Are you happy with Apple's current selection of computers?

[allmIne]

This thread has been illuminating for me. If you just read the comments you would believe that people were overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the Apple line-up, but the poll suggests other wise. I guess it just shows that those who are dissatisfied have the larger voices.

Absolutely. On this sort of board, you'll generally hear the horror stories, rather than the hundreds of thousands of people sitting contentedly using their macs.

And believe me - out of my many family and friends using macs, both current and previous gen, I'm the only one that frequents a board about them. Incidentally, every single of one of them is chuffed to bits. As am I.

 

[barkmonster]

I put "no but I get by" because I do "get by" on a 7 year old G4 and I've being priced out of ever getting an expandable entry level tower ever since either because they kept nudging the prices up or they just plain killed the concept of entry level all together.

If I do buy a NEW mac, it's going to have to be a White Macbook. There's not even a sub £800 iMac model any more.

I'd love either of the following:

iMac
2 user accessible HD bays (1 3.5", 1 2.5")
3 RAM slots, Max of 6 or 12Gb (4 or 2Gb DIMMS)
Core i7 based
£800

Mac Tower (note: NOT "Pro" entry level)
3 user accessible HD bays (2 3.5", 1 2.5")
2 PCI-X
6 RAM slots Max of 12 or 24Gb (4 or 2Gb DIMMS)
Core i7 based (Unless they can squeeze in a 2.4Ghz Xeon)
£1,099

But it's looking more likely that I'll just save what I can, when I can and once I've got close to £1,000 start looking at eBay as my only option of even owning a mac I can expand at a later date.

 

[jtgotsjets]

Here I sit with the cash to buy a Mac today. I've been shopping for the past 3 weeks. I want a Mac.

But I cannot pull the trigger. Why? I only need the power of an iMac but I do not like the fact that I cannot upgrade it or if something breaks, I have to ship it back to Apple for a fix. Isn't this a little ridiculous? And I don't want to make the price leap up to the MacPro.

I just don't get this attitude. I am fully capable of taking a computer apart and putting it back together again, I can switch drives out, whatever, etc.
But do I? Nah. I think there are a lot of people out there that are concerned about expandability that don't really need it—they're just used to it.

If you think about it, how many other consumer products out there are user-upgradeable or user-serviceable? Pretty much zero. Cars and computers. I'm sure there are some gearheads on this board that would tell you it's best to get a dodge neon because they're so easily serviceable and upgradeable, but if you're like most of the population, you couldn't care less about either of those. You want something that just works.
Hence the mac.

 

[Zisa]

concurr with some of the responses - wish there was a middle of the range mac pro.

I will never go back to Winows, but am sticking with the kit I have for a bit longer, given the hike in prices. Plus, I decided to buy second hand Power Mac which is serving my nicely.

Laptops - i would have loved to have purchased a new MacBook/MacBook Pro, but have decided it was cheaper to max out my PowerBook to give it another two years before I pass it on to the kids to buy a new laptop.

 

[pesc]

I have the cash to buy any Mac laptop, but none is interesting to me even at half the price.

I want my laptop to be small (12", maybe 13" maximum), powerful (4GB, 2USB, fast large drive), and have a matte screen!

I own the last Apple laptop built to those ideals: the 12" G4 Powerbook.

I don't understand how Apple thinks that Pro machines need to be huge in size?

 

[zephyrnoid]

My wish list of 1999 has almost been fulfilled by a MBP of latest generation. Here's what's missing and why.

Basically, Apple needs to revisit the concept of the Modular Laptop. I'm referring to earlier and failed attempts at the Dock, but much more needs to happen

A lot of people have advanced from editing still images to editing video of late and the horsepower and expansion capacity of the latest MBP's leave a lot to be desired.

So here's what I'm looking for:

A package about the volume and dimensions of a Halliburton Briefcase and yes, with a removable carry handle on it ala Tough Book.

The reasoning is that the extra volume will contain mult-terrabite array of VelociRaptor type drives, RAM, Plus LiIon battery.

A folding screen that is basically a main 17"- 20" window + two vertically oriented screens as side flaps. This basically takes care of editing real estate in the next generation of mobile Indy Editing.

A Removable screen assembly. The latest Cinema Display concept is wrong headed. Removing a screen assembly and placing it an extra 12" away from the laptop body is what I want to see.

All the right I/O for HD video.

This future AppleVidGo Laptop will also enable direct Capture and be portable in a special backpack with ports configured to be on one side for easy access to camera and audio inputs.

So there you have it. A specialized laptop for a burgeoning market.
I can do 100% of my non video related field work on my existing laptops and hand-helds, but the latest Gen of MBP is anemic for field video.

 

[!GIR!]

