Mac's - are they overpriced?

[XIII]

A lot of windows users are the ones holding the most Apple's stocks and benefit from Apple's fans paying for the "Apple's experience".

Win.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

But put in the context of 80% of users already having a PC and wanting an upgrade. For their next computer, they have a choice between a mac or a pc--why would they choose the more expensive option?

Assuming you're implying that choosing a Mac is the more expensive option, then the answer is quite simple: people choose Macs because they're trendy and easy to use right out of the box.

[acido00]

it's cool to know about it.

But I think the dollar in Mexico is so expensive..

in U.S 1,299 dollars apple store

in Mexico 2,000 dollars apple store

I'm really sad for this situation.

[giga Veteran]

Assuming you're implying that choosing a Mac is the more expensive option, then the answer is quite simple: people choose Macs because they're trendy and easy to use right out of the box.

Trend certainly plays a factor, but not a double increase in sales. Design and the OS are the main selling points of the mac, otherwise it'd just be a regular PC.

[PermaSt0ne]

if you just look at the hardware, yes they are overpriced but people mostly buy them for the "it just works" factor. the average user doesn't care that they are way more limited with a mac than a pc because they only use it for word processing, e-mail and music. and history shows every single day that people are more than willing to pay through the nose for convenience

and computer growth sales have nothing to do with them being overpriced or not. it has to do with our economy. if you compare the growth of apple computers to the total growth of computer sales in general, you'd probably wind up with around the same % of people owning macs

of course things like the ipod, apples genius marketing, sexy looks, and all of that does make them a big fashion boom which tremendously effects how well their computers sell. look at mac sales before the ipod came out and after the ipod has been out for a couple of years. it's all about marketing penetration

[LTD]

the average user doesn't care that they are way more limited with a mac than a pc

How?

Remember, Macs also run Windows, and often do it a damn sight better than their generic counterparts.

And I certainly hope you don't mean OS X. There is a wealth of software for OS X. And unless you need to run specific industry-related software like Ace or DRS for accounts recovery/receivables management, for example, "the average user" on OS X has all their needs met and more. Yes, it's true though, we don't have as much random and poorly written shareware/freeware trash. I for one don't miss that. And we most certainly have a healthy shareware/freeware community. But how would you know when you have no experience with Macs and OS X?

Just more generalizations and assumptions.

Here's just a small sampling o what's out there, from the very site on which you post(!):

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?show...5&start=105

Please avoid unfounded generalizations.

Edited October 17, 2008 by LTD

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Trend certainly plays a factor, but not a double increase in sales. Design and the OS are the main selling points of the mac, otherwise it'd just be a regular PC.

Agreed. I think trend and aesthetics is a bigger factor for consumers; likewise, hardware/OS design is a bigger factor for prosumers.

[sn00pie]

Most people who buy a Mac don't intend to run Windows on it, I can tell you that. ;)

[PermaSt0ne]

How?

Remember, Macs also run Windows, and often do it a damn sight better than their generic counterparts.

because everything about the mac is proprietary (the hardware and the OS)

with a PC you have complete freedom to choose from millions of different hardware configurations and millions of more programs that run on windows but not Mac OS. whether you think they are crap or not doesn't matter in the slightest. the point is you have way more choices = less limitations

now, if you want to bring windows into this (i was talking mac hardware and mac OS), ever since apple switched to intel and brought bootcamp along, yes the differences are getting smaller. BUT those have only been around for a few years, and they did both of those for the very reasons i just stated.

what i said is not unfounded in anyway. it's called history

and if you are going to install bootcamp and throw windows on a mac, why not just buy a PC for much much cheaper and throw Mac on it instead? as for a mac running windows better than a PC, that's because you spend 5x the money on a mac than on a PC. if i spent as much on my computer as you did your mac, i'll have a pc that can beat your mac in every benchmark

it's about choices. you have more with a PC hands down in every category.

[se7en.hu]

the hardware isn't proprietary :wacko:

look, macs are not overpriced. you pay for the ability to use OSX and for anyone who uses their computer for hours and hours each day, not for gaming or fooling around - the price for OSX is worth it.

[LTD]

the hardware isn't proprietary :wacko:

look, macs are not overpriced. you pay for the ability to use OSX and for anyone who uses their computer for hours and hours each day, not for gaming or fooling around - the price for OSX is worth it.

What he means is that you can't mix and match parts and change things out as yourself. This is true unless you've got a Mac Pro.

You do indeed have less choice with a Mac. That's true. But that's never really been of any real significance for me, anyway. Plenty of software to choose from, though. I'm not sure after what point you can say there's enough there to choose from. (?)

That whole less choice argument is mostly confined to hardware these days.

[Ricardo Gil]

Informed this informed that, you are acting like every PC user is ignorant till they "see the light" and buy a mac.

I believe it's quite the contrary. Aren't you the one calling Mac users ignorant because they choose to buy one even though they're (supposedly) more expensive? It's like Pepsi vs Coke vs lame brand, practically the same give or take, but still people choose differently.

Most brands have higher end computer lines, and Apple only goes for that end. High end Toshiba/Sony/etc. computers are just as expensive if not more than Apple ones with similar specs. So I still don't see why you all keep banging your heads over this.

