Apple, what a fad....

[GypsyGraphics]

Apple won't ever be able to compete based on price.

OF COURSE NOT... WHO THE HELL WOULD THEY STEAL THEIR IDEAS FROM, to be able to do that?!?!?!?!

generic drug reference

maybe you should pen a nice thank you letter to Apple!

 

[CES020]

Joe, you need to read my post about it. I said their monitor on the dell system that you quote was not in the same category as the apple monitor. You have to pick the premium monitors from dell to even get in that same range. You're comparing non bottom of the line monitors with top of the line monitors. That's apples and oranges.

 

[signmeup]

Signmeup, I'm not devoted, I'm just trying to understand the logic, which no one yet has explained. So I'll ask for the 3rd time and hopefully get an answer......

How's an Apple computer any different than the $160 pair of Oakley's sitting on your head?

Well... I bought my shades at the drugstor for $12.( I got the ones with the case. I know it was extravagant but sometimes I do impusive things) I think Oakley's sunglasses are a lot of money for what you get so I guess it's a good analogy with Apple.

I went to the apple site and had a good look around. (Got curious with all this talk)

The site is pretty hard to find stuff on but after I figured out I was in the right place after landing on a page that showed a giant side view of some item I wasn't interested in, I did find some cool stuff. Although if you want a tower computer you will be forking over about $2500 and still be looking for a monitor, key board and mouse. (previous disclaimer about not being competent on the site still applies)

I found a page with all sorts of videos on it promising to teach me all about their products it but I couldn't view them because the site only offered the videos in Quicktime. It graciously offered to load Quicktime onto my computer but I declined as my hard drive is getting full crap I keep downloading from the internet. Mostly porn.

The Mac mini really caught my eye. That is a cool little computer. I'm either inept at searching the site or they don't make an equally cool monitor to go with it though. Would seem a shame to have that cool little pc(personal computer) stuffed under my old black monitor. The only monitors I could find on the site were $1100 and $1400 respectively. (My 24" HP was about $225)

I did find a page with a mouse that was as chic as the mini Mac but the concensus of the people who actually bought one was don't. Seems the tracking ball mounted on top of the mouse is even more efficient at getting dirt inside it than the old ball mice we fondly remember from days of yore. (I still have one, but you probably guessed that)

I also found a really cool keyboard that would fit into a Bang and Olfson store completely undetected. Tres sharpe design.

All in all I think the Apple stuff looks very nice indeed and I'm sure it works very well too. I just can't afford it. Or Oakley sunglasses. I'm sad now.

 

[CES020]

I'm not sure why, but I'm back here again............

Dell Vostro
Intel Core i3 processor, 3.1GHz
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
DVD burner
Intel built in video card (lower quality than the apple)
21" UltraSharp Monitor
Wireless Card
Speakers
upgrade to better keyboard and mouse

$1052.00


iMac
Intel Core i3 processor, 3.06 GHz
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
DVD burner
ATI Radeon Video card (better than the stock built in one on the pc that's specified)
21" IPS monitor
Bluetooth and wireless
speakers
wireless keyboard and mouse

$1199.

Not sure how that's far off from what I said.

 

[Kyle Blue]

Go Apple!!!


Sorry that's all I got.

 

[Joe Diaz]

This is a better comparison as all three are all-in-one computers.

iMac
Intel Core i3 processor, 3.06 GHz(slower than the configured HP)
4GB memory(2GB less than the configured HP 4GB less than the Dell)
500GB hard drive (half the hard drive space than the configured HP and Dell)
DVD burner (Dell has Blue-ray)
ATI Radeon Video card (slower than the configured HP and Dell)
21.5-inch, LED backlit, 1920-by-1080 (same as HP, smaller and lacking the touchscreen that the dell has)
Bluetooth and wireless
speakers
wireless keyboard and mouse

$1199.


HP Omni 200xt series (all-in-one)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-550 dual-core processor [3.2GHz, 512KB L2 + 4MB shared L3 cache, DMI 2.5GT/s] (faster processor)
6GB memory(more memory)
1TB hard drive(twice as much hard drive space)
DVD burner (with lightscribe)
1GB ATI Radeon (higher quality than the apple)
21.5" LED backlit, 1920x1080, display
Wireless Card
TV tuner (not included on the iMac)
Built in Speakers
Wireless keyboard and mouse.
3year care pack including house call service and 2 year parts warranty. (the iMac you priced out doesn't have apple's apple care included)

$1099.00

Again, higher specs and we still saved some money.




Dell has no all-in-one with a Intel Core i3 however one model does have a similar speed quad core AMD processor.

AMD Athlon™ II X4 610E (2.3GHz/2MB cache) (quad core)
8GB memory(twice as much memory)
1TB hard drive(twice as much hard drive space)
1024 (MB) ATI HD5470 Radeon (Much better graphics card)
23inch 1080p full HD display with backlit WLED TOUCHSCREEN (larger, better TOUCHSCREEN)
TV-Tuner (not included on the iMac)
Built in Speakers
Blu-ray Combo Drive (BD-R, DVD+/-RW), (the above iMac doesn't have Blue-ray)
Wireless keyboard and mouse
Wireless Network
1 Year Basic Service Plan plus 2 year warranty on parts (the iMac you priced out doesn't have apple's apple care included)

for....... $1149.00
ha, saved an extra $50 and look at all that extra stuff! Blue-ray touchscreen, more memory, hard drive space and faster graphics. And I wouldn't have to buy an extra windows OS so that I could use Corel, there is another savings.

