Dissecting the top 5 Apple myths

I agree with you about the netbooks. But my Asus has al high quality parts, and even a high quality case.

I use a shuffle for running with, it's still the easiest player for loading with 20 songs, clipping on my belt, and going.

IIRC, the HP all in one is much more reasonably priced than the Dell, and includes a touch screen.

The big thing for me is that you can't get a laptop with a dedicated GPU under $1600, my Dell was 1100 and came with an ATI 3670. Same with desktop, you can't get a decent GPU in the iMac until a ridiculous price. Even at $1800, you get a GPU that my GTX 260 will rape.

I like OS X, but Windows is plenty fine, and is much better than some make it out to be (maybe they're incompetent users of it?) It's not good enough to warrant using it on such lower spec'd hardware, for my money, though.

general. What a badly written and researched article.

@Blake #20
If your computer started overheating then the heatsink was probably gunked up with dust. I used to do PC maintenance and this was quite common, bot with laptops and desktops, just harder to clean from a laptop.



@SC7

You're right and you're wrong. A homebrew system is/can be cheaper, spec for spec. Not using the same hardware though. I can sell you a cheap mobo and a cheap version of the same gfx card and cheaper RAM and so forth. Those components have the same specs as the more expensive ones, but generally have lower real world performance and/or higher failure rates. This is simple economics due to higher levels of quality control. More rejections equal higher product price.
One thing home builders (and many computer manufacturers) save on is the PSU, which is just stupid. I have seen too many flaky systems due to voltage instabilities.
A cheap case vs an expensive case also makes a difference. Working inside a cheap case is awful, while some of the more expensive ones (even Antec and Thermaltake) are a positive joy to work with and lead to less noisy systems due to their better, multilayered construction.
First time we got a Mac in for checking it was an ancient Powermac G3. We (PC users, all of us) ooh'd and ahh'd over the design and construction of the case. The easy access hatch and the internal layout were just exemplary. A few months later we had gotten a deal to distribute Apple products in our neck of the woods. Excellent decision as the failure/problem rate was extremely low and profit margin was not as stupidly low as on some other computers. The profit margins in retail on computer components is in many cases around one fourth of the profit margins on stuff like a fridge, vacuum cleaner, hi-fi system and such. Couple that with the much higher levels of complexity and higher number of warranty repairs and most computer sales make little sense. Netbooks, for instance, are just a stupid marked to get into. That's why computer retailers seem to be temporary businesses, always going bust.
Whenever a Mac had problems, no problem. The healthier margins meant that we could actually afford to put work into fixing them, replacing parts and such. Apples policy meant that we actually had a chance at returning faulty components (unlike some manufacturers, which just made the process so complicated and expensive that we had to think whether their warranty was worth it)

You DO pay for that when you buy an Apple product. You do pay for the expensive variant. You pay for the better case construction and the better internal and external design. You pay for the improved noise characteristics, and the pretty looks.

If you take something roughly comparable to the iMac, for instance, you get similar or more expensive prices. The Dell XPS One is pretty similar, a little cheaper and a lot uglier. I don't know what components are used. Other all in one machines are generally similarly priced for similar specs, with some variance based on what is put into the QC and such.

As for the iPods. I have a Creative Zen, an older iPod classic, an iPod shuffle (last gen), and an iPhone, as well as an older Sandisk . The Creative is perfectly adequate, but the controls leave much to be desired. The design is awful. The menus are almost unusable. Both the iPod and iPhone are amazingly much nicer to use.
I hate the Sandisk with a passion. I have the shuffle because the Sandisk was so awful. Hateful. Spiteful. Just plain annoying and bad. It is a little larger than the Shuffle, and it has a two line screen, but it's still unusable.

One thing you are totally right about (IMO) is that Apple has a bit of a gap in the upper mid range. Not having a lower spec MacPro seems like an omission. They also don't touch the cheapies with a stick, and for good reason.
Profit.
Yup, they're a company, and their goal is profit.
The margins on the cheapies is just razor thin. That goes for almost all markets.
I also agree that a full word processor should be included. iWork is a very good package and should come with all Macs to make them better, much like iLife does now. This would mean that a Mac would come out of the box ready for play and work. It does have TextEdit, similar (but nicer) to WritePad (NotePads big brother), and is usable for text editing. But people want more functionality


Final thoughts: You get what you pay for.

