Are Seven

“The field is wide open for a hardware maker to compete with Apple. They need to develop their own, free flavor of Linux that focuses on the same kind of “it just works” ease-of-use that Macs have and then make their money by selling high-quality, good-looking machines. Do the same thing for mp3 players and phones. Make millions.”

Oh…that’s the secret! It sounds sooooo easy….Good luck with that.

“Again, I love my Mac, but I would never recommend to anyone to buy it. “???
Is this because the author is imposing his opinion on others or is it because he doesn’t believe it’s a superior computing platform.

“You can already get twice the system for the same amount of money (or even less) if you buy a Windows machine over a Mac.”
Really? Then everyone is silly who buys a Mac then. It’s not about how fast the chips are, how much HDD space, how big the screens are. It’s about getting things done and about the experience and productivity. Feeds and speeds don’t matter anymore. You may get twice the computing power, but the OS takes all that power just to boot up. Is that necessarily twice the computing power?

This article is poorly thought through by someone who doesn’t have the backbone to stand up for what he loves and about which is passionate.

Gosh. Generalize much? “Applications are increasingly web-based.” They are? I know that some small circles of power users have moved into web apps, but Office, iWork, and especially iLife are very much hard drive based. I will counter-generalize: MOST users never use web apps. And that will be the case throughout this recession.

On “Gourmet electronics”: “I love my Mac, but I would never recommend to anyone to buy it.” What?!? Why not? Is a Mac such a luxury that colleagues, friends, and family should bury themselves under a Windows box? Very powerful MacBooks that need no extra trimmings (okay, probably iWork) can be had for under $1,000. If this is something you use every day for work, photos, music, video, the web, etc., how is it not worth it? The markup over a pc can’t be more than $200 and might be less than that. It’s hardly a BMW vs. Toyota difference. More like a Camry over a Corolla. And sometimes a Camry is the better purchase.

The smart shopper knows that the cost of supporting a PC makes them more expensive in the long run. I can’t tell you how many times the tech guy has been over to fix the PC’s in the office. For my mac it is zero. At 80 bucks an hour you tell me what costs more.

Ooh… some one makes a comment on YOUR blog and you pick on his NAME! thats very mature of you!

The only reason why anyone bothered to read your half (no - quarter) baked post is because it got linked at MacSurfer.

Your masterpiece choice of words like “gourmet” and “wide-open” is certain to make this post one of the must-read articles on the “future of Apple”.

AM

Linux sellers have been trying to get on the desktop for years. They corner the server market but they have been stuck at less than 1% of the desk top year after year. Don’t hold your breath.

With Apple it’s all about the software, stupid. I think thats paraphrasing Nixon, I could be wrong. It’s some dead President.

Having said that, similar hardware, connectors, HDs, CPUs et cetera, gets sold for very similar prices when you stick to brand names. An all in one Dell or HP, similarly equipped, costs about as much as an iMac. A budget laptop, similarly equipped costs, about as much as a MacBook. A high end laptop similarly equipped, is sold at a similar price to a MacBook Pro.

When it comes to cheap boxes with cheap components, Apple can’t touch PCs.

When it comes to holes in Apple’s lineup, PCs can be very good buys.

When it comes to high end Quad or eight core workstations, PCs are way more expensive than Mac Pros.

So you’re really saying there are holes in Apple’s lineup that PC makers can exploit. Let’s face it though, Dell is losing money big time selling low end PCs.

Apple doesn’t compete in enterprise, so any enterprise purchase slow downs will not hurt Apple.

Still, in the consumer market, price is a big point but lately, software is king. Consumers are realizing that ease of use and total cost of ownership mean something. Hybred cars cost more but with $5 to $6 a gallon gas, consumers are realizing, the Hybred car could be the cheaper purchase. Macs are like that. Zero down time, no anti-virus software needed, higher resale value in 3 to 4 years, no ‘geeks to go’ contract needed. It all adds up.

Don’t worry about Apple. Worry about Dell. Microsoft will take forever to die.

Awesome. Note to self: If I ever need traffic, rag on Apple.