 

[CES020]

Exactly Joe, you're still in the same neighborhood in price. I see there are some differences, which we know it's hard to get exact comparisons, but from all the belly aching about it, you'd think a PC to match would be $175, while the Mac is $1,200.

My point, and you have helped prove it, is that it's not as if there's a $1000 difference. There is a difference, for sure, but it's not the variation people complain about, unfounded.

Like I said in a previous post, when the price gets close, I personally look at customer satisfaction. The Apple has smoked Dell and HP year after year in customer satisfaction. So would I pay $50 more for something customers appear to be happier with? I would.

The iMac is about to get a revamp within the next month or so, as the rumor goes, so the one we're toying with on the specs will be gone and most likely, it'll be a better processor, faster ram and "thunderbolt" as a connection. Which one of the Dells or HP's is using Thunderbolt?

 

[weaselboogie]

I'm not sure why, but I'm back here again............

Dell Vostro
Intel Core i3 processor, 3.1GHz
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
DVD burner
Intel built in video card (lower quality than the apple)
21" UltraSharp Monitor
Wireless Card
Speakers
upgrade to better keyboard and mouse

$1052.00


iMac
Intel Core i3 processor, 3.06 GHz (2820 cpu benchmark)
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
DVD burner
ATI Radeon Video card (better than the stock built in one on the pc that's specified)
21" IPS monitor
Bluetooth and wireless
speakers
wireless keyboard and mouse

$1199.

Not sure how that's far off from what I said.

You can get a lot more for the same amount of $

XPS 8300

Intel® Core™ i5-2400 processor(6MB Cache, 3.1GHz) (6037 cpu benchmark)
21.5-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor
CARDATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB DDR3
8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMM
1.5TB - SATA-II, 3Gb/s, 7,200 RPM, 32MB Cache HDD
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write SPEAKERS
Wireless Desktop Keyboard & Mouse
Wireless-N PCIe Card
SOUND CARDTHX® TruStudio PC

1,163.99

 

[CES020]

That's their low end monitor weasel. Put their high end monitor on there and see where it's at.

 

[Joe Diaz]

Exactly Joe, you're still in the same neighborhood in price. I see there are some differences, which we know it's hard to get exact comparisons, but from all the belly aching about it, you'd think a PC to match would be $175, while the Mac is $1,200.

No you are missing the point. I purposely tried to get the price close to the iMac so that you can see a person shopping for a new computer can get a whole lot more PC for your buck. Faster computers for a similar price.

Now when I bought my laptop, there was a $1000 difference and the laptop was still quite a bit faster. At the time apple didn't have the i7 in their laptops, mine did, plus an extra 2 GB of ram and I still saved about a grand.

 

[Kyle Blue]

This is a no win situation. PC people won't agree that Mac's are good computers and Mac people won't agree that PC's are good computers.

I think they both have their uses. But when it comes down to it, I will only buy Mac's. Because my experiences with both have led me that way. Does that make me wrong? No more that a PC person saying they will never buy a Mac.

 

[Joe Diaz]

That's their low end monitor weasel. Put their high end monitor on there and see where it's at.

You keep bring up the monitor. What means high end to you? The additional cost? The 21.5-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor that comes with the XPS has the same HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, the same 16:9 aspect ratio, and similar brightness-> (dell=300 cd/m2 imac=330 cd/m2)
The dell I specd is an even larger 23" monitor, brighter, and a touchscreen. I'd say compared to that the mac's monitor is "low end"

AND both the XPS weasel posted, and the Dell Inspiron One I posted both beat out the iMac in the areas of processors speed, memory, graphics and hard drive capacity.

 

[weaselboogie]

That's their low end monitor weasel. Put their high end monitor on there and see where it's at.

Add $40


Still tripling the cpu benchmark, DOUBLING the ram and tripling the hard drive

 

[WildWestDesigns]

My point, and you have helped prove it, is that it's not as if there's a $1000 difference. There is a difference, for sure, but it's not the variation people complain about, unfounded.

Did you not see my comparison? My computer cost 1500 w/o monitors. To get a MAC with the same specs, but a lesser video card as they don't have mine is 3799. That's a difference of 2299 if I'm not mistaken.

That is without monitors on both computers. I can get my setup of monitors for 2400(which is 3 monitors) and it would cost an additional 2000 for just 2 apple monitors. I'm still ahead of the game.

