cutting (read bleeding) edge technology.

iPad aside, I see apple's offerings to be "ho hum" and kind of pedestrian lately. The leaked photos of the iPhone 4g have some interesting tidbits but nothing that's already out there (except maybe for a higher resolution).

 

[miles01110]

a proprietary chip that switches gpu on the fly?

Haha. Well....sometimes it does anyway.

the option for AG screens?

Most other machines have an "option" for a matte screen.

 

[0098386]

They have some nice accessories (touchpad, displays, battery life, unibody cases) but they still have terrible GPUs (GTX285 is almost 2 years old).
They're not cutting edge like that. The components are generally quite high quality though, which is probably where a bit of that price bump comes from.

 

[Gav2k]

Go into a coffee shop with your MacBook or ipad and see how much more attention you get in comparison to the guy with the scabby black dell or IBM.

 

[maflynn]

Go into a coffee shop with your MacBook or ipad and see how much more attention you get in comparison to the guy with the scabby black dell or IBM.

but that scabby black dell will out perform the MacBook, and isn't that what's important?

 

[jpyc7]

Of course, PowerPC stopped being cutting-edge compared to Intel which was the rationale for the CPU switch. IBM/Motorola weren't able to innovate as fast as Intel for general processors or at least persuade Apple that they could deliver the right features.

Anyway, the overall quality of an Apple machine feels better than the random cheap PC. One does pay quite a premium for that.

 

[dr. shdw]

but that scabby black dell will out perform the MacBook, and isn't that what's important?

Not once you run out of battery life

 

[Stella]

Face it - PPC processors were absolute garbage. I had a G4 1.6Ghz PowerBook and was never really happy with it - it was sluggish from day 1.

PPC had their day - years ago - early 2000s, Intel / AMD processors had surpassed G4s. G5s - well, they never really took off, albeit,promising.

PowerBook's - yes, they had style.. as do the MacBook pros - but again, other manufacturers release equally good looking laptops these days.

i was just thinking that since the death of PPC (yeah I know this has been pondered millions of times) and a complete generic intel line-up now, what separates us from the pc peasants? Like aside from an operating system? what happened to our ideals? it feels like apple did a 180 on me but it was so subtle only now i notice it.

sure 2 years ago a backlit keyboard, slim LED screen, 2 gpu's and a C2D was still somewhat cutting edge, especially wrapped in apple's perfect sculpture like shell and shipping with the best os ever.

but is it enough now? if i have buddies throwing leopard on a netbook, and making a $600 quad core into a $4000 Mac Pro then what exactly are we still fighting for?

Just remind me

 

[clevin]

hardware? no, no, no, middle of the road components.

Apple is cutting edge in advertising, looks of the products, and producing crazy fans.

 

[Tilpots]

I'm not sure "cutting edge" is what Apple aspires to be. I think their goal is more focused on "user experience." They use proven ingredients in their hardware. They want to make sure it "just works." Being on the cutting edge conflicts with this ideal. Often times the cutting edge is a leap of faith, and that's certainly not the Apple we all know. They make sure their devices work well with their software. Ease of use, inter-Apple compatibility, and proven technologies drive the company, not speculation.

 

[bobbytomorow]

Nope... never was, never will be. If you want cutting edge, try working in the military's R&D dept. If you ever think you are 'cutting edge', don't kid yourself. By the time you thought about it, you're already way behind.

i think you took my notion a tad too literally, im not looking into purchasing or using something the freaking military is investing in lol...i mean come on, a huge part of why we love macs is because they are sexy tech gadgets, thats not an afront, but face it they are beautiful so as a Mac customer im probably not looking into something that can withstand a Humvee collision, jesus

 

[neiltc13]

I've considered this already and I've come to the conclusion that there are few reasons left to buy a Mac. Unless Apple does something significant soon I'm almost certain my next computer purchase will not be a Mac.

Windows 7 is better than OS X Snow Leopard - that's the main reason. It's more stable, more secure (Microsoft patches the holes when they are found, whereas Apple waits months or even years to do so) and has a much better interface. It also has much better support from developers and applications are written for it instead of simply being ported as many are on OS X.

So, without the big "OS X" reason to buy a Mac, what's left? The only one I can see is the build quality of the computers. They're still the best around IMO, but I don't really think that Dell or Lenovo's machines are so far behind. I don't think that anyone can possibly justify paying such a huge premium for Apple's hardware when it is only slightly better built and everything else is worse.

