5 ms·

It probably explains the at least $4,000 markup between the cost of the hardware and the final price. They've gotta pay those tariffs and pass the losses onto c

It probably explains the at least $4,000 markup between the cost of the hardware and the final price. They've gotta pay those tariffs and pass the losses onto consumers who don't care about spending $6,000 for an 8-core CPU, 32gb of ECC ram, an R580X and 256 SSD. You'd have to be drinking a lot of fucking Kool Aid as any sort of creative professional to think MacOS is worth that premium above alternative tools in either Linux or Windows 10. Apple deciding to move production to an economically hostile country and shutter more American jobs only adds injury to insult.

stanmancan 7y ago
In professional environments the price of a computer is so minimal it doesn’t really matter. If someone is being paid even $100K a year then the extra $4,000 for a computer they’ll have for probably 4 years is a rounding error.
- jimmaswell 7y ago
  Have that attitude about your purchases for 10 years, wasting at least $4000 a year, and you've wasted $40000. That's significant even if you do make $100k.
  - junipertea 7y ago
    in 10 years that's a $1m. Even if you bought a mac pro every year that's not particularly significant. Of course, it is a lot of money by itself and if you are smart about it you can save a lot, but the value is there for other people in not building a custom PC with cooling.
  - philliphaydon 7y ago
    Who buys a new computer every year? That’s just silly and a waste of money.
    - jimmaswell 7y ago
      You don't buy a new computer every year but if you carry that attitude around with you then you're probably wasting comparable money elsewhere.
  - jhasse 7y ago
    You did get something in return for that 40k though.
- looeee 7y ago
  1% is a pretty bad rounding error, you might want to look into some better accounting software.
jimmaswell 7y ago
To put the markup into more concrete terms, here's a sample Windows laptop I quickly found around $1000 (the Prime price, normal price is apparently $1400). [0] I'll compare it to the cheapest MBP at $1300. [1] I wish HN markdown had tables. 15.6" 3840 x 2160 vs 13.3" 2560x1600 i7-7700 vs unspecified i5 16GB RAM vs 8GB RAM GTX 1050 vs Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 256GB SSD+1TB HDD vs 256GB SSD ($800 upcharge for a 1TB SSD on the MBP when in reality a 1TB SSD costs $100) Numpad and usb-A ports, HDMI vs no numpad and usb-c only (no ethernet on either but I didn't look very hard to find this listing) And some have an affinity for Mac OS (I don't understand it at all) but on the Windows one you'll be able to easily run any game you want and have a much broader software catalog to choose from in general. 0: https://www.amazon.com/VivoBook-Touchscreen-i7-7700HQ-GeForce-Essentials/dp/B077X9D48G https://www.amazon.com/VivoBook-Touchscreen-i7-7700HQ-GeForc... 1: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/13-inch-space-gray-2.3ghz-dual-core-processor-with-turbo-boost-up-to-3.6ghz-128gb https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/13-inch-space...
- abacadaba 7y ago
  > on the Windows one you'll be able to easily run any game you want and have a much broader software catalog to choose from in general. The main difference is that macOSX for the most part isn't adware. I still prefer MATE but if linux not your thing for some silly reason it's really the only other viable option. Edit: Also that laptop is 2lbs heavier than the 13 inch and 1lb heavier than the 15. Not that I'd buy a 15 in. mbp with my own money in any case but they are nice.
  - jimmaswell 7y ago
    What do you mean, like OSX doesn't show you ads natively? Nothing comparable to seeing app suggestions in the Windows store tiles? Nothing Windows 10 has done to me so far has bothered me. Candy Crush ad in the games tiles in the start menu doesn't bother me. Unless you mean susceptibility to malware. There's definitely malware that gets onto OSX and it can be harder to remove than on Windows.
    - 7y ago
walshemj 7y ago
Err that's the entry level cut to the bone product to make it look not to expensive for journalists who have brought into the mac eco system at the lower level. For high end workstations which is the pros market a realistic spec will be a lot more for example back in 99 when I was working with built to the hilt pc in todays money it would be over $10k - and real workstations like Silicon graphics cost a LOT LOT more

stanmancan 7y ago

In professional environments the price of a computer is so minimal it doesn’t really matter. If someone is being paid even $100K a year then the extra $4,000 for a computer they’ll have for probably 4 years is a rounding error.

jimmaswell 7y ago
Have that attitude about your purchases for 10 years, wasting at least $4000 a year, and you've wasted $40000. That's significant even if you do make $100k.
- junipertea 7y ago
  in 10 years that's a $1m. Even if you bought a mac pro every year that's not particularly significant. Of course, it is a lot of money by itself and if you are smart about it you can save a lot, but the value is there for other people in not building a custom PC with cooling.
- philliphaydon 7y ago
  Who buys a new computer every year? That’s just silly and a waste of money.
  - jimmaswell 7y ago
    You don't buy a new computer every year but if you carry that attitude around with you then you're probably wasting comparable money elsewhere.
- jhasse 7y ago
  You did get something in return for that 40k though.
looeee 7y ago
1% is a pretty bad rounding error, you might want to look into some better accounting software.

jimmaswell 7y ago

To put the markup into more concrete terms, here's a sample Windows laptop I quickly found around $1000 (the Prime price, normal price is apparently $1400). [0] I'll compare it to the cheapest MBP at $1300. [1] I wish HN markdown had tables. 15.6" 3840 x 2160 vs 13.3" 2560x1600 i7-7700 vs unspecified i5 16GB RAM vs 8GB RAM GTX 1050 vs Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 256GB SSD+1TB HDD vs 256GB SSD ($800 upcharge for a 1TB SSD on the MBP when in reality a 1TB SSD costs $100) Numpad and usb-A ports, HDMI vs no numpad and usb-c only (no ethernet on either but I didn't look very hard to find this listing) And some have an affinity for Mac OS (I don't understand it at all) but on the Windows one you'll be able to easily run any game you want and have a much broader software catalog to choose from in general. 0: https://www.amazon.com/VivoBook-Touchscreen-i7-7700HQ-GeForce-Essentials/dp/B077X9D48G https://www.amazon.com/VivoBook-Touchscreen-i7-7700HQ-GeForc... 1: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/13-inch-space-gray-2.3ghz-dual-core-processor-with-turbo-boost-up-to-3.6ghz-128gb https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/13-inch-space...

abacadaba 7y ago
> on the Windows one you'll be able to easily run any game you want and have a much broader software catalog to choose from in general. The main difference is that macOSX for the most part isn't adware. I still prefer MATE but if linux not your thing for some silly reason it's really the only other viable option. Edit: Also that laptop is 2lbs heavier than the 13 inch and 1lb heavier than the 15. Not that I'd buy a 15 in. mbp with my own money in any case but they are nice.
- jimmaswell 7y ago
  What do you mean, like OSX doesn't show you ads natively? Nothing comparable to seeing app suggestions in the Windows store tiles? Nothing Windows 10 has done to me so far has bothered me. Candy Crush ad in the games tiles in the start menu doesn't bother me. Unless you mean susceptibility to malware. There's definitely malware that gets onto OSX and it can be harder to remove than on Windows.
  - 7y ago

walshemj 7y ago

Err that's the entry level cut to the bone product to make it look not to expensive for journalists who have brought into the mac eco system at the lower level. For high end workstations which is the pros market a realistic spec will be a lot more for example back in 99 when I was working with built to the hilt pc in todays money it would be over $10k - and real workstations like Silicon graphics cost a LOT LOT more