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Forums - Gaming - Why does the media worship Apple?

greenmedic88 on 24 March 2011
Rath said:
greenmedic88 said:
Rath said:

Sometimes it's because they make very very good products (the iPhone is one of the best smartphones out, no doubt) but sometimes I just don't know. The iPad is an example of a product with only a very very limited range of uses, same goes for all of these new tablet PC's. For most people, in most situations, a netbook is actually a far more useful product. Yet the media fawned over the iPad anyway.

The netbook is really nothing more than a gimped, cut spec/price laptop.

If there is anything a netbook can do that a laptop can't, I haven't heard of it.

I don't consider a netbook a replacement for a proper computer either.


Netbooks have a wide range of actual uses though. They're cheap and highly portable laptops, brilliant for things like note-taking, plane trips, taking on vacation. There are things that they're more suitable for than laptops and there're alse people who they're more suitable for (people who can't afford full spec laptops). I really just can't see what the market opening for tablet PC's is, but people have bought them just because they have that little 'i' in front.

I would hope most are aware that for about the same price, one can buy an entry level laptop that runs a normal version of Windows in addition to all the regular apps people use Windows for.

About the only thing your save over a laptop when you buy a netbook is weight since it's little more than a fold out tablet PC with a keyboard, only heavier and with worse power management. 

The truth is, a tablet PC does most of what the average consumer uses a computer for (web browsing, image viewing, music, video, reading documents, etc.).

Watch and see as tablets continue to eat away at what's left of the netbook market. iPad has the majority market share, but if there wasn't room for growth in the segment, why would all other major computer manufacturers be marketing and developing their own tablet PCs as opposed to say, more netbooks?

Other than that, netbooks are great for running Linux. All 0.92% of the PC market (including servers) that does anyway. 



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Linkasf on 24 March 2011
blazinhead89 said:

Sheep. That's the mentality behind it. The average consumer is ignorant to the fact their are better quality priced alternatives in all of apples product lines.


That goes with many many other products, like cars.



fps_d0minat0r on 24 March 2011
greenmedic88 said:
fps_d0minat0r said:
scottie said:
fps_d0minat0r said:

ive never seen the need to buy apple products because ive ALWAYS come across an alternative which is reasonably priced and often is better/does more than the iproducts.

e.g. my toshiba laptop cost half the price for the same spec apple laptop and it has a bigger screen. and i got a psp instead of an ipod because it plays much better games but can still go on the internet, play music, play movies and all the other stuff.

apple might have a good brand image and build quality but that doesnt mean id pay twice the price it should normally cost and also most their computers specs are outdated. i remember about half a year ago they were charging as much for a core2duo as an alienware gaming pc. lmfao.

every time i see someone using apple hardware i can imagine a sign on their forehead saying "i got ripped off".

 

1) Toshiba laptops have horrible build quality. I bought a toshiba laptop that has the specs to play Crysis on decent settings, but overheats and turns off after 20 mins of L4D2 on lowest, or about 2 hours of WoW on lowest playable settings. Those times are when it is on an elevated stand to allow proper airflow, divide those times by about 5 for a flat wooden surface and divide by 10 for a soft surface like a bed. If you want to buy a cheap laptop, then that is your choice, and it may well be the best thing for you. But you should not compare Apple computers to Acer, Toshiba etc.

 

2) Buying an Apple computer gets you the Apple OS, which many people consider to be worth hundreds, indeed, I think a few hundred is nothing to pay for something that saves you so much time and hassle.

 

Just because other people have different personal taste and preferences to you doesn't mean they got ripped off.

1) i know someone whose iphone broke....does it mean all of them will? no.

i love it how every apple fan assumes anything not built by apple will just fall apart. apple products are not immune to defects just like any other hardware. just because your toshiba laptop broke, it doesnt mean mine will.

2) many people consider windows to be worth hundreds, windows saves me a lot of time and hassle too because its easy and when i buy/download stuff it will run on windows by default, i dont need to look specifically at games/software compatability. if you use a GUI to justify spending hundreds more on apple then you did get ripped off.

you got any real reasons why apple is worth the premium?

I know there are plenty of broken iPhones. In just about every case they were either dropped or sat on. Poor comparison.

As for Toshiba, look at the consumer approval ratings or Consumer Reports for reliability. Those have nothing to do with isolated experiences but the overall averages and a battery of objective tests that provide the probability of individual unit performance. One Golden Sample does not equate to all products by said manufacturer being similar.

As for Apple, anyone who buys an Apple product can take it to the local Apple Store if they live in a major metro area with any hardware (or even software) problems and have a live technician take a look at it (the stores are extremely customer friendly as they want to keep their customers) as opposed to calling a service number and waiting on the phone to speak to someone who may well located in India to try and talk you through the troubleshooting process, typically for a fee. 

And it's indisputable that they have fewer problems (look at the Consumer Reports) and fewer compatibility issues for the simple reason that Apple designs both their OS and their hardware. In the last 10 years of using Macs, I can't recall a single driver compatibility issue due to the tight integration of hardware and software.

There are plenty of other reasons, the least of which may well be some people just prefer them, which is a perfectly legitimate reason.

I use both. I build my own PCs and workstations, but for every day use I still prefer Macs.


ok lets assume products not made by apple are cheap and will break (just to keep you happy)

it would still be more cost effective buying 2 computers made by toshiba than 1 apple computer assuming the failure rate of toshiba is as high as 50% and apples is 0% (which it obvisouly isnt but you can go around assuming that if you wish)



Baalzamon on 24 March 2011
Linkasf said:
blazinhead89 said:

Sheep. That's the mentality behind it. The average consumer is ignorant to the fact their are better quality priced alternatives in all of apples product lines.


