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Is Apple ripping us off with the Macbook Pro?
- Thread starter wikoogle
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Get real. Comparing "Windows 7 vs. OS X" to "MS Paint vs. Photoshop" does nothing else but show that you're not very well connected to reality.
EDIT: I might need to take a look at that "multi-quote" thingy...
The multi-quote thingy is right next to the other quote thingy!
And remind me where I was talking about Windows 7?
but that's what a pc already has - ability to run multiple platforms, at a lower cost. this is my main gripe with apple: selling outdated hardware at premium prices. i think their operating system is great though.
osx isn't as widely used in businesses as windows and linux-based operating systems. you can buy an i7 desktop for around $1k, and it would run circles around a $2,500+ i7 imac, mbp or mac pro. you can also upgrade the hardware on the pc for a low cost, where with an imac you can only (without voiding the warranty) upgrade the ram, and on a mac pro you'd have to spend an arm and a leg to upgrade to an outdated (top of the line) graphics card, along with ram, hard drive, raid, and whatever else. this is why comparing macs and pc's to cheap cars and bmw's is wrong. if you think otherwise, then you're blinded by apple's marketing.
the only thing i agree with you on is how people shouldn't worry about how others spend their money. i don't care if you drop $5k on a computer, and i won't think any less of you if you do, because that's your personal business. i just feel that apple is ripping its customers off when it comes to their hardware, and they have a very laid back bs way of going about it to keep their customers quiet, and to keep them buying their products.
Right about here:
AdamA9 said:
Granted, you might be comparing System 7 to Windows 95 here, but I assumed that you were talking about the current offerings from both vendors.
OP: IMHO, you are the worst kind of poster here at MR. You really come off borderline trolling, then get upset when someone points out an obvious flaw in your argument. Of course right up front we get a taste of your expertise on the subject, and by that I mean you pulling numbers out of your....well you know. If you post a topic on how Apple is "ripping us off" on a Mac forum what kind of response do you expect?
An honest one? The current MBPs are indeed a rip-off, it doesn't take a genius to see that - they're obviously end-of-life. Let's wait until we ge the next revision; depending on the features and speed bumps, Apple might finally get the MBP out of rip-off territory again
We are currently shooting a Norwegian TV show in LA and we moved our post production with us. That consists of 2 17" MBP, XDCAM HD players and hard drives.
We shoot and capture XDCAM HD 422 50bit 1080P, the highest quality HD these cameras can produce.
We had our machines running 5 weeks straight, with no problems, but one, and that was caused by Sony´s capture software.
We have one Dell our production manager use, and it gives him nothing but trouble.
The only place we would see any benefit with i5 processors is in the few times we render AVCHD footage from our small onboard HD cameras.
Eve our current macs renders 30min of AVCHD to ProRes in about 90 minutes, not too bad.
To me the MBP, even in it´s current form, is a great value computer.
The same MBPs are used for online activities and downloads for the crew as well. We can safly let them do that as we have no reason to fear viruses or other problems .
They just works, and that peace of mind for our production is priceless
We shoot and capture XDCAM HD 422 50bit 1080P, the highest quality HD these cameras can produce.
We had our machines running 5 weeks straight, with no problems, but one, and that was caused by Sony´s capture software.
We have one Dell our production manager use, and it gives him nothing but trouble.
The only place we would see any benefit with i5 processors is in the few times we render AVCHD footage from our small onboard HD cameras.
Eve our current macs renders 30min of AVCHD to ProRes in about 90 minutes, not too bad.
To me the MBP, even in it´s current form, is a great value computer.
The same MBPs are used for online activities and downloads for the crew as well. We can safly let them do that as we have no reason to fear viruses or other problems .
They just works, and that peace of mind for our production is priceless
I said Windows, not Windows 7 - I specifically said that because we all know what a failure Vista was, and who knows what's lurking in 7. At the moment signs are good on the surface, however, OS X allows me to spend more time using and less time fighting and maintaining my OS.
