Apple computers: The biggest scam in consumer electronics?

[Currawong]

Roxio Toast 9 has a HD-DVD/Blue-Ray plug-in, so now that issue is taken care of, for a price albeit.

By the way, people buy Macs for Mac OS X and the fanatical attention to detail in the software and hardware. That doesn't negate that Macs are mass-produced, that Mac OS X and Apple software is huge and complex and has bugs, or that people go nuts over them (like people go nuts over cars, headphones, hi-fi etc.) or that the sky is blue.

 

[frozenice]

Apple lost it's coolness five years ago when the mainstream bought into it and it became merely "ordinary". So if you want coolness you are too late (again!).

Now, Windows that was a giant scam and a 20 year make-work project for programmers, huge I.T. crisis after I.T. crisis ( and the correspondent huge I.T budgets to keep that crap feebly puttering on). Releasing O.S.'es before they were ready for prime time brought even more O.T. money into the hands of the I.T. crowd - including racking up air miles flying around the country fixing problems that should never have happened.

Now that was a scam, pure and simple.

 

[jay.money]

Not looking for coolness, just looking for something that works.

Apple seems to come with too many 'ifs' and 'buts' for a company that pounds it's chest as being superior in ease of use, robustness, and performance.

I want something that doesn't need to be hacked, downloaded, or have additional hardware purchased to do simple things (scale to my tv properly, for instance).

 

[grawk]

My mac mini with a simple dvi -> hdmi cable displayed perfectly on my tv. What problem are you having with it?

 

[frozenice]

Here is a tip from Apple.com/support
To get to System Preferences click on the Apple on the upper left of the screen and then click on System Preferences and then on Displays (your computer OS may be slightly different - I'm using 10.4 now). There are plenty of really good Mac forums which will provide much better help.


Check the resolution: Many televisions will display a variety of resolutions in the Display preference pane of System Preferences when the television is attached to the Mac mini (Early 2006). Select a resolution that is closest to the native resolution of the the television; typically 640x480 for a standard definition TV, 720x480 or 848x480 for an EDTV (Enhanced Definition Television), 1280x720 or 1366x768 for a 720P HDTV (720 Progressive Scan), and 1920x1080 for a 1080i HDTV (1080 Interlaced Scan).

 

[craiglester]

I really don't see the point of the "It Just Works" argument. My father in law just bought a dell desktop machine, and out of the box, it worked perfectly. We added some software, and it still works flawlessly. How's that different to a Mac? It isn't in his book, but it was a LOT cheaper than buying the nearest equivalent - A Quad core Mac Pro. The Mac Pro was more than double (almost triple) the price.

I think Apple would be well served by having a cheaper desktop option available to the average consumer. A lot of people don't want a laptop, nor do they want a laptop in a monitor - the iMac, and there just isn't a reasonably priced tower system.

 

[grawk]

The mac mini would be a lot closer to that dell than the pro

 

[frozenice]

The Cube is gone and it ain't coming back (maybe). There definitely is a hole in their line-up (prosumer level) and Apple sure doesn't seem interested in filling it. If anything their focus seems to be on the iPhone.

 

[grawk]

I think the low end minitower isn't a market anyone makes money in. So it makes sense that apple ignores it.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really don't see the point of the "It Just Works" argument.

It doesn't always just work, just like other computers / electronics in general. But it has to just work, because otherwise there is a lot of trouble fixing that.

 

[ozz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay.money /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not looking for coolness, just looking for something that works. Apple seems to come with too many 'ifs' and 'buts' for a company that pounds it's chest as being superior in ease of use, robustness, and performance. I want something that doesn't need to be hacked, downloaded, or have additional hardware purchased to do simple things (scale to my tv properly, for instance).

My MacBook pro did that the first time i used it on my Panasonic plasma
without any problems or extras.

