Where are you coming up with this stuff, I never said such things. Just that the current 27" Apple Display (in my opinion) is a very expensive product when compared to the competitions offerings. If you think it's worth it, fine, great, but personally attacking me isn't going to change my mind, chase me off, nor will you gain any support from other members in this thread. As a new member I would recommend you getting to know people a little better before calling them idiots. Why not share as to why you think it's worth the price tag instead of trying to belittle me when you have zero information as to my background or technical knowledge. Philboogie mentioned that the inclusion of a TB hub might be the killer feature people are looking for and as TB hubs aren't cheap might explain the inflated price. I didn't think about it because it's something I personally don't need because I like to hide my external drives but it makes sense. That's how your supposed to discuss a topic, not jump down someones throat because you do not share their opinions.
Relic, you brought up a specific NEC monitor that SUGGESTED US LIST PRICE IS $1299 or the $1549 version with a calibration unit, the Thunderbolt Monitor, which is near it's end of life is $999. Obviously, Apple sells monitors because they sell computers and they have customers that buy their products and want the same mfg for the monitor as the computer, and they cover the monitor with AppleCare when you buy it with your computer system. When you buy 3rd party products, it's one more company you might have to deal with when it comes to servicing, etc. I'm sure the NEC monitor is nice. But the NEC is more expensive, in terms of SUGGESTED RETAIL LIST PRICE. It isn't less expensive, it's MORE expensive, especially when you factor in tax on top of the more expensive price tag.
Apple does make a darn nice monitor, they do have nice power supplies inside, they do spend time calibrating in the mfg of them
I have nothing against Apple monitors. If you are just looking for a cheaper, same resolution monitor, then you might be getting a product that might have a cheaper power supply. Something I've learned over time as to a major difference when it comes to TVs and monitors.
Either way, there is nothing wrong with the Apple monitor and they do use nice electronics inside. Have you ever cracked open a Thunderbolt monitor? It's VERY clean, well designed product.
Some people have a peace of mind when they buy an Apple product than they do with a 3rd party product that's cheaper. Sometimes you luck out and sometimes you don't. Apple has for a long time had decent monitors. NEC, Viewsonic and other monitor mfg have decent products (I've sold their products back in the 80's and 90's to the corporate/gov sector), but they have products to fit a variety of budgets. Some of their products are very nice, but they are usually the more expensive models is what I remember. Their lower priced monitors are consistent with the lower priced monitors. THere are only so many panel/CRT mfg, and the differences come down to which panels they are using, what the level of adhering to the specs and then it comes down to quality of the power supply and then if it's made out of plastic or metal (in Apple's case, Aluminum). Some people get turned off by plastic case monitors. It may not affect picture quality, but it's a sign of what you are paying for. In terms of power supply, I would be more concerned about that since that's typically what goes bad in a monitor. Power supplies can fail quite easily, especially if you have a brown out or a black out and a surge is sent up and destroys the power supply or other electronics. That's happened to me before. But Apple does make decent power supplies. The cheaper monitors? I'm not so convinced of that. I've seen some monitors/TVs with crappy power supplies and have heard of things like capacitors blowing, etc. In all of my travels, Apple power supplies are VERY reliable. Only once in a while, there might be a problem, but it's rare.
Interesting - when the numbers favor Apple, it's evidence of their superiority. When not, the source is unreliable or the stats are insignificant. Objectivity be damned.
Interesting - when the numbers favor Apple, it's evidence of their marketing and iSheep will buy anything shiny. When not, it's evidence they are overpriced and doomed. Objectivity be damned.
Relic, you brought up a specific NEC monitor that SUGGESTED US LIST PRICE IS $1299 or the $1549 version with a calibration unit, the Thunderbolt Monitor, which is near it's end of life is $999. Obviously, Apple sells monitors because they sell computers and they have customers that buy their products and want the same mfg for the monitor as the computer, and they cover the monitor with AppleCare when you buy it with your computer system. When you buy 3rd party products, it's one more company you might have to deal with when it comes to servicing, etc. I'm sure the NEC monitor is nice. But the NEC is more expensive, in terms of SUGGESTED RETAIL LIST PRICE. It isn't less expensive, it's MORE expensive, especially when you factor in tax on top of the more expensive price tag.
