a rebate from Apple and a rebate from some web seller are 2 far different things. The web sellers bank on you NOT being able to get rebates. They already have your money so there is no good reason for them to really try to get your rebate. They have every incentive to come up with reasons to not give you a rebate. Anyone who depends on a rebate from a web seller is overly optimistic and deluded.
Given that the xbox hasn't made a dime of profit, and doesn't appear to in the future, I don't see that as a great hire.
Sheldon
High-end consoles rarely make profit on hardware, but with much lower games pirating, they nicely balance that with software sales. MS is also charging subscription for one or more of their Live! services.
Last time I have checked, numbers on sold 360 consoles and software sales were pretty good.
Perhaps the position on paper is a preemptive move by Apple in the vein of the Papermaster hire from IBM to prevent MS from suing.
That doesn't mean it's his fault. He could be responsible for not losing another billion or from finally turning a gross profit, albeit a small one, per unit sale.
Or perhaps because Apple's OpenGL bundled version is horribly out of date and its performance is below other platforms that Apple is going to take optimising their drivers and graphics stack seriously.
indeed. But it makes me wonder why they bother. I mean, it's clear as day to me and has been for considerable time that Apple are working on the next big thing in gaming. So if I know then surely Apples competitors know.
Am I the only one who finds it a little uncomfortable with apple wooing MS execs? I know there's a little thrill of one-upsmanship. But imagine if the tables were turned and MS was hiring away apple execs?
I've had close experience with both houses, but never as an employee. I would find it difficult to believe that anyone who spent much time in Apple's culture would find MS a fun place to work. As for the other way around? Yeah, I could definitely see some creative types who got caught up in the initial rah, rah OR ELSE mentality of MS wanting to come into the light.
Or, let me put it this way. You are single, successful, and on a first date. When the inevitable question of "what do you do for a living" comes up, what would you prefer to say?
A. I work for Monkey Boy. Perhaps you have seen him in some YouTube videos?
B. I work for Apple, developing amazing products that restore a childlike sense of wonder.
Here is the deal, soon after I upgraded the system software to NXE (New XBox Experience) It was downhill for me....apparently this changes the 3 Rings to a 1 Ring of Death. MS doesnt cover the 1 Ring. So to all...beware. I was able to "towel" it to work just enough to trade it in for the PS3.
I cant tell you guys enough, how glad I am with the PS3.....Graphics are so much more fluid and realistic. Its amazing.
In the same games? 360 actually has a bit better graphics chip compared to PS3. Well, PS3 should have significantly more processing power, though because of exotic hardware it is not as easy to fully release it.
I personally prefer PS3 as I was/am PS2 guy... brand loyalty, mostly. But I did notice in one cross-compare on Gamespot that their conclusion at the time was - same games usually looked better on 360. That also could have been due to the fact that - then - 360 was already well established while PS3 was new, so at least some titles were developed and optimized for 360 and then quick-and-dirty ported to PS3...
It's not just the waiting. It if it was just that, they could just pop the "rebate" on your credit card when they get the $$$ from wherever. ...
... I do not purchace from MacMall anymore because their best price always depends on rebates. I go to Amazon or straight to Apple with the Education Discount. Maybe I loose a little $$, but I don't have to be annoyed by rebates...
As to the first part. You do realize that vendors pay a fee to the credit card processor for both debits and credits, right?
As to the second comment. I did not mean to imply that rebates were a good or bad thing. I was merely attempting to point out how their system might be working. Obviously Amazon has a newer business model and have had great success raising capital. MacMall, and others like them that are left-overs from the old mail order business model, have to try to compete in that arena the only way they know how, and that is get promises of rebates from the manufactures. Without the rebates, they go the way of Circuit City, Egghead Software, TCS (for you Boston types), etc.
Here, when people talk chip prices, I think they keep it in the wholesale frame of mind, referencing the publicly known 1000 piece bulk pricing. I am skeptical that the bucket of parts for the Air is $300, and the BOM breakdown ignores a lot of the costs associated with the product.
If your definition of decent is "a little", then maybe. 30% is about their net profit per their 10Q reports. They'll make some on increased volume, but I doubt that much. I also doubt that would quell the pricing complaints. Besides, they're still growing a lot despite selling a luxury product in a down economy, they have no need to cut their margins yet.
Indeed Jeff, but surely you have to agree that it certainly did NOT cost nearly anywhere near $1799. In fact, $999 as a netbook still puts Apples Air at a much larger profit margin than other competitors and I don't want to see replies about cheap. (other posters), I understand marketing, promotions, royalties, heck artist's get about 11% if they are lucky, but clearly Apple has always asked a premium price and back in the day, it used to be quite competitive.
