I was comparing Apple's single slot Xeon and Dell's single slot Core i7. I still stand by that comparison in terms of clock for clock performance. Sure the Xeon is engineered better, but "under the mouse", can you tell a difference? They get basically the same cinebench numbers.
What a bunch of BS. The Xeon and Core i7 are very different processors with different characteristics. Your post is the same as saying you should be able to use a Chevy Corvette to tow a 6 ton trailer since it produces the same amount of horsepower as a Chevy 1 ton pickup.
They are different chips, different hardware, different characteristics. You can argue that for your application, the i7 is good enough, but that doesn't mean it's the same. All you're arguing is that your needs don't require a Xeon. That's fine, but it's not the same as saying that the two are equivalent.
Well, for me it was more of an "I want a tower I can upgrade, add many TB of storage without having many external drives cluttering up my desk, use more than ONE matched display, have a myriad of diagnostic tools to figure out what is wrong if something does go wrong, not have to pay almost the value of the machine when it almost certainly dies out of warranty to have it fixed because the motherboard isn't standard parts and not have to spend a minimum of $3275 to get a computer that fits my needs (Price of a Mac Pro where I live... taxes in)" kind of attitude.
And it just happens to be irrelevant. You don't have any more right to demand that Apple produce a product from you or you'll steal it than you have the right to demand that Maserati must sell a car for under $20 K or you'll steal it.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/compatibility/
"It runs Windows, too" HYPOCRITES......right there on its own product page. Unprincipled. Boot Camp is a built in utility to siphon Windows users, and
gamersfor that matter.
No hypocrisy at all. Apple supports intellectual property rights and following software licenses. The fact that Microsoft uses a different business model is irrelevant.
For Apple to be incensed that someone is selling a computer that can utilize OSX, while Apple builds all of theirs to boot Windows and even supplies a program to do so, BOOT CAMP. That's what hypocrisy is. Look it up.
Maybe YOU should look it up - since you're defining terms contrary to normal English. Hypocrisy would be if Apple sued Psystar and then started selling Macs with Windows preloaded - without paying Microsoft for the software.
I can understand all the different points being made,
but really,
Is Psystar REALLY that big of a threat ?
Yes. In intellectual property law, if you don't defend your rights, you lose them. So if Apple didn't go after Psystar, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, Acer, Asus, and 2 million smaller vendors could have started selling systems with Mac OS installed from $29 Snow Leopard upgrade DVDs. That would have absolutely destroyed Apple's business model.
Now that I think of it I never heard of someone who had a Dell that failed. Makes sense since all computers are made from the same parts.
Really? Where can I buy a Dell with the MacBook Pro's case? Or a Toshiba with the Mac Pro's power supply? Or an HP with the iMac's motherboard?
Not to mention the little issue of specs and binning. Even though Apple uses 'standard' components, Apple is known to use tighter specs than industry average on at least some components (RAM, for example).
The iMac (a very nice piece of kit when you take that gorgeous monitor into account) is simply too expensive for the cinebench numbers it can crank out. Spending $2200 plus tax (that's $2332 in my state) on a core i7 2.8 is getting a little insane.
OTOH - when sticking with apple, the iMac gives you very little reason to buy a Mac Pro (single).
Well, there's always a gap when one system is upgraded before the other. A few months ago, there was a big reason to buy the Mac Pro. In the first quarter when Mac Pros come out with Gulftown processors, there will be a big advantage again (not to mention the obvious advantage of the Pro if you need huge amounts of RAM or lots of hard disks).
I'd just like Apple to offer an affordable tower, I don't care about fiddling with a computer, nor do I work in IT. I want my next computer to be a mac, economic realities aren't letting that happen with their current lineup.
Then don't buy one. No one is forcing you.
The fact is that Apple has demonstrated an exceptional ability to predict what the market will buy and to plan their product lineup accordingly. Clearly, they have made the decision that the cheap tower is not a market they are interested in. I tend to agree. Who needs a cheap tower?
- Must need more power than the Mini
- Must be opposed to a built-in monitor for some reason
- Must need hard disks that are internal rather than Firewire
- Must be too cheap to buy a full performance system.
Basically, the only people who fit that category are gamers and cheap geeks - a market Apple has not shown much interest in.
Rule one of the internet: Do not assume everybody can ready your humerus intentions unless you make it obvious.
What does his funny bone have to do with it?
Well since you brought up the car example, I can buy a mercedes engine, mercedes chasis, put it together and sell it and Mercedes won't sue me. I can buy a brand new corvette, put a super charger it in, modify the chassis, and sell it at a premium (like Callaway or Lingenfelter) and GM won't sue me. I guess I have a problem with Apple telling me what I can or can't do once I buy their product. To me that is not right. What psystar is doing may or may not be right, but let me buy a Mac Pro, let me modify it, and let me sell it. From what I understand, I can't. I could do it as a person to person transaction, but I can't establish a business model around it.
It's really not worth discussing it until you learn the difference between licensing a copyrighted product and purchasing a physical product. Once you've learned that, feel free to post an intelligent question (if you can formulate one). Until then, just stay out of a discussion that is clearly over your head.