8 ms·
I find it hilarious that you name the exact model of laptop.
by glomph 13y ago
I find it hilarious that you name the exact model of laptop.
- pavanky 13y agoThis is anecdotal evidence but I've noticed people using idevices mention the models rather than generic device names. I wonder why that is.
- w1ntermute 13y agoApple is more a fashion company than a tech company. Those who buy and use its products are primarily concerned with advertising the fact that they use Apple products - conspicuous consumption. It's no different from how Gucci or Prada owners make sure to prominently display the brand of their handbag when they are in public. It's a simple form of signaling your identity, that you belong to a particular group. This is also why Apple's profit margins are sky high. Consumer electronics is an industry with razor thin margins, but with fashion, the sky is the limit (given that you can effectively manipulate the minds of consumers, which Apple is excellent at). An iDevice cannot be commoditized, no matter how hard Apple's competitors try.
- knowaveragejoe 13y agoThe reason Apple laptops are so popular is hardly that they are a status symbol and more the fact that they're so damn comfortable to use. I agree about other Apple products, however.
- tripzilch 13y agoPeople say (or said) the same about Nike shoes and Levis jeans. It's not the point. Yes they are high quality, but Wintermute wasn't commenting on that fact, the point is the brand identity of "Apple is high quality and comfortable to use", it's the first part where it says Apple Apple Apple. I am wearing a pair of very cheap no-brand jeans, they are extremely durable and comfortable (the label also ironically reads "Unsigned", which I admit made me smile a bit, but it's not a brand, in a few years that store chain (Scapino) will have different labels, and nobody will notice one bit). I'm not going around saying "Unsigned has great durable comfy jeans"--also because they're not, extremely varying quality, you just have to try on at least 5 different ones that are ostensibly the same size (which they are also not). They're cheap though and this makes me very happy with them :)
- knowaveragejoe 13y agoWhen I say that Apple laptops are damn comfortable, it has nothing to do with the brand. I can't speak for other people though. If Sony were making these, I'd own a Sony. But the fact of the matter is that it is Apple that has the lion's share of the laptop market because they've got a killer combination of hardware and software(being a closed platform and all). They've sunk untold amounts of money into ergonomics, the "little things", and it's paid off with a superior laptop experience. If you ever sit on a couch with a laptop all day, you'd quickly notice the difference between an Apple laptop and most OEM offerings out there. That's not to say that some OEMs aren't getting pretty close though. I have my eye on the Lenovo X1 Carbon lineup, maybe next year they'll have something superior at a better price point.
- edanm 13y ago"Those who buy and use its products are primarily concerned with advertising the fact that they use Apple products - conspicuous consumption." Yeah, you're going to need at least some form of evidence for that claim. Needless to say, I disagree that that's the reason I use a Mac.
- droopyEyelids 13y agoI know. In the tech field my macbook is embarrassingly generic. It feels weird to know that it cost more than many people's cars, but if you work in the privileged person startup bubble it's a weak shibboleth, not a luxury item that draws attention.
- pm90 13y ago>it cost more than many people's cars, sorry, what? I thought macboook cost $2-3k? Is that how much a car costs in your country?
- kayoone 13y agomany people are driving <3k beater cars, maybe thats what he is referring too.
- gavinflud 13y agoMy first car cost me €1000. My latest car that I bought in November cost just north of €3000.
- piyush_soni 13y agoSome of my friends are driving used cars which range from $1200 to $1700.
- factotvm 13y agoI choose Apple because I want good hardware with a *nix operating system. End of story. Show me an alternative, and you'll pique my interest. In the meantime, you should keep your ridiculous comments about conspicuous consumption to yourself.
- lewaldman 13y agoLenovo Series W + Linux?
- megablast 13y agoYes, there are other options.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- xmonkee 13y agoGoddamn this. I have been a linuxer all my life but getting older somehow really makes patching drivers all the time quite unattractive. Bought my first mac this year... good decision.
