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U.S. Mac Sales Surge in January as iMac Orders Pick up Steam
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I think your point is super interesting and one I like thinking about. I'm a designer so I do for a living/passion. It's Apple's philosophy that form and function should be one, that where they meet there is purity and balance and beauty. Apple aims for the beauty provided by form meeting function. For example, a beautiful car has a beautiful form. And that form is functional in that its curves minimize wind resistance and help stabilize the car at high speeds, and so on. The form of a chair is functional in that it dictates how it conforms to your body and distributes weight when you sit on it. But some people don't care about the shape of a car or the shape of a chair so long as its cheap, or whatever. Some people take pride in being frugal or practical. Others in luxury and excess. I think Apple tries to straddle the middle in an attempt to find the perfect balance. There's no way every consumer is going to blindly agree that Apple hits that mark every time. You don't agree. You question. You're thinking. And I admire that and enjoy these types of conversations because you and I represent the challenge a business faces: who does Apple please?
I would argue that this update, the thinner version with sans DVD drive, isn't a good buy for you now but when your current computer kicks the bucket a few years from now the iMac will be more powerful and the lack of DVD may no longer be a concern. So then it may be an appealing machine, especially with Haswell chip and more powerful GPU.
But you're right— this specific update wasn't much of an internal update. It's the direction that is so interesting. Computers are taking new forms (not just functions).
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I was also making a point as well and that is real statistical sales data is proving that removing the ODD was not a "mistake". If its such a mistake as you claim, why are "U.S Mac sales surging as iMac orders pick up steam"?
And like I've repeatedly said, this is the best desktop Mac I've ever owned and couldn't be happier. Blazing performance, love the fusion drive speed, lower power consumption than all my previous Macs, including 21.5", and doesn't break a sweat in terms of heat. This thing has never gotten hot to the touch, not once yet. Oh right, and all that driving the fastest mobile GPU in the market out now in a chassis with 40% less volume.
Suckered in? No. Convinced and highly impressed at Apple's feat of engineering and performance promises? A resounding yes.
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I certainly looks like Apple has been pleasing the right people over the past 5 years or so. They have grown in leaps and bounds during the worst recession in ~80 years. Millions unemployed, hundreds of thousands losing their homes, etc. Businesses closing and going bankrupt, all the while Apple reaps record sales and profits. If that isn't pleasing their consumers, I don't what is!! It really staggers the imagination what they have done, and add in the poor economic times and it is even more remarkable.
As far as a desktop goes, I'm more of a hands on tinkerer. I enjoy building a pc and researching the components and making the choices, but that doesn't seem to be nearly as common as it once was.
Apple has the sexy look down pat. I think the 11" MBA is a highly desirable notebook. It just makes you want one when you see it. And the latest generation backs it up with performance, something that the Core 2 Duo models didn't really do.. Sandy and Ivy Bridge tech helped them come alive.
I think Haswell is going to open a new world. I can imagine what products like the Surface Pro will become with all day battery life and being even thinner. I have no idea what Apple may surprise us with down the road. Perhaps it won't even be with a a laptop or tablet. They may go in a direction that people won't expect.
While I understand people still use DVD Drives and I do agree that maybe Apple is cutting them out a bit too early (though they aren't the only one now), I think you would be surprised how many people do not actually use a DVD Drive anymore.
I understand the use for them and that is why if you see you might need one every now and then you can get one separately, though I myself don't have a use for one actually. I can't remember the last time I used a DVD Drive on a computer. Actually I just thought of it. I had to, guess what, reinstall Windows for someone! Guess what I did? I now gave them a flash drive that can be used next time instead of that DVD Drive.
Considering I can get a 6GB Flashdrive for as little as $5 now...
Most of my information that isn't private or important is stored in the cloud and on an external drive/flash drive. I'm currently in the process of having my roomate shrink her music collection from a crap ton of DVDs to only one external hardrive or a couple flash drives and when we need to share songs or something just sharing it via our home network connection.
Seriously?? Good riddance to firewire and DVD!
Were you also surprised when people still bought computers without 56k modems and floppy drives? Changes like these that Apple makes are what drive developments in supporting technology companies. Shedding the weight, expense, and clumsiness of old technologies from new machines is something that PC companies should have done long ago! You can buy a USB/Thunderbolt adaptor to connect yourselves to any of the antique-tech formats that you're emotionally not ready to let go of, and spare the rest of us and our machines from being burdened by an unnecessary need for the manufacture to accommodate backwards-compatibility to your short-sighted whine!