 

[roadbloc]

Face it - PPC processors were absolute garbage. I had a G4 1.6Ghz PowerBook and was never really happy with it - it was sluggish from day 1.

PPC had their day - years ago - early 2000s, Intel / AMD processors had surpassed G4s. G5s - well, they never really took off, albeit,promising.

What? Are you mad? PPC were years ahead Intel/AMD, and the G5 Mac Pro in my studio still often outperforms my Intel I3.

I'm still unsure whether switching from PPC was the right choice. As for what I think about Apple now, I think they are poor. I have not at all been impressed with their latest products and I think they have become very sloppy indeed. I doubt I will buy another Mac.

 

[Fiveos22]

Windows 7 is better than OS X Snow Leopard - that's the main reason. It's more stable, more secure (Microsoft patches the holes when they are found, whereas Apple waits months or even years to do so) and has a much better interface. It also has much better support from developers and applications are written for it instead of simply being ported as many are on OS X.

Woah, woah, woah. Slow down there. I would hate to come off sounding like a crotchety old timey Mac fanboy, even if that is what I have been for the last 14 years, but I must take issue with the above statement. I do not think you are remembering the not-too-long-ago days where Apple released seven major operating systems, each of which was a major improvement over the previous... while Microsoft took its sweet time to release service pack updates, a majorly bungled new OS, and now finally Windows 7 (which is what Vista should have been).

I may not know about Windows 7's stability and ease of use, but to accuse Apple of being untimely and lackadaisical with their software writing is patently false. Furthermore, the nearly a decade's worth of material has been published on the satisfaction of mac developers and quality of mac-specific programs. In the past few years it had started to feel like ports of software for Mac was a dwindling business. I appreciate that you may not feel satisfied with Mac products but remember that is a point of view.

Apple may not be the bleeding edge of technology, but they are actively involved in both hardware and software development, which manifests itself in typically well received and profitable products. Its only a matter of time before Apple makes another market changing product.

 

[notjustjay]

Peasants? Fighting? Them's fanboy words...

I don't know about cutting edge, although Apple is usually the first one to "do it right". Example: the iPod. MP3 players, and hard disk-based MP3 players, were certainly around long before Apple came out with the iPod. And when they did, everyone laughed at it (see that infamous thread 500). But Apple did it right, and that's how it caught on so well. I owned a flash-based MP3 player (64 megs of goodness, woohoo!) Then I bought a disk-based player -- a 6 GB Creative Nomad Jukebox -- and enjoyed its bigger-than-a-Discman bulk and whopping 4-hour battery life. Then I bought an iPod, and ... wow.

iPhone? Same story. Apple certainly wasn't the first smartphone out there, but it was the first one that was so elegant and simple to use that everyone wanted one.

I use a MacBook Pro and not a "cutting edge" PC because, by and large, the Mac works, and I use it to get my work done. Period. I haven't even upgraded to Snow Leopard yet, though I bought the DVD the first day it came out. I'm just happy with how my computer works. I don't need to tinker with it for hours.

To contrast -- no joke -- this morning I turned on my netbook, and Windows booted up, warned me it hadn't done a virus update for a while, tied up my system while it downloaded and installed said update, insisted on doing a scan, found a trojan that I had to clean up... it was 20 minutes before I was able to do anything useful with it.

 

[-Ryan-]

but again, other manufacturers release equally good looking laptops these days.

I suppose that's completely subjective, but I've never seen a PC that looks aesthetically as good as a Mac. Period. They either look cheap or overdone to me.

 

[dr. shdw]

Also AppleCare is pretty damn good I'd have to say.

 

[notjustjay]

I suppose that's completely subjective, but I've never seen a PC that looks aesthetically as good as a Mac. Period. They either look cheap or overdone to me.

I really like the Sony VAIO "Z" series. But those things make Macs look dirt cheap by comparison.

 

[-Ryan-]

I really like the Sony VAIO "Z" series. But those things make Macs look dirt cheap by comparison.

Yeah, its obviously just personal preference. I don't find the Z series particularly attractive myself, but can see the appeal. It's the plastic that I don't like.

 

[mward333]

What? Are you mad? PPC were years ahead Intel/AMD, and the G5 Mac Pro in my studio still often outperforms my Intel I3.

I agree! My G5 is still awesome. I rely on it for a lot of my work.