- psychometry 13y agoEither you're a troll or you're delusional. Which is it? >Apple is more a fashion company than a tech company. Not even remotely accurate for possible definitions of either of those terms. >Those who buy and use its products are primarily concerned with advertising the fact that they use Apple products - conspicuous consumption. Oh really? You don't think it has anything to do with their excellent track record of hardware design, software design, reliability and usability? >It's no different from how Gucci or Prada owners make sure to prominently display the brand of their handbag when they are in public. Yes, because Dell and HP laptops are completely devoid of physical branding... >It's a simple form of signaling your identity, that you belong to a particular group. Or it's because Apple products let productive people be productive.
- seanmcdirmid 13y agoHe always makes this same stale argument when Apple is mentioned. Check his comment hostory.
- swamp40 13y agoI think you both are describing different parts of the same elephant.
- tripzilch 13y ago> You don't think it has anything to do with their excellent track record of hardware design, software design, reliability and usability? Of course. It has to do with Apple's branding of "hardware design, software design, reliability and usability". Just like G-Star advertises their clothing as "raw", while their jeans are actually quite flimsy and rip or tear easily. Sure, they look pretty and well-fitted. Just like I would recommend my grandmother an iPad because I know it's well-designed and she'd have less trouble using it. > >It's no different from how Gucci or Prada owners make sure to prominently display the brand of their handbag when they are in public. > Yes, because Dell and HP laptops are completely devoid of physical branding... You're proving his point here: It's not like other brands of handbags (or shoes) are completely devoid of physical branding either. Yet it's not like their owners are even aware of its brand, half the time. In this context I'd sooner compare Apple products to Nike shoes, rather than the fashion "I have money to spend" signalling Gucci/Prada handbags. Come on, the evolution of "brands as lifestyle + identity" has been around for at least 30 years now. You should know a thing or two about how it works. It's not really a disputed theory. And you can't seriously deny that Apple isn't fighting along in the Big Brand mindshare arena just as much as Coca-Cola, Nike, Red Bull and Calvin Klein, in a sense that Dell, Asus or Lenovo are very much not. A quick litmus-test is whether they have a significant brand-identity that can be separated from their products (sometimes even more prominent than their actual core product, especially in the case of Coca-Cola or Red Bull). > >It's a simple form of signaling your identity, that you belong to a particular group. > Or it's because Apple products let productive people be productive. See what you just did? Put Apple product users in the group of "productive people being productive"? :) Would you ever say something as generic about a Lenovo laptop? (which has excellent hardware and lets productive people be very productive) That's because Apple is a brand identity, over just being a brand of laptops. As if they're charged with a kind of "soul". You don't have to consider it a bad thing, but I think it's important to at least be aware of these very real differences, because they do influence the way people act, behave and feel about their stuff. And it's nothing new, and it's nothing you can or should prevent, everyone is affected by these ideas to some extent, which is again why it's so important to be aware of it. Just don't deny it.
- tluyben2 13y agoI'll say it again; please advice me what non-Apple laptop to buy which can compete with my 11 inch Air. I tried many and all are more expensive than my 'status fashion Air' and they all feel/work like crap compared. Wobbly/shaky and expensive. But tell me what is better for the same price, I'll get one tomorrow and let's see if what kind of fashion we are talking about.
- mongol 13y agoLenovo Carbon? Maybe it is bigger
- SomeoneWeird 13y agoThe 2012(3?) X1 is lighter than the latest mba
- tluyben2 13y agoI love how the X1 feels/looks, but 14 inch is too large. I find 13 inch actually on the big side. 10-12 inch for a laptop is what I consider perfect. But yes, good one; the X1 is a great machine. So we have one contender :)
- commandar 13y agoThe Lenovo Yoga line is pretty great in general. I've been eyeing them pretty hard recently.
- tluyben2 13y agoI eyed them a while ago, but read a bunch of not very favourable reviews; anyone have hands-on experience for at least a month?
