Other Have I missed the point of Apple products?

It's a bit sad to see that OP asks for this thread to NOT be a apple bashing thread, and the first reply is bashing apple...


Anyway, I think the ipad is bit of a misunderstood product. People see it as a tablet computer. It really isn't, it's more of a super sized ipod touch.

As a standalone unit the ipad doesn't really work very well, but as an extension of an existing system it works.

 

Apple beautifully design their hardware, not the fastest electronics and the fact that some batteries are now impossible to remove i grant that apple has limited the longevity of their products, but that only makes good business if you have brand loyalists.

If 'given' an apple laptop i am afraid i would install Ubuntu just because i do not wish my whole life to rotate around itunes.

Open source applications give me media playback, music stores and 'Ubuntu One' which is free upto 5Gb of storage and was around before apples Cloud.

Apple - For those who give up trying to progress there understanding of computing and want some that 'Just works' ( I take that as it 'Just' about works') It can bring computing to a wider market as its pretty easy to use or get started with. If your a windows user and jump to OSX then there is an adaption period of 'WTF where's my right click gone!

Windows - Lets face it, its such a global monster odds are for the many that most first time computer users started with windows. And as a commercial setup cost a PC is cheaper than a mac system.

Linux - for those who can put up with the odd bug but wish to expand their understanding and enjoy all the free sh*t linux can offer!

However ubuntu has been copying the best of both OS systems with W7 drag and expand on windows, and applications integrating into the taskbar mac style.

 

Quick question.

Are the GPUs that apple use proprietary in any way or are that just completely standard?

The price they go for on ebay when you just put the title "mac" in there is incredible.

Make some cash buying new 6770s and sell them as "mac" gpus haha.

 

1) You can download apps straight to your iPad, without going anywhere near a computer. Simply open the App Store on the iPad, find the app you want, and hit install. Updating, again, is done on the App Store. Bit surprised this has taken you 5+ days to find out...

The only exception to the above is huge apps - 20MB is the limit over 3G. WiFi is higher - I've done a 350MB install over WiFi without going to the computer.


2) As for Apple products in general, it's a combination of ease-of-use, marketing and design. Apple put a lot of effort in to making their ecosystem easy to use and pick up, making it suitable for the masses to learn and use. Of course, the tiny hardcore of users will rebel against this, as they want a more customisable system, but in many ways Apple aren't selling to them - which is where jailbreaks come in to provide more functionality.

However, your average user has very little interest in jail breaking, their iOS device works as they need it to. I'd disagree that Apple products can't be customised to do 'more', but you just have to put a bit of effort in. Their computer products are just as 'powerful' under the hood as a Windows or Linux computer, they've just happened to stick a nice GUI on top.

Seriously, stop spreading the idiotic, outdated, idea that Macs don't have right click. They always have done - it used to be accessed by ctl+click, but dual (or more) button mice have been included with Macs for many years, and the trackpads have equally supported two-finger tap for years. So there is no period of time wondering where right click has gone, as it's never not been there.

Apple uses EFI64 on their machines, and have done for a long time. This has meant that the GPUs have to have custom firmware to allow booting, hence 'Mac' editions of cards (Taking the HD5870 as an example, it has two BIOS chips, one is the standard PC, the other is a Mac EFI).

However, as EFI is now slowly making headway in the PC market, some PC cards can be used without a custom firmware in a Mac Pro - namely the 6xxx series. There's a slight glitch that some of the boot screens don't show, but that's it.

 

For as long as I've had it (shortly after the iPad 2 was uncovered), to get an app on my iPad I open the app store (on the iPad) pick an app and tap the price, then "install app", and then my password when prompted. The app then downloads and installs.

What office software do you use on other machines? Going from pages to word is a pain since it always requires some reformatting and I could never write something in pages and then save it as a word doc, and pronounce it finished.

The umbilical cord between it and your iTunes does get annoying when you want to transfer an mp3/video/document from another pc to the iPad though.

In regards to the apple tax I find it interesting that other similarly high design laptops never seems to come in cheaper that the MacBook it competes with.

 

I suspect the educational version of the ipad you're using is slightly more restricted, so that kids can't install any apps. Only reason that makes sense to me.

 

Ultrabooks are estimated to be cheaper than the air, with comparable specs, measurements, and casing hardware. Only area where apple tax doesn't apply as much is tablets, as apple makes the majority of its money from the app store.

