I don't buy Apple equipment because it is cool! I buy to because it is awesome. Who on earth would be shallow or stupid enough to buy anything based on what anyone else thinks about it? Your statement sounds like something from the 1950's English class system.
I agree with take one below as far as it goes....
Quote:
Originally Posted by cliphord
Uhhh... everyone does, every day. You ever read a few reviews before buying something? You ever ask your friends and family about something before buying your own? You ever heard about "word of mouth?"
...but it goes further.
"Who on earth would be shallow or stupid enough to buy anything based on what anyone else thinks about it?"
Like it or not, much of many or most people's lives is about either trying to make an impression that they're "cool," or to at least avoid the approbation of appearing to be "uncool." Including...
-Everybody who pays $150 for a pair of frackin' designer label Jeans....
-All those kids from poor neighborhoods who plunked down hundreds for some garish sunglasses they were getting mugged and sometimes killed for about 15 years ago.
-Everybody who buys a (questionably reliable) Mercedes that won't get them through their daily bumper-to-bumper commute 10 seconds faster than a (super reliable) Camry. (says a Camry owner who used to buy German luxury cars)
-Everybody who pays $2.50 at Target for the identical item on sale for a buck at the Dollar Store or $3/quart for water in a fancy bottle or triple for wine or scotch they could never tell the difference in in a blind taste test. Or most name brand grocery store products when the generics may have been packed in the same factory.
-People who buy a loaded 17" MPB for facebooking and YouTube and gold-plated super A/V cables to "improve" the signal on their Family Guy re-reuns.
-Hundred dollar hair cuts (for a simple style).
-And all other types of "conspicuous consuming" which does nothing but leave the consumers with props beneath their shaky self-esteem and generally inadequately funded retirement accounts.
Is it the good turtle soup or only the mock? Well in the case of Apple, it can be either or sometimes both depending on the product, the consumer and the user's needs. But lots and lots of people DO choose Apple products exactly because of the buzz factor, which sometimes leaves them with the best product for them anyway, and sometimes not.
PS: The English Class system (which, well, uhh, does go back a little further than the 1950's, think oh, say, the 1350's or earlier) is just a metaphor for a phenomenon that runs all the way through all human societies. The people who get through the rope lines, hang out at the country clubs, etc., who are asked to wear designer clothes in public rather than pay, politicians lovin' their motorcades, execs their corp jets, etc. and so forth. And as Communism has shown, slapping down the business class just substitutes Commisars for CEO's. Nothing new under the sun.
Slightly off topic, but may be of interest to those worrying about Apple retail. There was an article in the Los Angeles Times Business section today focusing on the Microsoft retail stores.
Haha, in the UK in the 50's and beyond the middle class were (are?) slightly obsessed with keeping up with the 'Joneses' i.e. the guy next door with the bigger car. It kind of began with the end of WWII and the rise of the middle class who were no doubt targeted by advertisers. It became a class thing when you could think of your self upper middle class with a better house and car than the neighbor. BTW it does exist in the USA but to a fraction of the level it did in the UK (I left 20 years ago so have no clue what goes on there now).
The Two Ronnies did a wonderful sketch with John Cleese taking the piss out of this. I will try and find it on YouTube. It was called "I know my place" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0DUsGSMwZY
"Who on earth would be shallow or stupid enough to buy anything based on what anyone else thinks about it?"
Like it or not, much of many or most people's lives is about either trying to make an impression that they're "cool," or to at least avoid the approbation of appearing to be "uncool." Including...
-Everybody who pays $150 for a pair of frackin' designer label Jeans....
-All those kids from poor neighborhoods who plunked down hundreds for some garish sunglasses they were getting mugged and sometimes killed for about 15 years ago.
