Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, David, Thresher
Thresher wrote:I'm probably out on a limb here, but I think Apple is going to have to extend their product range a bit lower, specifically because of the economic downturn. While I don't ever expect to see a $500 Mac Book, I think even at the higher prices they are getting somewhat uncompetitive, compared to what is available from other vendors.
Thresher wrote:Turtle, I think you miss my point. The current economy is a compounding factor. The real issue is the development of the netbook market. This will push prices down permanently, not temporarily like a recession might.
derFunkenstein wrote:I think a netbook would be a good first computer for a kid.
But I sympathize with your point; I don't see much utility in a netbook, either. I'm sure lots of folks do, though.
derFunkenstein wrote:what I sincerely hope is that the "philosophy" isn't the Atom. That thing sucks, and it's part of why I'm not interested in a netbook. If you start seeing them in 13"-15" laptops, I have a feeling it will really hurt the market.
If you're the type of lug around a 15.4" laptop or larger then I don't really see why you'd even worry about netbooks, you're clearly not the target audience. If you honestly think you need a Core 2 Duo in the machine you take notes on then you have issues.
derFunkenstein wrote:what I sincerely hope is that the "philosophy" isn't the Atom. That thing sucks, and it's part of why I'm not interested in a netbook.
drsauced wrote:If you don't mind refurbs, Dell's outlet store is just chock full of nutty deals. We just picked up a Latitude e6500 2.26GHz, 160GB, with the 1920x1200 screen, and non-flammable 9-cell battery all for about $850. That's a pretty decent $500 savings.
Surprisingly, Apple also has an outlet store, which might be a good option for those who still want the Apple experience without paying all the money. It's a pretty suck-tastic $300 savings on a MBP, though.
Synchromesh wrote:You will have to excuse me but "you get what you pay for" rule applies here. Dell isn't in the same league as Apple. Vast majority of Dell's laptops reek of awful cheap engineering and execution. I don't insist that people paying for Apple machines are the smartest shoppers ever but deals can be had if you look around sufficiently. People who buy cheap Dells, otoh, are just asking for it. I had enough run-ins with Dell junk to stay away from it as far as possible. About the only exception to the rule are their higher class Ultrasharp monitors which are actually of good performance and quality but they are almost never cheap.
drsauced wrote:Surprisingly, Apple also has an outlet store, which might be a good option for those who still want the Apple experience without paying all the money. It's a pretty suck-tastic $300 savings on a MBP, though.
derFunkenstein wrote:drsauced wrote:Surprisingly, Apple also has an outlet store, which might be a good option for those who still want the Apple experience without paying all the money. It's a pretty suck-tastic $300 savings on a MBP, though.
I don't see how >10% is "sucktastic".
In fact, everything on the Apple refurb page is at least 10% off.
But you don't buy direct from Apple; buy from Amazon (and depending on the model, Newegg) and get out of sales tax and still keep free delivery.
I believe Apple and Dell both charge sales tax. I'd rather not pay it.