Mr. Green et al.....
Green said: "It's completely obvious that they do this to push higher margin machines, while advertising a seemingly low price, and it's ********." Hmmmm.....you know, I'm not sure, but I think everyone does that....
On the iMac, what, exactly, is intentionally crippled? Aside from the base model not having a DVD burner... To claim the iBook was intentionally crippled to force Powerbook sales has zero relevance. Perhaps Apple performed a cost-benefit analysis and concluded it was a better overall value to only enable mirroring. There are far too many inputs to a decision like that to assume the only reason that decision was made was to cripple one product to drive sales of another.
Also, what exactly are your sources that allow you to claim that a DVD burner would only add $15 to the retail cost? Surely you don't believe that all DVD burners are the same? If you don't mind using the cheapest part in existence, that might be true--but as noted in another thread, Apple has the lowest failure rate of any personal computer maker, and is trending down--as in, the failure rate is decreasing. So it seems unlikely (to me at least) that Apple would use the cheapest DVD burner available.
Next: "[M]ost people want a DVD burner." According to whom? What's your source?
Green also said: "Standardizing the optical drive would probably SAVE money in design and system construction by eliminating a part that has to be stocked and install[ed]." I agree with you on that--it certainly seems that engineering, purchasing, stocking, installing, etc., one part would be simpler and less expensive than two!
Your chief complaint seems to be that Apple does not provide an option for you to purchase a very specific configuration at a certain price point, and you appear to believe Apple does not represent a good value for the money. That's fine, but what may be true for you does not make it true for all.
Best,
Bob
Green said: "It's completely obvious that they do this to push higher margin machines, while advertising a seemingly low price, and it's ********." Hmmmm.....you know, I'm not sure, but I think everyone does that....
On the iMac, what, exactly, is intentionally crippled? Aside from the base model not having a DVD burner... To claim the iBook was intentionally crippled to force Powerbook sales has zero relevance. Perhaps Apple performed a cost-benefit analysis and concluded it was a better overall value to only enable mirroring. There are far too many inputs to a decision like that to assume the only reason that decision was made was to cripple one product to drive sales of another.
Also, what exactly are your sources that allow you to claim that a DVD burner would only add $15 to the retail cost? Surely you don't believe that all DVD burners are the same? If you don't mind using the cheapest part in existence, that might be true--but as noted in another thread, Apple has the lowest failure rate of any personal computer maker, and is trending down--as in, the failure rate is decreasing. So it seems unlikely (to me at least) that Apple would use the cheapest DVD burner available.
Next: "[M]ost people want a DVD burner." According to whom? What's your source?
Green also said: "Standardizing the optical drive would probably SAVE money in design and system construction by eliminating a part that has to be stocked and install[ed]." I agree with you on that--it certainly seems that engineering, purchasing, stocking, installing, etc., one part would be simpler and less expensive than two!
Your chief complaint seems to be that Apple does not provide an option for you to purchase a very specific configuration at a certain price point, and you appear to believe Apple does not represent a good value for the money. That's fine, but what may be true for you does not make it true for all.
Best,
Bob