Steve gives thumbs down for Apple Netbook.

[Maxintosh]

Recently Steve Jobs made a comment about Netbooks which indicates that Apple isn't interested in making one. “We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk.” I think Apple is making a big mistake here. If they came out with a Netbook that had the one piece aluminum body, and had all of the quality of traditional Mac notebooks, it would fly off the shelves - even if it was priced around 850.00. All Apple is doing now is giving more people a reason to buy a competitors Netbook - like the Gigabyte M912M (which is also a tablet). The full story can be found here. What do you guys think? Is Apple making a mistake by not offering a Mac Netbook?

[inimicus]

Probably not.

[InorganicMatter]

Not a big loss. Netbooks are fun, but not a total computer replacement, and certainly not attractive to mainstream buyers.

[Chrysaor]

We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk

 

Translation: We don't want to sacrifice any amount from our ridiculously high profit margins.

[Maxintosh]

We don't want to sacrifice any amount from our ridiculously high profit margins.

Most people that own a Mac know that you get what you pay for

 

If Apple offered a Netbook I would buy one sight unseen because I know the product would be solid, had world class engineering, and would last a long time.

 

Translation: It's a great value over time.

[Chrysaor]

Most people that own a Mac know that you get what you pay for

 

Thats what you tell yourself to justify overpaying for a computer.

[Maxintosh]

Not at all. All things being equal, I prefer to buy the Mac branded product for the same reason why I'd prefer to buy a Lamborghini.

 

I guess you'd rather buy a chevy and put some decals on it

[Envying]

Steve Jobs did mention very clearly Apple don't want to sacrifice their value by serving all customers. Period. There is no absolute right or wrong in this world.

[geiman]

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing wrong with apple, and had I an extra thousand dollars I would buy myself one. However, with that said, when you tear one apart and actually look at the actual hardware, you will realize that you're not paying for something an apple R&D man created; at least not anymore. They're called intel based macs for a reason. Very little is actually unique to a mac. I think we can see that with the amazing progress we're making via boot-132, EIF-X, etc.

 

just my 2 cents

[Maxintosh]

when you tear one apart and actually look at the actual hardware, you will realize that you're not paying for something an apple R&D man created

All someone needs to do is look inside a Mac mini to prove that wrong.

 

They're called intel based macs for a reason.

Yeah, because they use Intel chips.

 

Very little is actually unique to a mac.

All someone needs to do is look inside a Mac mini to prove that wrong. I'm sure the new Mac notebooks are very similar.

[geiman]

ok, if you've actually looked inside of one, I would honestly like to know what is different. I've never seen inside a mac mini, but almost everything else is torn apart at the comp sci department at my university, which we are currently analyzing in my comp org class.

[Chrysaor]

All someone needs to do is look inside a Mac mini to prove that wrong.

Yeah, because they use Intel chips.

All someone needs to do is look inside a Mac mini to prove that wrong. I'm sure the new Mac notebooks are very similar.

 

 

Seriously? Mac Mini? An outdated product which is discontinued but still sold by Apple with a ridiculously high price and providing no extensibility at all.

 

Here is the inside of Mac Mini: http://paulstamatiou.com/wp-content/upload...ini_socket.jpeg

Here is the inside of some random SFF PC: http://www.asimobile.com/mini-pc_open.jpg

 

Enlighten us with the "world class engineering" differences between those.

[~pcwiz]

The 2 things awesome about Macs: Design and OS X. Other than that there is nothing I can think of. AFAIK most Apple computer hardware is manufactured by normal Taiwan computer companies like ASUS. Which = buying an ASUS computer means it has as much "quality" as a Mac

 

That said, Macs are nice and I'm planning to get myself a new $1599 MacBook when I have enough money.

[Maxintosh]

Enlighten us with the "world class engineering" differences between those.

You've completely glossed over the fact that one was designed 5 years ago and one was made recently. Yet they seem similar. That proves that the older one (the Mac mini) had in its day world class designing. I remember when the Mini first came out how the first thing that people would say was "how in the world did they fit all of that in there?". We take the mini for granted today, but in it's day it was quite unique. Thank you for proving my point

[Ezhoon]

The 2 things awesome about Macs: Design and OS X. Other than that there is nothing I can think of. AFAIK most Apple computer hardware is manufactured by normal Taiwan computer companies like ASUS. Which = buying an ASUS computer means it has as much "quality" as a Mac

 

Couldn't agree more

[geiman]

The 2 things awesome about Macs: Design and OS X. Other than that there is nothing I can think of. AFAIK most Apple computer hardware is manufactured by normal Taiwan computer companies like ASUS. Which = buying an ASUS computer means it has as much "quality" as a Mac

 

That said, Macs are nice and I'm planning to get myself a new $1599 MacBook when I have enough money.

 

 

Thank you, my point exactly.

[krrr]

for me , OSX is linux done right. point over.