(May your complaining continue to fall on deaf-ears in Cupertino!)
Were you also surprised when people still bought computers without 56k modems and floppy drives? Changes like these that Apple makes are what drive developments in supporting technology companies. Shedding the weight, expense, and clumsiness of old technologies from new machines is something that PC companies should have done long ago! You can buy a USB/Thunderbolt adaptor to connect yourselves to any of the antique-tech formats that you're emotionally not ready to let go of, and spare the rest of us and our machines from being burdened by an unnecessary need for the manufacture to accommodate backwards-compatibility to your short-sighted whine!
(May your complaining continue to fall on deaf-ears in Cupertino!)
Just throwing these out there: http://www.isuppli.com/Home-and-Con...nal-Desktop-PCs-with-Double-Digit-Growth.aspx
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/computers/the-all-in-one-pc-is-alive-and-well/8099
Couldn't find anything that recent, but all-in-ones have been outpacing traditional desktop growth for a while now.
Did they reduce the price because the feature was eliminated? Hate to break it to you, but you paid for it anyway.
I'm sorry: both statistics include the iMac in their figure. Apple has virtually no discrete desktop computer (let not start arguing about the mini/pro), hence including iMac sales in such a figure will give you false results.
Were you also surprised when people still bought computers without 56k modems and floppy drives? Changes like these that Apple makes are what drive developments in supporting technology companies. Shedding the weight, expense, and clumsiness of old technologies from new machines is something that PC companies should have done long ago! You can buy a USB/Thunderbolt adaptor to connect yourselves to any of the antique-tech formats that you're emotionally not ready to let go of, and spare the rest of us and our machines from being burdened by an unnecessary need for the manufacture to accommodate backwards-compatibility to your short-sighted whine!
(May your complaining continue to fall on deaf-ears in Cupertino!)
I just think it is too early to get rid of DVD and Facetime. Or at least drop the price on the iMac instead of being greedy with the surplus already.
It's not really false result, it's more a lack of data. Desktop computers and all in ones aren't tracked that closely (especially if you want to exclude macs), but over the last couple years, significantly more all in ones have been put on the market. A simple visit to an electronics store will show that. The articles I linked were primarily focussed on Windows all-in-ones, I think it's foolish to simply ignore them because they also include the iMac. Like it or not, the iMac helps drive the Windows all-in-one market too, because there are people that like the iMac aesthetics but are unwilling to buy a Mac for whatever reason and there are plenty of vendors looking for a piece of the pie.
Just because they are on the market doesn't mean they are getting purchased. Look at all the me-too Android tablets. Just because they exist doesn't mean they get sold. But as a matter of fact I actually have to find AiO on the showroom in my local hardware stores here in Berlin. The only AiO I always see is the iMac and I have already stated that the iMac should not count, because a)it's a Mac and b)as a Mac there is really not much alternative if you need something faster then a MacBook Pro or MacMini, but don't need the fullblown Mac Pro workstation.
Indeed there is not sufficient data, but since the original claim was, people want AiO and slimmer/thinner designs I still stand to my original statement, that I simply don't believe it is true. And you have yet to show any statistic that excludes the iMac that shows a significant interest in AiO.
If I were going to buy an AIO here's what I'd do
http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/604-do-it-yourself-all-in-one-thin-mini-itx.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/604-do-it-yourself-all-in-one-thin-mini-itx.html
Were you also surprised when people still bought computers without 56k modems and floppy drives? Changes like these that Apple makes are what drive developments in supporting technology companies. Shedding the weight, expense, and clumsiness of old technologies from new machines is something that PC companies should have done long ago! You can buy a USB/Thunderbolt adaptor to connect yourselves to any of the antique-tech formats that you're emotionally not ready to let go of, and spare the rest of us and our machines from being burdened by an unnecessary need for the manufacture to accommodate backwards-compatibility to your short-sighted whine!
(May your complaining continue to fall on deaf-ears in Cupertino!)
Just wanted to quote this for emphasis....DVD drives in pc's are going/ gone the route as cassette players in new cars.
There are more efficient ways of storing data that cannot and will not be ignored.
yeah the new iMac seems nice, and when apple can catch up with demand, it'll be time for an upgrade to it. so sales should stay strong.
i think the iPod touch is still a good product, just over priced
i think the iPod touch is still a good product, just over priced