- Aeolus98 13y agoI'm typing this on the top spec Yoga 2 Pro, it's amazing. The main complaints from reviewers were as follows; - yellow tint on screen - Flimsy hinge - low battery life - backlight bleed I'll address them in order. 1. there was a marked discoloration when i saw pictures on the forums, and i almost returned it due to bing scared. When i got it, nothing. Absolutely nothing, though it looked a bit over saturated, which i kinda like on a non-workstation device. 2. The flimsy hinge is not a problem, end of story. Its stiffer than a MBA or MBP,m and only wobbles significantly if you tap it real hard. 3. Battery life is a problem, but if you're like me, i use it in multiple short spurts, coupled with a few long ones. It lasts all day, and while i do wish for a bit more, as for waht it is, it's good. Not great, but good. 4. No backlight bleed, nuff' said. Furthermore i have found myself using the touchscreen far more than i anticipated. It's hands down, IMHO, the best laptop availible today thats an ultraportable. Go get one.
- jey 13y agoNo, what's incredible is that they're simultaneously a tech company and a fashion company. Perhaps it would be most accurate to say they are a design company in the consumer electronics market. Calling them a "design-oriented company" is inclusive of their multiple facets, including usability, fashion, and performance.
- tripzilch 13y agoAnd it's incredible that Coca-Cola is simultaneously mass-producing chemical sludge, selling it to the masses and is a fashion company!
- Camillo 13y agoI'm just going to leave this here: https://twitter.com/asymco/status/396253597551570944 https://twitter.com/asymco/status/396253597551570944
- theon144 13y agoI'm not sure what's the informational value of absolute numbers in this case. It might come out with the same results, but both Microsoft and Samsung have a hell lot more to advertise.
- scott_karana 13y agoI was given a new Macbook Air for work. My primary history with good laptops is the IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad lineup. I don't parade around with the laptop: it's a desk job, with as few dashes over to the datacentre as possible. I work in a highly diverse Windows/Mac/Linux environment. I've been very satisfied with it, except for the slight lack of ports. The speed, solid/useful construction, 16:10 screen, battery life, reasonable OS, et cetera, all suit me well. A Macbook Pro, which has lots more ports and a better screen besides, would likely satisfy me 100%. The extremely similar Lenovo X1 Carbon that I also use in the office is not unfortunately quite as enjoyable, though it's equally utilitarian. The price-point is virtually identical, at least with how we specced them. I had had high hopes for it, because I was considering one to replace my X220. At what point is fashion involved in this equation? Where is the bragging? Where is the fanboyism?
- andyhmltn 13y ago>Apple is more a fashion company than a tech company That's completely false. They make good looking products sure but they aren't just pretty little bricks.
- MBCook 13y agoIt says "MacBook Pro" right under the screen so that's what I think of it as. I also know that the terms are common enough that people will know what I'm talking about (as opposed to my old Inspiron 8000).
- Touche 13y agoI think of it as a computer, or a laptop if I want to be specific that it's portable.
- sliverstorm 13y agoOr maybe "mac"
- anfedorov 13y agoI think that it wouldn't be a problem with a plastic laptop, so specifying that it was a MBP makes sense. "Aluminum laptop" might have sufficed, as well, but that sounds a little weird.
- seanmcdirmid 13y agoMBP would be more appropriate.
- tomkarlo 13y agoMaybe because they have simple and straightforward names that it's reasonable to expect most people will understand. Whereas if you said "my Dell Latitude 3300" most people would have no specific mental image for that. Like it or not, the simplicity of Apple's product line and naming scheme makes their product names more meaningful.
- gabriel34 13y agoWhat generation is his Macbook Pro? ;)
- tomkarlo 13y agoIn terms of what the hand rests look like, it doesn't matter. They've been the same since the introduction in 2006. :)
- tripzilch 13y agono it's the other way around. if people who own another brand of device would mention the name every other time, we'd have (or make sure to have) a good mental image for those as well. Like a William Gibson novel. I don't know what a "Dell Latitude 3300" looks like because its owners do not mention they own one when they talk about "their laptop". If they did, after a few mentions, I'd have gotten a clearer idea on the type of machine, or have looked it up. there's nothing more meaningful about "MacBook Pro" than, say, "EeePC Seashell" (which is arguably an even more evocative name). and especially among computer geeks who care for this kind of thing, adding a series number instead of some word, isn't a problem and actually helps. Apple laptops have numbers too, right? It's easier for me, even because I don't keep track of all the different kinds of Macbooks out there, at least for iOS I can figure "higher number is newer". Just the term "Macbook Pro" merely tells me it's shiny, probably white or aluminium, expensive and owner is either from the US or in the graphic design/music industry. Posted from my Asus EeePC 1215B "Seashell", with Linux Mint, hooked up to a Samsung SyncMaster SA350 24" monitor, typed on a Microsoft Comfort Curv--ahh, sod it.
