APPLE is a great example how the Free-Market is suppose to work.

[nooera]

Originally Posted by ikari XD

Originally Posted by milestailsprowe

Mac's have a illusion that make it seem they have the greatest product when they dont. They have great commercials and word on the street. Apple products
have no clear advantage over most products besides its can also be used as a fashion accessory.

This. It also seems like a lot more females have macs compared to males, and also douche-bag type of guys (not to stereotype/hate on you macheads...going by what I see on campus). They all seem happy with their choices though...it does everything they need it to do, browse the internet, type docs in word, and have a webcam. Its just odd that they couldnt have paid half the price for the same thing with a PC. At least it looks pretty?

Were you thinking like this when you were buying Nike's instead of some Shaqs? They do the same thing and the Shaqs will probably last longer and are a 1/3of the price

I have an iPhone, best phone ever. I have a MBP, and i'm a happy dude. I bought both these items with my own money and don't abusethem, so they'll last me a long time. I know if i was downloading the %+$% i do on my MBP on some Dell or some %+$%, my joint woulda been dead months ago.Pop-ups everywhere, runnin mad slow

Btw , to each their own.

 

[los yankees]

How does this thread go from "Apple succeeding in a free market" to "PC > MAC, MAC > PC"?

 

[lrrr]

Originally Posted by Lrrr

have you guys with macs played any good games lately?

 

[wallyhopp]

gullible consumers moreso than apple being great

 

[supraturbo619]

Originally Posted by WallyHopp

gullible consumers moreso than apple being great

Comments like this is why the thread took a different direction.

Just take the article for what it is, Apple is one of the few companies that are successful regardless of economy (like Nike, Samsung, Pepsi)

 

[kicktionair]

Products are not superior to others, just very polished and marketed flawlesly.

why does the ipod have no fm radio? while my $10 mp3 player can do 5x more functions than the ipod.

hype.

 

[sole vintage]

Originally Posted by Lrrr

Originally Posted by Lrrr

have you guys with macs played any good games lately?

i cant run my crysis on a MAC

 

[boys noize]

Originally Posted by Lrrr

Originally Posted by Lrrr

have you guys with macs played any good games lately?

Computer games haven't interested me since Counter-Strike 1.6

Will be playing Starcraft 2 though. Hopefully on a new 27" iMac

 

[nooera]

Originally Posted by Lrrr

Originally Posted by Lrrr

have you guys with macs played any good games lately?

Haha why are you going so hard? Dude with a mac smash your girl?

 

[wallyhopp]

Originally Posted by SupraTurbo619

Originally Posted by WallyHopp

gullible consumers moreso than apple being great

Comments like this is why the thread took a different direction.

Just take the article for what it is, Apple is one of the few companies that are successful regardless of economy (like Nike, Samsung, Pepsi)

Maybe I should have said "vast majority of consumers are gullible". Most, if not, all people in here have truly valid points taboutapples and I appreciate those level headed responses. It's the masses of people that are the norm, that bring you guys down.

I will say, its very dangerous for this continued growth as investors will expect this year in and year out. What did Nike do to combate that and haveincreased sales? Cheapened up their product. And by the looks of things, Apple could do just that, as they have "new" releases every few months onproducts that should already come with said "upgrades". The road to cutting corners is already upon us.

As the title of the thread suggests, its not only a great example of a free market "win" but eventually a free market "fail" from aconsumer quality standpoint.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Originally Posted by Los Yankees

Originally Posted by verynecessary

Originally Posted by Th3RealF0lkBlu3s

It's not that Apple is making a superior product (which they do not), it's that they've masterfully captured the imagination of people and made their brand name synonymous with those that have the money to spend.

yea, plus they basically came up with the rise of the digital music market, so now to most consumers who don't know any better, every mp3 player is an ipod. they're not bad products, but they're not the best. apple nailed the marketing of it all -- advertising, branding, luxury pricing, etc at the right time to become a major player.

i doubt there are more than a handful of companies that can achieve the same kind of growth while still having a relatively low market share for their major products. most other industries/markets are saturated or have a lot less room for innovation.

You can debate if they have a better product till the end of days, but those numbers speak for themselves. Look at those graphs, people aren't buying expensive products just because of a clever commercial and a pretty screen.