[geiman]

yeah thats close. Linux is much, much more configurable, and more easily edited or "hacked" if you will, and its that reason I still use it almost as much as I use os x. But still os x allows for much of the same functionality, which is why i'm now using it

[keypox]

You've completely glossed over the fact that one was designed 5 years ago and one was made recently. Yet they seem similar. That proves that the older one (the Mac mini) had in its day world class designing. I remember when the Mini first came out how the first thing that people would say was "how in the world did they fit all of that in there?". We take the mini for granted today, but in it's day it was quite unique. Thank you for proving my point

 

5 years, 3 years ... whats the difference lol

 

Also SFF have been out for over 5 years... mac was second... again

 

Man you need to face the fact a mac is just cosmetics and software. Everything inside is made in china... or elsewhere but you should get my drift. My friends uncle owns a Chinese factory that makes some part for the ipod lol

 

To bad Steve/apple cannot do something to actually be competitive . Leopard runs perfect on my $399 acer notebook with an intel dual core. Imagine a 399 macbook lite or something, they could still make a profit and finally be competitive.

[eberts]

Usually, I don't say anything related to a debate like this cause it's always up to you what you buy and how much you wanna pay for it.

I don't like the discussion about whether it is apple made or not. The point is that all fits together and the software is perfectly designed to work with it. Moreover, all recent macs I know run absolutely quietly consuming less power at low temperatures and still giving high performance. All packed in a stylish case. In fact, that is the big advantage of their well-designed products developed by their engineers. Just think of the magnetic power plug in their books. Nothing expensive, probably made in China but still a nice feature.

They thought about it before and as well as their software their hardware is always "user-friendly". That is what makes people spend more on it and they love it.

The parts of your car are also from China/Taiwan/... It is the way you choose those parts and how you put it togehter that makes a quality product.

Keypox, be happy with your acer nb, it's not a mac

[redult]

Thats what you tell yourself to justify overpaying for a computer.

 

 

Well, then just get a HP/Dell/whatever... People like you don't even think about what's actually necessary to

develop and produce such a masterpiece like the new macbooks are.

 

It's not only buying parts for 600$, soldering them together and then reselling them for 2000$. There is so

much behind all that... especially if you like to distribute a product worldwide.

 

Sure they do not have the latest hardware all the time. Which is a very bright decesion made by apple. You

don't have to develop new pcbs all the time, which makes it easier making the one you have more reliable.

 

Sure there are People out there who want to have state of the art hardware... but the vast majority does not

need the fastest and the lastest stuff. They prefer a system that works, which is reliable, computers that are

simply eye candy... the design is qualified to be called "Design"! And the quality is just perfect... just have a

look how these products are made. Compare an iPhone with a Samsung/Nokia/SonyEricsson.. the difference

is just so amazing. You can't compare the finish of these products with any other on the market. For such a large manufacturer like apple, it's just unique in the whole business.

 

I agree with one of my previous speaker... you get what you pay for. And you pay much more for a product that has the quality, but at the same time it needs not that much more money to make it the better product.

It is the whole enviroment that makes it that great product. And I have absolutely no Problem that Apple makes a lot of profit, because I am satisfied with the product! And they deserve to be sucessful.

 

Sorry for my english as I'm no native english speaker.

[hecker]

5 years, 3 years ... whats the difference lol

 

Also SFF have been out for over 5 years... mac was second... again

 

Man you need to face the fact a mac is just cosmetics and software. Everything inside is made in china... or elsewhere but you should get my drift. My friends uncle owns a Chinese factory that makes some part for the ipod lol

 

To bad Steve/apple cannot do something to actually be competitive . Leopard runs perfect on my $399 acer notebook with an intel dual core. Imagine a 399 macbook lite or something, they could still make a profit and finally be competitive.

I disagree. Macs (at least portables) are very robust compared to most (if not all) PC notebooks in the same price range. Especially the ones made of aluminum.

I have had several notebooks including Toshiba Satellite's (broken hinge after 1 year), ASUS (broken keyboard and screen), VAIO (by far the worst of them with pretty much everything failing after a year of extensive use) and Compaq (very sturdy except for the integrated mouse pointer). None of them have come even close to my Mac in terms of durability.

[Soliber]

Leopard runs perfect on my $399 acer notebook with an intel dual core.

I'll bet it does.

But does your acer notebook sport an aluminum casing? Or a led backlit screen? Is it as light as the new Macbooks? Is the keyboard as good? Does it come with a nifty little remote? Can you update over time without having to worry that something will break? How about the battery?

I simply cannot understand why people seem to think that a computer is as good as the sum of the hardware components. It just goes to show how us pc-users have come to accept the total lack of design and finish.

[Maxintosh]

I'll bet it does.

But does your acer notebook sport an aluminum casing? Or a led backlit screen? Is it as light as the new Macbooks? Is the keyboard as good? Does it come with a nifty little remote? Can you update over time without having to worry that something will break? How about the battery?

I simply cannot understand why people seem to think that a computer is as good as the sum of the hardware components. It just goes to show how us pc-users have come to accept the total lack of design and finish.

Thank you! Well stated

[A Nonny Moose]