It's not life, it's capitalism. I want to see more people using OS X. There is no reason this can't happen (at the moment) except Apple purposely limiting themselves as some sort of luxury brand. I save up money. That's how I got out of the US. But, living on my own and working hard for my money makes me more cautious on how I spend it. That's why I don't go around buying Rolex watches, nor do most people who work and save money. If I was filthy rich, sure why not? These are the types of people who buy extremely expensive luxury products, not average folks saving their money. Just don't see the point of Apple going this route. To be fair, Apple is a bit in between. If you look at refurbished prices, Apple is reasonably higher priced.
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It's not life, it's capitalism. I want to see more people using OS X. There is no reason this can't happen (at the moment) except Apple purposely limiting themselves as some sort of luxury brand. I save up money. That's how I got out of the US. But, living on my own and working hard for my money makes me more cautious on how I spend it. That's why I don't go around buying Rolex watches, nor do most people who work and save money. If I was filthy rich, sure why not? These are the types of people who buy extremely expensive luxury products, not average folks saving their money. Just don't see the point of Apple going this route. To be fair, Apple is a bit in between. If you look at refurbished prices, Apple is reasonably higher priced.
I know -- I use both the Touch and an iPhone for the same reasons. But that doesn't change the fact that Apple also attracts a wannabe clientele, and when a brand becomes associated with the wrong kind of people it can mean trouble down the line. Just look at Cristal (champagne), a very classy brand owned by a family business. Then out of nowhere came gangsta rappers and made Cristal theirs, yapping about it in every other song. And suddenly Cristal, once created for the tsar of Russia, was associated with pimps and hos. A spokesman for Cristal referred to it as "unwanted attention", which was putting it mildly. If Apple, however involuntarily, becomes intimately associated with a certain kind of snooty wannabes who think they're members of some imagined elite that scoffs at the "riff-raff" that don't use Macs, the Apple logo will soon become one of those things that trigger the general public's gag reflexes.
Oh man, I don't even know where to start with this one. Of course they also attract snotty people, as does almost every company on the planet. It only matters if the vast majority of customers are those buying for petty reasons.
What other computer brand attracts customers with inflated egos? Dell? Toshiba? Fujitsu-Siemens? Maybe Sony Vaio, a little bit, at least in the past before they entered the mainstream consumer segment, but Apple picks up the bulk of the ******s and even if they only make up 5% of the customer base, they can still stink up the place real good.
Isn't that a bit of an elitist attitude in itself?
"I don't want to be seen with these (supposed) ******s"
If you really care, well then what exactly does that say about you?
To put this another way, there's no reason Apple can't be the H&M of computer brands. H&M is cool as hell, make nice clothes, and are also one of the most affordable brands around. More people respect H&M than Gucci and brands like that (again, aside from rich people or wanna be rich people). Of course Apple can do anything they want, I just don't want to see them go that route. I can only justify paying extra for a slightly nicer product* to an extent. *Macs aren't by default better than (decent) PCs in every way. There's a lot of pros/cons on both sides, and depends a lot on the OEM and their current lineup.
I don't want to be seen with anyone or anything. I'm 40 and have better things to worry about. If I buy products they're intended for my own enjoyment, not for showing off to other people. Some people like the bling on their cars to be on the outside, I prefer one that's anonymous on the outside but jam packed with cool stuff on the inside. But this wasn't about me, it was about the general public at large and many people DO care about how a brand makes them look, so yeah, call it "inverse elitism" or whatever you want but it's definitely a factor and it has a potential to hurt Apple.
But they're so easy to make (and wrong.)
How was mine wrong? If a Mercedes sold at the same price point as a Toyota, for example, the resale value wouldn't be largely different like it is.
That is purely personal opinion. I like my Mac, but I must say I've had a much better experience as a developer on Windows. Visual Studio, when creating GUIs, is pretty damn slick. XCode on the other hand.... that ****'s atrocious.
Only techies will be able to see what you see though. Most people are like oh, an iPod touch. They are cool, I want one. So yes, most of Apple's products DO rely on them seeming cooler than others. Most people are just trying to be trendy.
