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I got a new computer relatively recently. It's a modest looking plastic Dell Inspiron; but it has a 4k touchscreen display, an i7 CPU, a GTX960M GPU, 16GB of RA

I got a new computer relatively recently. It's a modest looking plastic Dell Inspiron; but it has a 4k touchscreen display, an i7 CPU, a GTX960M GPU, 16GB of RAM, and an SSD. It cost ~$900, on sale. I, frankly, can't imagine paying the Apple tax, especially now. I kinda suspect we're going to see a replay of the long slow decline into mediocrity that Apple experienced before Jobs' return. With higher prices and a seeming lack of product vision going forward, I suspect the shine on Apple products for developers will fade. I mean, maybe I just don't get it, but the touchbar seems kinda like a boondoggle (and, if it is going to exist, I wouldn't want it to kill my esc key). Then again, I still don't really get the touchscreen on laptops. I have one, but rarely use it.

MrScruff 10y ago
> I got a new computer relatively recently. It's a modest looking plastic Dell Inspiron; but it has a 4k touchscreen display, an i7 CPU, a GTX960M GPU, 16GB of RAM, and an SSD. It cost ~$900, on sale. I, frankly, can't imagine paying the Apple tax, especially now. Without meaning to be rude, this comes across like a 90s platform wars usenet post. There is no tax - it's two different products with different features and different prices. If you're happy with your choice, that's great! I like and use computers a lot and don't buy them that often, so I don't mind spending a bit more to get the machine I want.
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  Sure, it may be more fair to compare to an XPS model. But, even so...big price difference. Admittedly, if you really love macOS, buying a Mac is a reasonable choice, and the only realistic choice for non-technical folks (building a Hackintosh is non-trivial, and a license violation). But, I'd just be installing Linux on it, anyway.
sanswork 10y ago
"I got a new computer made with worse materials and having worse specs and it was cheaper(when on sale). (insert quip about apple tax)". I've personally seen this exact same form of post in various places for almost a decade now. There isn't an Apple tax though. Once you look at actually comparable hardware from the other manufactures you end up with similar prices.
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  An XPS is a more fair comparison, sure, but even an XPS can be had for 2/3 the price of a comparable MacBook Pro. And, sure, it's an argument that's been made for years...because it's mostly been true for years that Apple products are expensive, even when compared to similarly spec'ed and similarly high build quality devices.
  - sanswork 10y ago
    I've never seen an actual fair comparison in all that time though. People always skip the cost of/quality of the screen when comparing laptops, or the trackpad, or the battery life. They almost always look at cpu, gpu, memory, hdd/sdd size as if that tells the whole story.

MrScruff 10y ago

> I got a new computer relatively recently. It's a modest looking plastic Dell Inspiron; but it has a 4k touchscreen display, an i7 CPU, a GTX960M GPU, 16GB of RAM, and an SSD. It cost ~$900, on sale. I, frankly, can't imagine paying the Apple tax, especially now. Without meaning to be rude, this comes across like a 90s platform wars usenet post. There is no tax - it's two different products with different features and different prices. If you're happy with your choice, that's great! I like and use computers a lot and don't buy them that often, so I don't mind spending a bit more to get the machine I want.

SwellJoe 10y ago
Sure, it may be more fair to compare to an XPS model. But, even so...big price difference. Admittedly, if you really love macOS, buying a Mac is a reasonable choice, and the only realistic choice for non-technical folks (building a Hackintosh is non-trivial, and a license violation). But, I'd just be installing Linux on it, anyway.

sanswork 10y ago

"I got a new computer made with worse materials and having worse specs and it was cheaper(when on sale). (insert quip about apple tax)". I've personally seen this exact same form of post in various places for almost a decade now. There isn't an Apple tax though. Once you look at actually comparable hardware from the other manufactures you end up with similar prices.

SwellJoe 10y ago
An XPS is a more fair comparison, sure, but even an XPS can be had for 2/3 the price of a comparable MacBook Pro. And, sure, it's an argument that's been made for years...because it's mostly been true for years that Apple products are expensive, even when compared to similarly spec'ed and similarly high build quality devices.
- sanswork 10y ago
  I've never seen an actual fair comparison in all that time though. People always skip the cost of/quality of the screen when comparing laptops, or the trackpad, or the battery life. They almost always look at cpu, gpu, memory, hdd/sdd size as if that tells the whole story.