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> Apple gives away its software for free when you buy a Mac, Correction: Apple charges a premium for their computers because that premium pays for all the soft

> Apple gives away its software for free when you buy a Mac, Correction: Apple charges a premium for their computers because that premium pays for all the software packages they include with it. XCode, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, etc... None of that is included in Windows but I can buy a fully usable by most people Windows laptop for $299 vs the cheapest Mac laptop is $999. Of course some of that $700 difference is that Mac is a better piece of hardware but much of it is you're paying for all the extra software. BTW: If I could choose to buy a Mac for $200-$300 less without most of the extra software I would since I don't use any of it.

quonn 6y ago
It‘s a nice theory, but impossible to prove. I‘d like to imagine the difference is because Apple makes a very nice profit, unlike many others.
- gfxgirl 6y ago
  The bigger point is it's not free. Otherwise you can claim any part of a Mac is free. You're paying $999 for an OS and getting a free machine. You're paying $999 for a keyboard that has a free computer attached to it. Etc.. no, you're paying $999 for the entire bundle of features that come with your Mac. That includes the software. It's not free any more than any other part of it is free.
twobitshifter 6y ago
Thank you, free was not the right choice of words. My point was that Apple does not make its money selling individual pieces of software which would be endangered by HyperCard. Apple should be indifferent whether someone prefers using the OSX calculator or a version written in HyperCard. They’ve already paid for the machine and the software before they can start using HyperCard.
Eric_WVGG 6y ago
"paying for all the extra software" Are you referring to the productivity suite (Pages, Keynote, etc.) and GarageBand? These are apps that haven't seen significant new features in years, just occasional patches for OS requirements and a bit of iCloud functionality. These apps are functionally "complete." I think there's a pretty grey line between "you're paying for bundled software" and "Apple is just giving away these old things that cost them nothing to keep functional." If you had a peek at the spreadsheet that lists the expenses of "macbook" (materials, TSMC fees, industrial design man-hours, OS programming hours, etc.), "Pages" would not be a $50 line item. And if Apple dropped that bundled software Macbooks wouldn't drop by $200 or whatever.

quonn 6y ago

It‘s a nice theory, but impossible to prove. I‘d like to imagine the difference is because Apple makes a very nice profit, unlike many others.

gfxgirl 6y ago
The bigger point is it's not free. Otherwise you can claim any part of a Mac is free. You're paying $999 for an OS and getting a free machine. You're paying $999 for a keyboard that has a free computer attached to it. Etc.. no, you're paying $999 for the entire bundle of features that come with your Mac. That includes the software. It's not free any more than any other part of it is free.

twobitshifter 6y ago

Thank you, free was not the right choice of words. My point was that Apple does not make its money selling individual pieces of software which would be endangered by HyperCard. Apple should be indifferent whether someone prefers using the OSX calculator or a version written in HyperCard. They’ve already paid for the machine and the software before they can start using HyperCard.

Eric_WVGG 6y ago

"paying for all the extra software" Are you referring to the productivity suite (Pages, Keynote, etc.) and GarageBand? These are apps that haven't seen significant new features in years, just occasional patches for OS requirements and a bit of iCloud functionality. These apps are functionally "complete." I think there's a pretty grey line between "you're paying for bundled software" and "Apple is just giving away these old things that cost them nothing to keep functional." If you had a peek at the spreadsheet that lists the expenses of "macbook" (materials, TSMC fees, industrial design man-hours, OS programming hours, etc.), "Pages" would not be a $50 line item. And if Apple dropped that bundled software Macbooks wouldn't drop by $200 or whatever.