It's true that brands do go in and out of fashion, but when the label chasers move on, Apple will still have a loyal group of core users. We'll still be here, buying Apple's products because we like using them and/or earn our living on them. That won't change unless they start making really bad products.
I realize this, but they will lose a large group of trend-followers. You can not seriously believe that a large amount if iPhone/iPod/i* sales are not from such people, can you?
Yes I totally agree, that is definitely true of the iPod. Legions of kids now aspire to own a Mac because they got a cheap shuffle for christmas.
But after most of them have moved on and realised they can get a PC laptop much cheaper, Apple will still have a core user base. And will probably retain a few of the trendies who decide they want to stick with it.
Oh please that complete BS. I HIGHLY doubt people are buying the products based MAINLY on how they look. Maybe its about how they FUNCTION and the USER EXPERIENCE that they enjoy?
Your saying with that statement that 30 million iphone/ipod sales are mainly because those 30 million are trying to impress others.
That's why I think this strategy is short-sighted. It's fine to go for people trying to follow what's cool, if you've also got some solid foundations elsewhere. Apple has lost a lot of ground in design, graphics, and education. They're trying a bit to make ground in film and audio, but think they could be doing much better.
Yes, please, because my data shows the exact opposite. Macs have a reputation for being a computer for men who like men usually.
That and the fact that every Mac user around me bought it because OS X is Unix, not because of some kind of cool factor.
Yes, but the core group that sustained the company through the late 90's and early 2000's aren't nearly enough to keep today's Apple in business.
Apple used to feed on individualism, but once classrooms start to look like this...
...using a Mac becomes conformist, and the effect is made ten times worse by the fact that the entire product lineup looks exactly the same, so there's no room for "thinking different". Individualists will always fight conformism, and that's where the backlash kicks in...
Yes, but the core group that sustained the company through the late 90's and early 2000's aren't nearly enough to keep today's Apple in business.
Apple used to feed on individualism, but once classrooms start to look like this...
...using a Mac becomes conformist, and the effect is made ten times worse by the fact that the entire product lineup looks exactly the same. Individualists will always fight conformism, and that's where the backlash kicks in...
You are making the false assumption that the majority of people are as shallow with their money as you seem to think.
Edit: and why dont u actually get the backstory for that pic before using it as crap evidence for a horribly illogical theory
Like I didn't see that cheap shot coming.Fight conformity! Buy a Windows PC!
Conformity is relative to one's surroundings, not relative to the entire planet. If all the kids at school have blue bicycles, conformists will buy blue ones and individualists will opt for a color that stands out. Even if the majority of the bicycles outside the school are red.
you are assuming Mac and Dell are using the exact same parts but just assembled in different boxes. let me explain
1) For commodity parts like CPU, HD, Memory, video cards etc, even though they appear to used the same parts on paper, in mass manufacturing, everything comes out on a bell curve. Which company do you think pays or is willing to pay a premium to obtain the higher end of the bell curve? Apple requires a much tighter incoming spec than their competitors. I am sure if you swap out all these parts and replace them on your own with parts from Newegg, chances are it will work fine, but it's a mass statistical game. Why was apple rated way higher in customer satisfaction than Dell?
2)for non-commodity parts like display, keyboard, trackpad, housing- every single Apple made item has been an engineering feat- ask around. For example, why do most graphic design industries uses Macs? The color matching/gamut and color rendering on Mac displays is simply better. If you pry a Mac apart you'll find "oh, but they use 'Samsung' display (for example), same as what I can buy at best buys". wrong.
3) the better car analogy is probably compare a Lexus to Toyota. Lexus uses lots of the "same" Toyota parts but internally the higher quality parts inevitably goes to Lexus.
Like I didn't see that cheap shot coming.
Conformity is relative to one's surroundings, not relative to the entire planet. If all the kids at school have blue bicycles, conformists will buy blue ones and individualists will opt for a color that stands out. Even if the majority of the bicycles outside the school are red.
And again, why do u assume that so many people care so much about what others are using around them? How much of the population would honestly go out and buy a different computer simply because too many macs are around for them to have one?
You are making it sound like a computer purchase is 100% a fashion statement and we know all too well that is a flat out lie. But alas, perhaps it is your anti mac bias that leads you to assume the majority of mac purchases are a fashion statement anyway.