Apple does make a darn nice monitor, they do have nice power supplies inside, they do spend time calibrating in the mfg of them
I have nothing against Apple monitors. If you are just looking for a cheaper, same resolution monitor, then you might be getting a product that might have a cheaper power supply. Something I've learned over time as to a major difference when it comes to TVs and monitors.
Either way, there is nothing wrong with the Apple monitor and they do use nice electronics inside. Have you ever cracked open a Thunderbolt monitor? It's VERY clean, well designed product.
Some people have a peace of mind when they buy an Apple product than they do with a 3rd party product that's cheaper. Sometimes you luck out and sometimes you don't. Apple has for a long time had decent monitors. NEC, Viewsonic and other monitor mfg have decent products (I've sold their products back in the 80's and 90's to the corporate/gov sector), but they have products to fit a variety of budgets. Some of their products are very nice, but they are usually the more expensive models is what I remember. Their lower priced monitors are consistent with the lower priced monitors. THere are only so many panel/CRT mfg, and the differences come down to which panels they are using, what the level of adhering to the specs and then it comes down to quality of the power supply and then if it's made out of plastic or metal (in Apple's case, Aluminum). Some people get turned off by plastic case monitors. It may not affect picture quality, but it's a sign of what you are paying for. In terms of power supply, I would be more concerned about that since that's typically what goes bad in a monitor. Power supplies can fail quite easily, especially if you have a brown out or a black out and a surge is sent up and destroys the power supply or other electronics. That's happened to me before. But Apple does make decent power supplies. The cheaper monitors? I'm not so convinced of that. I've seen some monitors/TVs with crappy power supplies and have heard of things like capacitors blowing, etc. In all of my travels, Apple power supplies are VERY reliable. Only once in a while, there might be a problem, but it's rare.
Great post, everything you pointed out is well thought out and very true. However, after doing a lot of research and reading what I would say to be hundreds of monitor reviews there are just so many great ones available now that surpass the Apples Displays in terms of value and even performance. The NEC model I mentioned has the Color Correction feature which tacks on a heft premium of about 300 dollars. Without it though you can get the NEC with the same exact panel for 750 dollars. It's an incredible monitor, colors are just amazing on it. I think once Apple releases their 4K monitor series though we will start to see the value come back into their monitor lines, I have a sneaking feeling they will be amongst the lowest in terms if price. Their current models though, just don't do it for me, in January 2012, absolutely, October 2013, no. Especially with the likes of NEC, Eizo and iiyama producing better, newer panels for their monitors. I mean even Dell, yes I know, with their 29" Ultrawide U2913WM just amazes me at a price of 600.00.
...and if I was to spend 1,000 on a monitor I would up the anti by 200 and just get me the Samsung MD230X3, Samsung is selling them now for 1200 refurbished.
Anyway, thank you for spending time with your awesome post.
You attack people constantly with your passive-agressive comments and complaining. All you do is troll this forum.
I don't think I called you an idiot but now that you mention it you have deduced that I'm not familiar with the people that post here only because I only started posting here recently. Your logic is that my ability to read and my ability to write on this forum are somehow tied together. Are you really not aware that you can read this site without first being an active member?
Again, it's more than just the TB hub. It's more than just the video passthrough. It's more than just the GigE, USB hub, and other ports that are offered via TB. It's more than just the quality casing and components. It's more than just the good factory calibration. It's more than the quality panel.
You've also still failed to see how the same panel right down to the model number and date it was manufactured can be different, and therefore not be good enough for Apple or other vendors wanting a professional panel but be fine for vendors that don't mine selling components to a less quality conscious crowd.
