I think it's fair to say that Apple has a hard time catering to the audience that reads Tom's Hardware. Based on some of my past articles, some things are really clear, while others are still up in the air.
A recent report by analyst said that Apple would have to reduce its price significantly, to do well in the current economy. The analyst gave a suggestion to Apple: reduce the price of its MacBook (the white one) down to $700. But, realistically, this one price reduction isn't going to make much of a huge impact for Apple during the recession. Let's look at some of Apple's prices:
- Apple Mighty Mouse Wireless: $69
- 8 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 4 GB) for the iMac: $1000
- 8 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM (4 x 2 GB) for the Mac Pro: $250
- 1 TB 7200-RPM SATA2 HDD: $300
I honestly think the above prices are stratospheric, insane. The 1 TB HDD for example, can be had for less than 1/3 of the price that Apple is selling it for. The 8 GB of memory for the iMac--which is Apple's mainstream system--costs a whopping $1000, four times as much as the same amount for the high-end Mac Pro. Obviously, there's the price issue here.
The question of the day is: What don't you like about Macs?
Is it the pricing?
Is it the software?
Is it the operating system?
Is it the compatibility?
Is it Mac users?
Or is it simply that it's Apple?
Explain your case.
About software: essentially now, there's hardly discrepancy between a Windows system and a Mac, because you can reboot into Windows natively. So in terms of software compatibility, both are the same. Moot point there for Apple. Also, with some recompiling of most Linux applications, you're able to run them on your Mac no problem. While Parallels and Fusion do virtualization, they're not as fast as running something native--hence Boot Camp.
Save for the actual design and some features, a Mac Pro a nicely built PC. The difference is clearly in the operating system. So it must be about workflow and the method in which you go about doing things. But even this isn't enough. And Apple's got a pretty bad rap with PC users.
But Apple's made some (limited) progress. Cutting some prices here and there. Apple's latest system, the Nehalem-based Mac Pro is quite a beast. The 8-core version is quite powerful, but it's priced at $3,299. Most PC users here will argue that they can build a very similarly equipped system for far less.
Challenge: Build your own Nehalem Mac Pro. The specs are as follows: 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-core Nehalem-based Intel Xeon processors, 6 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC memory, compatible server boar, 640 GB 7200-RPM SATA2 HDD, Nvidia GeForce GT 120 512 MB, sound card, DVD-RW drive, case, mouse and keyboard. In fact, use our store here to find prices for cheap components, or use a well known online retailer like Newegg to build your PC. Try to beat Apple's pricing as far as you can. And then throw in a good operating system.
What's your final price? Post your build and price in the comments!
We all know Apple gives some heavy competition to big PC builders like Dell, and HP, and even give Microsoft good competition. So we welcome its presence in the industry. Competition is great for everyone. If you do like Apple hardware, what then would be the one major thing you would suggest Apple do differently
Update: Try to explain your arguments as best as possible; give examples wherever possible--but keep the comments clean guys, don't insult other commenters.