That goes with many many other products, like cars.

You nailed it.  A companies goal when they advertise (and also by having a certain ego/fanbase) is to get consumers to go to their products, whether or not they are actually better.



Money can't buy happiness. Just video games, which make me happy.

Baalzamon on 24 March 2011
fps_d0minat0r said:


ok lets assume products not made by apple are cheap and will break (just to keep you happy)

it would still be more cost effective buying 2 computers made by toshiba than 1 apple computer assuming the failure rate of toshiba is as high as 50% and apples is 0% (which it obvisouly isnt but you can go around assuming that if you wish)

I like that you allow those assumptions, but the funny thing is, Toshiba is actually more reliable than Apple.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/11/17/reliability.study.has.apple.4th.place/



Money can't buy happiness. Just video games, which make me happy.

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fps_d0minat0r on 24 March 2011
Baalzamon said:
fps_d0minat0r said:


ok lets assume products not made by apple are cheap and will break (just to keep you happy)

it would still be more cost effective buying 2 computers made by toshiba than 1 apple computer assuming the failure rate of toshiba is as high as 50% and apples is 0% (which it obvisouly isnt but you can go around assuming that if you wish)

I like that you allow those assumptions, but the funny thing is, Toshiba is actually more reliable than Apple.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/11/17/reliability.study.has.apple.4th.place/


nice!

the tv in the living room is a toshiba and we got that 14 (maybe 15) years go, still going good and thats after watching cricket matches that last hours and hours, playing a LOT of ps2 on it and being on pretty much every evening. (use another hdtv for ps3)

i bet if apple made tv's that would be their USP and their fans would say other brands couldnt handle that since their not built as well =P



Grimes on 24 March 2011
fps_d0minat0r said:


ok lets assume products not made by apple are cheap and will break (just to keep you happy)

it would still be more cost effective buying 2 computers made by toshiba than 1 apple computer assuming the failure rate of toshiba is as high as 50% and apples is 0% (which it obvisouly isnt but you can go around assuming that if you wish)


It's not just about one factor, but a combination of things. I don't want a computer that with sloppy looking construction, burns my nads, takes five minutes to boot or sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Those things are worth money to me. Whenever I buy a cheap computer, there is usually something that bugs the hell out of me, at which point I curse that I will spend more and get at better computer.



Anyone can guess. It takes no effort to throw out lots of predictions and have some of them be correct. You are not and wiser or better for having your guesses be right. Even a blind man can hit the bullseye.

rocketpig on 24 March 2011
fps_d0minat0r said:

every time i see someone using apple hardware i can imagine a sign on their forehead saying "i got ripped off".

Or they could be someone like me who works 45 hours a week in the tech industry and owns an Apple laptop because my workflow is faster and better under OS X. I make money with my computer hardware and Apple's hardware has proven to be the most reliable, easiest to work with (I've gone so far as to completely dismantle my MBP so it's not like the hardware is untouchable), and most stable environment I can find for the price. And their specs aren't as bad as some of you want to make them out to be.

In short, I can build a computer in my sleep and dismantle Windows boxes on nearly a daily basis for work, yet I run Macs (and so do ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES) at home. Yeah, I'm the "sheep" here.

Some of the people in this thread need to wake up, stop looking at the logo on the box, and start examining what's really inside the thing and why people use it. You're just coming off as asses. I'm not saying that everyone should buy a Mac but I'm friends with engineers at Cisco, HP, and Google and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM OWNS A MACBOOK.

Yeah, they must all be uninformed, despite them knowing more about computers and trending technology than 99.9999% of this forum.




Or check out my new webcomic: http://selfcentent.com/

rocketpig on 24 March 2011
Kudistos Megistos said:
sad.man.loves.vgc said:

or maybe it failed before because all of them used windows? which is hardly touch optimized? and they had 10 mins battery life? maybe?


No, it's because tablets are a stupid concept. They're netbooks that don't do as much. Or smartphones that you can't fit in your pocket or make calls with. Mind you, the iPhone isn't very good at making calls either.

By, I thank the macfags bitching at me for proving my point.

Criticise Apple => massive bawwwfest!

Or it could be that you come across as pretty dim. If you can't see the possibility behind tablet technology, you're not using your imagination. Yes, right now, they're glorified toys and I couldn't find a use for one myself. On the other hand, I see people doing some pretty incredible stuff with the tech, it's just not for me... yet. I'm still tied to something that can write code and operate the Creative Suite so I need a laptop.




Or check out my new webcomic: http://selfcentent.com/

greenmedic88 on 24 March 2011
fps_d0minat0r said:
 


ok lets assume products not made by apple are cheap and will break (just to keep you happy)

it would still be more cost effective buying 2 computers made by toshiba than 1 apple computer assuming the failure rate of toshiba is as high as 50% and apples is 0% (which it obvisouly isnt but you can go around assuming that if you wish)

No, because I still prefer working on a Mac for a variety of applications.

Even if I got a 3 for 1 sale on a PC, I'd still be left with one box running Windows and two boxes that don't run OSX or any of the apps or utilities I have licensed on the platform.

I don't need another Windows based PC; I can build as many of them as I want using whatever components I want as I see fit. It has nothing to do with the cost. It still takes a lot more of my time configuring everything and getting all my BIOS settings and driver settings working just the way I want them, whereas on the Mac, doing my own IT usually consists of nothing more than basic software installs, automatic updates and the occasional HDD or RAM upgrade, no hassles, or tinkering; just work.

The cost difference in terms of money alone, even running the assumption that whatever time I spend on IT related issues is worth zero $ in terms of productivity (completely false) is not unreasonable based on comparable configurations and builds.

Not everybody wants or needs a cheap computer.