6 ms·

Maybe PC manufacturers will finally get a wake up call to stop making plastic shitboxes. Maybe Microsoft will get a wake up call too. Though, I kind of doubt it

by 65 7mo ago

Maybe PC manufacturers will finally get a wake up call to stop making plastic shitboxes. Maybe Microsoft will get a wake up call too. Though, I kind of doubt it as the incompetence in PC land is comical.

imeron 7mo ago
Oh I think Microsoft got the memo: This is Microsoft’s plan to fix Windows 11 https://www.theverge.com/news/897834/microsoft-windows-11-quality-performance-commitments-changes https://www.theverge.com/news/897834/microsoft-windows-11-qu...
- baal80spam 7mo ago
  They SAY they got the memo. Colour me very skeptical, but we'll see.
  - rocketvole 7mo ago
    I mean, a lot of the issues that they says they'll fix can be patched with third party tools. They won't get rid of ads or tracking, or anything significant. affect their bottom line. As someone who has never owned a mac, the only reason I would buy a pc at this point in time is to install linux on it.
  - jrmg 7mo ago
    I liked Ars Technica’s snarky take: If you were eating in a restaurant and the head chef came out from the back multiple times to loudly proclaim that the kitchen was deeply committed to the quality of the food, would you find that reassuring? Or would you start wondering why the chef felt the need to keep saying it? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/microsoft-keeps-insisting-that-its-deeply-committed-to-the-quality-of-windows-11/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/microsoft-keeps-insi...
- pants2 7mo ago
  Funny how their plan to improve Windows 11 is basically to make it more like Windows 10. Apparently they already brought back "never combine taskbar buttons" which is why I left W11 in the first place, but seems like they have a long way to go. I really can't believe they thought W11 was a good idea. And putting copilot in notepad... Come on now.
  - nicoburns 7mo ago
    Yep, they could literally have done nothing with their Windows 10 codebase and it would fulfil most if not all of their targets.
bigyabai 7mo ago
Plastic shitboxes are a very lucrative segment of the laptop market. I don't think the $600 Macbook will be displacing $200-$300 Chromebooks anytime soon.
- kube-system 7mo ago
  No, but the $600 MacBooks are coming straight for the $600 plastic shitbox windows laptops. The competition at this price point is weak.
  - bigyabai 7mo ago
    Which was formerly challenged by the $700 Macbook Air, to little avail.
    - wat10000 7mo ago
      What $700 MacBook Air?
      - bigyabai 7mo ago
        Costco and other in-person retailers marked down the M1 MBA to $799 and then $699 while reducing their stock.
        wat10000 7mo ago
        It doesn’t make sense to compare MSRP of one product to sale prices of another. I’m sure the Neo will see similar discounts in those situations too.
      - s0rce 7mo ago
        My M4 Air was $750 on black friday 2025. I bought it after I cracked the screen on my M1 and the cost to repair was half the cost of the much newer computer.
      - Marsymars 7mo ago
solatic 7mo ago
Arguably, only Apple is able to pull this off, due to huge investments in their supply chain and fully ordering out entire factories. It also comes in the worst political climate for their competitors. Dell, HP, and others announcing large supply chain investment anywhere but the US would be insane. Making that supply chain investment in the US would make a $500 price point impossible. Microsoft and Intel threw their OEM partners under the bus and they're going to have a very, very difficult time getting out from under it.
- nielsbot 7mo ago
  Apple also gets to fund their manufacturing investments using phone and other revenue
Avamander 7mo ago
I truly despise the few recent generations of laptops vendors like Lenovo has put out. Plastic clips instead or (or in addition to) screws, flimsy on-board connectors, plastic bottom covers. At the same time the thermals are still horrible enough for them to ship them with accelerometers that trigger throttling to excessive heat. Recent ThinkPads have soldered WiFi chipsets as well. Leaving only the cellular modem and the NVMe storage replaceable. I have a T14 that has a slower WiFi chipset than my T440p. Almost none of the benefits of PC but all of the downsides. I hope Apple eats into their market share hard.

by 65 7mo ago

imeron 7mo ago

Oh I think Microsoft got the memo: This is Microsoft’s plan to fix Windows 11 https://www.theverge.com/news/897834/microsoft-windows-11-quality-performance-commitments-changes https://www.theverge.com/news/897834/microsoft-windows-11-qu...

baal80spam 7mo ago
They SAY they got the memo. Colour me very skeptical, but we'll see.
- rocketvole 7mo ago
  I mean, a lot of the issues that they says they'll fix can be patched with third party tools. They won't get rid of ads or tracking, or anything significant. affect their bottom line. As someone who has never owned a mac, the only reason I would buy a pc at this point in time is to install linux on it.
- jrmg 7mo ago
  I liked Ars Technica’s snarky take: If you were eating in a restaurant and the head chef came out from the back multiple times to loudly proclaim that the kitchen was deeply committed to the quality of the food, would you find that reassuring? Or would you start wondering why the chef felt the need to keep saying it? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/microsoft-keeps-insisting-that-its-deeply-committed-to-the-quality-of-windows-11/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/microsoft-keeps-insi...
pants2 7mo ago
Funny how their plan to improve Windows 11 is basically to make it more like Windows 10. Apparently they already brought back "never combine taskbar buttons" which is why I left W11 in the first place, but seems like they have a long way to go. I really can't believe they thought W11 was a good idea. And putting copilot in notepad... Come on now.
- nicoburns 7mo ago
  Yep, they could literally have done nothing with their Windows 10 codebase and it would fulfil most if not all of their targets.

bigyabai 7mo ago

Plastic shitboxes are a very lucrative segment of the laptop market. I don't think the $600 Macbook will be displacing $200-$300 Chromebooks anytime soon.

kube-system 7mo ago
No, but the $600 MacBooks are coming straight for the $600 plastic shitbox windows laptops. The competition at this price point is weak.
- bigyabai 7mo ago
  Which was formerly challenged by the $700 Macbook Air, to little avail.
  - wat10000 7mo ago
    What $700 MacBook Air?
    - bigyabai 7mo ago
      Costco and other in-person retailers marked down the M1 MBA to $799 and then $699 while reducing their stock.
      - wat10000 7mo ago
        It doesn’t make sense to compare MSRP of one product to sale prices of another. I’m sure the Neo will see similar discounts in those situations too.
    - s0rce 7mo ago
      My M4 Air was $750 on black friday 2025. I bought it after I cracked the screen on my M1 and the cost to repair was half the cost of the much newer computer.
    - Marsymars 7mo ago

solatic 7mo ago

Arguably, only Apple is able to pull this off, due to huge investments in their supply chain and fully ordering out entire factories. It also comes in the worst political climate for their competitors. Dell, HP, and others announcing large supply chain investment anywhere but the US would be insane. Making that supply chain investment in the US would make a $500 price point impossible. Microsoft and Intel threw their OEM partners under the bus and they're going to have a very, very difficult time getting out from under it.

nielsbot 7mo ago
Apple also gets to fund their manufacturing investments using phone and other revenue

Avamander 7mo ago

I truly despise the few recent generations of laptops vendors like Lenovo has put out. Plastic clips instead or (or in addition to) screws, flimsy on-board connectors, plastic bottom covers. At the same time the thermals are still horrible enough for them to ship them with accelerometers that trigger throttling to excessive heat. Recent ThinkPads have soldered WiFi chipsets as well. Leaving only the cellular modem and the NVMe storage replaceable. I have a T14 that has a slower WiFi chipset than my T440p. Almost none of the benefits of PC but all of the downsides. I hope Apple eats into their market share hard.