Letters to the Editor
-
Need more information
The reason a PC devalues so much over a year is that the new model is much better. I would expect a bigger hard drive, more RAM and a faster processor on a new machine.
Could a reason for the better resale price be because the gap in performance between the year-old Mac and the new Mac is not as much as in the PC world? This could be due to a similar specified model being sold over a longer period of time in the more centralised Apple market,
Could someone compare the gains that have been made over a year for the two types of computer? And could we expect a rapid devaluation for the Mac when the less frequent but larger jump in technology is made?
-
The new batch of Macs may LOOK like BMWs...
...but they're built like cheap Chinese cars.
My main machine at home is an old G4 Power Mac. And I still use an old G3 Powerbook for backup or writing when my G4 Powerbook is serving media centre duties. I bought the Power Mac in 2001 and the G3 Powerbook in 1998, and they are still going strong.
The new batch of Macs? I doubt it. Starting with the Titanium Powerbook, which I once owned, the quality of Macs have gone downhill. The hard disk in my Titanium Powerbook crashed twice (I lost all my data) and heat was so bad, the rubber feet became squishy and later 2 of them fell off. I sold that and bought the then-new slim iBook; heat warped the case and the mainboard had two meltdowns.
The high resale value of Macs is actually a carry-over from the old days when Apple used to make reliable machines.
With Macs now designed to be a commodity (hey, you would sell yours after only a year. Even my washing machine and fridge last longer than that!), I have a feeling the resale value calculation will change in the near future.
-
good riddance!
i felt guilty giving my one and only mac to goodwill lo these many years ago. it was over-priced incompatible crap when i bought it, and it was worthless incompatible crap when i got rid of it after only a few years.
this article is crap, too.
-
the punishment will probably be swift...
but who cares....
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant
this guy pretty much explains the Mac vs PC debate. Can't say he's entirely wrong....
-
another comparison
Custom Gamer Laptop From Cyberpower, before tax and shipping
$1429.00
(before all applicable rebates)
DISPLAY LCD: 17" WSXGA+ Widescreen TFT Display 1680x1050 Pixels
CPU: Mobile AMD Turion™64 X2 Dual-Core TL-60 CPU @ 2.0GHz 2x512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Low Voltage 35Watt
MOTHERBOARD: ATI RS690 + SB600 Chipset Mainboard
MEMORY: 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 DDR2-667 SODIMM Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
VIDEO CARD: Built-in ATI Radeon HD2600 Mobile 512MB DDR2 Video
HARD DRIVE: 160GB 5400RPM SATA150 HARD DRIVE
OPTICAL DRIVE: 8X DVD REWRITABLE DRIVE
SOUND: BUILT-IN AC 97 SOUND
Similarly equipped MacBook pro with half the video memory:
$2878
-
An important thing you forgot...
...that makes the Mac look even better. If you add some of features you find on your "low end" Mac Mini, like Firewire, Bluetooth and Airport, then I think you'll find the Mac actually is cheaper, esp. when you now consider how much they've upped the RAM more recently. hard-drive sizes are still smaller.
Mac's are cheaper when you compare on a feature by feature basis. It's just that most neglect to do this. This is particularly evident on the Mac Pro line where in a feature-for-feature comparison Macs are sometime thousands of dollars cheaper than their PeeCee counterparts. There are some excellent articles on this on Macworld and other places.
-
Mac won't run what I use, though
Sorry, but Mac's still not an option until all software makers support it.
-
Apple has come a long way, baby.
Who is kidding who? From my perspective, I am a consumer and consider purchasing a first computer for myself, or for someone five to ten years old. Comparing all computers today and it is an Apple with Leopard I will purchase.
The year is 2007, and Steve Jobs and the boys and girls at Cupertino have melded quality computer hardware and software into existence. Apple has created the BMW of personal computers, indubitably.
One will never think or say, "I wish I never bought an Apple computer."
-
Excellent Truth
Thanks for this great story! It is completely true, and I'll even compare you one more...
I have owned six or seven macs since I switched back in 2001, and here is the secret.
I am a student, I was in middle school when I switched, and I have NEVER lost much money on any mac. After my first iBook (Bondi- Blue) I paid $500 and sold it for $350. I then bought a G3 Snow iBook, for $500 used it for a year and sold it for $500. I bought a G4 Tower for $350. Used that for a year and sold it for $750, used the family iMac for a little while, but then I needed a notebook for school. Bought a macbook for $700, used that for 6 mos or so and sold it for $800. Went out and bought a Macbook Pro for $1100 that was easily worth $1500-1800, and I'll use this for 6 mos and break even, or sell it for more...
Macs are the ONLY computer you can MAKE money by owning, and I am at a current machine- not using a Pentium III like most of my friends...
Thank you Farhad!
-
Not convinced
MAC- The Harley Davdidson of the computer world. Not much of a machine, but with a very strong following.
-
And where's the $400 Mac notebook?
1. Who sells their computer after a year or two? And how is this a good metric? I'm sure a Lexus holds its value way, way better than a Chevy -- maybe enough to make extra cash back after owning it for 2 years -- but that certainly doesn't mean it's cheaper.
2. You can go down to Wal-Mart or Best Buy and drop $400 on a notebook. Last I checked, Mac notebooks started somewhere around $999 or $1099. If all you want -- or all you can afford -- is a cheap computer, Apple doesn't want to sell one to you.
3. Personally, I buy PCs because it's easier to find the model I want. A ThinkPad T61p is is the same general price range as a MacBook Pro. I could have bought the Mac if I had wanted to -- I considered it. The dealbreaker was that I need a high resolution screen for programming, especially vertically. A 15" Mac runs 1440x900, which is admittedly better than the cheesy 1280x800 you typically see at retail. But with a ThinkPad, I have the choice of a smaller, lighter 14" 1400x1050, or a same-size 15.4" widescreen with a whopping 1920x1200 resolution. And if there's not a ThinkPad that meets my needs, I can look at Sonys, Toshibas, and HPs. There's actual variety, for people who want their choice of more than 4 or 5 models of computer.