-Everybody who buys a (questionably reliable) Mercedes that won't get them through their daily bumper-to-bumper commute 10 seconds faster than a (super reliable) Camry. (says a Camry owner who used to buy German luxury cars)
-Everybody who pays $2.50 at Target for the identical item on sale for a buck at the Dollar Store or $3/quart for water in a fancy bottle or triple for wine or scotch they could never tell the difference in in a blind taste test. Or most name brand grocery store products when the generics may have been packed in the same factory.
-People who buy a loaded 17" MPB for facebooking and YouTube and gold-plated super A/V cables to "improve" the signal on their Family Guy re-reuns.
-Hundred dollar hair cuts (for a simple style).
-And all other types of "conspicuous consuming" which does nothing but leave the consumers with props beneath their shaky self-esteem and generally inadequately funded retirement accounts.
Is it the good turtle soup or only the mock? Well in the case of Apple, it can be either or sometimes both depending on the product, the consumer and the user's needs. But lots and lots of people DO choose Apple products exactly because of the buzz factor, which sometimes leaves them with the best product for them anyway, and sometimes not.
PS: The English Class system (which, well, uhh, does go back a little further than the 1950's, think oh, say, the 1350's or earlier) is just a metaphor for a phenomenon that runs all the way through all human societies. The people who get through the rope lines, hang out at the country clubs, etc., who are asked to wear designer clothes in public rather than pay, politicians lovin' their motorcades, execs their corp jets, etc. and so forth. And as Communism has shown, slapping down the business class just substitutes Commisars for CEO's. Nothing new under the sun.
Slow day? I think you kind of proved my point on part 2 of my comment.
Haha, in the UK in the 50's and beyond the middle class were (are?) slightly obsessed with keeping up with the 'Joneses' i.e. the guy next door with the bigger car. It kind of began with the end of WWII and the rise of the middle class who were no doubt targeted by advertisers. It became a class thing when you could think of your self upper middle class with a better house and car than the neighbor. BTW it does exist in the USA but to a fraction of the level it did in the UK (I left 20 years ago so have no clue what goes on there now).
The Two Ronnies did a wonderful sketch with John Cleese taking the piss out of this. I will try and find it on YouTube. It was called "I know my place" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0DUsGSMwZY
That's more of an affluent working class trait than a middle-class one, IMO, although I am sure we could spend hours chin-scratching about class and whether or not self-identity is more or less valid than objective classification. **Edit: Out of interest I looked this up on Wikipedia, and whoever wrote the entry seems to think it's a serious social phenomenon, rather than a phrase derived from the ridiculing of working class people trying to become 'middle-class' by buying expensive cars/caravans etc. It certainly wasn't written by someone from Britain. I might need to edit it...
'Keeping up with the Joneses' really refers to determing social status via material wealth, something that is relatively new in Britain precisely because class makes material weath irrelevant, and is therefore a derisory term that intellectuals or 'true' middle-classes say about working classes exhibiting their success via material goods.
As an aside, I would say that class is far more likely to be defined by material wealth in the US than in the UK - in fact, in Britain the excessive accumulation of wealth by people who 'earned it' rather than 'inherited it' is considered somewhat vulgar. For me, it's one of the biggest cultural differences between the two nations.
I'm English BTW - lived there for 33 of my 38 years, been in the states 5 years.
Uhhh... everyone does, every day. You ever read a few reviews before buying something? You ever ask your friends and family about something before buying your own? You ever heard about "word of mouth?"
In your rush to "flame" the other poster, you sound like a doofus.
You are not reading what I wrote accurately in your rush to judgment. Your examples are fine, of course. A review or a recommendation are excellent reasons to buy. They are hardly part of the same sociological process that is operating when someone does something to be cool i.e. ' the desire to impress' which was the sense I was taking issue with.
That's more of an affluent working class trait than a middle-class one, IMO, although I am sure we could spend hours chin-scratching about class and whether or not self-identity is more or less valid than objective classification. **Edit: Out of interest I looked this up on Wikipedia, and whoever wrote the entry seems to think it's a serious social phenomenon, rather than a phrase derived from the ridiculing of working class people trying to become 'middle-class' by buying expensive cars/caravans etc. It certainly wasn't written by someone from Britain. I might need to edit it...