The working environment is much more stable in OSX, there's fewer updates, fewer crashes, fewer recoveries, reboots and reinstalls! It requires a lot less tuning, the OS works better with the hardware, for example 2gb RAM would go a lot further in a Mac because the OS is less resource hungry. Time saving from scans, defrags, registry cleanups etc. Do I have to go on?
An honest one? The current MBPs are indeed a rip-off, it doesn't take a genius to see that - they're obviously end-of-life. Let's wait until we ge the next revision; depending on the features and speed bumps, Apple might finally get the MBP out of rip-off territory again
it is the same every time an Apple product is approaching its end-of-life.
Time to look for an updated product
But don't forget that this helps to keep the value of used Macs at an acceptable level, and you can't say that for any other computer
I agree a computer that comes with "demo software" and other useless crap that you have to buy is worthless to me. If someone is going to include a program than include it not a trial or demo.
I don't feel ripped off. I have a 5 (going on 6) year old 15" Powerbook G4 (in my sig), that I paid $2100 for originally. It has been a great computer and got me through college with no problems. Even today it does your everyday tasks just fine. I just posted it to craigslist to sell it so I can purchase a new 13" MBP when Apple refreshes them. I sold my PB for $450! So for 5-6 years of fantastic, problem free use I sold it for nearly 1/4 of the original price. What other laptop can you say that about?
Good stuff man, mine crapped out but than again it had an abusive life. I can still get 250 bucks out of it if I decide to sell it.
I'm really trying to follow the argument here. If the current lineup is a ripoff, why would you consider buying it. Some of you tech guys, who are on the cutting edge of technology, are not living in the real world. Most people who buy computers don't care about some of these specs you are talking about. Granted it would be nice to have up to date hardware. However, most people want something that works, and works well. That's it. The funny part is most of you know that the minute Apple or any of these companies come out with updated hardware, there will be talk of newer technology.
What is considered a rip-off is in the eye of the beholder. I would pay a premium for a good computing experience. I could not care less about some of these specs y'all are talking about. Matter of fact, why don't you ask your friends, who are not computer geeks, if they know about the new technology. I guarantee you they don't know it.
I know a person who have spent over $5,000 to build their computer. I thought that was crazy. However, it's what he wanted. Just because you say it's a ripoff, doesn't mean its a ripoff to others. Some of you speak as if you are the definitive word on computing. It kinda borders on arrogance.
If Apple (or any other PC company) is not moving fast enough for you, go somewhere else.
What is considered a rip-off is in the eye of the beholder. I would pay a premium for a good computing experience. I could not care less about some of these specs y'all are talking about. Matter of fact, why don't you ask your friends, who are not computer geeks, if they know about the new technology. I guarantee you they don't know it.
I know a person who have spent over $5,000 to build their computer. I thought that was crazy. However, it's what he wanted. Just because you say it's a ripoff, doesn't mean its a ripoff to others. Some of you speak as if you are the definitive word on computing. It kinda borders on arrogance.
If Apple (or any other PC company) is not moving fast enough for you, go somewhere else.
All laptop manufacturers suffered from these poor quality products from nvidia and I believe seagate. Apple seems to be addressing the issue quite a bit more responsively than other companies like HP and Dell had. The 8600 is known to be a time bomb in all laptops, not just the MacBook Pro. And Apple reimbursing and replacing three year old harddrives is nothing short of generous. Harddrives wear out, but I personally have had my share of bad maxtor drives ever since seagate bought them.
I can tell you right now that I would rather pay the premium of a MBP (15 or 17 inch) over what HP offers. I don't care about blu ray, especially on a 15 inch laptop. I have a tv and ps3 for that. My mom and my sister both have HP laptops and my god are they awful. Sure they were cheap but they reflect that price in every aspect. In fact every HP laptop I have come across at work has been crap as well. The screens and touch pads alone are reason enough not to buy one.
If Apple can keep providing me with an above average computing experiene (os x), then I don't mind paying a premium for s. Jobs caviar and jet fuel fund.
