Cheap Mac

Hm. Never knew Ed was so anti-mac

I'm a PC user and my main box runs Yoper linux. I've been on PC's my whole life, and I like the mentality involved, that whole "oh, it broke, I'll just throw this standardized part in and all will be fixed" thing.

I'll be going to college next year, so I'll need a laptop. I'm in love with linux and I think I'll be setting up my current main box to be a server, so I can ssh back home and access everything I need. Since I'd be writing term papers and stuff on my laptop, buying one through the school gives me that extra bit of insurance, you know, if the thing dies a day before a major paper is due, I can't really get yelled at as badly for not having it in.

My school will offer the standard selection of Dells, as well as the standard Apple selection. What am I leaning towards? One of those tiny iBooks. Why? Because it's easy to carry around, runs OSX which is close enough to linux as far as I'm concerned, and I don't need thundering power. I need portability and stability.

Yeah, I can't play games on it, but that's what my current project is for, making a lan/college comp for doing my goofing around on.

So not all people who are of the Mac persuasion are stupid,or people only concerned with the aesthetics.

PS: the caressing ipod thing was funny though. I'll never look at an ipod the same!

I'm a Mac user without a full time job (I'm a student) so I would love to see the cheap Mac as I could scrounge some money & get one I'm pretty sure.

I think he is looking at it the wrong way... The people who buy cheap macs vs cheap pcs dont give a flip about power... they want OSX and the look...

deathBOB said:

I think he is looking at it the wrong way... The people who buy cheap macs vs cheap pcs dont give a flip about power... they want OSX and the look...

Click to expand...

The only reason I would want a cmac is to mess around with OSX- and for stability (and for notebooks- portability). I could care less about power.

Exactly! People like my mom for example, dont know what 1.25ghz means and dont care, they want something easy to use for email and web...

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20523

THE WONDERFULLY media friendly Apple is running around with gagging writs for those who publish stories about a sub-$600 Macintosh desktop.

Click to expand...

Although you may not be looking at it for power, I think of it as 1 of 2 things, an either make it or break it for Mac.

And heres why:

When most people buy a Mac (of their own choice not the schools) then they get it because either they heard that Macs are the best at this or that, or they like the look.

Enter in the problems that could come up with trying to compete with cheap and possibly more robust PC's (i.e. P4 or AMD). Now if you start selling these things like hotcakes, then sure it is good for buisness. But what happens to those loyal followers who have a nice $3000 G5 and get one of these. I think the word to mind would be a little "dissapointed" in it. They expect a Mac to be something worth the money, but what if this isn't. I know some people who buy them out of prestige, but if this falls short then they could have some big PR problems as far as I can see. I mean this Mac will cost a little more then a 40 Gig iPod, how do they get the goods in it, they don't.

Now the + side of it. If it does get them a broader base and people like it, then it can be a great in for Mac to become a little more mainstream.

So all in all I see it as either a really good thing for them or something that would ruin their reputation.

I doubt it will ruin them... Sure, the enthusiasts like the hardware, but OSX is the major draw here. The more people who get it and experience X the better off Apple will be...

I'm not sure in what way this is not simply another iMac. Although Ed sees a principle difference, one does not exist. He states that even if the initial release isn't powerful enough, there will be more more powerful models later. There was at least one more powerful iMac beyond the initial model, but it did nothing to make the notion of selling people half the computer they need for three fourths what they should spend a viable market stradegy.

Sooner or later Apple is going to have to learn one word: value. It's not simply enough to make a $500 Mac, it has to be a $500 Mac that offers modern (although not leading) performance factors, not the typical get-nothing-for-something 'budget' Mac. Sooner or later you run out of ways to distract people from the fact that your offerings have no value. At some point it might even be less trouble to learn how to design, build, and market computers in a cost-effective manner rather than simply attempting to exploit whatever unsophistication exists (or does not) in your potential customers.

Sure, it's easy to say "mac users don't care about value". But this really isn't true. How many of those iMac buyers are likely to jump on the next cheap Mac after seeing how temporary a solution iMac-think leads to?

If you want a Mac, and not merely a fast computer, then it has value.

I'm tempted to get one. I'm excited to see what they actually will be like.

I have an ibook and I love it. It's a nice system that I really don't worry at all about which is precisely what I want in a laptop. To quote the oft used phrase regarding macs, 'it just works'.

There is value in the sub $500 mac. The value is for people who don't need a gaming machine, but already have an HP or Compaq or Dell that has been attack by viruses, spyware, etc on multiple occasions. I can think of at least 2 dozen people, right off the top of my head, who are prime candidates for a $499 mac. They don't game. They use it to check their email, surf the web and share family photos. They are tired of taking their systems to Best Buy or elsewhere to have them cleaned up only to see them infected again within days or hours. They bought NAV and wondered how they could still get a virus. They don't know anything. They don't want to know anything. They want the PC to work like their TV or microwave or VCR.

The sad thing is that they probably won't think about it and I don't see them often enough to mention it. This $499 mac, if it had appleworks and iLife, would be a drop in replacement. They already have the monitor, kb, 2 button mouse(this thing may even come with a kb/mouse-- albeit probably that stupid mouse Apple already sells), printer(I think most usb printers would be compatible). Just take the current HP out and drop the new cheapo mac in, hit the power button, listen to the familiar chime, watch it load and work and you're all set.