 

[ozz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really don't see the point of the "It Just Works" argument. My father in law just bought a dell desktop machine, and out of the box, it worked perfectly. We added some software, and it still works flawlessly. How's that different to a Mac? It isn't in his book, but it was a LOT cheaper than buying the nearest equivalent - A Quad core Mac Pro. The Mac Pro was more than double (almost triple) the price. I think Apple would be well served by having a cheaper desktop option available to the average consumer. A lot of people don't want a laptop, nor do they want a laptop in a monitor - the iMac, and there just isn't a reasonably priced tower system.

One thing i have noticed over the years is that all my friends and clients
that left pc for a Mac stayed with them its never been the other way around.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frozenice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Apple lost it's coolness five years ago when the mainstream bought into it and it became merely "ordinary". So if you want coolness you are too late (again!).

Coolness is irrelevant. I bought Macs during the APPLE IS GOING TO DIE! APPLE IS GOING TO DIE! years. They've just worked for me and I kept with the platform.

Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really don't see the point of the "It Just Works" argument. My father in law just bought a dell desktop machine, and out of the box, it worked perfectly. We added some software, and it still works flawlessly. How's that different to a Mac? It isn't in his book, but it was a LOT cheaper than buying the nearest equivalent - A Quad core Mac Pro. The Mac Pro was more than double (almost triple) the price. I think Apple would be well served by having a cheaper desktop option available to the average consumer. A lot of people don't want a laptop, nor do they want a laptop in a monitor - the iMac, and there just isn't a reasonably priced tower system.

Windows can be fine on day one. I helped set up the Windows network at the office last July. When done, it was snappy, fast and worked great. Not even a year later, it's crawling slower and slower every day. Takes me 15-20 minutes to boot in each morning and there's a 50/50 chance of a crash once it does boot. If you try to open anything while it hangs with the hourglass on the screen, it WILL crash. Patches, associated crud, malware, etc. accumulates and drags Windows down. And it crashes a lot. I get 1-2 crashes per 8 hour day.

I run OS X and Linux at home, small network. Boots are typically 1-2 minutes and I haven't had ONE crash in, oh, 5-6 years.

Any wonder why I prefer OS X and Linux? I just set those up and they go and keep going.

As for prices, Macs are competitive today. Maybe not with the $299 bargain box, but if you compare feature for feature, there's hardly a premium. Also, used ones are terrific. They hold up well and there's a ton of obsessed users with FAQs on DIY mods and repairs.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I am a pc AND mac guy. I like both for various reasons and it is so funny to see people go back and forth continuously over which is better. PC's are great because of their compatibility. I can use any software I want and know that I shouldn't have problems. With a mac, some software can't be used and for me it's a big deal because I like gaming, video editing, etc. and I don't want to be stuck with 1st party software options.

However, the mac has been much more reliable than any pc I have bought or built. This is especially the case when it comes to viruses and corruption. Mac's don't get viruses and it IS a big deal. It is nice to not have to deal with anti-virus software and anti spammers that are penetrable regardless of how good they are.

Apple aslo is much better at innovation, and it easily shows. Do they build perfect products? No. Do they introduce new things through their operating systems or hardware? Yes. This is where Windows/PC's simply cannot keep up. Innovation will really never be it's top priority because function is(which in general is very craptacular). In comparison though, Apple makes you pay for their innovation and their computers are expensive when thinking about sheer performance to price ratio.

Either way, I like both because they have their pros and cons.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Windows can be fine on day one. I helped set up the Windows network at te office last July. When done, it was snappy, fast and worked great. Not even a year later, it's crawling slower and slower every day. Takes me 15-20 minutes to boot in each morning and there's a 50/50 chance of a crash once it does boot. If you try to open anything while it hangs with the hourglass on the screen, it WILL crash. Patches, associated crud, malware, etc. accumulates and drags Windows down. And it crashes a lot. I get 1-2 crashes per 8 hour day. I run OS X and Linux at home, small network. Boots are typically 1-2 minutes and I haven't had ONE crash in, oh, 5-6 years. Any wonder why I prefer OS X and Linux? I just set those up and they go and keep going.

Another very important factor. I have had my Macbook for two years and have never restored or erased my hard drive and it runs as fast as it did day one. That is nearly impossible for a window's based pc.