Don't you notice that most of my complaining as you put it happen mostly in the threads about none Apple products. I happened to really like some of the new Windows 8 tablets, I like a lot of Android phones and tablets, I've enjoyed using pretty much every OS I have ever used except maybe for a few exceptions like Windows ME and a few obscure ones like Jolly Cloud. My so called passive aggressive behavior might come off like that because I'm always tip towing around the fact that I like these other products. A lot of people here don't want to hear anyones opinion unless it's absolute, all in for Apple. Confession time, I like OSX, no I really like OSX because I'm a die hard Unix girl. Which means I have a Macbook Air, Mini and a iMac. Now here comes the part that you will hate about me, I'm not so into iOS or Apples peripherals (way to expensive for what you get). I do however have an iPad 3 which I use for music recording and other music related apps and it works great for that one purpose but that's really it. Well that's not entirely true right now, in the last few months I have been using the iPad more because of Siri, I'm currently suffering from breast cancer and it's really difficult for me to concentrate sometimes after chemotherapy and all the drugs I am on, typing isn't really pleasant and frankly makes me ill to stare at something very long. So I have come to appreciate my iPad more.
Coming back to iOS, it's just to restrictive for me, I need, want, a file manager, full multitasking on every program, USB, SD Card slot (I like them) and I personally think the interface though pleasant enough is getting a little long in the tooth and very boring. iPhone, never had one, don't ever want one. That's just me though and who cares what I think. Apple computers and laptops though, love them, until that dread day that they merge OSX and iOS into one.
If you think I am attacking someone call me on it. I however will never, ever come right out and call someone a fool like you have been doing to me though. A while back DrBlank and I got into it because he thought the same way you did about me, I think that is what you are referring to when you said I did the same thing you did a while back. Now though we get along just fine, not sure if he still dislikes me and just tolerates me but I defiantly count him among my cyber acquaintances here and I really appreciate his feed back. Tallest, couldn't stand that guy at first, now I think he's great and I love his humor. What I'm saying is if you interact with me in a friendly way, get to know me and ask me questions that don't end in with your incompetent I think we can get along just fine. Plus I am a huge resource when it comes to programming, SQL, Unix and hardware problems.
So I apologize sincerely if I made you upset. My english also isn't really the best and sometimes my point doesn't come over so clearly. You know what, I am truly different person then what I was a few months ago. My time on this planet might be limited and I really don't want to come here and dread seeing your name in a thread. So let's call it quits.
Sorry, was just trying to illustrate a point. You and I know that an EQUIVALENT computer of another brand will cost almost as much as a Mac (less ~15-20% for difference in profit margin). That's not what a "typical" user will look at though. They see a shelf full of HP and Toshiba laptops for $500 while Macs start at a grand. The Mac might be a better computer, just a like a Mercedes might be better than a Toyota, but the "typical" crowd don't care. To them the Toyota is "good enough."
Sorry, was just trying to illustrate a point. You and I know that an EQUIVALENT computer of another brand will cost almost as much as a Mac (less ~15-20% for difference in profit margin). That's not what a "typical" user will look at though. They see a shelf full of HP and Toshiba laptops for $500 while Macs start at a grand. The Mac might be a better computer, just a like a Mercedes might be better than a Toyota, but the "typical" crowd don't care. To them the Toyota is "good enough."
Profit margin isn't even a factor with an equivalent comparison. Since Apple is comparatively efficient as a company, sells a great deal of their "expensive" machines compared to the very few sold by other vendors, and because Apple doesn't have to use $1000 PCs to offset the lack of profit on the $500 PCs they can get a healthy profit at a highly competitive price.
Sorry, was just trying to illustrate a point. You and I know that an EQUIVALENT computer of another brand will cost almost as much as a Mac (less ~15-20% for difference in profit margin). That's not what a "typical" user will look at though. They see a shelf full of HP and Toshiba laptops for $500 while Macs start at a grand. The Mac might be a better computer, just a like a Mercedes might be better than a Toyota, but the "typical" crowd don't care. To them the Toyota is "good enough."
-Retina models still are expensive and have little memory (128gb? of course it is ssd but is this an iPad?), no updates in a long time are a joke. Haswell brings tremendous benefits once Apple shows how to use those CPUs. the retina 13" needs iris to be a viable option.
-cMBP are and look outdated and make the whole mac line look bad. Very expensive for what they offer.
-Air is the best laptop around, but has a shitty screen.