Is stupid. Windows is designed to run on a wide array of products/machines. At least 90% of the world's computers/OS-operated systems run Windows

No, its not stupid. Congress threatened Bill Gates because just because they were making a product that more people wanted and making a lot of profit they thought he had a monopoly. You can control 99.9% of the market if you wanted to, but unless you are preventing other companies from competition via cartels or government, it isnt a monopoly.

What does anything any of you are saying have to do with the fact that Apple made a free market work for them? This is not a debate thread about who makes a better product.

Yep.

There is no free market.

Technology isnt regulated...yet. Therefore it's Free.




?

You're the one who started the debate by stating that Apple "simply makes a better product than everybody else,"and using that as the primereason for them doing well fiscally.

And I would disagree with your point about people buying things not simply because they're impressed by them. If you were to question the people who wentinto an Apple store about Mac's, I'm certain a high percentage of them wouldn't know too much, other than that they like the way they look orbecause someone (or something, like a commercial) recommended it to them.

 

[jr paperstacks]

*shrug* I read every post because it's kind of interesting to me...

...but honestly, as long as I can type a Word document, get on the net and listen to music...I'm good. I realized that when I was about to buy a Mac. (Ididn't)

 

[ikari xd]

Originally Posted by NooEra

Originally Posted by ikari XD

Originally Posted by milestailsprowe

Mac's have a illusion that make it seem they have the greatest product when they dont. They have great commercials and word on the street. Apple products
have no clear advantage over most products besides its can also be used as a fashion accessory.

This. It also seems like a lot more females have macs compared to males, and also douche-bag type of guys (not to stereotype/hate on you macheads...going by what I see on campus). They all seem happy with their choices though...it does everything they need it to do, browse the internet, type docs in word, and have a webcam. Its just odd that they couldnt have paid half the price for the same thing with a PC. At least it looks pretty?

Were you thinking like this when you were buying Nike's instead of some Shaqs? They do the same thing and the Shaqs will probably last longer and are a 1/3 of the price

I have an iPhone, best phone ever. I have a MBP, and i'm a happy dude. I bought both these items with my own money and don't abuse them, so they'll last me a long time. I know if i was downloading the %+$% i do on my MBP on some Dell or some %+$%, my joint woulda been dead months ago. Pop-ups everywhere, runnin mad slow

Btw , to each their own.

But I want a shoe that looks pretty. I don't need a computer that looks pretty. I would definitely look into an MBP if I needed it forwhatever line of work I was in in terms of compatibility, ease of use, and safety, but I'm not going to front and cop a MBP just to show it off, you know?And I'm not saying you do, since it sounds like you value what you've purchased and enjoy it, I'm talking about the people that rock them out likeaccessories as opposed to functional tools. Like I said though, it does what they need it to do. I just feel critical about it all because I don't believeMacs are necessarily a better product for the everyday consumer, and yet many people who own them swear by them as such.

 

[torontoraptor15]

Originally Posted by Los Yankees

They simply make a better product than everybody else.

Wow Apple sure has you brainwashed.

There are so many better products out there that most people don't even know about because all they care about is that it looks pretty.

Cowon mp3 players - much better SQ than anything Apple puts out
Zune HD - hardware/feature kicks anything the iPod has

Lenovo - better than anything Apple puts out in terms of reliability and quality

That's just a start. But most people don't care to research this stuff because they like the nice shiny Apple products and don't mind gettingripped off in the process.

It's always amazing to me how Apple can put out an inferior product and still make people pay a premium for it. They have good marketing/design team,I'll give them that.

 

[los yankees]

Originally Posted by Th3RealF0lkBlu3s

Originally Posted by Los Yankees

Originally Posted by verynecessary

Originally Posted by Th3RealF0lkBlu3s

It's not that Apple is making a superior product (which they do not), it's that they've masterfully captured the imagination of people and made their brand name synonymous with those that have the money to spend.

yea, plus they basically came up with the rise of the digital music market, so now to most consumers who don't know any better, every mp3 player is an ipod. they're not bad products, but they're not the best. apple nailed the marketing of it all -- advertising, branding, luxury pricing, etc at the right time to become a major player.

i doubt there are more than a handful of companies that can achieve the same kind of growth while still having a relatively low market share for their major products. most other industries/markets are saturated or have a lot less room for innovation.

