An Apple Worth $39.3 Billion

[halcyon]

[citation][nom]Vladislaus[/nom]An Intel mac will run windows at the same speed as a PC with the same specs, but since macs have a tendency to be more expensive, a similarly priced PC will have faster hardware which will make the PC run windows faster.[/citation]

While Tmshdw's comments may be generally true and entertaining to read (most people don't want to be bothered building a computer, that's an enthusiast thing and that's a very small crowd) it was adverserially stated. The only thing a Mac running windows is going to give you is perhaps and easy install of the drivers...and maybe, maybe less problematic drivers. Dell also puts everything on one disk and I'm sure other manufacturers do as well.

I simply like the fact that the Mac can very simply and easily run Windows. Much easier than a typical Windows machine can run OS X...but so what. Most PC users don' have a need or desire to run OS X.

Having bought pre-built, built many many many machines, and now using Macs I can say the Mac is one of the better pre-built machines I've come across (it damn well should be as they're more expensive). However, for the enthusiast that wants control over their components a build it yourself rig is nice. ...Especially if you're savvy enough to keep the interior wiring super super super tidy. Clonazepam, the kids may need pics. Tidy...just one of the things I appreciate about my Mac Pro. Very neat, very clean, and stupid-fast. Yet very expensive. :/ Its unfortunate that the kids here feel that one has to be better than the other and have these...kiddish arguments but that's not going to change anytime soon. It seems, simply, that both platforms have their pro and cons.

 

[spookyman]

Apple may be in trouble without Steve Jobs as its leader. Steve is the main reason Apple survived.

Steve realized that Apple will never be a dominant computer company but could make money with other items. The Macintosh computer comprises less then 2% of the market share of PC's.

Instead Apple developed gadgets. Such as the Ipod, Iphone and Ipad. It was the Ipod products that saved Apple as a company. Add in Steve Job's brilliance in marketing these devices. Apple managed to stay afloat and make real money.

Its going to be interesting to see what will happen to Apple in the next few years.

 

[Guest]

@halcyon

Ok now i have to laugh, and hard too, clean, really, oh dear god, give me a minute.... once long time ago you could probably claim this, but in reality, Macs are no different from a PC, the only real differentiators in recent times is OSx and there's a good reason why Apple lock that damn thing down so you cant install it on non Apple hardware (for the record it's not that most PC dont want to or have the desire, it because it's a cow to get the thing to work on non Apple hardware)

in reality your Macs are now assembled in a sweat shop in the middle of china somewhere by an under appreciated over worked under paid individual who has no motivation to do a decent job of it, and in reality they dont have to worry cause the average Joe who buys Macs wont even be able to get into one of these boxes for fear of voiding his (over valued and under performing) warranty, further complicated by the fact that to gain access requires purchase of a modified Torx driver

the build quality of your Mac now a days is no better or worst then your average PC out there, dont fool yourself into thinking otherwise, that premium you pay for is not quality, it's the Apple logo

i guess i'll stop ranting now....

 

[COLGeek]

Good for Apple.

Sounds like they are doing just fine even with the degree of hate and bashing demonstrated here. Folks, vote with your money.

It is actually funny (well not really) how anything "Apple" unleashes such vehemence within our forum.

Could this be a cause of user envy just expressed poorly?

 

[Guest]

@COLGeek

I think it's more to do with the idea that Apple perpetuate the myth that they invented the modern tablet/smartphone, i think you get the same level of hate if say Toyota said they invented the modern Car (they are after all the number 1 selling car brand)

 

[COLGeek]

[citation][nom]MyhtAndLegend[/nom]@COLGeekI think it's more to do with the idea that Apple perpetuate the myth that they invented the modern tablet/smartphone, i think you get the same level of hate if say Toyota said they invented the modern Car (they are after all the number 1 selling car brand)[/citation]
I get your point, but I don't think so. All things Apple are received in pretty much the same way. Often to the point of losing the point of discussion altogether.