 

Aside from all your other points which I can't really argue. The way Apple now measure they battery life is with wifi on and a typical usage. I have had 10 hours out of my MacBook Pro plenty of times, the 7 hours they specify on their site is real world usage. Believe it or not they have downplayed their battery life to what people might actually expect to get.

I am a PC user, 90% of my computer time is on a PC (or at least windows, I have a Mac Pro at work with Win7 on it as it was the only powerful machine available). I build my own machines, I play games, I dabble in Linux, I use (and abuse) Android, I am not a typical "OOOO shiny Apple logo" user, I made my decision based on factors that made it a worthwhile purchase for me, which is was.

 

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Whereas I've heard that Asus etc. are struggling to meet the Air's pricing with their ultrabooks, particularly once SSDs are used by default.

 

I think that Apple products just feel/look really well designed and on the whole they do just work. My MacBook Air especially has so many little things that make you think "why hasn't anyone else done this?" and that all adds up to give a very strong positive impression.

I'm not sure I agree, certainly a lot of iUsers are not technologically 'savvy', but lets face it the vast majority of computer users are not 'power users' but people writing a few documents, browsing the web and reading their mail. Apple excels in making that casual experience a pleasant one.

I use Windows 7 on my home PC, Fedora and Gentoo on my office PCs and OS X on my MacBook. Of all of those OS X is the nicest/simplest to use, is it the best OS for every situation? No, but what is?

 

Apple currently owns more money than the US government. Obviously it's products are meeting somebody's needs out there.

Have you missed the point? Yes, by miles. Most people here have, because they are not only geeks but elitist geeks. God forbid that computers should be accessible to the ordinary masses, for who our limitations are their simplifications and ease of use.

The kicker is that most of these elitists bashing Apple couldn't write a config.sys or autoexec.bat if their life depended on it. They are just slightly above average amateurs trying to feel speshul. The real experts appreciate the relative advantages of all systems.

 

As the governments are all in debt, doesn't everybody possess more money than them?

Technically I own a mac book. I think I put it on a bookshelf and kind of forgot about it. I did try it out for a while, but couldn't get on with the OS.

 

EDIT

You are calling us elitists for wanting to get more computing power for our money? We get a product that serves us better for less money, and we are elitists? Last time I checked the "ordinary masses" couldn't afford Mac products. So who can afford them? Umm, what is the word... elitists.

 

^^^ A left-handed person would have no problem with that.

 

Still silly to make an ambidextrous mouse and then handicap 90% of the population. There are these chairs in my uni that have a little desk attached to the right hand side, left handed people have terrible difficulty with them

 

Perhaps Apple thought that the touchpad would be enough for most laptop users. Or a cordless mouse (BTW the Apple mouse comes with a 70cm cord. I guess the guy who made that demot has big feet).

 

To be honest, I was more bashing my friend. He threatened a two week suspension because I touched his MacBook.

And the bit saying no bashing was added after my post.

Apple stuff is nice, and it just works, but I'd rather spend less money on something just as good.

 

I don't. I can't find anything free that does the job, and I'm not linking my credit card to iTunes ever again. Besides... if work want me to have an iPad they can buy any apps I may need to actually render it useful

Still not long enough seeing as it has to go around the back of the machine, and not over it... and still leave enough to have a comfortable range of movement. Why not just have a 1 metre lead like most other mice?

 

Does your mother need that extra processing power? Does your sister use that extra processing power?

Mine certainly don't. Whatever extra you pay to get MOAR SPEEDZ OMG OVERCLOCKZ my relatives and friends spend on having an interface they find pleasing to use and a chassis that sustains everyday abuse. Most people do not even buy desktop computers anymore and their laptops hardly ever leave their desks. How on earth is wanting "more power" a relevant argument these days? Almost any computer out there has more than enough power for an average user. Apple has acknowledged that and banked in on differentiating their products in a way that anyone can notice, understand and appreciate. They designed products that serve their consumers better for a little more money and the consumers are willing to pay that, what is wrong with that?

Your elitism stems from the fact that you assume that your criterions of choosing a machine are superior to those of your mother, my sister or anyone else who doesnt give a rat's ass about tech specs. They want a machine to feel snappy and be easy to use.

Not to mention that apple products are not really overpriced when you take into account the build quality, design and form factor. The only laptops that are comparable to unibody macbooks are thinkpads. Thinkpads cost similar money (+/- 5-7%) to apple. Other chassi are just plasticy pieces of crap, not even suitable to be used as "laptops" (i.e. lugged around a lot to be used on a lap)