'Keeping up with the Joneses' really refers to determing social status via material wealth, something that is relatively new in Britain precisely because class makes material weath irrelevant, and is therefore a derisory term that intellectuals or 'true' middle-classes say about working classes exhibiting their success via material goods.
As an aside, I would say that class is far more likely to be defined by material wealth in the US than in the UK - in fact, in Britain the excessive accumulation of wealth by people who 'earned it' rather than 'inherited it' is considered somewhat vulgar. For me, it's one of the biggest cultural differences between the two nations.
I'm English BTW - lived there for 33 of my 38 years, been in the states 5 years.
Sheesh we are off topic! LOL
I think the Two Ronnies got it spot on
BTW The reference to the Joneses in Wikipedia supports my interpretation not some marriage issue.
They are hardly part of the same sociological process that is operating when someone does something to be cool i.e. ' the desire to impress' which was the sense I was taking issue with.
Regardless, many many people buy many many things to impress. It's called keeping up with the Jones' ... ever heard of that? I like Apple because I think their products are awesome as well, but there are others who buy Apple due to coolness. Yes it happens, stop being in denial and we can move on.
Regardless, many many people buy many many things to impress. It's called keeping up with the Jones' ... ever heard of that? I like Apple because I think their products are awesome as well, but there are others who buy Apple due to coolness. Yes it happens, stop being in denial and we can move on.
You clearly didn't read the thread ... and it's "Joneses"
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This discussion's not really off-topic as someone else noted. The proverbial Joneses to "keep up with" and our tradition of conspicuous consumption have been mentioned a number of times, and two more terms apply as well. Apple is very much into the marketing of status symbols, some of which are almost even fetish objects.
This doesn't bother me as long as the aesthetics and marketing are for machines that do the best job of doing what I need and want them to do - and ensures the prosperity and ubiquity of one of my prime digital equipment and software providers. And you can make a strong argument that the aesthetic goals and attention to manufacturing processes to achieve them, along with a general work ethic of sweating details and the long time goal of things that "just work" (which is part of what makes them desirable beyond other brands, even when they don't have every kitchen sink feature on the market) contribute integrally to the quality of the rest of the engineering and coding.
The cult of secrecy and turning product releases into world-wide events that lead to camping out at Apple Stores also says it confers status to have Apple products around you. And especially the latest ones.
Because of the status attached to showing off the latest tech geegaw out of the brain trust in Cupertino, Apple fans probably upgrade more and buy more models of Apple products than nearly any other maker, even though the useful lifetime of their products is generally much longer. (I don't. I could, but I'm cheap. Which, incidentally is part of why I could. And why I don't.)
Give Apple credit for exploiting these human tendencies more effectively than anyone else in the business - somebody's going to have the hottest products every year after all - especially as long as they deliver a real value add in the product as well for the margins they command.
You can tell Apple is changing. I worry they will be perceived as less cool, because everyone has one now. A similar thing is happening with BMW. The exclusivity of the two companies is what made them cool. That's ok I can still dream for the Aston Martin DBS.
Even a year ago, I don't recall discounts like these from the Apple stores, which are by any measure pretty damn good. Over $200 off of some items . Of course there will be naysayers, but think about this: Apple's are selling extremely well in just about every category, which dictates they don't really have to make heavy discounts.
Obviously, I'm a fan of Apple and I own stock, so yes I am rooting for them to succeed. These sales should help boost their bottom line and push their stock even higher = win. However, I hope Apple doesn't completely loose their vision of innovative products that are better quality (builds and material) than everything else.