-a 17" retina would only do some good.
Maybe just one air model is more than enough (12")? The costs would come down, wouldn't canibalize retina 13", etc.
iMacs saw haswell too late. It's a crime to use 5400rpm drives. People see the possibility of a 4k screen around the corner.
The mini is a joke as it is. Terribly outdated and expensive despite great form factor.
Pros are waiting for the Pro.
OSX and especially iWork and iLife need more focus.
Apple is putting all it's effort on iphone and ipad with iOS. That's the future. I don't see the reason to innovate on desktop or laptop. It's a shrinking market anyway. I know, they won't disappear but why go after them when it's the post-pc era.
I get your point and zero in on this only as an aside:
I don't get why people are so hung up on "Retina" everything. Sure, it's pretty, but it's not so much better as to be a deal-breaker in a side-by-side comparison, requires WAY more horsepower to operate, and with apps that aren't yet "optimized" it actually looks WORSE than a conventional display.
I get it, it's nice, but I think the desire for it far exceeds the actual benefit.
Makes me wish I had a feature like that in MY back pocket!
I don't get why people are so hung up on "Retina" everything. Sure, it's pretty, but it's not so much better as to be a deal-breaker in a side-by-side comparison, requires WAY more horsepower to operate, and with apps that aren't yet "optimized" it actually looks WORSE than a conventional display.
I get it, it's nice, but I think the desire for it far exceeds the actual benefit.
It has some benefit when you can scale to higher working resolutions for more workspace but quality-wise, I don't think it's as important as the panel type. The $499 10" iPad has a better quality display than the $999 11" Macbook Air and the iPad display is higher resolution. The Air still managed to win an award though:
So did the iPad mini with the lower resolution. It's an inevitable progression of display tech though and it's only really 50% more pixels in each direction than the highest non-Retina resolutions available now.
I'd like to see the prices on the rMBPs come down so that the old quality displays can get removed from the MBP lineup. They'll have PCIe storage too. Laptops make up 75% of Apple's machines so they are impacted most by what happens with these.
The rMBP was updated last October so it's due about now. A 28W 13" dual-core with Iris at $1299 would be a good deal. If they can fit a 45W quad (possibly lower TDP if needed) in at $1599, even better and a 16GB RAM option or even just ship the $1599 one with 16GB. Then the 15" entry rMBP at $1799-1899 (it would be ok to move to $1899 as it has 8GB RAM vs 4GB), either with Iris Pro or a 750M.
[...] These aren't gas prices where it's based on futures
True, but neither are the prices immune to standard rules of supply and demand, as evidenced by what happened to hard drive prices after the tsunami and the overnight through-the-roof jump in RAM prices this month.
What's sales? This is just guesstimate from third party that usually have any clue about but tech presses love to quote them. As for numbers you posted you can see for yourself that there was increase and decrease. meh.
Did you notice that the size of the increase dropped every quarter (decreased), and then shifted to an actual decrease in sales? That's a downward trend for 6 quarters in a row.
Greatrix,
Just bought a new 27" iPad. Trouble is, my old 24" iPad is getting a bit cramped. It is bristling with external paraphernalia. Am giving it to the wife. Now have the task of transferring my Adobe programs etc. to the new machine.
My guess is the 22nd is going to be a 2 hour long release fest.
I'd like that to be true, but I don't think it will be. Cook talked about new products coming at the end of 2013 and in 2014. I think we're looking at next spring before everything gets a refresh.
I call bullshit on that. You do so know people who buy discs. You even buy the odd one yourself from time to time. Everyone does.
I still buy lots of discs and so do my peers. Reasons? Prices for new releases on the iTunes store are 25% higher than Amazon. I can rip the disc and have an unencumbered file I can play anywhere, whereas if I buy from the iTunes store I wind up with DRM headaches. Finally, the image quality of a Blu-Ray still kicks the living crap out of an iTunes download. Look at any scene with a gradient background.
I buy iTunes downloads too sometimes, but it's in addition to discs, not instead of. It's way too soon to be declaring the death of the shiny physical disc.
