Ah, you've chosen to argue semantics... the argument of last refuge, to paraphrase Mrs. Norton.
You failed to address that point entirely, going off in an entirely different direction. Not having a product that meets your exact specifications does not a "Mac premium" make.
I disagree. I re-read what I wrote just to make sure I didn't accidentally go off on some misguided rant about how Apple should run their business like Dell or even HP, but no, what I thought I had said is still there.
I'm going to assume you're just being deliberately obtuse, but I'll go over it again. Sing along with me, boys and girls!
The post I responded to - and quoted - discussed the premium for Apple computers, and how it was essentially comparable with like-for-like PCs. With me so far? Good. I responded that was true if comparing spec-for-spec but not if comparing requirements.
This should have tipped you off that what I was getting at is that -- shock, horror -- comparing two computers is not purely down to specs but also consumers needs, given that's what it actually, you know, says. In writing. That's the squiggles like the ones you're reading right now. Cunning of me to do that, I agree.
I then illustrated this with an example that had recently occurred that demonstrated the point adequately.
The entire feature set is all that is relevant. You can't throw out features and call the resulting disparity a "Mac premium." There is no such thing as a "premium" when the two objects you're comparing are not members of the same class. A "premium" can only occur where one of two like products is priced higher than the other. You commit the same error you complain about.
It's rather ironic that my original post didn't include the word premium except in the quote written by iWoot. However, since you've chosen to fixate upon it, let's see what the dictionary has to say:
pre·mi·um /ˈprimiəm/ - noun: of higher price or cost.
You can belabor the point as much as you like, but since that definition is in my dictionary (Random House, for the curious), I won't budge from it. Yes, it's not the only one, but an English word doesn't have at least four meanings, it's probably too new-fangles to be used in polite conversation anyway. But I digress.
Since we're talking notebook computers, they are of the same class. You might try and fool me and claim one is actually a chicken or a rare kind of cactus, but you won't catch me out that easily! Oh no!
She could use either one for her purposes and they would both be suitable (unlike the cactus). They do very similar things and the end result is identical. A perfectly reasonable base of comparison, I'm sure you'll agree. Or perhaps not, since you seem rather disagreeable right now.
You apparently prefer to take the position they must be absolutely identical, which is, of course, impossible, because the only MacBook you can buy is an Apple MacBook -- so, that's the only way one can compare Apples to Apples, if you'll forgive the pun.
Likewise, you could claim Coca Cola isn't comparable to store brand cola because the ingredients differ. Coca Cola, interestingly, is often described, along with Pepsi, as a premium brand.
There's the Toshiba she bought which obviously does fit her requirements, and there's the Mac that not only meets but supersedes her requirements, albeit not in any way that is meaningful to her -- but it comes at a -- brace yourself! -- premium.
The feature-set is essentially irrelevant beyond what meets a consumer's personal requirements.
A discrete GPU is something she would never notice, because her usage does not tax even the lowly GMA945. Bluetooth doesn't count worth one of your hypothetical bunches of grapes because doesn't have any use for it. One stick of memory vs two matters not, for she won't be upgrading any time soon, if ever. iSight holds no wonder for her because she simply doesn't *care* about video-conferencing or, hard though it may be to believe, photo-booth. None of these features matter to her, nor any of the other advantages a Mac might offer.
This is a point you've already conceded in your original bloviating about how it would "meet her requirements".
To her, the two items are equivalent, and thus can be compared.
Once again, dispute this as much as you like. It is a fact.
Of course, some might suggest that Macs don't compete with PCs. At which point I would offer up Apple's own TV ads, and suggest Apple apparently disagrees with this viewpoint.
If Apple doesn't offer a product meeting your needs, then it's not in the comparison. If Apple offers some sub- or superset of your needs, then what you're really talking about is a "(your name here) premium."
... but you just stated it couldn't be a premium because the items weren't comparable -- and yet now it is?
Again, I digress. Apple was in the comparison. They were one of several notebook brands discussed in the car en route to the store, and she looked at the MacBook in the store. She didn't seem that interested due to the price premium (there's that word again!) she'd have to pay over the Toshiba, especially when she discovered it lacked a DVD writer, for which she'd have to pay a $200 - yes, that word again - premium on top.
I think it's fair to say that Apple offers several products that meet her needs -- in fact, the only one deemed completely unsuitable was the cheapest MacBook by dint of it lacking DVD writing capability, since her preference for the 15" display size wasn't as set in stone.
However, the Mac would cost significantly more than the Toshiba. One might say it was - wait for it - a premium for the Mac. A Mac premium.
No, not an ergle2 premium, or a matticus008 premium, for that suggests a premium on ... hm... come to think of it, I think I'm paying that just by responding to your post. Ah, well, too late now.
Yes, that (look out!) premium is specific to each individual customer (my original point, no less), which I duly explained in the original post -- as I also pointed out that to me, the MBP doesn't come at a (BACK! BACK!) premium because for the features I wanted, the price is roughly equivalent to a PC. Just to drive the point home that this is all about perceived value -- to me, her Toshiba isn't equivalent to the MBP, but to my friend, it is. Thus to her, it would come at a (SIRENS!) premium.
I'm sorry I even made the first post about the Mac (FIRE! MURDER! RAPE! er...) premium at this point. Okay, I admit it, that was really just to get one last bad "premium" joke in. Mea culpa.
So, now we've gotten that out of the way, dull as it may be, would you like to discuss what the meaning of "is" is too? On second thoughts, don't answer that.
