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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
03/27/09
Some facts:
In terms of software, from what I can tell of the internals (having programmed for both Windows and Mac OS X), Mac OS X is technically superior.
Windows, the operating system, is much more expensive.
I usually expect Macs to cost more (although I personally view this price premium as worth it), but last night I tried to configure a Dell like a Mac Pro. I chose to ignore the fact that the Mac Pro would still be technically faster due to its use of the Nehalem architecture, and configure the two at the same clock speed anyway. 8-core, 6-gig of memory on the mac, 4 gig on the Dell. Three 500GB hard drives on the Dell, three 650GB hard drives on the Mac. Faster graphics on the Mac (I think, but I'm not an expert on graphics cards).
In short: The Mac was cheaper. I was shocked.
The laptop shown had integrated graphics, etc. It was very low-end. Its 4 gig of memory were DDR2. It was shiny, and had a 17in screen, but that's about all it had.
End facts. Just wanted to get those pesky things out of the way.
For a workstation, my first choice would always be a Mac.
For a server, my first choice would be non-Apple hardware with Ubuntu or similar on it. Apple are not, in my opinion, server experts.
03/27/09
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03/27/09
Not everyone who buys Macs are spoiled children, especially those that bought it with their own hard-earned money.
What makes a computer "better" is really a matter of opinion, especially in this case.
03/27/09
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03/27/09
"Buy this HP. What's the difference?!"
03/27/09
03/27/09
why does MS keep getting awkward people for their commercials? first that movie making kid now this nut?
this rivalry is stupid and pointless at this point. can't we all just live together?
03/27/09
There is no profit in coexistence.
Gawker gets no clicks when people get along.
How crazy is it to think that we can all just find what we like and roll with it, or make something into something we like...and simply roll with it?
03/27/09
This is just retaliation.
03/27/09
03/27/09
+ Virus sofware
+ spyware software
+ Tech support cause that pos is gonna break in like 1 month.
+ extreme make over. Without a mac people will notice that she's fugly.
She's way over her starting budget...
03/27/09
Avira Personal Edition: Free
Adaware: Free
Tech Support: "How about you repair it or I file a claim against you in small claims court? Just filing an answer will cost your company $300." Always works and is free to threaten.
+Extreme Makeover: It will still be cheaper than Greg Packer's liposuction bill.
03/27/09
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03/27/09
Although i do agree that Asus does kick apples ass, even if it isint in the same class as Lenovos ThinkPads.
03/27/09
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03/27/09
A computer company is using FUD against a rival in a television ad?!
This is horrible!
03/27/09
Some of you may think the HP notebook is not a good laptop for her, in comparison to your laptop, but if it's offers what she wants, and it makes economic sense to her, then that's just swell.
Personally, I'd just save up a lot more money to buy a better computer, then I'd have more choices.
03/27/09
My computer shopping is dictated in part by price, but mainly on features, my experience with the maker, and tactile feel.
I'm not a fan of the MacBook, based on the fact that my Rev.2 first-gen MacBook began to show trim wear within 8 months (even though it stayed on my coffee table) and the drive failed 2 weeks out of warranty. Other bad experiences with failing Apple gear soured me on Apple.
I had had a good experience with a 12" Toshiba Satellite (the U205) and like the look and feel. When I went to get a new computer, I looked first at Toshiba. However, they had gone with this slick-shiny plastic instead of the matte plastic and it made the computer feel cheap. Based on touch alone, I passed. I passed on HP for the same reason. The slick plastic reminds me of Fiji water bottles. I interface with the computer through the touch (the keyboard). If you mess up that point - if the user feels like the equipment is low-grade - you ruin the experience.
I wound up with a Sony VAIO that I got for $900 and change. It ran Vista like a breeze and runs Windows 7 incredibly smoothly. I knew I wanted to be able to allocate unused system RAM to the video processor (which my computer can) and the keyboard is wide and spacious with a solid feel. Based on my experience with it, I would take a look at another VAIO in the future.
The OS war is a bit of a red herring. If I want Windows, I can install it regardless of hardware.
03/27/09
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03/27/09
@MajellaCabatan: Thats really the issue. Its completely inaccurate to say "hey, here is $x,xxx and Im taking you to this store. You can keep whatever is left out of the money." Its a completely null point. We already know that the majority of people are hurting financially at this point and they'll take the cheaper PC and left over money.
03/27/09
So now you agree with me? OK.
03/27/09
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03/27/09
they come with same engine as toyota? same shell materials as toyoto? same gas as toyoto?
just like all the video card, mainboard, memory, graphic card in macs are just same as PCs, maybe even worse.