And OS X’s marketshare against Windows is growing, by the way.
According the article to which we're responding, no, it's not. The whole point of the discussion is the assertion that Windows sales are up while Mac sales are down. The gap is widening, not shrinking. Since OS X is SOOO much better than Windows, one is inevitably led to wonder about Apple's sometimes arguably "questionable" hardware offerings as the culprit.
Comments
Where are you coming up with this stuff, I never said such things. Just that the current 27" Apple Display (in my opinion) is a very expensive product when compared to the competitions offerings. If you think it's worth it, fine, great, but personally attacking me isn't going to change my mind, chase me off, nor will you gain any support from other members in this thread. As a new member I would recommend you getting to know people a little better before calling them idiots. Why not share as to why you think it's worth the price tag instead of trying to belittle me when you have zero information as to my background or technical knowledge. Philboogie mentioned that the inclusion of a TB hub might be the killer feature people are looking for and as TB hubs aren't cheap might explain the inflated price. I didn't think about it because it's something I personally don't need because I like to hide my external drives but it makes sense. That's how your supposed to discuss a topic, not jump down someones throat because you do not share their opinions.
Relic, you brought up a specific NEC monitor that SUGGESTED US LIST PRICE IS $1299 or the $1549 version with a calibration unit, the Thunderbolt Monitor, which is near it's end of life is $999. Obviously, Apple sells monitors because they sell computers and they have customers that buy their products and want the same mfg for the monitor as the computer, and they cover the monitor with AppleCare when you buy it with your computer system. When you buy 3rd party products, it's one more company you might have to deal with when it comes to servicing, etc. I'm sure the NEC monitor is nice. But the NEC is more expensive, in terms of SUGGESTED RETAIL LIST PRICE. It isn't less expensive, it's MORE expensive, especially when you factor in tax on top of the more expensive price tag.
Apple does make a darn nice monitor, they do have nice power supplies inside, they do spend time calibrating in the mfg of them
I have nothing against Apple monitors. If you are just looking for a cheaper, same resolution monitor, then you might be getting a product that might have a cheaper power supply. Something I've learned over time as to a major difference when it comes to TVs and monitors.
Either way, there is nothing wrong with the Apple monitor and they do use nice electronics inside. Have you ever cracked open a Thunderbolt monitor? It's VERY clean, well designed product.
Some people have a peace of mind when they buy an Apple product than they do with a 3rd party product that's cheaper. Sometimes you luck out and sometimes you don't. Apple has for a long time had decent monitors. NEC, Viewsonic and other monitor mfg have decent products (I've sold their products back in the 80's and 90's to the corporate/gov sector), but they have products to fit a variety of budgets. Some of their products are very nice, but they are usually the more expensive models is what I remember. Their lower priced monitors are consistent with the lower priced monitors. THere are only so many panel/CRT mfg, and the differences come down to which panels they are using, what the level of adhering to the specs and then it comes down to quality of the power supply and then if it's made out of plastic or metal (in Apple's case, Aluminum). Some people get turned off by plastic case monitors. It may not affect picture quality, but it's a sign of what you are paying for. In terms of power supply, I would be more concerned about that since that's typically what goes bad in a monitor. Power supplies can fail quite easily, especially if you have a brown out or a black out and a surge is sent up and destroys the power supply or other electronics. That's happened to me before. But Apple does make decent power supplies. The cheaper monitors? I'm not so convinced of that. I've seen some monitors/TVs with crappy power supplies and have heard of things like capacitors blowing, etc. In all of my travels, Apple power supplies are VERY reliable. Only once in a while, there might be a problem, but it's rare.
Interesting - when the numbers favor Apple, it's evidence of their superiority. When not, the source is unreliable or the stats are insignificant. Objectivity be damned.
Relic, you brought up a specific NEC monitor that SUGGESTED US LIST PRICE IS $1299 or the $1549 version with a calibration unit, the Thunderbolt Monitor, which is near it's end of life is $999. Obviously, Apple sells monitors because they sell computers and they have customers that buy their products and want the same mfg for the monitor as the computer, and they cover the monitor with AppleCare when you buy it with your computer system. When you buy 3rd party products, it's one more company you might have to deal with when it comes to servicing, etc. I'm sure the NEC monitor is nice. But the NEC is more expensive, in terms of SUGGESTED RETAIL LIST PRICE. It isn't less expensive, it's MORE expensive, especially when you factor in tax on top of the more expensive price tag.