Some will argue that you can price out a dell compared to a Mac Pro and have it cost more, but that's not the point. Apple could have used i7 chips, non EEC memory, then most here could not use the DELL POV to make an argument. Apple clearly does things like this to milk as much as they can. Ironically, I don't know if most here get it or not but it costs far less to manufacture any computer now then it did with the PowerPC and going to the unibody made manufacturing even cheaper, rather, less expensive.
The moot point really is that the Air at $999 is more reasonable, and flash continues to drop in price.
The problem is (especially with upcoming net books), is that Apples business model has them cornered and somewhere along the line, one of the products is going to take a hit unless they refresh to 4 cores. My guess is that it's the very low selling Air with a reduction in price for the Macbook. We could also see better GPU for Macbook Pro's, but other than the screen, firewire and backlit keys, they are pretty close and Apple has a way to make a customer go in the store planning on spending $999.00 but for a few hundred more, give you the options you really want. Next thing you know, they are walking out the door having spent $2000.00. However, with the lay off of 1600 retail employee's and this economy, this may not be the case so much.
B. I work for Apple, developing amazing products that restore a childlike sense of wonder.[/QUOTE]
.... a childlike sense of wonder? Really?
You do know that a majority of people think Apple makes toys right or that their OS is eye candy.
Not saying they are right but you are in the minority, out numbered by, oh, I don't know, 89% of the world, with a fraction of them thinking it's to expensive. I have a lot of creative friends and will tell you, for some reason, Audio Pro's tend to lean toward the PC not the MAC, and project studios make all the money these days. Gone are the days of $300 for a 3 hour block of recording time in a Mac Pro Tools studio.
a rebate from Apple and a rebate from some web seller are 2 far different things. The web sellers bank on you NOT being able to get rebates. They already have your money so there is no good reason for them to really try to get your rebate. They have every incentive to come up with reasons to not give you a rebate. Anyone who depends on a rebate from a web seller is overly optimistic and deluded.
You're implying something I neither said nor meant. I merely provided the Apple example as the extreme case of rebate speed. Others I've purchased from have been fine, too. Newegg and Sears instantly come to mind on the retail side. Samsung, Epson, and others with manufacturer's rebates.
Really? Which games? Because for games where there are versions for both platforms, the 360 versions constantly look better - and there isn't exactly a huge library of sony exclusives these days \ And don't take my word for it - there have been many articles/commentaries along those lines in the gaming world.
Yes, I own both. 360 as my primary gaming console, and the PS3 primarily for Blue Ray (which I now regret given Netflix hiking the cost of BR rentals - greedy sony bastards and their licensing fees). Most of the hardware problems for the 360 are long gone. Yeah, they still have some issues, but for having shipped millions of consoles, they are relatively few now. I have an original elite, and it's chugging along just fine. I like the new dashboard too. Live kicks the crap out of sony's pathetic attempts at online services (bolted on afterthoughts). You can hate on MS all you want, but the 360 is a good platform. Heck, it's been the bright shining star for MS, carrying their other divisions the last couple of quarters. Guess even the 360 couldn't help them this quarter...
I recommend MGS4...it blew me away. Ive been a long time 360 fan. Had my original system for 4 years. Played many of games. But since moving to PS3 I feel its so much more fluid. Try MGS4.
Ever since I got my new Mac Pro my LG LCD stopped displaying it's normal resolutions. I found out it's because 10.5.6 broke the DDC-CI support for monitors that require it so my LG isn't talking to my GT120. I've been told 10.5.7 should fix this.. please hurry apple!
You do know that a majority of people think Apple makes toys right or that their OS is eye candy.
Not saying they are right but you are in the minority, out numbered by, oh, I don't know, 89% of the world, with a fraction of them thinking it's to expensive. I have a lot of creative friends and will tell you, for some reason, Audio Pro's tend to lean toward the PC not the MAC, and project studios make all the money these days. Gone are the days of $300 for a 3 hour block of recording time in a Mac Pro Tools studio.
Way to butcher the intent of my analogy.
When I referenced "creative type" I meant DEVELOPERS, not end users.
I could care less about whether or not I'm in the majority. I care more about quality and whether or not the products I use actually WORK a "majority" of the time.
Safari has problems loading on 10.5.7 and Apple is unable to fix it... that is why the update is not available. When last has Apple taken forever to release an update that many people are waiting for?
The newest Macs need the update.
Apple should not have released Safari to only work with 10.5.6
Hopefully this update will be released before Snow Leopard 10.6
Comments
a rebate from Apple and a rebate from some web seller are 2 far different things. The web sellers bank on you NOT being able to get rebates. They already have your money so there is no good reason for them to really try to get your rebate. They have every incentive to come up with reasons to not give you a rebate. Anyone who depends on a rebate from a web seller is overly optimistic and deluded.
