Apple must DIE...

[chillzatl]

it's time to rant... Apple, the company that brought you such "innovative" products as the ipod, the iphone, appleTV and now the Macbook Air, must die. They are a pox upon the landscape of free thinking and consumer choice. It's distrubing to me that this company continues to find success while offering nothing in the way of true innovation beyond cool packaging and brain-washing marketing.

for instance:

The iphone can't do functions that people want and have been using for years now, but because the packaging is pretty, it's hailed as innovative.. The web browsing is slow, you can't send SMS, the "keyboard" blows, but again, it's hailed as innovative because you can flip through pictures and music with your greasy fingers?

The Macbook air is thin and light weight, but it also goes completely against what the rest of the laptops in the industry are doing. When other manufacturers are trying to give you more of everything in as small and convenient a package as possible, Apple puts out a laptop that gives you less and is hailed as innovative. You can only have 2gb of ram, but according to their website this is "more-than-generous". The hard drive is literally last decade technology and also can't be user upgraded. It only includes one USB port, has no optical drive (nobody burns dvds anymore), has no wired ethernet porta and like all their other produts, you can't buy and replace the battery yourself. Yet this is innovative because it's thin and light? How light will it be when you factor in the 5lbs of gear you have to carry around with you to make it truely usable?

I won't even get started about AppleTV, becuase for the most part, it's a flop product but they do keep trying..

Apple is corporate communism. They only give you what they want you to have and they know you will be happy with that. Because really, you have no choice but to be happy with it. but rest assured, after everyone complains about what they can't do, they will give you another model within 12 months that ALMOST gives you everything you need at only 15% the markup over what the previous model just cost you.

Apple MUST DIE.

[Plainview1981]

Apple rules. I couldn't do without my Ipod.

[ATLSmith]

Quote:

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The Macbook air is thin and light weight, but it also goes completely against what the rest of the laptops in the industry are doing. When other manufacturers are trying to give you more of everything in as small and convenient a package as possible, Apple puts out a laptop that gives you less and is hailed as innovative. You can only have 2gb of ram, but according to their website this is "more-than-generous". The hard drive is literally last decade technology and also can't be user upgraded. It only includes one USB port, has no optical drive (nobody burns dvds anymore), has no wired ethernet porta and like all their other produts, you can't buy and replace the battery yourself. Yet this is innovative because it's thin and light? How light will it be when you factor in the 5lbs of gear you have to carry around with you to make it truely usable?

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All good points, but people are still going to buy it. Some poeple only need the basics; word processing, email, etc.

[ATLJA316]

I have to back up apple here....

especially in the iphone dept.

what can the iPhone not do that we've been doing for years?

the only think I know of for sure is tty service. (which is something I've never used anyway)

Web browsing is only slow when using EDGE (which is a service provided by AT&T, not Apple) -- when browsing via wi-fi, the net is as fast as the connection allows.

the keyboard on the iPhone is the best one i've ever had, and I've had ALOT of nice phones...

It pre-detects, and auto-corrects spelling errors verry accurately as well.

As for the Macbook Air -- Apple is only providing options in this department...not saying ' you must buy this laptop with only 1 usb port and no dvd drive, etc...'.

If someone simply needs the basics, it's a wonderful package. If they need more, they can get the MacBook, or MacBook Pro. Nothing 'communist' about providing consumers with choice!

Now, I know apple products seem over priced, and it has pretty packaging, and so on....but honestly....

How many people here have had an Apple product break on them?

I never have...

Also, take a look at their stock over the course of the last 7 years...

pretty amazing huh?

[Admin]

I agree on what you said but I have yet to find an mp3 player/management system that is better than iTunes/iPod so that's the one area where they have converted a life long anti-Mac guy like myself.

I also have to say that the huge new iMacs are pretty cool as a graphics guy. I still won't use them because I would much rather have a powerful laptop with docking station and monitors so that I can take my work with me anywhere but for an all in one solution that doesn't take up much space you have to appreciate that.

Apple products are great for people who don't mind overpaying and aren't interested in upgrading the product on their own.

[Diesel]

Quote:

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it's time to rant... Apple, the company that brought you such "innovative" products as the ipod, the iphone, appleTV and now the Macbook Air, must die. They are a pox upon the landscape of free thinking and consumer choice. It's distrubing to me that this company continues to find success while offering nothing in the way of true innovation beyond cool packaging and brain-washing marketing.

for instance:

The iphone can't do functions that people want and have been using for years now, but because the packaging is pretty, it's hailed as innovative.. The web browsing is slow, you can't send SMS, the "keyboard" blows, but again, it's hailed as innovative because you can flip through pictures and music with your greasy fingers?

The Macbook air is thin and light weight, but it also goes completely against what the rest of the laptops in the industry are doing. When other manufacturers are trying to give you more of everything in as small and convenient a package as possible, Apple puts out a laptop that gives you less and is hailed as innovative. You can only have 2gb of ram, but according to their website this is "more-than-generous". The hard drive is literally last decade technology and also can't be user upgraded. It only includes one USB port, has no optical drive (nobody burns dvds anymore), has no wired ethernet porta and like all their other produts, you can't buy and replace the battery yourself. Yet this is innovative because it's thin and light? How light will it be when you factor in the 5lbs of gear you have to carry around with you to make it truely usable?