As for performance. I know that a lot of you fix other people's PCs. How many of you have come across brand spanking new equipment that should be screaming only to see it ground to a halt by some sort of malware because the owner was too stupid to protect himself or kept hanging out in some dark corners of the web? I have on multiple occasions. You have enough trouble just getting people to use Firefox over IE and actually paying for updated virus definitions. There are plenty of people who just want the thing to work and not crash and they don't care how it does it. Unfortunately for them their first step in shopping is usually to go to best buy, circuit city or walmart where joe sales clerk steers them to the closest celeron and a pile of windows software and peripherals that they will probably never use. How many of those people really need one platform or the other and how many simply need something that can perform functions that either can do equally well?

I think the MAC is really quite an amazing system, and that you will be very happy with it. I have used Apples since the IIe and was disenfranchised there for a little while, but OS X really made me a believer in what a GUI can be. Heck its pretty darn stable too!

btw its on the front page at www.apple.com now

just my opinion:


this new Mini-Mac looks sweet as soon as i get the money i will buy one

mini MAC

Well I feel like I need to chime in on my observations and speculations. First off I am not a fan boy for apple as I do not have one but sure wish I did.

Anyway, I think Ed as mis-understood the reason of the mini mac. As stated earlier it is to introduce people to apple and its brand. And think about all the iPODs apple has sold that can now be used with mini mac and itunes. Apple is just playing the game PC has played for so long. Think about it, all those $499 Dells and HPs that are advertised. And what do you get for your $499 (Of course after a $200-$300 rebate), a celeron D or Sempron, 512mb, and 80 gig HD. Maybe if you lucky you get a cheap keyboard and mouse. And the biggest bonus you get Windows XP home SP2. So Apple is just trying to fight in the same market that currently exists. But they are trying to appealing by making the mini mac attractive and small.

On the negative side I see some issues in which apple will need to deal with. First is a increased base of brain dead users who just wish to surf the web and have no understanding of any technology. Apple I think currently deals with people of a particular nature and not much joe six pack. I wonder if Apple will be able to handle the load of new user types.

Another issue is viri and other malware. In general, OS X is pretty much virus and bug free but if OS X picks up in popularity I can guarntee you that the viri and malware will follow.

Overall I think Apple is doing the right thing and the bottom line is I am getting one. I will turn it into a server and it will be quiet and stable. Only limiting factor is RAM as I need to find a 1GB stick.

The apple web site suckers you in and I must say it's awesome, advertising at it's best, I have been a sucker for it before. As I say, once a mac owner, never a mac owner again!

airboy808 said:

Well I feel like I need to chime in on my observations and speculations. First off I am not a fan boy for apple as I do not have one but sure wish I did.

Anyway, I think Ed as mis-understood the reason of the mini mac. As stated earlier it is to introduce people to apple and its brand. And think about all the iPODs apple has sold that can now be used with mini mac and itunes. Apple is just playing the game PC has played for so long. Think about it, all those $499 Dells and HPs that are advertised. And what do you get for your $499 (Of course after a $200-$300 rebate), a celeron D or Sempron, 512mb, and 80 gig HD. Maybe if you lucky you get a cheap keyboard and mouse. And the biggest bonus you get Windows XP home SP2. So Apple is just trying to fight in the same market that currently exists. But they are trying to appealing by making the mini mac attractive and small.

On the negative side I see some issues in which apple will need to deal with. First is a increased base of brain dead users who just wish to surf the web and have no understanding of any technology. Apple I think currently deals with people of a particular nature and not much joe six pack. I wonder if Apple will be able to handle the load of new user types.

Another issue is viri and other malware. In general, OS X is pretty much virus and bug free but if OS X picks up in popularity I can guarntee you that the viri and malware will follow.

Overall I think Apple is doing the right thing and the bottom line is I am getting one. I will turn it into a server and it will be quiet and stable. Only limiting factor is RAM as I need to find a 1GB stick.

Click to expand...

You are a llittle off on your pricing. Several times in the past few months Dell has been giving you a P4 2.8 and a 17in. LCD for that $499 price point.

I think my point may have been lost here. I am not saying Mac users are uniformly power and speed conscious, nor should they be. What I am saying is although the type of hardware Mac will sell you for $500 will do basic tasks, the prospective users don't know basic from advanced. They are attracted by the 'ooh-ahh' factor in both machines, and in the things you might do with them. When the next cool capability surfaces and they find their platform seriously innadequate in essentially all respects, they then realize that no matter who you are the way to keep your computer from becoming obsolete prematurely is for it to not be obsolete on the day you buy it.

Hey guys, I ordered a Mini too. I'll be happy to let you know what this "grandma" thinks of it.

larva said:

What I am saying is although the type of hardware Mac will sell you for $500 will do basic tasks, the prospective users don't know basic from advanced.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't you agree that by being targeted to pc users, and selling without a monitor, kb, or mouse, that Apple may intend for the "prospective" user base, to be current pc users that may be more knowledgeable than a basic user?

I think Apple packaged it this way for people that have the accessories needed, and would like to try out OS X without spending the money on a full blown Mac.

If I find that I like the Mini, then I'll feel much more comfortable spending the money on an iMac G5 or a Power Mac.

The Min lets pc users get a taste of OS X, without breaking the bank.