[Richard Hammond]

*edit* ignore would probably just get me another warning anyway

Edited October 17, 2008 by Richard Hammond

[TitanTiger]

BTW, for those interested, Apple has a refurb 24-inch iMac right now for $1299. Specs:

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

L2 Cache 4MB Shared

System bus - 800MHz

Memory - 1GB (one SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300), supports up to 4GB

Hard drive - 320GB Serial ATA; 7200 rpm

Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW)

24-inch (viewable) glossy widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, 1920 by 1200 pixels, millions of colors

Built-in iSight; mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter

Graphics - ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 memory

One FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800 port; 7 watts each

Three USB 2.0 ports on computer; two USB 2.0 ports on keyboard

Built-in stereo speakers with 24-watt digital amplifier, built-in microphone, optical digital audio output/headphone out, optical digital audio input/audio line in

Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)

Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module

Apple Remote, Apple Keyboard, and Mighty Mouse

Built-in IR receiver

If you've ever seen one in person, you know this display is not your average LCD screen. It's brilliant, sharp and definitely on the upper end. That machine is really nice and comes with the full one year warranty. You can also add AppleCare if you want. The RAM is skimpy but you can put another 2GB in it for $34 or max it out with 4GB for $68 and sell the leftover 1GB stick on eBay.

[dewaaz]

If I had the money, I'd go for a macbook probably (also, if I was able to tear myself away from Windows, which I can't do, atm)

Like others have said, it's the COMPLETE PRODUCT you're getting with Apple

So many PC/notebook makers have small quirks that are annoying/don't work well, etc.

and Apple has high standards, most things they make are just *schmick*

I used to be an 'Apple hater' because of everything being more pricey, but then I realised sometimes speed is not EVERTYHING

E.g. a notebook for uni/college... better design quality is more important than raw performance, and if not for not wanting to leave windows, it would be over to a macbook for me, especially the new ones! WOW they look nice... and I'm sure they feel great too lol

[Brandon]

Their entry level macbook (the plastic one) is vastly overpriced. If you lower it to $799, they are still making a killing off of it, but open the market up to a lot more people who aren't willing to go to the $1000 price mark for a computer.

Funny thing is that my Dell Vostro 1400 cost about $400 less than the current cheapest macbook, and that has 2 batteries, a higher res screen (1440x900), not to mention dedicated graphics

[mrt2]

if you just look at the hardware, yes they are overpriced but people mostly buy them for the "it just works" factor. the average user doesn't care that they are way more limited with a mac than a pc because they only use it for word processing, e-mail and music.

I fail to see where I'm limited... Please explain how people are way more limited with a Mac. I can run pretty much ANY OS I choose all at the same time and use any application from any OS... if anything I think Mac increases options instead of limiting them... am I missing something here or is this exactly the ignorant drivel that everyone on both sides of the Apple vs PC spew without any real specific points?

[mrt2]

because everything about the mac is proprietary (the hardware and the OS)

with a PC you have complete freedom to choose from millions of different hardware configurations and millions of more programs that run on windows but not Mac OS. whether you think they are crap or not doesn't matter in the slightest. the point is you have way more choices = less limitations

With that type of logic then Windows is limited because it can't run the many many Linux, Unix, Debian, or OS X applications...

[mrt2]

if i spent as much on my computer as you did your mac, i'll have a pc that can beat your mac in every benchmark

it's about choices. you have more with a PC hands down in every category.

Build a PC that can out perform my Mac in Final Cut Pro (an industry standard App). Wait I forgot, that's a limitation of Windows as it doesn't have Final Cut Pro... oops. Well here's one... Windows has Pro Tools (another Industry Standard App) build a PC that can out perform mine in that... wait a minute Mac's outperform PC's in Pro-Tools almost 2 to 1? Oops... wrong again. :|

PS. This post however factual is intended be very light hearted. :)

[Richard Hammond]

Build a PC that can out perform my Mac in Final Cut Pro (an industry standard App). Wait I forgot, that's a limitation of Windows as it doesn't have Final Cut Pro... oops. Well here's one... Windows has Pro Tools (another Industry Standard App) build a PC that can out perform mine in that... wait a minute Mac's outperform PC's in Pro-Tools almost 2 to 1? Oops... wrong again. :|

PS. This post however factual is intended be very light hearted. :)

Easy, build a Skulltrail. Dual Quad 3.2Ghz, supports QuadSLI, 16Gb Ram, im sure if you loaded osx86 onto it it would run rings round your Mac Pro.

[KeR]

They are overpriced! No beating around the bush, you can get an equivalent Wintel PC for much less.

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Easy, build a Skulltrail. Dual Quad 3.2Ghz, supports QuadSLI, 16Gb Ram, im sure if you loaded osx86 onto it it would run rings round your Mac Pro.

And then run Software Update from within Leopard...

[Richard Hammond]

Ah yes the universal answer... pretty simple really, its not as easy as just updating but all it needs is a prepatch and a postpatch after running the update from Software Update. Id rather have to "suffer" the inconvenience every now and again than become a smug arrogant mac owner.

[ViperAFK]

They are overpriced! No beating around the bush, you can get an equivalent Wintel PC for much less.

Yeah the arguement from mac users seems to be

"yeah but you are just talking about the price, it's a mac it can't be overpriced"

I mean don't get me wrong amcs are nice, but unless you REALLY want osx they are pretty overpriced.

[giga Veteran]

Ah yes the universal answer... pretty simple really, its not as easy as just updating but all it needs is a prepatch and a postpatch after running the update from Software Update. Id rather have to "suffer" the inconvenience every now and again than become a smug arrogant mac owner.

Oh come on, if everything was as simple as that everyone would be on osx86. Scramble through the osx86 thread if you want to and see the countless amount of errors, kernel panics, driver failures, hangings from a simple update. Majority of the stuff that osx86 promotes anyway are illegal--rampant copyright infringement with their "kalyway" patches and dvds.