Still, the "myth" is only as real as we make it.

 

[Guest]

@COLGeek

dont get me wrong, im with you on the level of vitriol that tends to follow an Apple thread around, but then you got two very stubborn demographics and if Apple didn't exist im pretty sure they just find some other thing to vent about, ive noticed Intel and AMD threads go the same way, AMD and nVidia, about the only thing you get folks to agree on is that Farmville is the work of the devil lol

 

[halcyon]

[citation][nom]GodImRantingAgain[/nom]@halcyonOk now i have to laugh, and hard too, clean, really, oh dear god, give me a minute.... once long time ago you could probably claim this, but in reality, Macs are no different from a PC, the only real differentiators in recent times is OSx and there's a good reason why Apple lock that damn thing down so you cant install it on non Apple hardware (for the record it's not that most PC dont want to or have the desire, it because it's a cow to get the thing to work on non Apple hardware)in reality your Macs are now assembled in a sweat shop in the middle of china somewhere by an under appreciated over worked under paid individual who has no motivation to do a decent job of it, and in reality they dont have to worry cause the average Joe who buys Macs wont even be able to get into one of these boxes for fear of voiding his (over valued and under performing) warranty, further complicated by the fact that to gain access requires purchase of a modified Torx driverthe build quality of your Mac now a days is no better or worst then your average PC out there, dont fool yourself into thinking otherwise, that premium you pay for is not quality, it's the Apple logoi guess i'll stop ranting now....[/citation]

I don't have an iMac or a MacBook Air so I can't speak on your Torx comment. Those are the machines for the "I just want a toaster" all-in-one crowd or the "I want thin-n-light really really bad" crowd. I'm neither. If I had to have an all-in-one desktop I'd choose an iMac, but I don't have to make that sacrifice. Yea.

I do, however, have a Mac Pro and a couple MacBook Pros and I open up the Mac Pro regularly to dust and all I'm going to say to you is, "Really? ...if you say so" (in regards to build quality). The MacBook Pros? They're just the same as any other business oriented laptop but I like the enclosure and glass screens more than what I normally see on store shelves. Yes, the Alienware is a great machine for gamers, but, I'm not a gamer. I'm told there's some other less-known laptop brands that offer more for the money, and I'm sure that's true. Some people like Coke. I prefer Pepsi.

Of course Macs are just PCs with a different OS on them. My point is not that they're better, because they're not, they're just another PC by a different manufacturer with a different OS. ...and, no, the aluminum enclosures and glass screens don't justify the price to many people. ...but those folks are buying Macs. It sounds just as ignorant to say a Mac is better than a PC as it does to say a PC is better than a Mac. Yet the kids will still debate this.

Now, unless you have a contemporary Mac Pro that you use regularly at work or home, I don't think any negative comments from you, about build quality can be credible. Its well-built, powerful, easy to work in, has great cooling, has a great great enclosure. Whether or not its attributes are worth its price is completely subjective. ...but its just another well-built rig. The same class of machine from Dell or HP costs around the same money so its just personal pref. As far as the laptops, I like the aluminum and glass stuff and the high-res screen, but that's just me and other manufacturers make that. Many don't care about that and certainly don't think its worth any price increase over the plastic and acrylic crowd. Fine. Not better...just different.

This has all been off-topic and the debate won't be settled here. I'm just responding to all the unjustified negativity by those who probably aren't really qualified to offer it (based on their personal experience with Apple machines) to make such statements. Its like judging the 2010/2011 MacBook Air based on the 2009 model. Why? That someone has more experience with Windows than they do with OS X doesn't make Windows a better OS.

EDIT: Not spell or grammar checked.