Peter: obviously, I wouldn’t say everyone is silly who buys a Mac. I bought one and I probably will again. But I was sitting next to a friend of mine who had an incredibly powerful tablet IBM that he loves and has never had any problem with it, it was a much more powerful and speedy machine than my MacBook Pro, and it cost $200 less. That certainly makes me think twice about what kind of computer to buy.

Fred: that was exactly my point. There currently isn’t a Linux platform that “just works” like Mac does, but it’s there for someone to develop a version that puts ease of use as the number one priority. That’s the important part. To simplify my statement: it doesn’t exist, but it could.

Kikuchiyo: Uh, yes: applications are increasingly (note: I did not say are now all. Google Docs and Zoho and the vast majority of feed readers for starters, but applications like anywhere.fm and Mint.com are starting to (note: starting to) take take the place of their desktop counterparts (iTunes and Quicken respectively).

dady: that’s a good point, and it could well be Apple’s saving grace.

Paul: also a good point. Again, the quality of the parts and the reliability of the OS could be what saves Apple this time around. But to counter that, there have been plenty of other products in history that have gone bust in spite of their better quality.

unkulunkulu: Um, written plenty of stuff on Tech issues. But I write this stuff very quickly and off the top of my head for a very small audience. If I’d known it would get picked up by macsurfer, I would have put a little more thought into it. Not that I’m backing off what I said at all. It still stands.

Very true that Apple’s strength is innovation. But as we saw with their initial OS and Windows 95, they can be upset by some company that takes their innovation and makes something that’s more appealing (read: cheaper or easier) to the consumers.

AM: It’s just not name-calling over his name. You write yourself up as “Harry Boner”, it’s pretty difficult to take that seriously. Though I took him seriously anyway.

I’m FAR from the first person to call Apple “gourmet”.

Chip: Interesting. My personal experience would definitely justify that stance. In spite of the price difference, I’ve still stuck with Macs. But it will be interesting to see if Macs can survive real economic woes. I personally think that your average computer buyer will have a hard time justifying spending $1100 on a MacBook when there’s plenty of Windows machines they could get for hundreds less.

I know, I know: it’s about the quality. Everyone here knows that Apple uses good parts and Dells suck. But try telling that to the person browsing at Best Buy. Who is the majority.

Everyone: Let’s try to stick to the actual arguments, huh? I wrote this simply because I’ve been a little frustrated with Macs lately and decided to write it up on my mostly low-traffic site. I’m happy to take up this debate, and I’m certainly open to being wrong on this, but…let’s stick to the arguments, eh?

This author doesn’t know JACK-SH** about the total cost of owning a Mac versus a CHEAP PC computer/laptop that doesn’t include anything worthwhile with it, gets viruses, etc.

Enough said.

Actually, there’s more to it than “If you build it, they will come.”

Suppose someone takes an Ubuntu distribution, adds some of the Apple open-source technologies, does some of their own work and creates a nice looking operating system.

Next, they have to convince people to actually spend money on the thing. That requires marketing, something most technical people aren’t all that good at.

One of Apple’s problems back in the late 90s and early 2000s was that people didn’t actually consider buying an Apple computer. Apple spent money on clever advertising and worked with resellers–and built their own stores–to show consumers the “Macintosh Experience” just so that when it came time to buy a new computer, the consumer would think, “Hey, maybe I’ll get a Mac.”

That’s a big hump to get over–convincing people to buy the bloody thing.

I tend to agree that economic woes will slow Apple growth. You’re right that if I want/need a notebook computer and can only afford to spend $750, I’m going with Dell and Windows Vista (or Ubuntu) and putting off that shiny MacBook until I can afford one.

That said, quality and experience sells. There will be plenty of people who will buy MacBooks because of the perceived advantages and the belief that they’re getting a much better computer by spending a bit more money.

As some have pointed out, Apple has actually increased sales during economic downturns. Of course, they’re pointing the economic troubles during the Dot-Com Bust. The current economic woes are, in my opinion, much worse. Also, Apple was coming from a position of weakness–for example, selling 200,000 computers versus selling 100,000 computers is doubling your sales. But twice nothing is still nothing. Now that Apple is selling more than two million personal computers every quarter, it’s much tougher to double it to four million in bad economic times.

