Comments on: Is this a joke?

By: links for 2008-10-15 | The 'K' is not silent

links for 2008-10-15 | The 'K' is not silent — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:08:23 +0000

[...] The Macalope » Blog Archive » Is this a joke? (tags: article editorial blog technology apple) [...]

By: J.M. Heinrichs

J.M. Heinrichs — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 07:56:48 +0000

Tom
“I don’t think that Apple spends less money developing their own OS than they would be buying Windows licenses. A Windows license would be $40, $50. The cost of developing Mac OS X must be $2, $3 billion per year, or $200, $300 for every Mac sold (Apple is selling 10 Million Macs this year).”

1. You really need to read up on the history of PC operating system: Windows was not first. There’s a good reason you have not seen “Dell OS” in the wild.
2. Figures such as you have quoted appear to be less than rigorously sources; or they could be wild-ass guesses.
3. Sometimes it’s inadvisable to begin your discussion with “I don’t think”.

Cheers

By: Old Mac Journalist

Old Mac Journalist — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:33:56 +0000

Look, if you believe/care/follow anything about Apple published by CNet and/or Wired for the last decade, you’re asking for this kind of tsuris. Both outlets are basically pushed by editorial edict to gin up page views by going for sensationalism; perhaps they truly believe this is acting as righteous “truth to power” gadflies, or breaking real news, but come on — it’s trolling.

Just let them evaporate into obscurity. They’re already irrelevant. Give the page views and your time to quality outlets. Or make your own news.

By: GadgetGav

GadgetGav — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:31:40 +0000

So the webmonkey article references a CNET article that was basically a pre-event rebuttal by the MS Windows Marketing VP. He states as fact that the only upgradable Mac is the $2,800 Mac Pro which is “more expensive than just about any PC configuration that you get from any one of our manufacturers.” What a flat out lie..! Leaving aside memory and HD upgrades available on many Macs, the $2,800 Mac Pro has two quad core Xeon processors in it. To get that from Dell you have to shop for small business workstations (why can’t you buy dual quad cores for home?) and a similarly spec’d Precision T4700 costs over $4,000 (with a “free” 19in monitor). CNET let this lie go unchallenged in their puff-piece interview, and from that it gets conflated into an Apple Tax article everywhere else on the web.
Anyone who’s serious about comparison shopping knows that there is no Apple Tax, and I’m sure we’re all getting tired of trying to convince people otherwise. If you want a cheap computer, but a Asus from Wal-Mart. If you want the best computer of a particular mid or high end spec, get an Apple.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:11:41 +0000

Don’t care really.

I like and appreciate quality both in software, OS and hardware. We have just installed 15 20″ iMacs. Everybody goes ‘Ahhh’ or ‘Wow’. Fit and finish and design ie build quality is most apparent. People respect these machines. Like I respect a BMW or a Jag or a Mercedes. Fit and finish. And you don’t get that for sod all. I expect to pay for that. And when I compare the stuff in that market segment, I find the Mac to be an easy choice.

In the past 12 months, 15 out of 25 staff members have bought a Mac. Some have bought 2 or 3 for their kids. Put their money on the line despite the plethora of screamingly cheap PC deals.

I think that as hardware has become a consumer item, buyers have shifted their focus from ‘just get a computer’ to get something with a bit of quality. And most buyers have had at least one or two computers as a purchase. They are now more informed. And they are now making an informed choice.

By: Tom Ross

Tom Ross — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:58:37 +0000

I don’t think that Apple spends less money developing their own OS than they would be buying Windows licenses. A Windows license would be $40, $50. The cost of developing Mac OS X must be $2, $3 billion per year, or $200, $300 for every Mac sold (Apple is selling 10 Million Macs this year).

I think there is a factual pricing gap between similarly-spec’d PCs and Macs. Not when new Macs are released, but a few months later, as PC vendors keep dropping prices while Apple doesn’t. Apple is usually keeping their prices steady for 4 up to a full 12 months, until a new model is released. At the end of these time spans Macs get to be heavily “overpriced” if you look at it in terms of hardware specs alone.

If one would then take the effort to compare prices of Macs and similarly-spec’d PCs over a 12 month time span one would probably find an average price gap of maybe $200. This is the money you pay for the unique features of the Mac like Mac OS X, a handful of hardware innovations like MagSafe or iSight and a beautiful industrial design. I think $200 would be a very reasonable amount for those unique features.

By: Dan Villiom Podlaski Christiansen

Dan Villiom Podlaski Christiansen — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:26:37 +0000

I’d love to see a comprehensive comparison of Apple and Lenovo pricing. Not because the two brands are equivalent, when they clearly aren’t; Apple care much more about style than Lenovo — but because both are known to prioritise quality and durability. A reasonable comparison would measure Appe products to other similarly targeted products, and not budget-fixated products Dell and bamboo PCs.

Hell, even Steve Ballmer is aware that a segment of the PC market consists of cheap, low quality computers, and that it’s a segment where Apple has on presence. Their management seems quite happy with making money in other segments.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:19:06 +0000

(formerly “There is a tax for using Apple outside the US”)

Oops, that’s a name field, not a title field. I did actually mean to post under a name :).

By: Jarkko Laine

Jarkko Laine — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:18:43 +0000

“In essence, Apple is more profitable because by selling hardware AND software and doing a good job of it, they get to be Dell AND Microsoft.”

On top of that, like said many times already, Apple only competes in the higher end of the spectrum. Margins are higher in that area, regardless of the manufacturer. Do you really think for a second that a $3000 high-end Dell laptop is sold for the same sucky margin as the $599 one? Neither do I. The difference is that Apple has *chosen* not to go into the low-end, low-margin competition, so its average margins are head and shoulders above those who mainly compete in the sub-$1000 category.

By: There is a tax for using Apple outside the US

There is a tax for using Apple outside the US — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:51:21 +0000

Unfortunately, there does seem to be a tax for using Apple products outside the US. I’ve been using a mac mini for the last 10 months or so, and was looking forward to getting a 15″ MacBook Pro at some point in the next 6 months, but those plans are on hold at the moment.

The reason you might ask? Well, the 15″ MacBook Pro is now retailing for AU$3199 (used to be AU$2699, which was bad enough).

Even after converting US$ to AU$, that is nearly $1000 in price difference between the US and Australia. I’m willing to accept some difference in price due to taxes and transport costs etc, but almost $1000? I’d love to see the justification for the current price Apple is asking.