I can tell you right now that I would rather pay the premium of a MBP (15 or 17 inch) over what HP offers. I don't care about blu ray, especially on a 15 inch laptop. I have a tv and ps3 for that. My mom and my sister both have HP laptops and my god are they awful. Sure they were cheap but they reflect that price in every aspect. In fact every HP laptop I have come across at work has been crap as well. The screens and touch pads alone are reason enough not to buy one.
For some the user experience and build quality is as important or more important than pure specs. Especially for day to day use.
For some the user experience and build quality is as important or more important than pure specs. Especially for day to day use.
fwiw, i don't think it's only apple ripping people off..
i think that pretty much anytime you buy anything, you're being ripped off.. apple more so than a lot of companies though.
saying you have a choice to shop elsewhere doesn't make much sense because you're still going to get ripped off.
i think that pretty much anytime you buy anything, you're being ripped off.. apple more so than a lot of companies though.
saying you have a choice to shop elsewhere doesn't make much sense because you're still going to get ripped off.
Hey, new here. so please be gentle if I say/ask something that's already been said/posted before or seems nooby.
I'm looking for a new laptop and my ex gf (who has a MacBook and has used it for 3 years+) suggested me to get a MacBook Pro to replace my 7 year old HP Compaq nx9005 (had it for 5 years+!! not bad, but had many problems on the way. But, she's still standing...on one leg.). I too am waiting for the refresh.
I was just wondering, everyone seems to be talking bout Apple's build quality but my knowledge on computers is limited. What is it that make's Apple such a superior quality laptop compared to the windows versions, if they're using the same specs? How come an Apply laptop with the same specs as a, for example's sake, Dell laptop would last longer and with less hardware problems? I mean, my best friend spent £500 on an acer laptop 2 years and it blew up. Last year he bought a Vostro, and he just had to send it away to get the screen replaced and overheating problems which keep causing the system to crash. However, my aforementioned ex-gf has had her MacBook for 3 years and she just had to get the harddrive replaced and.....that's it! no overheating problems, no crashes,no faults. Can someone please explain why?
so please be gentle if I say/ask something that's already been said/posted before or seems nooby.I'm looking for a new laptop and my ex gf (who has a MacBook and has used it for 3 years+) suggested me to get a MacBook Pro to replace my 7 year old HP Compaq nx9005 (had it for 5 years+!! not bad, but had many problems on the way. But, she's still standing...on one leg.). I too am waiting for the refresh.
I was just wondering, everyone seems to be talking bout Apple's build quality but my knowledge on computers is limited. What is it that make's Apple such a superior quality laptop compared to the windows versions, if they're using the same specs? How come an Apply laptop with the same specs as a, for example's sake, Dell laptop would last longer and with less hardware problems? I mean, my best friend spent £500 on an acer laptop 2 years and it blew up. Last year he bought a Vostro, and he just had to send it away to get the screen replaced and overheating problems which keep causing the system to crash. However, my aforementioned ex-gf has had her MacBook for 3 years and she just had to get the harddrive replaced and.....that's it! no overheating problems, no crashes,no faults. Can someone please explain why?
Lol yes they are ripping us off, but you have to admire the success they've had ripping people off and not failing
You Are absolutely right!
Good computing experience is what most of the "normal" people want, and they not really care about how many cores the notebook has.
But in a forum you find a lot of "geek", with a "all-about-specs" attitude, and a lot of Apple-haters also, repeating again and again that Apple doesn't have top-notch hardware
If that was true then everybody should buy non-pro version of MacBook. It's the same OS and service and the specs do not matter. And yet some stupid people still buy Pro-s.
A lot of people don't like the white plastic look. Not to mention, some people want 15" and 17" laptops. The MacBook doesn't come in those sizes.
However, I would agree that the MacBook would be a good pick for those who strictly want just the computing experience. I for one think that Apple should drop the price on the MacBook to around $700 to $800. I believe they will get so many more people who want to try Macs but cannot afford to buy them.