Exclusivity = cool??? I thought Apple's coolness was an intrinsic value of the products themselves, not an external attribute attached to the brand as a result of its rarity. In the late 1990s when Apple was struggling, the Mac was far less popular and more expensive than it is today and yet I don't recall feeling that this made it more "cool". I'm not worried about Apple's products being mainstream or even ubiquitous. The company has been in that position before in different markets (Apple ][, iPod, now iPad). The thing I value is that no matter how popular (or unpopular) Apple gets, they never stop making a better product for their customers. When I pick up a new Apple thing and it works better than any competing device, when it oozes quality and design out of every seam, when it's clear they thoroughly thought-through the user experience, that's what makes it cool.
Exclusivity = cool??? I thought Apple's coolness was an intrinsic value of the products themselves, not an external attribute attached to the brand as a result of its rarity. In the late 1990s when Apple was struggling, the Mac was far less popular and more expensive than it is today and yet I don't recall feeling that this made it more "cool". I'm not worried about Apple's products being mainstream or even ubiquitous. The company has been in that position before in different markets (Apple ][, iPod, now iPad). The thing I value is that no matter how popular (or unpopular) Apple gets, they never stop making a better product for their customers. When I pick up a new Apple thing and it works better than any competing device, when it oozes quality and design out of every seam, when it's clear they thoroughly thought-through the user experience, that's what makes it cool.
Now this was a well thought out and dead on post; I got a warm fuzzy just reading it. Although you almost lost me at ubiquitous ... my vocabulary is limited.
Seriously though, you make very valid points, especially when you wrote "...works better than any competing device, when it oozes quality and design out of every seam, when it's clear they thoroughly thought-through the user experience, that's what makes it cool". As long as they continue to the quality, we will continue to have a winner.
Comments
I don't buy Apple equipment because it is cool! I buy to because it is awesome. Who on earth would be shallow or stupid enough to buy anything based on what anyone else thinks about it? Your statement sounds like something from the 1950's English class system.
I agree with take one below as far as it goes....
Uhhh... everyone does, every day. You ever read a few reviews before buying something? You ever ask your friends and family about something before buying your own? You ever heard about "word of mouth?"
...but it goes further.
"Who on earth would be shallow or stupid enough to buy anything based on what anyone else thinks about it?"
Like it or not, much of many or most people's lives is about either trying to make an impression that they're "cool," or to at least avoid the approbation of appearing to be "uncool." Including...
-Everybody who pays $150 for a pair of frackin' designer label Jeans....
-All those kids from poor neighborhoods who plunked down hundreds for some garish sunglasses they were getting mugged and sometimes killed for about 15 years ago.
-Everybody who buys a (questionably reliable) Mercedes that won't get them through their daily bumper-to-bumper commute 10 seconds faster than a (super reliable) Camry. (says a Camry owner who used to buy German luxury cars)
-Everybody who pays $2.50 at Target for the identical item on sale for a buck at the Dollar Store or $3/quart for water in a fancy bottle or triple for wine or scotch they could never tell the difference in in a blind taste test. Or most name brand grocery store products when the generics may have been packed in the same factory.
-People who buy a loaded 17" MPB for facebooking and YouTube and gold-plated super A/V cables to "improve" the signal on their Family Guy re-reuns.
-Hundred dollar hair cuts (for a simple style).
-And all other types of "conspicuous consuming" which does nothing but leave the consumers with props beneath their shaky self-esteem and generally inadequately funded retirement accounts.
Is it the good turtle soup or only the mock? Well in the case of Apple, it can be either or sometimes both depending on the product, the consumer and the user's needs. But lots and lots of people DO choose Apple products exactly because of the buzz factor, which sometimes leaves them with the best product for them anyway, and sometimes not.
PS: The English Class system (which, well, uhh, does go back a little further than the 1950's, think oh, say, the 1350's or earlier) is just a metaphor for a phenomenon that runs all the way through all human societies. The people who get through the rope lines, hang out at the country clubs, etc., who are asked to wear designer clothes in public rather than pay, politicians lovin' their motorcades, execs their corp jets, etc. and so forth. And as Communism has shown, slapping down the business class just substitutes Commisars for CEO's. Nothing new under the sun.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,4878500.story
I agree with take one below as far as it goes....