PC
Computer: 1500
Monitors(3): 2400

Total: 3900

Mac
Computer: 3799
Monitors(2): 2000

Total: 5799

Difference: 1899

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm well above the 1k difference that you spoke of. Almost 2k difference.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

I am a Mac person, but would never argue the price being equal. There is no doubt you can find less costly versions of any PC. But for the most part, all the PC companies are little more than assemblers. They are not engineering every aspect of the hardware and software like Apple does

The ideal candidate for Macs I believe IS the general public and not the tech savvy people like we have here. Sure there are people on here that say they never get viruses because they don't do stupid things. But the general public does do stupid things

My parents have so many viruses and malware on their machine it is pathetic. Many of my friends and neighbors that are novices about the general operation of their machines, have had a virus or other major system problem that requires taking their machine to a Best Buy/Staples or friend to fix it

There are popups on PC's that look like official operating system warnings and for those that don't know any better, they click on them and end up with problems. My parents have been duped into this and that is what these slimeballs count on. Much of the population has the same problem

Unless someone gets real smart about it, Macs are mostly immune to any of these problems. I don't have any virus software or malware detection hogging system resources. I can double click on any attachment and know that I won't accidentally cause problems. My wife and kids can surf freely and I have the knowledge that they won't mess up my computer.

Some time ago, a friend of mine received a file and misread the attachment and opened it. It was a "pif" and he thought it said "pdf". He subsequently had a problem with his machine. You don't have to worry about this on a Mac. That is what virus writers are concerned about, duping the population that does not know any better.

That may not be the case 5-10 years from now, but I am not worried about it. I would think the Apple will find a way to keep that advantage if that changes. I am just happy that I am safe for now

 

[CES020]

No you are missing the point. I purposely tried to get the price close to the iMac so that you can see a person shopping for a new computer can get a whole lot more PC for your buck. Faster computers for a similar price.

Now when I bought my laptop, there was a $1000 difference and the laptop was still quite a bit faster. At the time apple didn't have the i7 in their laptops, mine did, plus an extra 2 GB of ram and I still saved about a grand.

Joe, you've missed my point completely! I've asked 3 times now, so I guess this makes it 4 times.

Why is it not okay to pay more for a Mac, even if all the hype is not true, and it's just buying to be trendy, but when you buy a pair of Oakleys, or a Coach purse, it's perfectly acceptable, in your mind?

It's ZERO difference in buying a pair of Oakleys or a Coach purse and buying a Mac, if you assume the PC side of the argument that it's all hype and no point and it's just a fad of overpriced products.

I guess it would be wrong to buy a PC from Signburst PC's too, because clearly, you can shop around and buy more, for less.

I just don't understand the logic on how, if it's in your personal life, you can justify buying anything that's "trendy" or "hip" but when a stranger does it with their computer, they are stupid and paying too much. I just don't get the disconnect. Either it's stupid for everyone to own $160 sunglasses and it's stupid to own a Mac, or it's okay to own the sunglasses and okay to own the mac. Can't be both, unless you have no standards or consistency in your words.

 

[Todd-sta]

I gotta say - all this talk of people getting viruses on PC's being the strong selling point of buying a Mac is horse-turds.

If you simply keep an up-to-date antivirus program on your computer it's a non-issue. Plain and simple.

I will say this for Mac's - they are 'pretty.' The girls sure like them, so I think I'm giving mine to my daughter. I've got too much testosterone to be seen with this thing. My neighbors are starting to talk.....

 

[Slamdunkpro]

I am a Mac person, but would never argue the price being equal. There is no doubt you can find less costly versions of any PC. But for the most part, all the PC companies are little more than assemblers. They are not engineering every aspect of the hardware and software like Apple does

Neither does Apple, Apple has no manufacturing facilities. They spec and low bid source just like every other consumer electronics manufacturer. Most of Apple's stuff is assembled in China now. Look under the covers and you'll find WD, Seagate, Fujitsu or whatever brand of HD met their spec and was the winning bid in that contract year. NEC was making Apple's monitors, I don't know who is now. Their chips are Intel or Motorola, their boards are (at least this year) contract made by Asus.

 

[signmeup]

..... But for the most part, all the PC companies are little more than assemblers. They are not engineering every aspect of the hardware and software like Apple does

I didn't know that Apple made there own CPUs, ram, video cards, sound cards, power supplies, etc. That's pretty amazing.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

I gotta say - all this talk of people getting viruses on PC's being the strong selling point of buying a Mac is horse-turds.

If you simply keep an up-to-date antivirus program on your computer it's a non-issue. Plain and simple.

I will say this for Mac's - they are 'pretty.' The girls sure like them, so I think I'm giving mine to my daughter. I've got too much testosterone to be seen with this thing. My neighbors are starting to talk.....

My parents are the example and not too different from many in the same generation. They clicked on a link because they were having problems with their computer. The link said they could get the virus removed if they paid $39.95 and a yearly fee to keep it up to date. It worked for a while, and then they got had new problems unrelated to that. I did not realize they were paying for something they likely could have gotten for free or for less money. It worked ok for a while and then new problems cropped up. I told them what programs to download related to malware, virusware, popupware, blah blah blah. They are basically computer dumb. This only confused them more. THEY NEED A MAC

My wife's parents had similar problems for many years. They bought an imac 2 years ago, have not changed their habits and are also computer illiterate. They have had zero problems since

You should not have to worry about this. Name me another appliance or tool in your household that requires this much babysitting.