Maybe I should get into professional basket-weaving – it’s much cheaper.
I texted Ben, who works for Apple, saying that I was interested in a macbook pro until I compared prices between that and a Dell. (Almost fully loaded (except RAM), a 15.6″ Dell Studio comes out to almost $1,800 – a 15″ macbook pro STARTS at $2,000.)
To which he said, “Do you want a Kia or a Cadillac?”
To which I replied, “Choose between a Korean car or a GM?”
hmmm, tough call …
Seriously though – half the RAM, 5400 rpm hard drive (instead of the much faster 7200 rpm), smaller display … I’m not a designer jeans guy, y’know? It bugs me to spend money on a label.
And thats the problem with apple.
It’s the brand you’re buying. The ‘coffee shop’ trendsetter status. Then you have the whole “It just works” angle, except, to any of us with a few brains in the ‘computer’ tab, we can make the pc work, better, for less money.
A dell isn’t a Kia, and an apple isn’t a Caddy. Look at more of a car that comes from the factory pretty well designed, or the car you get and modify to your exact fit. If you’re smart enough to modify the car, why pay for the factory built perfection?
Kia vs Caddy? Cant’ say that I much like that argument, for Mac vs PC(With Windows). What would that make a new Linux Box? A Tesla Roadster, without a long enough extension cord?
Ha!`
You’re not just paying for the branding, you’re also paying for the OS. OSX is heads and shoulders above Xp or Vista – I haven’t seen enough to compare it to Windows 7. Yeah, it’s a little pricier for the same hardware, but on the other hand, I’ve never wanted to toss my Macs out the window, or spent hours trying to make them work. I’ll gladly pay for the convenience of having a computer that does what I want it to, how I want it to, when I want it to.
Me too! Except that the only OS that’s ever done that for me is Linux, which I can pay to have completely customized down to my merest whim for less than the cost of an older copy of Windoze. ;)
I’m all about spending money where money’s due, and good computer equipment is totally one of those things. But I have yet to see anything about Apple products that makes me think they’re worth anything like the ducets they want. Plus, every time the tiniest thing breaks it’s a huge expensive nightmare.
If I liked their business practices or politics, it might help…but I don’t, and they get worse every time I hear something about them.
What IS nice is that the most awesome computer I could possibly afford — a frankenPC running Linux; less than $500 for a 64bit 2gb setup with DVD burner & everything — is also the one I have the least moral and ethical problems with. So woot for that!