.
PS: The English Class system (which, well, uhh, does go back a little further than the 1950's.
No kidding! I was referring to my memory of it when I lived there. Anyone from that era remembers the Joneses I expect.
Completely agreed!
Now you lost me?
Sorrryyyy way of topic ...
Haha, in the UK in the 50's and beyond the middle class were (are?) slightly obsessed with keeping up with the 'Joneses' i.e. the guy next door with the bigger car. It kind of began with the end of WWII and the rise of the middle class who were no doubt targeted by advertisers. It became a class thing when you could think of your self upper middle class with a better house and car than the neighbor. BTW it does exist in the USA but to a fraction of the level it did in the UK (I left 20 years ago so have no clue what goes on there now).
The Two Ronnies did a wonderful sketch with John Cleese taking the piss out of this. I will try and find it on YouTube. It was called "I know my place" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0DUsGSMwZY
I agree with take one below as far as it goes....
...but it goes further.
"Who on earth would be shallow or stupid enough to buy anything based on what anyone else thinks about it?"
Like it or not, much of many or most people's lives is about either trying to make an impression that they're "cool," or to at least avoid the approbation of appearing to be "uncool." Including...
-Everybody who pays $150 for a pair of frackin' designer label Jeans....
-All those kids from poor neighborhoods who plunked down hundreds for some garish sunglasses they were getting mugged and sometimes killed for about 15 years ago.
-Everybody who buys a (questionably reliable) Mercedes that won't get them through their daily bumper-to-bumper commute 10 seconds faster than a (super reliable) Camry. (says a Camry owner who used to buy German luxury cars)
-Everybody who pays $2.50 at Target for the identical item on sale for a buck at the Dollar Store or $3/quart for water in a fancy bottle or triple for wine or scotch they could never tell the difference in in a blind taste test. Or most name brand grocery store products when the generics may have been packed in the same factory.
-People who buy a loaded 17" MPB for facebooking and YouTube and gold-plated super A/V cables to "improve" the signal on their Family Guy re-reuns.
-Hundred dollar hair cuts (for a simple style).
-And all other types of "conspicuous consuming" which does nothing but leave the consumers with props beneath their shaky self-esteem and generally inadequately funded retirement accounts.
Is it the good turtle soup or only the mock? Well in the case of Apple, it can be either or sometimes both depending on the product, the consumer and the user's needs. But lots and lots of people DO choose Apple products exactly because of the buzz factor, which sometimes leaves them with the best product for them anyway, and sometimes not.
PS: The English Class system (which, well, uhh, does go back a little further than the 1950's, think oh, say, the 1350's or earlier) is just a metaphor for a phenomenon that runs all the way through all human societies. The people who get through the rope lines, hang out at the country clubs, etc., who are asked to wear designer clothes in public rather than pay, politicians lovin' their motorcades, execs their corp jets, etc. and so forth. And as Communism has shown, slapping down the business class just substitutes Commisars for CEO's. Nothing new under the sun.
Slow day?
Sorrryyyy way of topic ...
Haha, in the UK in the 50's and beyond the middle class were (are?) slightly obsessed with keeping up with the 'Joneses' i.e. the guy next door with the bigger car. It kind of began with the end of WWII and the rise of the middle class who were no doubt targeted by advertisers. It became a class thing when you could think of your self upper middle class with a better house and car than the neighbor. BTW it does exist in the USA but to a fraction of the level it did in the UK (I left 20 years ago so have no clue what goes on there now).