I won't even get started about AppleTV, becuase for the most part, it's a flop product but they do keep trying..

Apple is corporate communism. They only give you what they want you to have and they know you will be happy with that. Because really, you have no choice but to be happy with it. but rest assured, after everyone complains about what they can't do, they will give you another model within 12 months that ALMOST gives you everything you need at only 15% the markup over what the previous model just cost you.

Apple MUST DIE.

Dude..

If Apple were cheaper, there would be nothing else.

This is cool!!

You're right, they are masters of marketting (always have been)....

But they get the label innovative is because everything that they make is people friendly. You don't have to be some Geeksquad member to understand what's going on. They were the first to do plug and play. The first to do out of the box, ready to go. The first to do what is now called "windows"...

Lead the world with ipod...

The first to give customers wifi, which they called airport.

And they are still damn good at marketting..

[Admin]

Mac was NOT the first to introduce what we know as "Windows". They absolutely stole their dashboard view for a computer from Xerox and if it wasn't for the fact that Bill Gates didn't want to have a monopoly there wouldn't be an Apple today because he saved them years ago when they were going bankrupt. Apple is thriving today because they feed off of people who don't mind overpaying in most cases (and significantly in some) for things they could do themselves and are also feeding off of their trendy designs.

As for Apple being any cheaper, well, let's not even go there.

[Eddielives]

Wasn't the iphone the first cell phone where the company making the phone wasn't restricted in it's functionality by the cell service providers? If I'm correct, that in and of itself makes it sort of a pioneer new product. I can also honestly say that my use of Mac computers in high school(around 1993) was a very positive one. They just worked so well and the desktop publishing programs were so easy to use and understand. It sure blew wordperfect out of the water.

[chillzatl]

only because you haven't tried something else and you're content to only use itunes to get music from point a to point b. Also if you choose to buy music from Itunes, it's only yours as long as you have an ipod to put it on. So technically, it's not yours at all. If company X comes out with a neat new player and you buy that player, you also have to buy music somewhere else to put on it.

[chillzatl]

until the latest release you couldn't send text messages and even with the release it's buggy as hell. You still can't attach pics to those txt messages. That's only been a key feature in phones for... years now..

Edge is the only option you have and it is dialup speed. For a device that's billed as convenient and "on the go", having dialup level service kinda defeats the purpose. Wi-fi isn't available everywhere and even when it is there's no guarantee you can gain access to it.

To be honest, I guess the keyboard is a matter of personal taste. But as someone who has used a variety of qwerty flipouts, the apple keyboard is attrocious. I use an HTC with a flip out full qwerty and I assure you you would not think the apple keyboard is better. I sacrifice thickness (about 1/2 x thicker than an iphone, but I lose nothing on the screen when using it, my fingerprints don't smear the screen and it provides real tactile feedback.

And i'm sorry but that is not what apple is selling. It may appear that way to you on the outside, but that's simply because they are DAMNED GOOD MARKETERS. Granted their marketing only works if you choose to let it work, which I do not, but the very nature of their feature limited, apple-locked products disturb me. The fact that they are called innovative is laughable. I give them credit on their packaging, they make truely beautiful products, but shiny and sparkly doesn't defeat usability for me.

I can break apple products in seconds. Their OS is billed as being more stable, but only if you limit what you do on it to what it comes with. The minute you start installing "other things", you know, some other non-apple software that you might actually want to use in the name of personal preference and choice, good luck. If you're talking hardware, I need not mention the rash of bad screens, failed batteries, cracking finishes and various other issues that have plagued them in recent years.

Their stock price means nothing in the context of the discussion.

[chillzatl]

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Wasn't the iphone the first cell phone where the company making the phone wasn't restricted in it's functionality by the cell service providers? If I'm correct, that in and of itself makes it sort of a pioneer new product. I can also honestly say that my use of Mac computers in high school(around 1993) was a very positive one. They just worked so well and the desktop publishing programs were so easy to use and understand. It sure blew wordperfect out of the water.

NOt sure what you mean by unrestricted functionality. I know full well that you can't simply install any app you want on it. THey do have an SDK for it, but it's still limited by what they choose to let you do. Once someone makes an app that they don't like, you can rest assured it will result in voided warranties.

[chillzatl]

Apple computers and MacOs will never be more than a niche product, regardless of price, because their philosphy does not fly in business and business is where dominance is decided. Businesses don't want to be told that "you can't do this because we won't allow it yet", and then 8 months later be told "you can do that now, just upgrade to this new model". That's how apple survives. That's how they're able to release new ipods that offer little more than slightly more storage than the previous model and convince people they need to upgrade.

[Plainview1981]

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only because you haven't tried something else and you're content to only use itunes to get music from point a to point b. Also if you choose to buy music from Itunes, it's only yours as long as you have an ipod to put it on. So technically, it's not yours at all. If company X comes out with a neat new player and you buy that player, you also have to buy music somewhere else to put on it.

