News - Latest Microsoft ad campaign attacks Apple pricing

[Jay]

lol

I think Microsoft should wind its neck in a bit. At enterprise level Microsoft are hardly pocket change either!

[Biscuit]

Course u aint cool enough for a Mac your ginger ... sorry i couldnt resist

It all depends what you use it for, if your a graphics/video type person then the quality of the screen and speed/features of the OS GUI/interface for such applications tend to make it pretty much worth it.

Whilst i know you can do everything on a PC that a mac can (pretty much) there are application which go about the proccess differently to anything on windos such as final cut pro and VJ apps like 3L, VDMX and modul8.

Im not gunna sit here and say the price of macs is worth it because for 90% of people you can get much better suited laptops for the price but Macs are very well designed pieces of kit which are placed well for certain areas of the market (which they used to focus on) it just seems people cant resist that smug coolness that owning one brings (myself included).

I will say though, customer services have been excelent to me. I had problems with my DVD drive and screen and they replaced them within a week.

[TheAnimus]

The thing is biscuit there is nothing in the OSX that makes sense from a graphics perspective to choose it. I remeber helping a friend of mine set up his mac mini as his media pc, we wanted to crank the DPI.....

But this is way off topic, whilst there is an apples to oranges comparison going on, it really should be pointed out that for the average joe user role, a PC is going to be a HELL of a lot cheaper, same goes with hackentoshes.

Surely all the apple fans have to admit its worrying that the platform does all it can to kill competition in hardware?

[Biscuit]

But this is way off topic, whilst there is an apples to oranges comparison going on, it really should be pointed out that for the average joe user role, a PC is going to be a HELL of a lot cheaper, same goes with hackentoshes.

Surely all the apple fans have to admit its worrying that the platform does all it can to kill competition in hardware?

I dont see how its off topic, we are discussing the worthwhile of macs price tag which is exactly what the ad is about.

The thing is biscuit there is nothing in the OSX that makes sense from a graphics perspective to choose it. I remeber helping a friend of mine set up his mac mini as his media pc, we wanted to crank the DPI.....

....and? you couldnt?
Not that that matters we are talking about laptops and if you bought a macbook or macbook pro you wouldnt need to change anything like that as the screens are so perfectly matched for the device.

How about expose and spaces? They really streamline thing for me when i have multiple applications open, especially when im designing visuals in QTZ/photoshop/after effects/final cut then testing them in VDMX.

The dock layout i find to be a lot smoother for finding the programs and documents i want quickly.

Any number of things *could* be argued here but fact of the matter is it boils down to personal preference but what i will say is that i know ALOT of people in similar fields to me and they all feel the same about the Mac/Pc argument... well no a lot of them just say "windows is ****" etc... which it hink we are all adult enough to realize is a big pile of steamer!

[colmo]

The way I worked it when I was considering buying a Mac was to tot up how much it would cost to buy an equivalent PC, make up a value for OS X, and then add a 'fudge factor' number to represent the sleeker styling, Bluetooth, firewire and the other niceties Macs come with as standard. I also considered costs of Windows and Linux OS in the PC equivalent.

At one point, the comparison was pretty good for iMacs to PC desktops. Unfortunately, the iMacs have not got cheaper/better at the same rate the PCs have.

With laptops, it's a bit trickier - it's not just about the components, but the quality too - that's were the new Alu Macbooks really shine.

The 'fudge factor' can be worth different amounts to different people - for some, it's priceless as it allows access to Mac-only apps like Final Cut Pro, or those with little physical space, or even a real OCD complex about trailing wires! It might be worth a decent amount for novice users (anyone who has set up a machine for an older relative will know what I'm talking about). For others, it's worth very little - eg, gamers needing Windows, or geeks like me who appreciate the hands-on approach Linux allows (if anything breaks, it's usually my fault, and it can be reversed or patched fairly easily).

Buying a computer requires a fair degree of hard-headedness. Brand loyalty is something that should be hard earned by the company, and meticulously kept.

[Stoo]

It's the same boring argument every single time, but you pay your money and take your choice.

You can buy a Ford Focus for less money than say, an Audi, but you don't get loads of people complaining how Audi's are stupidly overpriced and not worth the money, and that everyone should buy a Ford instead.

You can buy expensive/overpriced pc's from Dell and HP too - Alienware and VoodooPC

Chill out, there's more to life than complaining about other people's hardware choices..

Oh and by the way, that "real person" in the ad is an actress, and the ad company which made it use macs to produce them... Irony?

[Biscuit]

Oh and by the way, that "real person" in the ad is an actress, and the ad company which made it use macs to produce them... Irony?

Says it all really doesnt it!

[aidanjt]

You can buy a Ford Focus for less money than say, an Audi, but you don't get loads of people complaining how Audi's are stupidly overpriced and not worth the money, and that everyone should buy a Ford instead.

No, it'd be more like comparing a Ford Focus to a Vauxhall Astra, and complaining about the Astra's 10,000 quid price hike. Of course, in reality, the Focus and Astra are roughly featured and priced alike, because if it wasn't it wouldn't sell at all, well, unless the Astra had an irrational group of people who'll allow themselves to get shafted out of brand loyalty.

You can buy expensive/overpriced pc's from Dell and HP too - Alienware and VoodooPC

You sure can, but unlike Apple, you have a choice of whether you get value for money, or get absolute bleeding edge hardware. With Apple, you only get one range, poor hardware at high expenditure.

Oh and by the way, that "real person" in the ad is an actress, and the ad company which made it use macs to produce them... Irony?

Strawman.

