3 ms·

I agree with everything you've said. I think there's an interesting lesson in here about perception of value in technology. I used to work at Microsoft but cur

I agree with everything you've said. I think there's an interesting lesson in here about perception of value in technology. I used to work at Microsoft but currently use exclusively Apple products, mostly because they're unix machines and are more familiar. That said, I know I'm in the tiny little epsilon of the general population that cares about whether it's unix underneath. At bottom, I have no idea why people buy Apple products. Also, FWIW, I'm totally price-insensitive when it comes to computer purchases; I keep these thing for 3-5 years so paying $1000 more just doesn't matter over that span.

thronemonkey 14y ago
To me Apple is in a weird place also as far as Mac sales go because Macs fill two niches: (1) people like you (and me) who like to run OSX because its the most stable way to run a modern UNIX system, and (2) people who want a computer that "just works" and looks pretty and are willing to pay for it. This results in some weirdness for the techies because you're constantly having to fight Apple's "user friendly" features in order to get the system to behave the way you want, but you don't really have an alternative except jumping to Linux and all the issues that entails.
r00fus 14y ago
> At bottom, I have no idea why people buy Apple products. Fit and finish. Only a few Sony/Samsung products I've seen on the market recently are really designed tightly and I've never had to use them so don't know how Win7 works on those compared to a Mac. The problem in the PC/Windows world is that even if you make an Apple-quality product - hardware, drivers, testing, mandating component quality - you will be "disrupted" by another PC manufacturer that steals your design just enough to confuse consumers. Meanwhile the large Windows license costs require razor thin margins unless you price your end product above what Apple offers. This is a no-mans land.
- freehunter 14y ago
  Sony looks good but isn't quality. The standard for Windows high-end designer laptops is the HP Envy line (minus the Spectre).

thronemonkey 14y ago

To me Apple is in a weird place also as far as Mac sales go because Macs fill two niches: (1) people like you (and me) who like to run OSX because its the most stable way to run a modern UNIX system, and (2) people who want a computer that "just works" and looks pretty and are willing to pay for it. This results in some weirdness for the techies because you're constantly having to fight Apple's "user friendly" features in order to get the system to behave the way you want, but you don't really have an alternative except jumping to Linux and all the issues that entails.

r00fus 14y ago

> At bottom, I have no idea why people buy Apple products. Fit and finish. Only a few Sony/Samsung products I've seen on the market recently are really designed tightly and I've never had to use them so don't know how Win7 works on those compared to a Mac. The problem in the PC/Windows world is that even if you make an Apple-quality product - hardware, drivers, testing, mandating component quality - you will be "disrupted" by another PC manufacturer that steals your design just enough to confuse consumers. Meanwhile the large Windows license costs require razor thin margins unless you price your end product above what Apple offers. This is a no-mans land.

freehunter 14y ago
Sony looks good but isn't quality. The standard for Windows high-end designer laptops is the HP Envy line (minus the Spectre).