Apple does make a darn nice monitor, they do have nice power supplies inside, they do spend time calibrating in the mfg of them
I have nothing against Apple monitors. If you are just looking for a cheaper, same resolution monitor, then you might be getting a product that might have a cheaper power supply. Something I've learned over time as to a major difference when it comes to TVs and monitors.
Either way, there is nothing wrong with the Apple monitor and they do use nice electronics inside. Have you ever cracked open a Thunderbolt monitor? It's VERY clean, well designed product.
Some people have a peace of mind when they buy an Apple product than they do with a 3rd party product that's cheaper. Sometimes you luck out and sometimes you don't. Apple has for a long time had decent monitors. NEC, Viewsonic and other monitor mfg have decent products (I've sold their products back in the 80's and 90's to the corporate/gov sector), but they have products to fit a variety of budgets. Some of their products are very nice, but they are usually the more expensive models is what I remember. Their lower priced monitors are consistent with the lower priced monitors. THere are only so many panel/CRT mfg, and the differences come down to which panels they are using, what the level of adhering to the specs and then it comes down to quality of the power supply and then if it's made out of plastic or metal (in Apple's case, Aluminum). Some people get turned off by plastic case monitors. It may not affect picture quality, but it's a sign of what you are paying for. In terms of power supply, I would be more concerned about that since that's typically what goes bad in a monitor. Power supplies can fail quite easily, especially if you have a brown out or a black out and a surge is sent up and destroys the power supply or other electronics. That's happened to me before. But Apple does make decent power supplies. The cheaper monitors? I'm not so convinced of that. I've seen some monitors/TVs with crappy power supplies and have heard of things like capacitors blowing, etc. In all of my travels, Apple power supplies are VERY reliable. Only once in a while, there might be a problem, but it's rare.
Great post, everything you pointed out is well thought out and very true. However, after doing a lot of research and reading what I would say to be hundreds of monitor reviews there are just so many great ones available now that surpass the Apples Displays in terms of value and even performance. The NEC model I mentioned has the Color Correction feature which tacks on a heft premium of about 300 dollars. Without it though you can get the NEC with the same exact panel for 750 dollars. It's an incredible monitor, colors are just amazing on it. I think once Apple releases their 4K monitor series though we will start to see the value come back into their monitor lines, I have a sneaking feeling they will be amongst the lowest in terms if price. Their current models though, just don't do it for me, in January 2012, absolutely, October 2013, no. Especially with the likes of NEC, Eizo and iiyama producing better, newer panels for their monitors. I mean even Dell, yes I know, with their 29" Ultrawide U2913WM just amazes me at a price of 600.00.
...and if I was to spend 1,000 on a monitor I would up the anti by 200 and just get me the Samsung MD230X3, Samsung is selling them now for 1200 refurbished.
Anyway, thank you for spending time with your awesome post.
You attack people constantly with your passive-agressive comments and complaining. All you do is troll this forum.
I don't think I called you an idiot but now that you mention it you have deduced that I'm not familiar with the people that post here only because I only started posting here recently. Your logic is that my ability to read and my ability to write on this forum are somehow tied together. Are you really not aware that you can read this site without first being an active member?
Again, it's more than just the TB hub. It's more than just the video passthrough. It's more than just the GigE, USB hub, and other ports that are offered via TB. It's more than just the quality casing and components. It's more than just the good factory calibration. It's more than the quality panel.
You've also still failed to see how the same panel right down to the model number and date it was manufactured can be different, and therefore not be good enough for Apple or other vendors wanting a professional panel but be fine for vendors that don't mine selling components to a less quality conscious crowd.