The Two Ronnies did a wonderful sketch with John Cleese taking the piss out of this. I will try and find it on YouTube. It was called "I know my place" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0DUsGSMwZY
That's more of an affluent working class trait than a middle-class one, IMO, although I am sure we could spend hours chin-scratching about class and whether or not self-identity is more or less valid than objective classification. **Edit: Out of interest I looked this up on Wikipedia, and whoever wrote the entry seems to think it's a serious social phenomenon, rather than a phrase derived from the ridiculing of working class people trying to become 'middle-class' by buying expensive cars/caravans etc. It certainly wasn't written by someone from Britain. I might need to edit it...
'Keeping up with the Joneses' really refers to determing social status via material wealth, something that is relatively new in Britain precisely because class makes material weath irrelevant, and is therefore a derisory term that intellectuals or 'true' middle-classes say about working classes exhibiting their success via material goods.
As an aside, I would say that class is far more likely to be defined by material wealth in the US than in the UK - in fact, in Britain the excessive accumulation of wealth by people who 'earned it' rather than 'inherited it' is considered somewhat vulgar. For me, it's one of the biggest cultural differences between the two nations.
I'm English BTW - lived there for 33 of my 38 years, been in the states 5 years.
Uhhh... everyone does, every day. You ever read a few reviews before buying something? You ever ask your friends and family about something before buying your own? You ever heard about "word of mouth?"
In your rush to "flame" the other poster, you sound like a doofus.
You are not reading what I wrote accurately in your rush to judgment. Your examples are fine, of course. A review or a recommendation are excellent reasons to buy. They are hardly part of the same sociological process that is operating when someone does something to be cool i.e. ' the desire to impress' which was the sense I was taking issue with.
That's more of an affluent working class trait than a middle-class one, IMO, although I am sure we could spend hours chin-scratching about class and whether or not self-identity is more or less valid than objective classification. **Edit: Out of interest I looked this up on Wikipedia, and whoever wrote the entry seems to think it's a serious social phenomenon, rather than a phrase derived from the ridiculing of working class people trying to become 'middle-class' by buying expensive cars/caravans etc. It certainly wasn't written by someone from Britain. I might need to edit it...
'Keeping up with the Joneses' really refers to determing social status via material wealth, something that is relatively new in Britain precisely because class makes material weath irrelevant, and is therefore a derisory term that intellectuals or 'true' middle-classes say about working classes exhibiting their success via material goods.
As an aside, I would say that class is far more likely to be defined by material wealth in the US than in the UK - in fact, in Britain the excessive accumulation of wealth by people who 'earned it' rather than 'inherited it' is considered somewhat vulgar. For me, it's one of the biggest cultural differences between the two nations.
I'm English BTW - lived there for 33 of my 38 years, been in the states 5 years.
Sheesh we are off topic! LOL
I think the Two Ronnies got it spot on
BTW The reference to the Joneses in Wikipedia supports my interpretation not some marriage issue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping...th_the_Joneses
I was there 38 years and here 21.
What a crock.
Who on earth would be shallow or stupid enough to buy anything based on what anyone else thinks about it?
Many people, my friend.
They are hardly part of the same sociological process that is operating when someone does something to be cool i.e. ' the desire to impress' which was the sense I was taking issue with.
Regardless, many many people buy many many things to impress. It's called keeping up with the Jones' ... ever heard of that? I like Apple because I think their products are awesome as well, but there are others who buy Apple due to coolness. Yes it happens, stop being in denial and we can move on.
Who on earth would be shallow or stupid enough to buy anything based on what anyone else thinks about it?
Oprah viewers from a couple days ago....
Regardless, many many people buy many many things to impress. It's called keeping up with the Jones' ... ever heard of that? I like Apple because I think their products are awesome as well, but there are others who buy Apple due to coolness. Yes it happens, stop being in denial and we can move on.
You clearly didn't read the thread ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping...th_the_Joneses
Oprah viewers from a couple days ago....
Ok, well putting my share holder hat on ... That's good news
Many people, my friend.