[Biscuit]

No, it'd be more like comparing a Ford Focus to a Vauxhall Astra, and complaining about the Astra's 10,000 quid price hike. Of course, in reality, the Focus and Astra are roughly featured and priced alike, because if it wasn't it wouldn't sell at all, well, unless the Astra had an irrational group of people who'll allow themselves to get shafted out of brand loyalty.

But an astra chassis and a focus chassis are both pretty standard looking designs whearas an audi is much nicer looking. Similarly dell designs tend to be pretty much basic plastic boxes with the occasional bit of colour compared to the aluminum uni-body which mac uses. Internally; if you think of the basic low end audi - its not anything special over a low-mid astra/focus similaly to how a basic macbook is pretty much the same inside to a low-mid dell or equivalent.

I said it before and il say it again, you have to bring personal taste into your thinking because some people dont care if its basic plastic or if its aluminum and those people would often prefer the astra or the focus.

[aidanjt]

But an astra chassis and a focus chassis are both pretty standard looking designs whearas an audi is much nicer looking. Similarly dell designs tend to be pretty much basic plastic boxes with the occasional bit of colour compared to the aluminum uni-body which mac uses. Internally; if you think of the basic low end audi - its not anything special over a low-mid astra/focus similaly to how a basic macbook is pretty much the same inside to a low-mid dell or equivalent.

I said it before and il say it again, you have to bring personal taste into your thinking because some people dont care if its basic plastic or if its aluminum and those people would often prefer the astra or the focus.

If you think a bit of bling encasing your hardware is worth $2,000USD premium then you're clearly irrational. The reason Audi can charge more is because the machine is actually better engineered from a specifications point of view. And ironically enough, those plastic generic boxes tend to cool it's hardware better than Apple chassis.

I'm sorry, but Apple is completely out of touch with reality with their current pricing structure. If they slashed prices in half across the board, I *might* consider it.

[colmo]

If you think a bit of bling encasing your hardware is worth $2,000USD premium then you're clearly irrational. The reason Audi can charge more is because the machine is actually better engineered from a specifications point of view. And ironically enough, those plastic generic boxes tend to cool it's hardware better than Apple chassis.

I'm sorry, but Apple is completely out of touch with reality with their current pricing structure. If they slashed prices in half across the board, I *might* consider it.

I've just done a quick analysis of the specs of the iMacs (which are most comparable to the Microsoft desktop market, but harder to compare than laptops), and found that the lowest-spec 24" iMac is the best value, at slightly under £200 more than a comparable spec PC (I used approximate component values, which would only make for a £20-£50 variation at most). Throw in a student discount (buy it via the college network for the biggest discount!), and that's actually pretty close.

The 20" iMac is about £300 over (a basic 20" TN film monitor is not very impressive for this money - I could easily equip the competing PC with a 22"), middle 24" iMac is about £400 over, and the top 24" iMac is a whopping £700 over - I can't understand how they can ask so much more for it when the spec improvement is incremental at best over the base models.

[Biscuit]

If you think a bit of bling encasing your hardware is worth $2,000USD premium then you're clearly irrational. The reason Audi can charge more is because the machine is actually better engineered from a specifications point of view. And ironically enough, those plastic generic boxes tend to cool it's hardware better than Apple chassis.

I'm sorry, but Apple is completely out of touch with reality with their current pricing structure. If they slashed prices in half across the board, I *might* consider it.

i never said it was worth the extra money, i said 3 times now (in so many words) that the sacrifices you make when you buy a Mac are down to your persoanl preferance etc...

I completely agree that mac pricing is too high but people are still buying them and im sorry but its not purely because they 'look cool' as many of you seem to suggest. They are well engineered machines that feel just as good as they look. Ok so they may not cool componants as well as generic laptops but it still works perfectly fine and they are considerably thinner than most...

[Jiff Lemon]

I think a lot of people are missing the point; Who do you think the ad is aimed at?

Do you think its aimed at hard core geeks who'll argue the difference DDR3 makes over DDR2? Or perhaps its aimed at the average punter on the street thats just looking to buy "a laptop"?

[TheAnimus]

Jiff has the point, plenty of people want something for uni style use.

They want a laptop, preferably one they can also use for watching films, its not carried about every day, just a lot easier to move when u move.

People really have to question the hudge price difference with everything.

Then again i've bought a £250 case for my media PC, to me its money well spent because the thing will be completely silent, and the case which is on promonant display, looks like a work of art!

[sawyen]

I think a lot of people are missing the point; Who do you think the ad is aimed at?

Do you think its aimed at hard core geeks who'll argue the difference DDR3 makes over DDR2? Or perhaps its aimed at the average punter on the street thats just looking to buy "a laptop"?

Jiff exactly hits the point.. If I want a premium looking case and a sense of culture then yes, I will pay the price difference.

But if all I need is a laptop with a specified screen and a set of requirements, then best value for money in terms of the aim of the instrument is far more important.

*This is exactly for those in market just looking for a laptop, and most people wouldn't care about if it has culture or has been dripped in seven rabbits blood*

I guess in terms of paying the right money in getting the 'job' done, Apple is well too expensive

But if you say getting the whole modern culture to speed, then Apple has, IMHO, done a great job.

But then again, I'm this sort of mission critical ppl, and I buy a workstation for a workstation purpose, not because it looks good when I work on it; because if you ARE doing your job right, 99% of the time you're paying attention to your work and not the bloody bling and culture...

[Biscuit]

a basic 20" TN film monitor is not very impressive for this money - I could easily equip the competing PC with a 22"

I was under the impression apple use IPS not TN