Don't you notice that most of my complaining as you put it happen mostly in the threads about none Apple products. I happened to really like some of the new Windows 8 tablets, I like a lot of Android phones and tablets, I've enjoyed using pretty much every OS I have ever used except maybe for a few exceptions like Windows ME and a few obscure ones like Jolly Cloud. My so called passive aggressive behavior might come off like that because I'm always tip towing around the fact that I like these other products. A lot of people here don't want to hear anyones opinion unless it's absolute, all in for Apple. Confession time, I like OSX, no I really like OSX because I'm a die hard Unix girl. Which means I have a Macbook Air, Mini and a iMac. Now here comes the part that you will hate about me, I'm not so into iOS or Apples peripherals (way to expensive for what you get). I do however have an iPad 3 which I use for music recording and other music related apps and it works great for that one purpose but that's really it. Well that's not entirely true right now, in the last few months I have been using the iPad more because of Siri, I'm currently suffering from breast cancer and it's really difficult for me to concentrate sometimes after chemotherapy and all the drugs I am on, typing isn't really pleasant and frankly makes me ill to stare at something very long. So I have come to appreciate my iPad more.
Coming back to iOS, it's just to restrictive for me, I need, want, a file manager, full multitasking on every program, USB, SD Card slot (I like them) and I personally think the interface though pleasant enough is getting a little long in the tooth and very boring. iPhone, never had one, don't ever want one. That's just me though and who cares what I think. Apple computers and laptops though, love them, until that dread day that they merge OSX and iOS into one.
If you think I am attacking someone call me on it. I however will never, ever come right out and call someone a fool like you have been doing to me though. A while back DrBlank and I got into it because he thought the same way you did about me, I think that is what you are referring to when you said I did the same thing you did a while back. Now though we get along just fine, not sure if he still dislikes me and just tolerates me but I defiantly count him among my cyber acquaintances here and I really appreciate his feed back. Tallest, couldn't stand that guy at first, now I think he's great and I love his humor. What I'm saying is if you interact with me in a friendly way, get to know me and ask me questions that don't end in with your incompetent I think we can get along just fine. Plus I am a huge resource when it comes to programming, SQL, Unix and hardware problems.
So I apologize sincerely if I made you upset. My english also isn't really the best and sometimes my point doesn't come over so clearly. You know what, I am truly different person then what I was a few months ago. My time on this planet might be limited and I really don't want to come here and dread seeing your name in a thread. So let's call it quits.
Sincerely,
Relic
This cannot be true. Unless Apple wanted this way by holding back refreshes.
This is where you lose your credibility.
Sorry, was just trying to illustrate a point. You and I know that an EQUIVALENT computer of another brand will cost almost as much as a Mac (less ~15-20% for difference in profit margin). That's not what a "typical" user will look at though. They see a shelf full of HP and Toshiba laptops for $500 while Macs start at a grand. The Mac might be a better computer, just a like a Mercedes might be better than a Toyota, but the "typical" crowd don't care. To them the Toyota is "good enough."
Profit margin isn't even a factor with an equivalent comparison. Since Apple is comparatively efficient as a company, sells a great deal of their "expensive" machines compared to the very few sold by other vendors, and because Apple doesn't have to use $1000 PCs to offset the lack of profit on the $500 PCs they can get a healthy profit at a highly competitive price.
Sorry, was just trying to illustrate a point. You and I know that an EQUIVALENT computer of another brand will cost almost as much as a Mac (less ~15-20% for difference in profit margin). That's not what a "typical" user will look at though. They see a shelf full of HP and Toshiba laptops for $500 while Macs start at a grand. The Mac might be a better computer, just a like a Mercedes might be better than a Toyota, but the "typical" crowd don't care. To them the Toyota is "good enough."
Yea but some Toyotas look like this;
Ooooh, so pretty.
Problems with Mac Line:
-Retina models still are expensive and have little memory (128gb? of course it is ssd but is this an iPad?), no updates in a long time are a joke. Haswell brings tremendous benefits once Apple shows how to use those CPUs. the retina 13" needs iris to be a viable option.
-cMBP are and look outdated and make the whole mac line look bad. Very expensive for what they offer.
-Air is the best laptop around, but has a shitty screen.
-a 17" retina would only do some good.
