I pretty much agree with all that's being said. Apple has some great software but they are making some mistakes that not enough people are calling them out for.

It's funny that the Iphone is so popular in the states, and I think Europe too. While I think it's a pretty cool phone, most people here in Japan don't like them at all. They think they're slow on the net, and that they are missing features that many other phones have. . . Then again I think Japan is like the leading place for cell phone technology.

I pretty much agree on all fronts. Especially the ridiculous pricing of the Mac Pro line. Well, not as much ridiculous pricing as giving the user far less than they should get. The price points aren't too bad for workstation machines but what you get for them is bad - unlike all previous Mac Pros. The GT120 isn't such a big deal for a workstation machine and is the same as most workstations from rival companies.
In regards to the pricing, yes Apple products do cost more but then their resale value later on down the line is still very high - even with broken products, this can recoup some of those extra initial costs.
What you mention about the pricing is interesting compared with the fact that most users are now choosing laptops over their desktops. Interesting because in the January updates, the iMacs went up in cost and so did the Mac Pros. Maybe Apple is pushing for more users to buy laptops so that they can take those laptops out on the town and advertise the Apple logo.

Oh just let the iPhone users be happy, its like christmas to them.. they get an OS for free, along with the cut and paste function that i've had on my g1 android for some time. I can imagine they joy.. and how mac users go "Hm? Free? Blasphemy! I will pay for it!! Just say how much you want!! No upgrade must be free or under 200 dollars in our apple land!"

nice blog

I was very disappointed with the lack of video card upgrade options in Apple's Power Mac / Mac Pro towers, and it looks like things still have not changed. Psystar showed Apple how it's done.

I agree on all points. Apple has shown itself at being stupendous on releasing features and hardware much later than every other manufacturer and still getting their fans to cheer about it. I don't understand it.

But, probably what makes me mad about them most is #3. The lack of standard ports and hardware like HDMI and card readers is just plain stupid. Displayport is not a standard, and never will be. It reminds me back last year when a buddy walked into my dorm asking how he and his friends could watch movies on their CRT TV using their notebooks. I grabbed an s-video cable and a headphone/RCA cable and went to the room, where I found a load of Macs. After a quick look around, I told them Macs couldn't do it.

Oooh the look on their faces when their $2000 Macs couldn't output to a TV when a $700 Dell one of their friends had could. Priceless.

Oh, and one last thing.

Macs still don't support Blu-ray, do they?

all those features make them complex to use?

remember, apple is a religion. as much as they just release a new product with 1 less screw in it, the worshipers will still joy over it.

i am now just laughing at those who got the MBA at such high price earlier. with a $700 cut and yet apple still making a profit, we can imagine how much premium people are paying for apple's products.

I have had an Imac for some time and i wouldn't trade it for any
Pc of any brand. I've been down the PC traveled road and found myself
broken down do to viruses and software lockups, upgrade jams and driver
issues galore. Since i've gone imac all those silly issues are behind me, so
if i payed extra to get an imac it was well worth it. I no longer wake up
every mourning wondering what issues i'll have with my PC, rather what i
will do once i hit the power button which takes one third the start up time as a PC. Thanks but no thanks to Microsoft and all their followers.

Awesome lets just start another flame war....

Apple haters make me laugh. My first gen 8gb iPhone does me fine daily. If you don't like it don't read about it bypass the story. Yeh other phones had these features long before today but don't have the huge screen or zoom in out finger feature, widescreen movie support built in iPod to name a few. It's the best phone I've had and I've had many over the years. I'll be upgrading to the new 32gb and will be the envy of everyone I know and some I don't. Enjoy your Pre overhyped poor cust service bad review phone I'll be laughing while zipping along at 7.2 hdps net speed ! Hate the game not the gamer!

Must be nice not being able to be able play games, or use a computer.

Have fun in the Dark Ages!

Your ignorance is amazing. "Silly issues behind you"? Last I checked Apple used drivers, could get viruses and has numerous software lockups depending on the program. Oh, and did you ever think that maybe your PC started faster because you got a NEW computer with better hardware (that is if you were stupid enough to not get upgrades for your old PC, which I don't put under your brilliancy).

I have a PC with an i7... a mac user does not understand what i7 means

Let me make my self clear, I don't hate apple simply because they are apple, I them for their products and their way of business. They outright lie to people about their products and then charge them premium plus prices for hardware that should be at least HALF the price. Plus insulting your competition only makes them look more mature and stable than the blabbering fool who can't come up with any real facts.

IF apple decides to become a decent company who sells their hardware at reasonable prices, THEN I would begin considering their computers. Until then they are on my blacklist.

Tuan has a really matured view of Apple now.

Apple needs to reduce prices even further. Someone who enjoys OSX shouldn't have to pay close to double the price for similar hardware.

Apple's Mac pro hardware has been a joke for years.... this is not news.

Their Mac Pro prices have to change. If you want 4 TB's of hard drive it will cost you a cool $1000

I just added 3 TB to my HTPC for a whopping $280 Cnd.

Choosing an OS is a personal choice. I don't fault anyone for choosing one over the other. I also think that a gun should not be pointed at your head saying you have to take this obsolete hardware if you want OSX.

Oh, you want this or that.... too bad, you don't really need it anyway.

Such is Apple.

Remember, Apple is in the business of providing value for their shareholders, not catering to people that want to shoot space aliens in high resolution. That's a problem people don't get, not every product in the world is made for them, and they get annoyed when a company makes a product they don't want. Get over it.

Apple has ALWAYS been overpriced. From their demonically priced original Apple ($666), to the grotesquely priced Apple II line, to the $10,000 Lisa, Apple raped you.

