Dane D. said:
Josh
If all one cares about is the price, then fine buy a PC. But to me the price for hassle free computing is priceless. I'll pay for quality, not just when buying computers but anything.
The big bone that I have to pick with Apple is their product placements and market segmentation.
Let me tell you my story.
The computer that I would
want to get right now, would be the Intel iMac 20", without the display, which unfortunately is not offered by Apple.
The other options I have would be the MacBook Pro, which I won't touch until at the very least the Merom revisions are released hopefully at the end of this year, and the Mac Mini. Seeing as to how there are no Intel Mac Pros available now (and that too, I will wait till Rev B at the very least), my only option is the Mini.
Nevertheless, not too pleased overall with the choices I've been offered, but at the very least the Duo seems to be quite a nifty machine on paper, and I expect it to be a placeholder machine until I feel I am getting sufficient value for my buck in a Merom MBP, and a Apple workstation with the kinks ironed out and hopefully tested by others to be capable of running Vista, at which point the Mini can then be retired to be either a small file server, or attached to a TV and serve as a "ah hem" video files player.
I have to admit that I'm pretty excited about this little bundle that is still on its way here to me in South Australia, but I can just as easily understand why someone else would pass up on this machine. The Mini Duo, in its stock configuration with a princely amount of ram (all 512mb of it!) and it's ludicrously fast Intel Integrated Graphics solution, costs a handsome sum of A$1069 at EDU pricing.
So this is Apple's answer to switchers who have their existing monitors and keyboards and mice, but get this.. Dell's answer to the Mini is a P4 box, a 19" LCD monitor, and obviously a keyboard and a mice, for a very attractive price of $999. You can argue all you want about quality and stuff, but Quanta makes the same $600 Dull laptops in the very same factory as your $2499 MBPs, many MR members here use Dull LCD monitors citing they are equivalent to Apple ACDs in terms of display quality at a fraction of the cost.
Windows XP costs like.. what.. $250 for a retail version? MacOS costs like.. $129 for an upgrade version. So how would this prole of a switcher be able to look at this balding man disinterestedly talking about this new little "Mac" computer, and the next moment s/he sees this Dell ad on TV with the trademark Intel chime, and decide to get the Mac?
Sure it comes with OSX, just like the Dell's retail price comes with Windows! You might counter with the argument that "OSX is better", but the prole will counter "oh yeah? Hundreds of millions of proles around the world can't be wrong, where are your numbers to say otherwise?"
Besides, Windows run right is probably just as good as OSX, I can keep a Windows box running cleanly for damned near indefinitely, so all that "OMFG Virus!!!" and "Spyware!!!" posts from Apple fanbois are just that... troll posts.
So, how can a prole justify the purchase of a Mac? S/he can't.
Besides, let's look at the Mini again. Ok, so it is all fine and dandy that Apple's engineers decided to fit in a small 2.5" hard drive. And the same with a optical drive, a laptop drive will go into it as well. Trouble is, they obviously aren't putting these expensive options in out of goodwill and charging the customer the pricing of their equivalents, they are being extravagent because YOU are paying for it!
So what if switcher Joe Heinz Sixpack decides "Urgh, looks are not important for me. This little computer looks like it is for *******! I just want a computer like.. ugh.. that one over there!" *points at Shuttle SFPC in the next store*
Unfortunately Apple doesn't offer that option.
As with my own experience, so I wanted a iMac 20"'s juice, without the integrated screen.
Unfortunately Apple doesn't offer that option, too.
I can foresee in a month's time when the Macbook is unveiled with integrated graphics hundreds of thousands of fanbois are going to cry. Really. What other options do they have?
Sorry but Apple doesn't offer that, too. Unfortunately.
The sad truth is when it comes to the hardware, if you want to run OSX you are pretty much limited by what Apple has to offer. I'm not saying Apple's offerings are lousy, but they just might not be tailored to your needs.
And likewise the PowerMac/Mac Pro can be infinitely tailored and customised to any needs, but they will deliberately squeeze 2 dual core processors in and price it like 5 times the price of a Dell desktop, so it is pretty much a moot point too.
It's a sad reality really, how you just have to be so confined by what Apple would offer, that makes people want to crack OSX.
The other sad reality? If Apple would offer options as numerous as Dell they'd probably do very well. People can happily buy their butt ugly Macs while the more sophisticated users can buy their nice shiny chiselled diamond dust coated Macs.
Ultimately most just do not wish to sacrifice their own choice as a consumer and their own money to help a company keep up with their corporation image, that's all.
So be it.