You can debate if they have a better product till the end of days, but those numbers speak for themselves. Look at those graphs, people aren't buying expensive products just because of a clever commercial and a pretty screen.

Is stupid. Windows is designed to run on a wide array of products/machines. At least 90% of the world's computers/OS-operated systems run Windows

No, its not stupid. Congress threatened Bill Gates because just because they were making a product that more people wanted and making a lot of profit they thought he had a monopoly. You can control 99.9% of the market if you wanted to, but unless you are preventing other companies from competition via cartels or government, it isnt a monopoly.

What does anything any of you are saying have to do with the fact that Apple made a free market work for them? This is not a debate thread about who makes a better product.

Yep.

There is no free market.

Technology isnt regulated...yet. Therefore it's Free.




?

You're the one who started the debate by stating that Apple "simply makes a better product than everybody else,"and using that as the prime reason for them doing well fiscally.

And I would disagree with your point about people buying things not simply because they're impressed by them. If you were to question the people who went into an Apple store about Mac's, I'm certain a high percentage of them wouldn't know too much, other than that they like the way they look or because someone (or something, like a commercial) recommended it to them.


You missed the point of the thread. I'm not saying Apple makes a better product because of my opinion. I'm saying they make a better product becausethey are making more profit than anyone else. They are willing to pay $1000 for a 13" Macbook rather than paying $600 for a 17" HP or Dell in thiseconomy. People buy the best quality at the lowest price, that's how Supply and Demand works. Obviously from those numbers, Apple is making a betterquality product at the lowest price Apple offers and it is obviously works for them. I can care less if overall they really do make a better product or not,frankly I never heard anyone I know who owns a Mac or an Apple product complain about anything.

It isn't only the product that sells, it's their customer service. They teach you how to do the "ins and outs" of using a Mac in the store,or if it is defective they fix it for you right there or even replace it, they have a good warranty that attracts people to them, the fact that they are morereliable and less vulnerable to viruses also attracts people. Granted, they have great marketing and their management knows what sells, but you cant say thatpeople are willing to spend more on a product in this economy just based on a commercial or it "looks cool". I bought a Mac for the first time overthe weekend, not really knowing what it involved. I went to the store and got educated on how their system works ect. I figured it couldnt be worse than havinga PC which was crashing even with paying for Anti-Viruses and spending $200 to get it fixed everytime it decided not to work. I highly doubt your assumption ofa "high percentage" of people who go in there having no idea what it is about other than the fact "it looks cool" holds water, I'mpretty sure a lot of people made the switch because of the reason I switched, or they always used one, or they liked the quality of the Ipod and bought anIphone, or had an Iphone and liked the quality and bough a Mac.

As of today.

AAPL - $204.9
MSFT - $26.5
DELL - $15.1
HP - $44.4

Those number say a lot. Investors don't spend money on an inferior product.

 

[wawaweewa]

Originally Posted by Los Yankees



AAPL - $204.9
MSFT - $26.5
DELL - $15.1
HP - $44.4

Those number say a lot. Investors don't spend money on an inferior product.

You have to look at the float as well.

AAPL- 896m shares
MSFT - 8.95b shares
HPQ- 2.4b shares
DELL- 2b shares

This is not taking anything away from AAPL. It has the largest market cap out of the four behind MSFT.

AAPL is AAPL. They are always a quarter away from rapid implosion (in terms of sales; though they have lots of cash on hand) when the next hype machine comesalong and the hypebeasts flee.

 

[mac a roni]

[color= rgb(102, 0, 153)]Honestly.....is there an mp3 player similar to the touch out now? I heard of a few but none weredropping[/color]

 

[torontoraptor15]

I can't blame Apple for making as much profit as possible. That is what a business is and they're very successful.

However, people that blindly buy Apple products because they look good or they're popular is what bothers me. They're getting ripped off and theydon't care. It's not my money but it just tells you something about how mindless some people are.

My roommate has a Macbook and she asked me which are the best laptop brands. I told her Lenovo make a really good laptop in terms of reliability and she'slike WHAT? I love her but she's just happy with her shiny Macbook, she even told me that's why she bought it.

