Category: Technology Author : Steven Hodson Posted: October 14, 2008
Tags : Apple, macbook
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The Cult of Mac Still Safe From The Unwashed Masses

When the rumours were fly back at the beginning of October about the remote possibility of an $800.00 MacBook laptop; which was first posted about by Duncan here at The Inquisitr, everyone got all breathless and wet with anticipation. I even wrote a post here about how at such a price Microsoft could finally have some serious competition in the laptop world of the average computer buyer.

Then all hell broke loose and people had to start thinking seriously about how they were spending their money. In this tempest Apple let the world know that they would be bringing forth on October 14th the next generation of their much drooled about laptops. Along with this we started to hear rumours about the Brick laptop which rumour had it was the new manufacturing process that saw the laptop chassis being cut from a single block of aluminum.

Rumours, rumours, rumours … the buzz that is the mystique that surrounds Apple and powers the Cult of Mac. This mystique was lifted today as Apple finally let the world see just what it had up its sleeve; which you can find out about in JR Raphael’s post today here at The Inquisitr but I have to admit I have come away underwhelmed.

When I first wrote about the impending laptop refresh from Apple I was going with the supposition that they would be releasing a version of the MacBook that would be more in competition with the going prices for entry level PC laptops. I believed at the time that if they did this; even if there was a $100.00 or so price difference, that Microsoft could be in serious trouble in the laptop world. I still think that, but given the prices that they announced today I think that the price spread is enough that Cult of Mac can be assured that their legion won’t be invaded by those horrible Windows noobs anytime soon.

The fact is that even at $899.00 (or to be real $900.00 not counting taxes which will still put it over the $1G mark) is still too much of a price to pay for an entry level laptop. When you have netbooks coming in around the $400.00 to $500.00 range and entry level PC laptops starting at $700 that extra $200 - $300 dollars is a lot of money especially in light of the current economic situation.

Oh and let’s not forget the fancy ass 24″ display that Apple wants to soak you for - $899.00 . Are they serious? Why in the world would I even think about forking over that kind of money when I can turn to a Dell monitor for under $400.00. As al3x said on Twitter after the announcement

Yup, I think the Mac world is still safe from an invasion by the unwashed masses.

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WVMikeP

but does that $400 monitor also have a built-in video camera and speakers? Finding a compatible camera for those not using iMacs, MBs, or MBPros is a chore. Though $500 for a camera is steep, the point is they are apples and oranges.

StevenHodson

well considering a good webcam will run you about a 100 bucks I still think that $900.00 for a monitor is out of the price range of the majority of people.

joeldm

If you notice, that $400 Dell sucks, it's probably a Tn panel, not an s-ips panel. Apparently you think all things are equal. Apple makes a 24" so it's just like Dell's cheapo 24", but no, you ask, like Dell's OTHER $680 24"? Jeez, that more expensive Dell must be an s-ips display, right? Nope, it's an s-pva. And what (in your ignorance of all things tech) you ask, is the difference between an S-IPS display and an S-PVA display? The difference is huge. S-IPS has a stable picture - like a CRT display And S-PVA suffers from colorshift so the image looks different depending on viewing angle. Not all that great for photo editing, but just fine for gamers who don't really care.

Modern S-IPS monitors have better electronics and other features for better color reproduction and since we all know (those of us who do know) that the iMac 24" has an S-IPS panel, then it's logical to assume (though at this point we don't yet know) that this is an S-IPS panel.

So . . . I'm assuming you drive a Yugo with a Mercedes-AMG hood ornament on it? I mean a car is a car, right? Four wheels, gas . . . .

JoeL

Matthew

You need to edit your writing before you post. Just saying.

Scott

There is no $899 Apple laptop. The cheapest one will be $999.

Given that I picked up a really powerful dual-core PC laptop for $500 a few months ago, Apple has done nothing to defy the notion that you're paying double the price of a similarly equipped PC.

SqueezyMop

You guys complaining about the price of Apple gear need to get a bit of perspective. As a consultant I've been involved of purchasing, and sometimes building large numbers of x86 machines for a wide variety of customers and one thing I've come to appreciate during that time is engineering values.

Values vary pretty widely between companies. Some companies want to squirt out widgets as quickly and cheaply as possible; these values mean that everything is pared back - every component will be the minimum possible spec, every consumable (solder for example) will have been reduced as much as possible, more widgets of questionable quality will pass muster because of reduced testing time. etc etc.

When I'm spending a sizable chunk of money, I'll happily spend a bit more for quality and that doesn't just apply to Apple. For instance my HTPC has a Logitech DiNovo keyboard and a Silverstone chassis, I chose those products for the same reason I chose an Apple notebook. Because of their engineering values - instead of because they were in the bargain bin at the electronics store.

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The Cult of Mac Still Safe From The Unwashed Masses

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