- tomkarlo 13y ago
- ZoFreX 13y agoOne possible reason is fragmentation: Apple have a small number of ranges with persistent names, whereas their competitors have a lot of models and constantly invent new names for them. Even if everyone name-dropped their kit with equal frequency, a given Apple model would be mentioned far more frequently than any single model from another manufacturer.
- jasonkester 13y agoI have a Macbook Air that gets referred to as "the skinny computer" around the house. (as in, "I hate this f'ng skinny computer. Why won't it let me copy a f'ng photo???). It would never occur to me to refer to it by its model name. My wife has an iPhone 5s. As in, "Hey, toss me your phone. It has a better camera". Guess we're safe there too.
- prawn 13y agoSame reason that people are more likely to namedrop the make of their car (when it's not particularly relevant) if it's a premium brand.
- piyush_soni 13y agoThe post was an advertisement itself.
- easytiger 13y agocan't have people assuming you use an acer. what might they think of you
- herpy 13y agoIt's relevant information for the comment. They'd otherwise have to describe the case material of the laptop. "Scratches the 'patterned aluminum finish' of my laptop," is a bit more verbose in conveying the same information.
- lewww 13y agoA Macbook Pro is made from aluminium. Most other laptops are plastic. Metal-on-metal scratching would be quite different to metal-on-plastic, so I'd say it's relevant.
- hahainternet 13y agoWhy is it quite different? Is it that aluminium is a poor material for a surface likely to suffer repeated abrasions?
- knowaveragejoe 13y agoI find it hilarious that someone actually took the time to point out this incredibly inane detail.
- kbutler 13y agoOn the surface, I agree - but in my case, it's a behavior specific to that particular device. I wear/wore a watch while typing on my chromebook, my Dell laptop, my Lenovo laptop, my old white macbook, and various external keyboards, but when I type on my macbook pro, the watch comes off almost immediately. The watch clasp grating on the wide aluminum bezel quickly drives me to remove the watch.
- ghshephard 13y agoThat wasn't the exact laptop model, just a general laptop description. The Model name is usually something like, "MacBookPro11,1", and an exact model would be, "ME864xx/A","ME865xx/A", or "ME866xx/A". I think it's reasonably to say, "Macbook Pro" as a generic reference. Nothing is really gained/lost by saying, "Mac Laptop". And, you do need to distinguish it's your unibody mac laptop, not a dell laptop, which likely doesn't mind being scratched by a watch that much. This is a Point for Dell! - My Latitude 2120 has been all over the planet in all sorts of rough conditions, doesn't have a visible scratch, unlike my macbook air - which is pretty ugly (but still working) shape after the same two years.
- mikeryan 13y agoI appreciate that, I actually went back and forth on mentioning the specific model. It seemed relevant because of the case material (and dimensions of the trackpad/palm area), and I don't remember having the same issue with previous plastic case laptops.
- gnur 13y agoI had the exact same issue on my 15" mbp, on the 13" rmpb I don't have the issue. It's is most noticeable with watches with metallic bands, but rubber bands also tend to get in the way.
- Cthulhu_ 13y agoidk, I make a clear distinction between laptops and macbooks myself; the last laptops I remember using are quite different from macbooks (OS, (perceived) speed/performance, form factor).
- tlrobinson 13y agoHacker News: where you can find a 40+ comment thread debating the use of generic vs specific device names.
- robmcm 13y agoRelevant due to the fact it has a metal case.