dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Actually, not bragging or anything but I have a fully loaded and expandable Dell XPS 710 that I paid about $4700 for. Mine has a silver finish though. Quality man!
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- Thread starter bAuHaUs
- Start date
Actually, not bragging or anything but I have a fully loaded and expandable Dell XPS 710 that I paid about $4700 for. Mine has a silver finish though. Quality man!
afransen
Senior Member
Well, 'quality'. A lot of what you're paying for is having a generation newer hardware. Most people don't need it, and it would be pure waste for them to buy it.
MetroMan
Senior Member
Your comment demonstrates the common stereotype of criticizing while uneducated about the Mac platform. You could have avoided that gaff with a simple visit to Apple.ca.
You can get a Mac for as low as around $700 or a MacBook (laptop) starting at $1,150.
If you're looking to spend less... well, you get what you pay for.
Apple has stated that they don't play in the basement prices field. If there isn't a Mac within your budget, there are plenty of cheap PC's available but then you have Windows to contend with...
syn
Senior Member
A woefully underpowered Mac mini starts at $729. You can find more powerful PC packages with a monitor and keyboard for the same price, or less.
A MacBook at $1150 is not a bad deal...though it is still quite overpriced compared to other 13" laptops on the market.
With Windows 7 coming out soon the whole OS issue won't be that much of one anymore.
Or you might actually find some value. There are plenty of lower priced PCs that do a great job, with no trouble.
A friend of mine from California spent the weekend with me. He also happens to be a Mac fan and is constantly telling me how great they are and how horrible Windows is. When I couldn't convert a few Mac fonts on my PC, he offered to help and show me how easy it was to use a Mac.
His demonstration was a disaster. The fonts opened up without a problem. When we found a program to convert the fonts, he tried to install it...but it was packaged with Stuff It. He didn't have Stuff It, so I just told him to download the free Stuff It expander. His MacBook couldn't handle it and froze. Yes, that's right. His MacBook froze as he tried to install Stuff It, a basic compression utility. As he frantically tried to force quit some programs, he mumbled something about having to format his hard drive soon. All of this had me confused, as I thought Macs never crash and never have to be formatted. His MacBook seemed to "just work" like a PC is supposed to. When I pointed this out he got upset and told me it was my fault for making him download Stuff It in the first place. Apparently if a Mac crashes, it's my fault. I didn't realize I was that powerful
.After a restart and a few tries he finally managed to get Stuff It installed and the fonts converted, so we had a happy ending. Good thing I had a stable Windows machine. After that little episode, I'm very happy to "contend" with Windows
.I will say one thing though. His MacBook certainly looked nice.
Anth
Active Member
As a software developer who puts his Mac mini to heavy duty use, I can say it's far from underpowered, especially with OS X on it.
Spec comparisons are meaningless without taking the operating system into account. If anything, Windows machines need to be overpowered due to poor software quality and people end up with far more hardware than they can ever hope to actually use.
syn
Senior Member
That doesn't change the fact you shouldn't be paying that much for it. It's still overpriced.
A similarly spec'd PC will likely perform just as well...and you'll get a lot more value out of it.
afransen
Senior Member
Touchy. The price was demonstrative. Macs have always had a substantial premium, one which is of questionable justification when compared to similar machines.
As far as 'you get what you pay for', to some extent. Most of the Mac premium is the badge/brand premium. For some people, having the little white apple on their computer is important.
MetroMan
Senior Member
^ It's not about the Apple logo -- while the hardware's industrial design does play a part in the price. The premium is in the experience: the OS and the included iLife applications (and the not included bloatware).
Hardware is a piece of metal and wires without software, and software is just a bunch of 0's and 1's without the hardware. The two are inseparable and as such, you can't compare the value of a Mac's hardware to a PC with similar hardware based soley on that one half. It's the complete package where the price is justified.
Look, this horse has been beaten to death. It's like discussing politics or religion. You can't coerce somebody to change. If they're going to switch they have to do it on their own, through personal experience.
There is something to be said though about the fact that when people move from the default OS (Windows is ubiquitous) on to a Mac, many become evangelists for the platform. It's not because they're paid to or brainwashed to do so, it's because they wonder why it took them so long to give it a shot, become enthusiastic about how others should be aware of how great it is and are quick to correct people on the falsehoods and myths many Windows users have.
Hardware is a piece of metal and wires without software, and software is just a bunch of 0's and 1's without the hardware. The two are inseparable and as such, you can't compare the value of a Mac's hardware to a PC with similar hardware based soley on that one half. It's the complete package where the price is justified.
Look, this horse has been beaten to death. It's like discussing politics or religion. You can't coerce somebody to change. If they're going to switch they have to do it on their own, through personal experience.
There is something to be said though about the fact that when people move from the default OS (Windows is ubiquitous) on to a Mac, many become evangelists for the platform. It's not because they're paid to or brainwashed to do so, it's because they wonder why it took them so long to give it a shot, become enthusiastic about how others should be aware of how great it is and are quick to correct people on the falsehoods and myths many Windows users have.
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syn
Senior Member
The Apple brand is huge part of the price premium. The fact that Apple has converted many of its users into brand zealots with absolutely no objectivity should make it pretty clear how successful they've been.
MetroMan
Senior Member
^ Blanket statement of the day.
syn
Senior Member
"There is something to be said though about the fact that when people move from the default OS (Windows is ubiquitous) on to a Mac, many become evangelists for the platform".
This isn't a blanket statement?
I can't even remember how many blanket statements you've made regarding Windows, crashes, drivers, etc.
afransen
Senior Member
Really, no less of a blanket statement than you saying "It's not about the Apple logo".
For a lot of people, it is about the brand. Mac's advertising makes it pretty clear that they are targeting people concerned with fashionability.
For a lot of people, it is about the brand. Mac's advertising makes it pretty clear that they are targeting people concerned with fashionability.
syn
Senior Member
They've also created an entire ad campaign based on blanket statements and sterotyping an entire group of computer users as uptight geeks.
Dan416
Senior Member
I went from Amiga to PC to Mac to PC. I liked my Mac, I really did. But there's just some things that I didn't like. The lack of a proper MSN. The fact that it cost SO much more to get a DVD burner versus just a DVD player. The high prices for a decent sized screen. I just think you get way more value for money with PC. That's why I love those PC shopping commercials, because it's so true. But if you can afford a Mac, by all means, get one.
Anth
Active Member
Look, if you think BMWs are a waste of money and you're perfectly happy driving your Ford from point A to B, then great. But don't assume that others only buy luxury cars to be fashionable.
Many people appreciate things that are well-designed and computers are no exception. There's nothing wrong with a premium if the overall experience is worth it to a given individual and there's no reason for them to have to justify anything.
Sure, you could supe up your Ford until its paper specs exceeded those of an equivalently priced BMW, but would you really have the same thing at that point?
Do you people enjoy anything in life?