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Well, from what I hear, you aren't even supposed to burn CD's even for your own use. So, CD's really aren't yours either. All I need is something for the basic stuff. I don't buy CD's no more because there is nothing new that excites me.

The last CD I bought was the Los Lonely Boys CD and I was really let down. Even the VH best of both worlds cd wasn't up to snuff. Cd's now are just a big letdown.

Besides, I was halfway playing around with you because you seemed so serious on this issue.

[Eddielives]

I remember Clark Howard talking alot about the iphone up until and after it's release. He was saying that apple told cingular that they weren't going to dictate what the phone's capabilities were, which hadn't been done up until that time. In other words, up until the iphone, If I understand Clark correctly, all cell phones were limited in their technology by the cell providers saying this is what we will allow to work on our networks and you can only develop a product within those parameters. I think that it's apple's ability to break the control over what cell phones can do by the cell providers, if I'm understanding Clark correctly, which makes it a "breakthrough" product.

Don't get me wrong, you make some good points about apple. I'm no apple supporter by any means. Their products(mainly computers) are way to pricy for my budget.

[AHF]

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only because you haven't tried something else and you're content to only use itunes to get music from point a to point b. Also if you choose to buy music from Itunes, it's only yours as long as you have an ipod to put it on. So technically, it's not yours at all. If company X comes out with a neat new player and you buy that player, you also have to buy music somewhere else to put on it.

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iTunes is as functional as pretty much any other software.

Just as an aside, iTunes does have a selection of music that is encoded at 256 kbps and does not come with any digital right limitations. It can easily be put on other players within the law. Of course, there are programs that take out the media rights and can make music from iTunes accessible by any player easily as well.

Either way, you can always just download your music from somewhere other than iTunes and use iTunes with it (unless those files in turn have restrictions on them which is the same thing you are complaining about with iTunes anyway).

For an mp3 player, I have been very happy with Apple.

[Admin]

I have purchased maybe 5 songs from iTunes in the past 2 years and that's only because I couldn't find them elsewhere, yet I have a music collection that is almost at 10,000 songs and I use iTunes exclusively to manage them and it's easy to use and convenient. I can find cover art on Amazon.com or make my own and easily add that to mp3's.

Not only that but when you buy music from iTunes even if it's in their proprietary format you can directly burn an mp3 CD from them and then it's no longer in their format.

As a very anti-mac guy for me to be signing the praises of itunes and the ipod says a lot.

[Diesel]

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Mac was NOT the first to introduce what we know as "Windows". They absolutely stole their dashboard view for a computer from Xerox and if it wasn't for the fact that Bill Gates didn't want to have a monopoly there wouldn't be an Apple today because he saved them years ago when they were going bankrupt. Apple is thriving today because they feed off of people who don't mind overpaying in most cases (and significantly in some) for things they could do themselves and are also feeding off of their trendy designs.

As for Apple being any cheaper, well, let's not even go there.

About Xerox. While that's true... Xerox computers were never sold in the homes... So Xerox brought nothing. Had it not been for apple, this technology now called windows would not have seen the light of day.

[Diesel]

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Apple computers and MacOs will never be more than a niche product, regardless of price, because their philosphy does not fly in business and business is where dominance is decided. Businesses don't want to be told that "you can't do this because we won't allow it yet", and then 8 months later be told "you can do that now, just upgrade to this new model". That's how apple survives. That's how they're able to release new ipods that offer little more than slightly more storage than the previous model and convince people they need to upgrade.

I don't know Chillz. If Mac prices were competitive with Dell and Gateway prices... and the software availability had always been even... There would be nobody else. I used a mac for 10 years straight without having it crash or have a virus. I bought a gateway and it had a virus in the first month.

In my last mac, the one thing I really liked was the self updates. I didn't have to wait to use a certain application before I'm given the option to update the software. The Mac would update itself... which was pretty time saving.

As far as Business need...

I think part of that is the historical problem of software availability. However, I think I told you that once Mac made a computer than was Windows capable, they could possible change the face of computer sales.

[Diesel]

Speaking of Clark Howard. I remember maybe 5 years ago, Clark Howard talking about what became itunes. He said that you would be able to purchase songs for 1 dollar... instead of buying the whole album. I think it has fallen into the thread of society... however, you have to really think about it.

NOW you can buy songs, tv shows, books, video, and Movies.. or rent movies.. If that's not innovative, then somebody needs to change the definition. Moreover, you can put these items on your monitor, ipod, or iphone.

I'm telling you the next thing that will happen is that you will be able to make a halodeck in your house.

You're going to have an i-room where you just hook up all these sensors and crap to your house and you will be able to be a part of a TV show or play a video game inside of your room!!

I guess that won't be innovative either.

Star Trek!

[Admin]

excuse that people make for using a Mac. There is a reason why Macs don't get viruses, because hackers don't give a damn about writing viruses for Macs. There aren't even 1% of the amount of applications that you can run on a Mac that you can run on a PC which drastically reduces the number of ways to get a virus on a Mac.

I have more than a hundred applications on my PC and I haven't had a virus in 5 years. Before that only stupidity on my part for letting other people use my PC ever got me a virus. You really have to be pretty clueless about using a computer to get a virus these days.