Maybe just one air model is more than enough (12")? The costs would come down, wouldn't canibalize retina 13", etc.
iMacs saw haswell too late. It's a crime to use 5400rpm drives. People see the possibility of a 4k screen around the corner.
The mini is a joke as it is. Terribly outdated and expensive despite great form factor.
Pros are waiting for the Pro.
OSX and especially iWork and iLife need more focus.
Apple is putting all it's effort on iphone and ipad with iOS. That's the future. I don't see the reason to innovate on desktop or laptop. It's a shrinking market anyway. I know, they won't disappear but why go after them when it's the post-pc era.
I seem to remember Apple having 90% of the $1,000+ computer market.
Show me a Retina MBA and I'll upgrade
I get your point and zero in on this only as an aside:
I don't get why people are so hung up on "Retina" everything. Sure, it's pretty, but it's not so much better as to be a deal-breaker in a side-by-side comparison, requires WAY more horsepower to operate, and with apps that aren't yet "optimized" it actually looks WORSE than a conventional display.
I get it, it's nice, but I think the desire for it far exceeds the actual benefit.
Makes me wish I had a feature like that in MY back pocket!
It has some benefit when you can scale to higher working resolutions for more workspace but quality-wise, I don't think it's as important as the panel type. The $499 10" iPad has a better quality display than the $999 11" Macbook Air and the iPad display is higher resolution. The Air still managed to win an award though:
http://awards.t3.com/categories/computer-of-the-year/macbook-air-11-inch
So did the iPad mini with the lower resolution. It's an inevitable progression of display tech though and it's only really 50% more pixels in each direction than the highest non-Retina resolutions available now.
I'd like to see the prices on the rMBPs come down so that the old quality displays can get removed from the MBP lineup. They'll have PCIe storage too. Laptops make up 75% of Apple's machines so they are impacted most by what happens with these.
The rMBP was updated last October so it's due about now. A 28W 13" dual-core with Iris at $1299 would be a good deal. If they can fit a 45W quad (possibly lower TDP if needed) in at $1599, even better and a 16GB RAM option or even just ship the $1599 one with 16GB. Then the 15" entry rMBP at $1799-1899 (it would be ok to move to $1899 as it has 8GB RAM vs 4GB), either with Iris Pro or a 750M.
[...] These aren't gas prices where it's based on futures
True, but neither are the prices immune to standard rules of supply and demand, as evidenced by what happened to hard drive prices after the tsunami and the overnight through-the-roof jump in RAM prices this month.
What's sales? This is just guesstimate from third party that usually have any clue about but tech presses love to quote them. As for numbers you posted you can see for yourself that there was increase and decrease. meh.
Did you notice that the size of the increase dropped every quarter (decreased), and then shifted to an actual decrease in sales? That's a downward trend for 6 quarters in a row.
I'm sure you mean iMacs and not iPads!
My guess is the 22nd is going to be a 2 hour long release fest.
I'd like that to be true, but I don't think it will be. Cook talked about new products coming at the end of 2013 and in 2014. I think we're looking at next spring before everything gets a refresh.
Not a single person I know buys bluray discs.
I call bullshit on that. You do so know people who buy discs. You even buy the odd one yourself from time to time. Everyone does.
I still buy lots of discs and so do my peers. Reasons? Prices for new releases on the iTunes store are 25% higher than Amazon. I can rip the disc and have an unencumbered file I can play anywhere, whereas if I buy from the iTunes store I wind up with DRM headaches. Finally, the image quality of a Blu-Ray still kicks the living crap out of an iTunes download. Look at any scene with a gradient background.
I buy iTunes downloads too sometimes, but it's in addition to discs, not instead of. It's way too soon to be declaring the death of the shiny physical disc.
And OS X’s marketshare against Windows is growing, by the way.
According the article to which we're responding, no, it's not. The whole point of the discussion is the assertion that Windows sales are up while Mac sales are down. The gap is widening, not shrinking. Since OS X is SOOO much better than Windows, one is inevitably led to wonder about Apple's sometimes arguably "questionable" hardware offerings as the culprit.