Expensive really is a relative term...
First Off, I really enjoy reading the posts on this site- You guys and gals have some very diverse viewpoints and always make for enjoyable reading!
I am a mac freak, through and through. Also a Realist. Also a musician with a background in recording on the mac ( and the PC- EEEWWw.... Sends chills up my spine) I'm also an Apple Certified Warranty Tech- working on my OS X certification, a paid consultant and the owner of an Apple Specialist Retail store. I opened the store on faith and a shoestring, so I'm not at all an elitist, nor am I rich.
Thats my background. Let me give you my point of view on pricing of Apples products.
Apple makes a GREAT product. All the way around.
They do charge a LITTLE more for it. They should. Its a better product.Its a free market economy ( well, not Counting M$)
Consumers pay the extra price if they want the machine. What is needed to help cost justify the purchase is an understandable explanation of the advantages of the Mac Experience.
As a store owner and salesperson, I can say from first hand experience, that since OS X hit 10.1 ( the first "Ready for prime time release" IMHO), I have been converting between 4-7 PC users per week. Linux users too. These are NEW Mac Users. No problem. Just let them play and they buy it. COST IS NOT A FACTOR.
Most people are more than willing to pay a few more dollars to get something that works.We've even got a trade in your pc towards a Mac promo going ( want cheap pcs? Just check us out on ebay)
Bottom line- Class and quality count more than sheer speed- Just ask Alpha why he has a Harley and not 2 or 3 crotch rockets. If you have to ask, you wouldnt understand....
As for the fastest hardware out there, Apple doesnt need to have it. Why? Bottlenecks. Reduced margins. No appreciable gain in marketshare and making less money on the same sales. That would be fiscally irresponsible of them. At this point in time, they would get no additional sales out of having faster hardware than they do, and they would either have to raise prices, or kill their margin. The reason they are able to make the experience to the end user so great is all about balance. Tweak the hardware, tweak the software,Tweak the apps,Tweak the appliances. Put money in the bank. Stay in business. Stay the course of providing the best user experience. Not the fastest hardware. The most PRODUCTIVE and ENJOYABLE systems.
Having said that, With OS X, its a brand new world. Quartz extreme will start the process of OS X doing things other OS's have never done. Hardware will start to evolve ( think of the amount of Resources apple has dedicated to OS X and NOT hardware for the last 3 years. They are now getting into the TWEAK the hardware phase. ) My guess tells me that by january ( next macworld) Apples hardware will begin to spank anyone else out there. Sure, there will be faster COMPONENTS out there. But Overall system performance will be GREAT. Look at the throughput on the Xserve. Look at the real world benchmarks rolling out on that vs its competitors. The Pro line is next.
To say Apple should lower its prices is silly. When someone says to me, with a straight face AND can back it up, that running a pc works better than a Mac, then they should lower prices. Until that time, you arent buying an ATA 100 Hard drive, a PC 133 bus and Dual Gig G4's. You are buying a Mac. That means something. You will get your work done. you will enjoy it. You will be ragged on by your pc friends until they use it, then they will spew specs at you because they have no other recourse. Dont worry- Their Just Jealous...
As always my 2 cents-
humantech