But here's the reality, they never forced anyone to buy their machines, and they have been a very successful company with respect to taking care of their shareholders. They have also almost always beaten Microsoft to the punch, and have pushed hardware much further than every microcomputer maker out there, with the possible exception of IBM when they were still in the business.

On top of that, Apples are the best machines for the price - if you like the way they work. I'd pay the extra cost if I preferred them, regardless of whether it meant an excessive profit for the company, or not. They deserve praise for being the only x86 computer maker out there that actually makes something different, and has computers that give their users are unique experience. If that unique experience suits your needs better than Windows, then it's worth the cost. Period!

They aren't for me, that's for sure, and never have been. We used to call them MacIntoys, in fact. But, I respect the company and love the fact they still are out there, being different, and giving people a choice. The computer world would be worse with Apple gone, not better, even though you can't shoot the evil Zargons in high detail, on an Apple. Fortunately for you, Zargon hunters, you can get a PC to play on. For the other people who use computers to be productive rather than as toys though, Apple offers a solution that might suit their preferences better. I am not knocking gaming, by the way, as it would be hypocritical of me, but I am just saying it is not the end all of computers, and is not what everyone uses them for.

Choice is good. I am glad Apple is around - for other people that like them.

If i were Microsoft's advertising manager, i would consider a comedy ad.

Ok you states that "cut and paste for example was held out for so long, that now when Apple unveils it at a big convention people go nuts over it."

The Microsoft ad should try to "act" that they are doing keynote (or powerpoint, whichever works fine ) speech, and reveal all the ctrl-c ctrl-x etc etc.. And each time they reveal the "feature" the crowds went nuts... crying... clapping... hugging... OMG, i am already laughing in my head.

Basically, I laugh at Mac users while I enjoy my awesome gaming/recreation computer that only cost about $1000.

Yea, Apple really beat M$ to the punch on that whole right-clicking thing...

to quote someone else. If you need your hand held, get a mac. other wise anything else out there might let you do to many things to get lost in.

I totally agree with you.

What are YOU ALL talking about? My MAC is awsome! It has Antec Performance One case (BLACK), Intel Core2Duo Penryn 3.2GHz (overclocked), 4GB RAM, 8800GT, Audigy ZS 2, Microsoft InteliMoussse with like 5 buttons, Microsoft $10 Keyboard, etc... all for ~$500 bought from various places >1 years ago. It's cheap! Quit complaining about expensive MAC's.

So I have been using my MAC OSX Leopard Cheetah Custard version something for like 1 month now. And my first impression was WTH only 2 mouse BUTTONS!!!!!! I can't click the back button oh no!!!! WTH why isn't my XFI sound working? And then I calmed down after I saw the school icons poping up when i hover the mouse over, and Oh MMM Geez xxxPose!!! All that glittering stuffs entralled and sucked my in like honey!

Then I loaded up World of Warcraft: The Time Sucker, Job Loosing, Hair Pulling, etc...King of MMORPGESSUMTHING. Oh WoW! WTH my WoW ZBoard KB special keys don't work no mo'!!! Oh NO!!! OOOh I just have to go to ideazon.com and download drivers! La la la la Safari la la la ideazon.com ... DubleU Tea FFFF where the FFFFFF is the driver?? And WTH how can I get more than 2 damn mouse buttons???
Yeah well can go find it and post it here for me??????

So sad for those fork out $2k to get a MAC. You can come back to Windoze whenever u know.

Well Tuan, in response to that article while keeping the one you did before I must say that you are an hypocrite, I am not trying to insult you in any way, I just calls them as I sees them...take it like a man and accept it.

But for you to come out an write this article, you must be commended. I agree and I've been saying the same thing for years. I don't hate Apple per say, I just hate their ideology when it comes to hardware...and me being a technician who specializes in hardware I find it insulting when someone tries to convince me that Apple hardware is worth the extra price.

Kudos Tuan, kudos!

Apples choice of hardware for their current mac pro was very strange.

The dual i7 core cpu's and memory are impressive, and make for a very good station.

But then limit it to only 1 4870 card? the 4 card nvidia option is basically the same as 2 4870's. I can see it being useful for someone using cuda, but the cards for nvidia are low end...

It's basically a workstation with crappy options for video, designed for people who need the video punch as much or more then the cpu power.

It's a system with very strange upgrade options.

I dont think you guys really get it. Not everyone who buys an apple is interested in pushing 150fps on the latest uber-shooter game.

Sure, apple doesn't provide 'competitive' video card options. I'll give you that. And traditionally, the hardware has always been overpriced.

But you know what, I have a house full of apple products, which rarely require my attention. My kids cant kill them. I turn them on, they WORK every time.

I got off the 'driver upgrade' train a long time ago.... I just want my computer to work for ME... not the other way around.

You mean dual Xeons. The QPI makes dual processor motherboards for the i7 impossible.

Really, if you're not into performance computing, you don't really need to upgrade drivers for PCs. For probably 85% of PC users, the stock drivers with the machine are just fine, and will work flawlessly for their simple computing needs. So, in the same situation, a PC requires just as much attention as a Mac...which is almost none.

Yes I think you're right. I was just in Japan and I was checking out Sony and KDDI phones. They HAVE TV!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even better there are some that have 12.1 Mega pixel cammeras. I think that 8MP was the standard for most.
I agree Japan has some nice phones and the features are things that I find useful. The Flip style with a huge screen beats any iphone that I can ever imagine coming from Apple. Come on apple or anyone for that matter bring us some EXCITING cell-phones!