I would say I'm mostly okay with what they currently offer. I know a lot of people on the forum here would like an expandable mini-tower, though it seems the vast majority of consumers do not need expandability. Granted I would like to be able to add more internal storage and maybe upgrade the video card from time to time. Just throwing this out here, if people want a cheaper version of the Mac Pro, why not have a computer that shares the same case, but has an option of a dual core CPU or a BTO quad core option, 2 HD bays, and of course the ability to easily upgrade the video card? Just a thought. When has Apple ever provided a mini-tower option though? It seems that they have always just offered a lower end version of their Pro desktop. For example, the first Mac I ever bought personally (have used for decades, but it was always my Fathers) was a PowerMac G5 1.6GHz. Recall that it had about half the specs as the higher up models, and was decently cheaper. Apple seems to have abandoned that with their Mac Pro series though. I mean, the cheapest you can really get is still over $2,000 assuming you buy new. What kind of price point are we talking here for the sought after mini tower?

 

[!GIR!]

I have the cash to buy any Mac laptop, but none is interesting to me even at half the price.

I want my laptop to be small (12", maybe 13" maximum), powerful (4GB, 2USB, fast large drive), and have a matte screen!

I own the last Apple laptop built to those ideals: the 12" G4 Powerbook.

I don't understand how Apple thinks that Pro machines need to be huge in size?

Probably because their marketing data says so. It may be the simple fact that, according to their numbers, what you describe costs more to manufacture and sell than it would provide in returns. I'm not arguing the point that it would be nice to have what you describe.

 

[dmmcintyre3]

I will not be upgrading until Apple offers matte + 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 on 15 inch. I would go for a last generation MBP if the 8600m would not fail and the screen weren't so low resolution

PS: the poll needs a option to say "I will keep my old machine until my needs are met with a new machine"

 

[DeepCobalt]

Apple gets an "F" on their display lineup.

I actually like their MacBook Pros, and Mac Pros. But Apple has really dropped the ball on DISPLAYS and connectivity to the ones they do offer.

Their lineup is ridiculous... a mis-matched pair: a 24" glossy LED and a long-in-the-tooth 30" ACD... and they don't even use the same connectors!!!!! One has speakers and iSight, the other doesn't. Someone really, really needs to be fired. Oh, and don't try using the mDP - dual link adapter... it doesn't work! Apple is anybody home????

For a company that prides itself on design, and harmony between their products, the monitor situation is appalling. And no good news in sight!

 

[rwilliams]

I love my MacBook, but yeah, a mid-level tower is most definitely needed in their lineup. I'd buy one up without thinking twice. The Mini just doesn't cut it for me, and the Pro is WAY too expensive.

 

[sn00pie]

They definitely need a mid-level tower. I think a Mac Pro but 1/3 the size and about $899 or $999 would be ideal.

 

[rwilliams]

The lineup is good. Most people who want expansion don't need/use it. That's the argument I use for people that whine about the X Mac in between the iMac and Mac Pro. The whole point of Macs is to be simple. Expansion is not simple... but the real pros do use it, so there's the Mac Pro.

So because they're supposed to be "simple", Apple's solution is to simply ignore the demand for a desktop that can be expanded and say that if you actually do want one, you have to shell out close to three large for it? That's just absurd thinking. As is the statement "most people who want expansion don't need/use it." They wouldn't ask for it if they didn't plan to take advantage of it. We've been able to squeeze much more life out of my wife's old Gateway desktop (originally a Pentium 3 with 64 MB of RAM) by going in and modifying the outdated parts as time goes on.

Unless Apple magically creates an affordable tower, my next desktop will be a Hackintosh. I'll still buy notebooks from Apple for my wife and myself, but the Mini and iMacs just are not appealing products.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

There are some things about Apple which do annoy me.

Why isn't the Hard Drive user-replaceable on the iMac, but it is on the MB and MBP? Why did Apple put integrated graphics on the iMac? Why hasn't Apple fixed the pricing on the low-end and high-end MBP (i.e. ridiculously far apart for the specs). Why is the unibody MBP larger in width and depth and heavier than the old style MBPs? Why do I have to log out to switch between graphics cards on the MBP? Why does the mini not have a 3.5" Hard Drive, why Apple, WHY?!!!!! *cries*

 

[Eric S.]

If you think about it, how many other consumer products out there are user-upgradeable or user-serviceable? Pretty much zero. Cars and computers. I'm sure there are some gearheads on this board that would tell you it's best to get a dodge neon because they're so easily serviceable and upgradeable, but if you're like most of the population, you couldn't care less about either of those. You want something that just works.
Hence the mac.

But most consumer products aren't in the same type of rapidly evolving technological environment as computers. If I buy a refrigerator, microwave oven, or even a TV, I don't expect that it will be obsoleted by new technology for many years, if ever. It could happen (digital TV replaces analog for example) but it's not the norm. But with computers, it's virtually guaranteed that anything you buy will be outdated (if not actually obsolete) in 2-3 years.

So I don't see expandability and upgradeability as solely the domain of tinkerers; it is the way that one can keep a computer system up-to-date for a cost that is much less than the price of a new system. Computers, and especially Macs, used to be designed with this in mind and they could be still, except for only the desire of the manufacturer to make more profits by ensuring higher turnover.

What kind of price point are we talking here for the sought after mini tower?

There was a time when entry-level Power Mac G4s were in the same price range as a mid-range iMac. It would be nice to see that again for a Mac Pro mini, or at least something starting below $2000.