It's iWork that has the word processor you idiots. Not iLife (GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto).

That's just not how it works. Apple has to strike a balance between price point and quality. Do you honestly think you have a better sense of where that balance lies than the bean counters at Apple? I wish their prices were lower, too. I also wish I could buy a new Lexus for $10,000. Just because I can't afford one doesn't mean it's overpriced.

Apple products are NOT overpriced. You may wish Macbooks were cheaper, but if they were overpriced (as an objective fact, not opinion. This is mythbusting, right?), they wouldn't sell enough to be profitable. They're priced at what the market will bear. Econ 101.

Mmmmm I've just been to the toilet and written a better article.... utter sh1t. Why even give this the time off day. I want my 2 minutes back.

WHat I've wrote there (yeah I know It's compact and the syntax Frenglish)

"3 out of 5 not so bad...

But still comparing that Dell to a Late 2008 MBP 15 2.4GHz, when the dell has no Gigabit [10/100/1000] Ethernet(Only 10/100), no FireWire 800 (only non-powered mini FW400 aka DV port aka iLink ???), non digital audio I/O, no iLife equivalent, no LED display, No DDR3 800MHz RAM (only DDR2 667MHz on a 800MHz Bus only used when ordering 8GB of RAM ???), no built-in Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (only CTO BlueTooth 2.0+EDR), no Backlit Keyboard.

Vista ultimate only on Build to Order (There is no Basic/Home/Premium/Business/Ultimate versions of Mac OS X, only a Full Version of Mac OS X and no choosing between 32 or 64 bit OS, Snow Leopard is 64 bit capable to run 32Bit drivers AND 64 bit apps at the same time)

The Dell computer is mostly Plastic, heavier and bulkier, One generation late for the GPU with half (or a Quarter with the 8600GS = 128MB of VRAM) of the VRAM the MacBook Pro's Discreet Video card is no "low power GPU" alternative (Intel GMA or nVidia 9300/9400, which can claim of to 384MB of the DDR3 RAM), and the cherry on top : no MagSafe and all the Bag of hurt that comes with windows (Virus/anti-virus, malware/anti-malware, the inability to use more than 2GB of RAM with 32Bit Windows etc.).

The major broblem being whith the invention of the Apple Tax (Thanks Mr. Ballmer), is that when you add those up you easily come accross the difference price tag, and even fell on Some case were the "strict" (not loosily) equivalent of a Mac computer (Specs,, Type Of CPU [Mobile or Server, as Apple do not use desktop class CPU] frequencies, IO, Size, Wheight, Form Factor), the PC found (rarity as DELL, HP, etc don't match their specs of Apple's) can be pricier or if not then the price difference is less then 200$ (less than 50$ in most cases)

As for the "more proprietary than Microsoft"

Is NT Kernel Open Source? Are SMB [not talking about the reverse engenired Samba or smbfs used in OS X], Direct X, IE engine? ???

Darwin and webkit were cited, but what about, Darwin Streaming server, Bonjour (Apple's Zero-Conf implementation), OpenCL.

And about the legitimate rant about iTunes/iPod (classic, nano, shuffle) link, none of those are or use OpenSource (a derivative of Darwin OS if my meory serves, and SoundJam which was transformed into iTunes, was never based on Open source code).
iTunes and iPod used as points proving Apple is "more proprietary than MS" is at best a troll bait.
The only equivalent to iTune+iPod link is Zune Software+Zune and in no way Windows Media Player (PlayForShure) which was intended for PMP when Microsoft didn't had a Portable Player of Its own.
And is ZUne Software able to manage anything else thant MS's Zune? is the Zune manageable with anything else than the Zune Software (I mean Fully manageable), maybe not yet, but MS didn't seems really concerned right now with that problematic anyway.