 

[Guest]

@Halcyon

irrespective of whether i have a modern Mac Book pro or not, i believe my point is valid, Apple assemble their machine in china using sweatshops, there is nothing that comes out of these that can claim to have any level of quality, now if your talking perception, yes the all aluminum Mac does feel more solid, but then again i seen aluminum VAIO too, who no doubt are assembled in the same sweatshop with the same build quality

im not jumping down your throat or flaming the Mac, im not stark raving anti-Apple, i just dont think we should start to associate anything assembled in china as of higher quality than the other Chinese assembled part. And for the record i have opened a fair few Macs and PCs in my time, albeit of the older variety, and i have to say yes the older Macs were tidier then lets say your run of the mill HP, but then in no way better then your boutique assembler like lets say Shuttle, heck i think some of the boutique assemblers out there probably have the best build quality and that's probably cause they small and dont send their stuff off to china to be assembled, they get to spend more time on each unit they shift, which makes the biggest difference

 

[halcyon]

I don't like the idea of the Chinese sweatshops or any sweatshop (especially since I really like the Chinese people I've come across). I fear that if it wasn't China that this was happening in, however, it would be some place else, which is sad. I don't know how much more it would cost me as a consumer to have electronics that were built under desirable conditions. ...but I have a feeling it wouldn't be hundreds more. Perhaps that's ignorance on my part.

It may be that many consumer ARE NOT willing to pay a premium for equipment built by workers with reasonable working conditions.

Apple, bring the manufacturing home (or demand better conditions in China) and charge me

 

[sinfulpotato]

[citation][nom]eklipz330[/nom]that's just revenue though, what's their NET WORTH? apple's market capitlization is $371 billion, that's more than what the US treasury has![/citation]

Net worth isn't CASH. If you add up the "NET WORTH" of the US, Apple's net worth would be just pennies.

 

[jacobdrj]

[citation][nom]eddieroolz[/nom]There's a difference in the "value" spoken here.Microsoft, IBM and GE are all corporations that have patents that add up to potentially hundreds of billions worth. They are also a major driver behind continuous research, especially IBM and GE.Meanwhile, Apple simply enjoys the technology invented by others and packages it into a slim case with pretty OS on top.One side does excellent in terms of innovation and discovery but suck with marketing; the other side excels in marketing and advertising but hardly innovates.[/citation]
Innovation might not be the best word... But nobody else is putting those features into those slim, attractive packages, and have a UI focused on the lowest common denominator of consumer, who are generally not tech savvy...

If someone else would find a way to idiot-proof (or resistant) a Windows build, and put it in a nice sexy package, they might be able to sell it...

Sony tries to at least make it pretty... But their software bloat kills it, and they do nothing to make Windows itself better...

HP kind of tries to pretty things up, but their bloat makes the PC unusable to the average Joe who can't format his own HDD and start with a fresh Windows 7 install... It just isn't done...

Macs have a place. Not in my house, but they have a place... Those with money to burn and a small use case find great value in Macs and iProducts... Good for them...

I will continue to use a PC. But maybe one day, when I have money to burn, I'll buy my wife a Mac...

 

[halcyon]

I have a house full of Macs and we like them. However, since I use both Windows 7 and OS X I don't really think OS X (at least not 10.7.1) is any more trouble free or stable than Windows. I'm glad Apple and MS have gotten the their consumer OS' where they are. They're both solid. If I use Windows 7 exclusively for a while I miss OS X and vice versa. I know the ins-and-outs of Windows more-so than OS X but its been a fun learning experience. I'm surprised that my old 2009 13" MBP runs 10.7 as well as it does, and my 15" MBP just rocks it as well as Windows 7 and Ubunto. The Mac Pro is just ridiculous but that just means I may be happy with its performance for a the 3-4 years it has to last me. The iPhones and iPods work as intended and I haven't had to show my wife or daughter how to use them so that's been a blessing (I do enough tech babysitting at work).

I see the value in Apple's brand and I'm glad they add to the variety of equipment we all can get.

 

[kronos_cornelius]

That should tell you all those millions of dollars into product placement in movies and tv shows does pays off after a while.