Oh, please...
Given that the xbox hasn't made a dime of profit, and doesn't appear to in the future, I don't see that as a great hire.
Sheldon
High-end consoles rarely make profit on hardware, but with much lower games pirating, they nicely balance that with software sales. MS is also charging subscription for one or more of their Live! services.
Last time I have checked, numbers on sold 360 consoles and software sales were pretty good.
Perhaps the position on paper is a preemptive move by Apple in the vein of the Papermaster hire from IBM to prevent MS from suing.
That doesn't mean it's his fault. He could be responsible for not losing another billion or from finally turning a gross profit, albeit a small one, per unit sale.
Or perhaps because Apple's OpenGL bundled version is horribly out of date and its performance is below other platforms that Apple is going to take optimising their drivers and graphics stack seriously.
indeed. But it makes me wonder why they bother. I mean, it's clear as day to me and has been for considerable time that Apple are working on the next big thing in gaming. So if I know then surely Apples competitors know.
Interactive Educational games..?
1. Apple 4870 cards for 2008 Mac Pros shipped prematurely without drivers so they are useless.
2. X11 2.3.3 shipped but requiring 10.5.7 to install the package
3. A number of games shipped and requiring 10.5.7.
Cmon guys, Ship it already.
Am I the only one who finds it a little uncomfortable with apple wooing MS execs? I know there's a little thrill of one-upsmanship. But imagine if the tables were turned and MS was hiring away apple execs?
I've had close experience with both houses, but never as an employee. I would find it difficult to believe that anyone who spent much time in Apple's culture would find MS a fun place to work. As for the other way around? Yeah, I could definitely see some creative types who got caught up in the initial rah, rah OR ELSE mentality of MS wanting to come into the light.
Or, let me put it this way. You are single, successful, and on a first date. When the inevitable question of "what do you do for a living" comes up, what would you prefer to say?
A. I work for Monkey Boy. Perhaps you have seen him in some YouTube videos?
B. I work for Apple, developing amazing products that restore a childlike sense of wonder.
Here is the deal, soon after I upgraded the system software to NXE (New XBox Experience) It was downhill for me....apparently this changes the 3 Rings to a 1 Ring of Death. MS doesnt cover the 1 Ring. So to all...beware. I was able to "towel" it to work just enough to trade it in for the PS3.
I cant tell you guys enough, how glad I am with the PS3.....Graphics are so much more fluid and realistic. Its amazing.
In the same games? 360 actually has a bit better graphics chip compared to PS3. Well, PS3 should have significantly more processing power, though because of exotic hardware it is not as easy to fully release it.
I personally prefer PS3 as I was/am PS2 guy... brand loyalty, mostly. But I did notice in one cross-compare on Gamespot that their conclusion at the time was - same games usually looked better on 360. That also could have been due to the fact that - then - 360 was already well established while PS3 was new, so at least some titles were developed and optimized for 360 and then quick-and-dirty ported to PS3...
It's not just the waiting. It if it was just that, they could just pop the "rebate" on your credit card when they get the $$$ from wherever. ...
... I do not purchace from MacMall anymore because their best price always depends on rebates. I go to Amazon or straight to Apple with the Education Discount. Maybe I loose a little $$, but I don't have to be annoyed by rebates...
As to the first part. You do realize that vendors pay a fee to the credit card processor for both debits and credits, right?
As to the second comment. I did not mean to imply that rebates were a good or bad thing. I was merely attempting to point out how their system might be working. Obviously Amazon has a newer business model and have had great success raising capital. MacMall, and others like them that are left-overs from the old mail order business model, have to try to compete in that arena the only way they know how, and that is get promises of rebates from the manufactures. Without the rebates, they go the way of Circuit City, Egghead Software, TCS (for you Boston types), etc.
Here, when people talk chip prices, I think they keep it in the wholesale frame of mind, referencing the publicly known 1000 piece bulk pricing. I am skeptical that the bucket of parts for the Air is $300, and the BOM breakdown ignores a lot of the costs associated with the product.
If your definition of decent is "a little", then maybe. 30% is about their net profit per their 10Q reports. They'll make some on increased volume, but I doubt that much. I also doubt that would quell the pricing complaints. Besides, they're still growing a lot despite selling a luxury product in a down economy, they have no need to cut their margins yet.
Indeed Jeff, but surely you have to agree that it certainly did NOT cost nearly anywhere near $1799. In fact, $999 as a netbook still puts Apples Air at a much larger profit margin than other competitors and I don't want to see replies about cheap. (other posters), I understand marketing, promotions, royalties, heck artist's get about 11% if they are lucky, but clearly Apple has always asked a premium price and back in the day, it used to be quite competitive.