PS: the poll needs a option to say "I will keep my old machine until my needs are met with a new machine"

Agree with that!

 

[leekohler]

So because they're supposed to be "simple", Apple's solution is to simply ignore the demand for a desktop that can be expanded and say that if you actually do want one, you have to shell out close to three large for it? That's just absurd thinking. As is the statement "most people who want expansion don't need/use it." They wouldn't ask for it if they didn't plan to take advantage of it. We've been able to squeeze much more life out of my wife's old Gateway desktop (originally a Pentium 3 with 64 MB of RAM) by going in and modifying the outdated parts as time goes on.

Unless Apple magically creates an affordable tower, my next desktop will be a Hackintosh. I'll still buy notebooks from Apple for my wife and myself, but the Mini and iMacs just are not appealing products.

Yep- I know someone who recently got a Psystar and loves it. Unless Apple comes up with a better tower option, that's where my money is going.

Also- the new MBP screens are terrible. The fact that there is no matte option except on the 17" is just plain stupid. The fact that the MacBooks are going all aluminum and have no firewire is also deal killer for me.

I'm holding on to my G5 tower and my BlackBook for as long as I can stand it. Hopefully Apple continues to make the bas MacBook out of polycarbonate. I will NOT buy an aluminum MacBook.

 

[mjbnock1]

Happy Or Not

I'm an ex PC lover, built my own infact five pc running off my network, but then i saw the light. fedup with viruses crashing freezes and the rest of the rubbish Gates builds into his software, oh yer and all that DEMO filth clogging up my storage...

Long live Apple and all who have escaped the dark side

 

[rwilliams]

I'm holding on to my G5 tower and my BlackBook for as long as I can stand it. Hopefully Apple continues to make the bas MacBook out of polycarbonate. I will NOT buy an aluminum MacBook.

What don't you like about the aluminum machines?

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

I am looking forward to Nahelem when it comes to the mac pro. I am hoping in about twelve months with OLED (perhaps) and SSD (Intel). That would be a very good computer.

 

[leekohler]

What don't you like about the aluminum machines?

Have you seen what happens when one gets dropped? I dropped my old iBook G4 9 times and only had one tiny little crack on the corner after the ninth fall. Polycarbonate is extremely durable. My BlackBook has been dropped 4 times and is perfect. Aluminum can't stand up to the abuse my laptops have to take. I didn't drop them on purpose, but they go with me everywhere, everyday and accidents eventually happen.

 

[rwilliams]

Have you seen what happens when one gets dropped? I dropped my old iBook G4 9 times and only had one tiny little crack on the corner after the ninth fall. Polycarbonate is extremely durable. My BlackBook has been dropped 4 times and is perfect. Aluminum can't stand up to the abuse my laptops have to take. I didn't drop them on purpose, but they go with me everywhere, everyday and accidents eventually happen.

No, I haven't seen the pictures of the dropped MacBooks.

 

[leekohler]

No, I haven't seen the pictures of the dropped MacBooks.

Actually, one of our members dropped his MBP last week I think and put photos up. Not pretty.

 

[belvdr]

Have you seen what happens when one gets dropped? I dropped my old iBook G4 9 times and only had one tiny little crack on the corner after the ninth fall. Polycarbonate is extremely durable. My BlackBook has been dropped 4 times and is perfect. Aluminum can't stand up to the abuse my laptops have to take. I didn't drop them on purpose, but they go with me everywhere, everyday and accidents eventually happen.

Try not playing soccer with them.

On a serious note, I pack my laptop everywhere too (on a ton of air travel too) and haven't had an issue yet. Then again, I've never been prone to dropping things.

Actually, one of our members dropped his MBP last week I think and put photos up. Not pretty.

Sometimes I get the feeling the majority of the members here are teenagers.

 

[leekohler]

Try not playing soccer with them.

On a serious note, I pack my laptop everywhere too (on a ton of air travel too) and haven't had an issue yet. Then again, I've never been prone to dropping things.

Try trains and buses in the city. They can stop suddenly and if you've got your laptop out working, it can fall to the floor or slam into the seat or metal pole in front of you. Planes don't usually make sudden stops unless you crash.

Sometimes I get the feeling the majority of the members here are teenagers.

I think in that person's case, he was a student and it was simply an accident. Oh- and I'm 42.

EDIT: Found the pic and link to the thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/687601/

 

[Beric]

This thread has been illuminating for me. If you just read the comments you would believe that people were overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the Apple line-up, but the poll suggests other wise. I guess it just shows that those who are dissatisfied have the larger voices.

Like I said earlier, it's also possible that most users have changed their specific wants in order to fit into Apple's lineup. Say a user wants a cheap, $500 Apple notebook that does very basic stuff. They look at Apple's lineup and see the notebooks start at $1000. They decide they want a Mac anyway, though it costs a lot more than they'd like and is more powerful than they'd like. They use the Mac and are satisfied. But are they truly satisfied? They would have liked to have a $500 notebook, not a $1000 one that is really more powerful than necessary.