So, no, I’m not convinced that Apple “will go rotten again.” One reason is that people want Apple computers–there is demand. Apple may respond to that by paying more attention to the lower-end of their market. We may see new Mac minis and a new low-end MacBook that Apple can sell for under $1000. We might also see Apple paying more attention to their professional customers, who are not quite as price-sensitive as consumers, with new Macintosh Pros and Xserves.

The beef with Mac users (probably you included) is when people are so quick with the “Macs cost more.” Then we Mac users have to point out that, yes, Lexus does indeed cost more than a Buick. On the other hand, Lexus is a fantastic value compared to Mercedes (comparing Apples to Apples).

I do think you finally explained your point in your post at 3:34pm. It’s true that you can go much further down the scale when you dig around in the PC junkyard. And many people will choose that option. Some will even have great luck with it.

It’s not that you say bad stuff about Apple, but your title is quite catching. I wanted to read just how Apple will go Rotten again. I’m not sure you hit that mark, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

I can’t count the times I’ve read “all the world needs is a consumer friendly Linux.” You DO realize that’s an oxymoron, right? The biggest appeal (for the consumer) to Linux is that it’s inexpensive and generic. It’s inexpensive and generic because many people contribute to it, for little or no compensation.

Now, to be polished, stable, and consumer friendly, software MUST have an overriding design philosophy, extensive quality assurance, and in-depth consumer testing. All of which require MONEY - for organization, and for professional programmers, who are kept precisely on task BY that organization.

If it costs real money to produce, it must be SOLD for real money. And then you have OS X (or, if you do the above poorly, Windows).

I absolutely love Dell. I’ve bought a desktop, several laptops, a tv, and mp3 player from them. All of which I’ve been pleased with. The rare times I’ve had to use their tech service I’ve been surprisingly pleased as well. Anyway, I’d much rather have Dell build a PC to my specs rather than buy one already configured at a Best Buy or Apple Store. Why anyone would do that, I have no idea, as you’re paying for things you don’t want and not getting the things you do want.

When Macs started they were made to be “easier” to use for people who didn’t know sh*t about computers, but the flip side was you couldn’t do as much with them. Unfortunately MS eventually dumbed-down Windows to Apple’s level, so for all intents and purposes, they all work about the same now. Macs aren’t inherently more virus-proof than Windows PCs, it’s just the hackers aren’t going to spend all their time creating a virus that’s only going to affect a small percent of the computer population. None of my PCs have gotten a virus before (of course I don’t open weird email attachments from people I don’t know, either), so it doesn’t feel like such a danger that would drive me to buy a Mac (which, again, isn’t really any safer). Apple’s computers are still somewhat pricier than equivalent PCs, though not as much as they used to be. The real price difference these days is in their other products like the iPod (way, way overpriced).

Anyway, I don’t think most people really buy Macs because they’re easier/better/better-value-in-the-long-run/whatever. It’s because of the culture (more like cult) invented by Apple’s marketing folks. Just like an environmentalist buying a Prius, when taking the bus instead would truly be more environmentally friendly. But you can’t impress your friends by flashing them a bus pass the way you can by pulling up in your hybrid…and not a hybrid that looks like a regular car (like a civic, for example), but one that makes it clear to everyone that you drive a hybrid, and are, therefore, cool. For a lot (not all, but most I’d say) of these people, buying a Mac has that same sort of holier-than-thou cachet to it. Which is why they are so quick to attack one of their own the minute they sense that he might not be drinking the kool-aid (see previous comments on this post). When really, all he was saying was that he likes his Mac but isn’t going to go around insisting his friends all use one too.

Stick that in your mcsurfer.

-Scott

P.S. Al - “It’s the economy, stupid” was the knock on George H.W. Bush during the ‘92 campaign. It wasn’t said by Nixon, or even directly by Clinton (who’s not dead).