Some will argue that you can price out a dell compared to a Mac Pro and have it cost more, but that's not the point. Apple could have used i7 chips, non EEC memory, then most here could not use the DELL POV to make an argument. Apple clearly does things like this to milk as much as they can. Ironically, I don't know if most here get it or not but it costs far less to manufacture any computer now then it did with the PowerPC and going to the unibody made manufacturing even cheaper, rather, less expensive.
The moot point really is that the Air at $999 is more reasonable, and flash continues to drop in price.
The problem is (especially with upcoming net books), is that Apples business model has them cornered and somewhere along the line, one of the products is going to take a hit unless they refresh to 4 cores. My guess is that it's the very low selling Air with a reduction in price for the Macbook. We could also see better GPU for Macbook Pro's, but other than the screen, firewire and backlit keys, they are pretty close and Apple has a way to make a customer go in the store planning on spending $999.00 but for a few hundred more, give you the options you really want. Next thing you know, they are walking out the door having spent $2000.00. However, with the lay off of 1600 retail employee's and this economy, this may not be the case so much.
Cheers
B. I work for Apple, developing amazing products that restore a childlike sense of wonder.[/QUOTE]
.... a childlike sense of wonder? Really?
You do know that a majority of people think Apple makes toys right or that their OS is eye candy.
Not saying they are right but you are in the minority, out numbered by, oh, I don't know, 89% of the world, with a fraction of them thinking it's to expensive. I have a lot of creative friends and will tell you, for some reason, Audio Pro's tend to lean toward the PC not the MAC, and project studios make all the money these days. Gone are the days of $300 for a 3 hour block of recording time in a Mac Pro Tools studio.
a rebate from Apple and a rebate from some web seller are 2 far different things. The web sellers bank on you NOT being able to get rebates. They already have your money so there is no good reason for them to really try to get your rebate. They have every incentive to come up with reasons to not give you a rebate. Anyone who depends on a rebate from a web seller is overly optimistic and deluded.
You're implying something I neither said nor meant. I merely provided the Apple example as the extreme case of rebate speed. Others I've purchased from have been fine, too. Newegg and Sears instantly come to mind on the retail side. Samsung, Epson, and others with manufacturer's rebates.
Given that the xbox hasn't made a dime of profit, and doesn't appear to in the future, I don't see that as a great hire.
Sheldon
Probably has to assume a "non-related" role for 12 months because of a non-compete
Really? Which games? Because for games where there are versions for both platforms, the 360 versions constantly look better - and there isn't exactly a huge library of sony exclusives these days
Yes, I own both. 360 as my primary gaming console, and the PS3 primarily for Blue Ray (which I now regret given Netflix hiking the cost of BR rentals - greedy sony bastards and their licensing fees). Most of the hardware problems for the 360 are long gone. Yeah, they still have some issues, but for having shipped millions of consoles, they are relatively few now. I have an original elite, and it's chugging along just fine. I like the new dashboard too. Live kicks the crap out of sony's pathetic attempts at online services (bolted on afterthoughts). You can hate on MS all you want, but the 360 is a good platform. Heck, it's been the bright shining star for MS, carrying their other divisions the last couple of quarters. Guess even the 360 couldn't help them this quarter...
I recommend MGS4...it blew me away. Ive been a long time 360 fan. Had my original system for 4 years. Played many of games. But since moving to PS3 I feel its so much more fluid. Try MGS4.
Be prepared for God of War 3.....
Tides are turning in my opinion.
So it is really $1,199 that gets charged to your credit card. Then you wait around and see if $200 actually arrives in the mail later.
Pass.
Mail in rebates actually do work.
.... a childlike sense of wonder? Really?
You do know that a majority of people think Apple makes toys right or that their OS is eye candy.
Not saying they are right but you are in the minority, out numbered by, oh, I don't know, 89% of the world, with a fraction of them thinking it's to expensive. I have a lot of creative friends and will tell you, for some reason, Audio Pro's tend to lean toward the PC not the MAC, and project studios make all the money these days. Gone are the days of $300 for a 3 hour block of recording time in a Mac Pro Tools studio.
Way to butcher the intent of my analogy.
When I referenced "creative type" I meant DEVELOPERS, not end users.
I could care less about whether or not I'm in the majority. I care more about quality and whether or not the products I use actually WORK a "majority" of the time.
The newest Macs need the update.
Apple should not have released Safari to only work with 10.5.6
Hopefully this update will be released before Snow Leopard 10.6