 

[senatorjeffsmith]

Macs won't have blu-ray drives though:

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3575

 

[torontoraptor15]

Originally Posted by Mac A Roni

[color= rgb(102, 0, 153)]Honestly.....is there an mp3 player similar to the touch out now? I heard of a few but none were dropping[/color]

Give the ZuneHD a try.

 

[suckafree85]

love my mac

 

[omgitswes]

Originally Posted by Lrrr

have you guys with macs played any good games lately?

lol, never really realized that there are no games for Macs for real

 

[mac a roni]

Originally Posted by torontoRaptor15

Originally Posted by Mac A Roni

[color= rgb(102, 0, 153)]Honestly.....is there an mp3 player similar to the touch out now? I heard of a few but none were dropping[/color]

Give the ZuneHD a try.

[color= rgb(102, 0, 153)]skeptical....my old zune just conked out on me randomly...but ima check it out prolly[/color]

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Los Yankees wrote:

You missed the point of the thread. I'm not saying Apple makes a better product because of my opinion. I'm saying they make a better product because they are making more profit than anyone else. They are willing to pay $1000 for a 13" Macbook rather than paying $600 for a 17" HP or Dell in this economy. People buy the best quality at the lowest price, that's how Supply and Demand works. Obviously from those numbers, Apple is making a better quality product at the lowest price Apple offers and it is obviously works for them. I can care less if overall they really do make a better product or not, frankly I never heard anyone I know who owns a Mac or an Apple product complain about anything.

It isn't only the product that sells, it's their customer service. They teach you how to do the "ins and outs" of using a Mac in the store, or if it is defective they fix it for you right there or even replace it, they have a good warranty that attracts people to them, the fact that they are more reliable and less vulnerable to viruses also attracts people. Granted, they have great marketing and their management knows what sells, but you cant say that people are willing to spend more on a product in this economy just based on a commercial or it "looks cool". I bought a Mac for the first time over the weekend, not really knowing what it involved. I went to the store and got educated on how their system works ect. I figured it couldnt be worse than having a PC which was crashing even with paying for Anti-Viruses and spending $200 to get it fixed everytime it decided not to work. I highly doubt your assumption of a "high percentage" of people who go in there having no idea what it is about other than the fact "it looks cool" holds water, I'm pretty sure a lot of people made the switch because of the reason I switched, or they always used one, or they liked the quality of the Ipod and bought an Iphone, or had an Iphone and liked the quality and bough a Mac.

As of today.

AAPL - $204.9
MSFT - $26.5
DELL - $15.1
HP - $44.4

Those number say a lot. Investors don't spend money on an inferior product.




Ah, okay, I do see what you mean now. I thought you meant that they had a better product from purely a consumer's stand point, but you'reconsidering the vision of investors and others like them. I do agree with that.

I'm still not sold that the majority of first time Mac users are knowledgeable about Macs before giving them a go. It is true that Apple's customerservice does encourage people to ask questions and is able to make many issues people do have with computers more simple to understand, but that's afterthose people have walked into the store after being impressed by the advertising, which is hardly educational and is much more focused with being aestheticallypleasing (I know that's largely my opinion, and I don't have data on hand to prove anything like that, but I don't think it's a frivolouspoint).

I suppose my gripe is that much of the fanfare regarding Apple is hype-motivated, and while there's nothing wrong from a company's standpoint toencourage that (especially when the product is extremely decent), I do have issue with people irresponsibly spending more than they have to when a cheaper,sometimes technologically better alternative is out there. The desire to appear fashionable can contradict obvious fiscal decisions. As this message board hasshown, vanity has no recession.

 

[gangsta207therevolution]

Apples finanical is a pigmentation of the fact that its a pop culture icon, similar to Pepsi, Coke, Nike, Samsung.
These companies are the most well rounded in that they control every aspect of the production of their product.
The reason that Microsoft isnt considered as great as Apple is because the amount of people who use it is 13 times that of Apple. more people to complain, morepeople to hack, more companies using %!%% components. This aint rocket science. In a world where the product can not be perfect, its better to have the morecontroled production, and the platform that isnt complex.
Apple computers can more than do the job. Apple benefits from having more mature customers (less pirating and porn) And a lesser amount of overall users. Theydevelop great software and the concessions they have made to PC, only benefit them.

Sure my upgraded Asus desktop has more power, more ability. Yea i installed a blueray drive. But right now the reliability of the Apple notebook is what therich treasure.