309 replies to this topic

[tomparsons]

What's so special about Mac's?

Macbook - £801.47 http://www.dabs.com/...l?refs=52680000

Samsung R519 - £347.96 http://www.dabs.com/...l?refs=46400000

Why? Why is there such a huge price gap for roughly the same specs? Are Apple just greedy? I mean, for a Macbook Pro, they want £1,871.56! When you can go and buy an Acer Aspire 7740 with roughly the same specs for a mere £609.10. You could buy three Acer's to one Apple!

[Molly]

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What's so special about Mac's?

S*A ... since Adobe forced Apple to sell ordinary Intel boxes with nVidia graphics card (by ditching Photoshop support for what Apple had the cheekiness to sell as 'Power PCs'), there is nothing special about 'em.

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Are Apple just greedy?

No, but Steve's disciples are dumb enough to pay whatever He's asking for. :)

Edited by Molly, 21 February 2010 - 06:46 PM.

[WegianWarrior]

Apple charge what the market is willing to pay. Is that the fault of Apple who have set themselves up more or less as a monopoly (if you want OSX, you have to buy from them); or is it the fault of the consumers who are more or less happy to fork over the cash Apple asks for?

[tomparsons]

I can't believe anyone would pay for..... well what are they paying for? A normal laptop with OS X. Nothing special about OS X, Unix with a fancy GUI.

[Molly]

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if you want OSX, you have to buy from them

Why would anyone in their right mind want to buy OSX? Stealing the BSD source code, crippling it with DRM and wrapping it into some ridiculous EULA doesn't necessarily make a good operating system. :D

Edited by Molly, 21 February 2010 - 06:50 PM.

[tomparsons]

That's where the internet comes into hand, you dont have to buy from them at all. ;)

[WegianWarrior]

While I haven't used OSX and can't say if you're right or wrong Molly, the fact remains that some people apparently do want to pay for OSX.

But then, some people will pay for anything - one born every minute etc. All I know is that my next OS is going to be free as in speech and beer :)

And tomparsons.. I do hope you're talking about downloading a free alternative to OSX...

[elliott]

They don't sell the volume that Windows PCs are sold in, so they need to make more than $5 on each system to keep running. Parts are also more expensive for them because they don't buy in as big of quantities as other OEMs.

Also, there is a HUGE difference in quality from a Macbook Pro and an Acer Aspire.

[tomparsons]

Ofcourse I'm talking about a free alternative.......
And elliott, What's wrong with an Acer Aspire? It's three times as cheap and just as good. And the reason they dont sell the amount of Windows PC's is because of the price.

Edited by tomparsons, 21 February 2010 - 07:02 PM.

[WegianWarrior]

Just to let me clarify.. Apple is a monopoly in the same way Microsoft is. If you want OSX, you have to give your money to Apple - if you want Windows, you have to give your money to Microsoft (often through a third party).

Main difference is that you can buy a multitude of different brands of computers featuring Windows, but there is only one brand of computers featuring OSX. So while in the world of Windows you'll have a monopolist software manufacturer and a wide choice of hardware manufacturers, in the world of OSX you have a monopolistic software manufacturer and a monopolistic hardware manufacturer - and they happen to be the same company!

[brotherray]

Like it or not there are users who find Mac and OS X to be worth the money for their needs. Also (and here come the flames) in certain industries, Mac is considered the only professional choice.

A similar question might be why are Mercedes so much more expensive than Hondas?

[elliott]

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Ofcourse I'm talking about a free alternative.......
And elliott, What's wrong with an Acer Aspire? It's three times as cheap and just as good. And the reason they dont sell the amount of Windows PC's is because of the price.

Nothing wrong with it, but the Apple is much better quality, the Apple will hold up better and feel nicer to use. Have you ever used one of their new glass touchpads? They are amazing. Maybe compare the Apple to a nice Acer, not the completely disposable, bottom of the line model. There is more to the value of a system than price/performance.

The other reason they don't sell so many is because they don't come with Windows, so the average user is unfamiliar with it and would rather stick to what they know.

Another reason PCs are cheaper is because many are subsidized, ever notice all of those free trials and crap that come with a cheap new Windows PC? The OEMs get paid to put that there, Apple doesn't have stuff like that. Acer DEFINITELY has that crap, because my mom just bought a new Aspire and I had to clean up the Windows 7 install before it was usable.

[Molly]

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There is more to the value of a system than price/performance.

True ... the acceptance amongst your peers at Starbucks for example. :D

[elliott]

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There is more to the value of a system than price/performance.

True ... the acceptance amongst your peers at Starbucks for example. :D

I've never understood the Mac/Starbucks connection, then again I have never set foot in a Starbucks or any coffee shop. Most places I go don't have people sitting around using laptops, so I don't see many Mac users "in the wild".

Edited by elliott, 21 February 2010 - 07:21 PM.

[Shikari]

i beleive untill you have actually used a Mac for a while, and i mean actually using it and not playing with it in your local apple store then you cannot really judge them.

For what you get in a Mac they are not overpriced. granted they are expensive but they are premium products. for me the design and build quality it a big deal. so i do not mind paying a little extra for something i appreciate. now not everyone shares my opinions but there are alot of people that do. granted the hardware inside a Mac is never bleeding edge. but because apple oversee both the hardware AND the software both are designed to work perfectly together. this results in a great user experiance and great performance (thanks to OSX)

one thing to remember with any Mac is you can LEGALLY run OSX and Windows. something you cannot do on PC hardware, some might say you get two awesome computers for the price of one!.
Not to mention the great software that comes with OSX like, iphoto, garageband, , ect ect
What decent software is included with any version of windows?? paint? lol
Infact when you buy a new PC it normally loaded full of crapware and trail versions of crapware.

Edited by Shikari, 21 February 2010 - 07:59 PM.

[Molly]

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What decent software is included with any version of windows?? paint? lol

There you are ... as far as i'm concerned, i want an operating system, not a software bundle to sweeten the deal.

before i install any Windows, you can be sure i will rip the living daylight out of it before it will get anywhere near my hardware.

[gtisingh]

...because you pay for the good looks and fine quality ?

[tomparsons]

I've never used a Mac, but it will be the same as an ordinary laptop, only running OS X. I still don't see why the Macbook Pro is an insane amount of money for..... nothing really. And the Aspire was just an example, there are other laptops with better specs for less money.

[gringo]

As long as people believe it would be something like a status symbol,
they would pay whatever the cost.

Greetings gringo

[elliott]

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I've never used a Mac, but it will be the same as an ordinary laptop, only running OS X. I still don't see why the Macbook Pro is an insane amount of money for..... nothing really. And the Aspire was just an example, there are other laptops with better specs for less money.

So, the Acer Travelmates and Extensas are overpriced, right? Since you can get the same specs in an Aspire, there couldn't possibly be any reason to spend the extra money on one, right? Can't be a difference in build quality or durability.

Find me a Acer Aspire with a glass touchpad and an aluminum chassis for 1/3 of the price of a Macbook and I'll buy one tonight. I don't own a Macbook, can't afford one, but I will admit they have a very nice build quality and are worth the money.

There is more to a good computer than the electronics inside.