I know that, I was trying to make them feel bad
Many people, my friend.
This discussion's not really off-topic as someone else noted. The proverbial Joneses to "keep up with" and our tradition of conspicuous consumption have been mentioned a number of times, and two more terms apply as well. Apple is very much into the marketing of status symbols, some of which are almost even fetish objects.
This doesn't bother me as long as the aesthetics and marketing are for machines that do the best job of doing what I need and want them to do - and ensures the prosperity and ubiquity of one of my prime digital equipment and software providers. And you can make a strong argument that the aesthetic goals and attention to manufacturing processes to achieve them, along with a general work ethic of sweating details and the long time goal of things that "just work" (which is part of what makes them desirable beyond other brands, even when they don't have every kitchen sink feature on the market) contribute integrally to the quality of the rest of the engineering and coding.
The cult of secrecy and turning product releases into world-wide events that lead to camping out at Apple Stores also says it confers status to have Apple products around you. And especially the latest ones.
Because of the status attached to showing off the latest tech geegaw out of the brain trust in Cupertino, Apple fans probably upgrade more and buy more models of Apple products than nearly any other maker, even though the useful lifetime of their products is generally much longer. (I don't. I could, but I'm cheap. Which, incidentally is part of why I could. And why I don't.)
Give Apple credit for exploiting these human tendencies more effectively than anyone else in the business - somebody's going to have the hottest products every year after all - especially as long as they deliver a real value add in the product as well for the margins they command.
You can tell Apple is changing. I worry they will be perceived as less cool, because everyone has one now. A similar thing is happening with BMW. The exclusivity of the two companies is what made them cool. That's ok I can still dream for the Aston Martin DBS.
Even a year ago, I don't recall discounts like these from the Apple stores, which are by any measure pretty damn good. Over $200 off of some items
Obviously, I'm a fan of Apple and I own stock, so yes I am rooting for them to succeed. These sales should help boost their bottom line and push their stock even higher = win. However, I hope Apple doesn't completely loose their vision of innovative products that are better quality (builds and material) than everything else.
Exclusivity = cool??? I thought Apple's coolness was an intrinsic value of the products themselves, not an external attribute attached to the brand as a result of its rarity. In the late 1990s when Apple was struggling, the Mac was far less popular and more expensive than it is today and yet I don't recall feeling that this made it more "cool". I'm not worried about Apple's products being mainstream or even ubiquitous. The company has been in that position before in different markets (Apple ][, iPod, now iPad). The thing I value is that no matter how popular (or unpopular) Apple gets, they never stop making a better product for their customers. When I pick up a new Apple thing and it works better than any competing device, when it oozes quality and design out of every seam, when it's clear they thoroughly thought-through the user experience, that's what makes it cool.
You clearly didn't read the thread ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping...th_the_Joneses
and you clearly didn't read my edit comment
Exclusivity = cool??? I thought Apple's coolness was an intrinsic value of the products themselves, not an external attribute attached to the brand as a result of its rarity. In the late 1990s when Apple was struggling, the Mac was far less popular and more expensive than it is today and yet I don't recall feeling that this made it more "cool". I'm not worried about Apple's products being mainstream or even ubiquitous. The company has been in that position before in different markets (Apple ][, iPod, now iPad). The thing I value is that no matter how popular (or unpopular) Apple gets, they never stop making a better product for their customers. When I pick up a new Apple thing and it works better than any competing device, when it oozes quality and design out of every seam, when it's clear they thoroughly thought-through the user experience, that's what makes it cool.
Now this was a well thought out and dead on post; I got a warm fuzzy just reading it. Although you almost lost me at ubiquitous ... my vocabulary is limited.
Seriously though, you make very valid points, especially when you wrote "...works better than any competing device, when it oozes quality and design out of every seam, when it's clear they thoroughly thought-through the user experience, that's what makes it cool". As long as they continue to the quality, we will continue to have a winner.