The iPhone OS is another story as It's an mini OS X compiled for ARM, therefor a mini Darwin must exist underneath, But ALL the needed source for an ARM compiled Darwin are out there (and the JailBreak scene sure have digged into It)
iTunes (Jan 2001) is "The" iPhone/iPod (Oct 2001) Desktop Application (and Mac OS Media player [music only at the beginning]), and Apple made It clear a long time ago when evidently Apple didn't have 70% marketshare yet and Majors gave free pass (with mendatory DRM) to their catalog more as a dare (or quick buck before you fail) project, than out of trust (which had to be regained each time the Hymn project broke the Fairplay DRM)"

Pretty much agreed that myths #2 and 1 (price and open source) were just badly written.

Yes, Apple hardware costs more then Dell hardware, sometimes. It depends on Apple's release cycle vs Dell, and the product. There isn't an exact "50% Apple Tax" or whatever. And there are plenty of times Apple may be ahead.

For my past 3 major systems (Powerbook G4, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro), I checked spec for spec against Dell and HP (harder back with the G4). And when I bought them, Apple had the better deal. And thats excluding any extra points for Apple for the intangibles like build quality, bundled software, and so on.

As for the Open Source stuff, Apple is a mixed bag here. They do contribute a lot back out to the OSS side, though there were complaints about how they did this in the early days. Comparing their OSS policies against iTunes (a non OSS program), and the iPhone App Store policies is just stupid. Could they do more? Sure.

And as far as the whole iTunes/iPod thing goes, it amuses me that OSS people are always blabbing about personal choice and freedom and competition, and then they run out, buy the market dominating iPod, and whine. How about sticking to your beliefs, and buy a different product from a smaller company. Don't shop on the iTMS, and instead support Amazon or something. There is choice in the media market still, stop acting like there isn't and go support the little guys.

This article is grossly incomplete. Grossly. I especially love the whole Apple products are overpriced. I'm a guy that leans toward Windows and PC's, but you get MORE with an Apple laptop. More. Let's compare a 13" MBP with what I feel is the PC world's closest competitor, the Dell Studio XPS 13:

What you get in the MBP that you don't get in the Dell (from a hardware perspective only)

- Glass, not plastic on the screen cover
- Fully metal chassis, versus part magnisium, part crappy plastic, and part for goodness sake LEATHER.
- .3 inches less height
- Larger, multitouch trackpad
- MagSafe
- Accelerometer
- Drop Sensor
- Standard 802.11N and Bluetooth
- 8 hour battery
- Unibody construction

What you get with the Studio XPS 13 that you don't get with a MBP.

- Faster CPU option
- VGA and HDMI port options
- ExpressCard (ironically on the 15"MBP)
- Multicard reader vs SD card reader
- User removeable battery
- 4GB RAM standard
- WWAN options.

So let's debunk these.

The faster CPUs available in the Dell are not a very good price vs power ratio. I wouldn't buy it in a Dell. RAM is cheap so the 4GB vs 2GB argument is out. The ExpressCard honestly is something I'd miss because of WWAN cards. A user removeable battery is moot when the internal battery lasts 2x as long, that's out too. WWAN options are missed but most people I know personally tether a smartphone. HDMI is missed but honestly, people that use thier laptop for WORK would get more use from DisplayPort, still I wish Apple had included HDMI. VGA is available via an adapter, moot point.

Now let's flip back to the MBP. DROP SENSOR, WHY is this not available for ALL notebooks? It's too LATE when your hard drive is physically damaged and the data cannot be recovered. Magsafe, ditto. My largest problem with laptops these days is cheap, glossy plastics are easy to really ruin quickly, and the aluminum/optics glass safeguards against this immensely. Internal battery, awesome. Why fumble with a 2nd battery, and what if you're not near an outlet to change it? The thinness and unibody construction are nice but easier portability, less weight and zero flex, while not required, are appreciated.

It's not Apple Tax, it's paying more for.. well.. more. And that's from a PC(ish) guy.

That article was kind of weak and too subjective. Is that what has happened to "HowStuffWorks.com"???