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Re: How many times must Apple make such DRASTIC architecture changes?

Craig Bower wrote:
"Matthew Russotto" <russotto@grace.speakeasy.net> wrote in message news:eq2dncWRFOLPLDDfRVn-> 


Since what people want, judging by the sales figures, is cheap Windows
boxes....



Remarkably,

I have to admit, I'm guilty of wanting a cheap windows box.

Back when the Apple Power-Macintosh G4 Cubes were on available,
I thought "hey, great looking computer, it'll do all I want it to and it's an apple." 
Then I looked at the pricing for a nicely setup cube (in Canadian pesos)
and it was close to $5000 for what I'd consider a machine I'd like to use that 
would fill all of my requirements.  That day I switched to a cheap windows
box, and have never looked back.  I don't know what it is about Apple,
but they've always asked top-dollar for their machines, their software, and
their peripherals. It's definitely a plus to see them put out that little low-cost Mac Mini, but with any amount of options on it, I'm sure the price will bloat 
to the point that it's less money for a comparably equipped windows box.


Apple has always depended on very large (for the industry) hardware
"multipliers" to finance their growth.  This is why they cannot permit
Mac clones, and could not permit Apple II clones at the time.

The bill of materials cost of an Apple II, in the quantities that
Apple was making, was well under $200, while the sale price was $1200.

Keeping their multiplier over 5x has been a hallmark of Apple through
the years--one that can only be supported by monopoly pricing power.

Think "designer jeans"...


My only "Apple" saving grace is I have roughly 15 Apple II's of various
generations kicking around - but honestly, most of them were bought
inexpensively off eBay, compared to the $5k that I would've spent buying
a Cube.


I, too, bought only my first Apple (a ][+) new from a dealer--for
$1200.  I never regretted getting it, but I never repeated the
experience either.  All my other machines were either bought used
or bartered, at "prices" much closer to costs.

For example, I could never bring myself to pay Apple $500 for a $90
disk drive.  I wound up participating in a group buy of Shugart SA400's
and cases, and hand-modified the standard "analog" board to meet
the Disk ][ interface.  It took over a couple of hours per drive,
but the satisfaction of not getting ripped off was worth it.  ;-)

In my life, I have bought three new Macs, all for other family members,
and all bought on "deep discount" sale--bringing them almost in-line
with PC clone pricing.

I feel it is a kind of duty as a consumer to resist scams.  And I
consider paying for Apple "culture" when I buy an Apple computer
a scam.

Don't get me wrong--I think that Apple has contributed some valuable
notions to the computing milieu over the years (more in the early
years than lately).  But I am more unwilling than "the faithful"
to tithe to them.  ;-)

-michael

8-voice music synthesizer using NadaNet networking!
Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/