Porsche? how Porschy! "Porschy" means shallow. here :)
03/27/09
My main point though is that Macs have an aluminum case, and you can believe me, as a non-Macboy who has bought more than one semi-ruggedized laptop, that such cases come at a quite high premium. Also do Macs typically look better than their PC counter-parts, and designer stuff, even massware like Macbooks, has its price.
03/27/09
Not only that but keep in mind these same people prefer the cheap route. Not necessarily bad but the same people usually despise what some say are "rich people" products.
Considering the MacBook sales are up year over year, it looks like there are either a ton of rich people coming into the scene or there are just people who don't want to deal with Windows.
03/27/09
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03/27/09
The ad is aimed at the average user and its a good one. However, even the girl says "I guess I'm just not cool enough for a Mac." There is a market for cool and people are willing to pay a premium for it.
In this economy, for a lot of people, cool takes a back seat to price.
03/27/09
Please, everyone clearly knows that oranges are far superior to apples. Or bananas, but nobody thinks the are worth a damn.
03/27/09
03/27/09
Orange pie? Banana pie? Yeah, sure thing pal.
I'll see you in hell!
03/27/09
03/27/09
What you don't get is the people you are arguing with here actually use their macs for more than playing COD of the lulz. A lot of the people on sites like this that are apple folks, have used and use a pc every day for years, and we use macs simply because they are more versatile, we have access to EVERY software tool known to man, with about 90% of them built right in. We can write software for any platform on the planet for free with the tools that come on our computers. And we can no hassle install any os on the planet either through bootcamp or virtualization, just in case we did want to just play COD for the lulz.
The old "Cool" argument doesn't hold up here like it might on a college campus, so please just chill the fuck out.
03/27/09
"Apple sold 2,524,000 Macintosh computers during the quarter, representing nine percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter." That was 1st Quarter 2009.
So, I stand corrected.
03/27/09
If you find it too difficult to install Vista or Windows 7, you're doing something wrong.
03/27/09
If they find it too difficult to install Vista or Win7, then they definitely deserve to pay a premium for something that "just works." Either that, or pay me that premium and I'll simplify the install process for them.
03/27/09
Let's try this again so the kids at home can play along:
A Mac is a computer that officially, and legally only supports 1 flavor of operating system. A PC supports several, officially, and legally. There is 1 legal source for Mac computers, and countless for PC's. Macs have a limited(by comparison) and growing library of applications that it supports, and PC's have a much larger library to draw from. The Mac OS is inherently more secure than Windows, which is 1 of many officially supported OS's available for PC's, many of which are just as, if not more, secure as the Mac OS. So a comment such as "Macs are clearly better" is the equivalent of comparing apples to oranges because the person I was responding to did not specify in any way in what way they thought it was better, making it an incredibly meaningless comment. But hey, if you want to give Mac users a bad name, go ahead an vehemently defend your computer of choice by using ineffective language or an absence of logic. Never mind that they may be better to suit your needs, and worse to suit others'.
03/27/09
Both are mass-produced fruit, grown in large numbers and varieties, in commercial orchards. Both are iconic in their representation of various regions agriculture industry. Both are roughly the size of a softball. Either can be eaten as is or made into juice. The juice of both is popular and available of numerous makers, both "fresh" and from concentrate. Both may be made into spreads which are typically consumed on bread as a breakfast or as a snack. Both are commonly used in cooking to provide a "sweet" counter to a savory flavor. Their wide availability throughout the year ensures that both are comparable in price as well.
Apples to oranges is an apt comparison. Comparing apples to the nagging suspicion that you left the water running after leaving the house - that is not a good comparison.
03/27/09
Firstly, this has nothing to do with pie.
Secondly, Apple legally supports any and every operating system that will run on its hardware. I'm not exactly sure who the rest of your comment is being directed to, but I know that I don't state something is better without a reason, unless it's about pie, because, as everyone knows, apple pie is clearly superior.
03/27/09
February sales in the US of Apple Macintosh computers went down 16%, while sales of Windows-based computers went up 22%. In the laptop department, Apple's sales dropped 7%, while Windows-based laptop sales increased by 36%. Netbooks play an important role here, since if you take the netbooks out of the total figures, Windows laptop sales went up "only" 16%. The figures are all year-over-year, so February 2009 is compared with February 2008.
This is just one month, not the whole quarter, but the trend may be emerging.
03/27/09
03/27/09
ugh, I miss the preview button!