[X4U] How can we compete?

[Richard Gilmore]

> This seems like a pretty good Windows system... If there is such a thing :-)
> It certainly does some things that Macs cannot do without extra third-party
> hardware.  It performs a function which MANY Mac users (myself included)...
> Manage the digital hub (which *does* include TV no matter what Steve Jobs
> says).

I don't know anything about TV and the digital hub?

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> 
> By making computers that are easier to use, more reliable, and bundling
> them with first rate software. Apple never has and never will compete
> in the low end. There's no money to be made there.
> 
> -Mike

You may be right about Apple's motivations but to my mind it's short sighted
because once you get a person on a Mac they'll be more likely to stay there
and upgrade to higher end more profitable higher margin Mac in the future.
In the long run there has to be more money there? Treat it like a loss
leader? The more Macs out there the better.

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> And for a LOT less than you
> would pay for a comparable Mac bundle.  I paid over $200 more (education
> price) for my eMac with SuperDrive and I still would need to add hundreds of
> dollars worth of accessories to come close to the specs on this PC.

It is frustrating. One of my PC friends has a very kick ass 64 bit AMD 2.x
Gig , 1 G of ram, machine that he built out of his previous P4 machine all
for about $400. I could never upgrade to a G5 for anything close to that.


> I'm just saying that I think Apple needs to do some stuff to market to the
> "other" 95%... Whether it's a low-cost Mac, a digital set-top box, or
> something else.  Or maybe, as Judi suggested, Macs just aren't the main
> priority of Apple anymore.

I agree Apple should do something. I hope Macs aren't sideline then we would
be stupid to keep supporting them.

For the record I love my Mac and I wouldn't use anything else. I think they
are a superior product and I'll be with Apple to the end, which I hope
doesn't come. 

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> What I find strange is that if both Windoze boxes and Macs provide
> roughly the same set of features to the end-user, why do people choose
> the machine that is *harder* to use?  Do they honestly believe that
> mastering a more difficult machine makes them a superior person?  Or
> does it just make them a more difficult person?  :-)

I don't know what people are thinking. This is what I have observed and what
I think is behind the comments I've heard from more than one person.


> ...... Some people still moan
> and groan, even though I've taken away their #1 complaint.  So at this
> point, they are no longer interested in having a open dicussion.  I stop
> talking to them 

I do the same. I run into a lot of people who you can't even talk about
using a Mac.