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Engadget: Apple is over the optical drive.
- Thread starter SeanR1221
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Jamesfrom818
Banned
numble said:
Was it bolded? I guess I missed it. Playing Tales of Vesperia at the same time.
LyleLanley
Banned
Jangocube said:
Well, this thread was fun.
planar1280
Banned
what about external drives
cartoon_soldier
Member
That's why I stick to my PC
I'm not talking about console warz nor saying anything has happened ... yet.numble said:
My premise is HTPC / media streaming may make up a large user-base of the Mini. If that is the case, sales of this particular product may, long-term, erode.
If it makes it easier for this discussion, let's not even consider external competition at all. In many ways it may be the internal cannibalization that does it. With portable devices becoming more and more powerful, an iTV or a combination of iTV and iPad will ultimately serve a large segment better. And since screen prices have come down enough ... for those that want a functioning computer as well, an Air or MacBook may be the better overall solution.
It's not that I think the entire market will drop out from underneath the Mini, but as you said, it's more about growth. If there is negative growth for this long-term ... because their other products are actually picking up the slack ... will Apple see a reason to continue the line if they feel their customers are already being served in other lines?
outunderthestars
Banned
dallow_bg said:
Excuse me, did you just call me a joke?
DO you honestly believe that Apple doesn't have a walled garden approach to business?
or that they don't charge more for less with their machines?
then again you are both a NIntendo AND an Apple fan. You're used to getting the shaft from companies...
I am done second guessing Apple after I predicted that the iPad would remain a niche product.
This smells like like the floppy situation. I mean honestly how often do most people use their dvd drives and burners anymore? It just seems like such a pain in the ass most of the times and usually I try to use drop box or email for sharing something and Netflix for watching movies.
It is strange that every single Apple makes gets so much discussion from people who never have any intention of ever buying an Apple product.
I really wonder which direction Apple is going to go with the Pro when they eventually ditch the optical drive. Will they give us a bigger battery? Second HD? Or will they slim it down? Very interesting to see which direction they go in.
This smells like like the floppy situation. I mean honestly how often do most people use their dvd drives and burners anymore? It just seems like such a pain in the ass most of the times and usually I try to use drop box or email for sharing something and Netflix for watching movies.
It is strange that every single Apple makes gets so much discussion from people who never have any intention of ever buying an Apple product.
I really wonder which direction Apple is going to go with the Pro when they eventually ditch the optical drive. Will they give us a bigger battery? Second HD? Or will they slim it down? Very interesting to see which direction they go in.
People who want a desktop Mac (and it's been growing at a good rate and is a healthy business for Apple, the Mac business brings about $5 billion in revenue per quarter and growing), are not going to buy a new $1200-$2000 iMac every 4-5 years. They'll plunk down a one time cost for a Thunderbolt Display and swap out a Mac Mini every 4-5 years.Raistlin said:
Grimm Fandango
Member
Well at least they embrace USB.
*looks at the iPad*
Oh wait.
*looks at the iPad*
Oh wait.
LyleLanley
Banned
Let's not bring data into this, it's more fun this way.
Simon Belmont
Banned
Meh. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've actually stuck a disk into my mac book in the year + I've had it.
outunderthestars said:
I honestly believe that they don't charge more for less. It's just that I feel that I'm getting out of it might just be more than someone like you would.
There's nothing wrong with that, but you gotta see it from others' point of view too.
And yes, Engadget kinda sucks now. Not because of this piece, but I used to got there a lot, and increasingly, the comments are unfunny and a bit too 'try-hard'.
LyleLanley
Banned
mrkgoo said:
Yup, I'm pretty sure everyone who owns a mac, myself included, knows we could get a a similarly priced computer with better internals but we pay the premium for the other parts of the computer/software.
As for Engadget, that place really is crap now. Hey, great job figuring out that Apple is slowly getting rid of optical drives, what tipped you off? Was it the release of the original Macbook Air over three years ago?
outunderthestars said:
they charge more because they actually pay attention to design and thats worth the premium. laptops that come close to the battery life, screens and build quality of the Macbook Pro and macbook air cost approx the same. (and none actually match the build quality. and non have the superior Mac OS)
their design chops may not mean anything to you, personally, but if you cant recognize what they do well, then, yes, you are a joke. sorry
outunderthestars
Banned
LCfiner said:
You can buy laptops with better procesors, ram, hdd, and videocards for MUCH less than their machines.
As to the premium aspect there are three people in this thread and a whole topic about on the front page about shoddy mac drives and laptops. The argument of "well it's a mac so it is better" is the same marketing spiels used by Monster Cables and Bose to overcharge for their products.
No amount of personal insults change the fact that you pay a hefty premium for the Apple name.
sarcastor said:
just get an external usb dvd writer if you need it. Just someone make me a 17" laptop that's as thin as the Macbook Air pleaaaseeeeee.....
http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/26/apple-finishing-up-work-on-an-ultra-thin-15-notebook/
If the rumours are true, it'll be out by the end of the year! Will be there day one.
Synth_floyd
Banned
The main uneasiness from me comes from the fact that it feels like Apple is trying to seal off all their computers into their own "walled garden" of itunes, mac app store, etc. just like all the ios devices.
I still think that while no optical drives on laptops is a smart move, removing them from desktops is a bit overkill.
I still think that while no optical drives on laptops is a smart move, removing them from desktops is a bit overkill.
outunderthestars
Banned
SnakeXs said:
yea, damn us people who actually think that the case is secondary to the utility of the device.
Anyhow, this is derailing the tread, let's agree to disagree.
outunderthestars said:yea, damn us people who actually think that the case is secondary to the utility of the device.
Anyhow, this is derailing the tread, let's agree to disagree.
I for one care more about size, weight, battery life, a backlit keyboard, a fantastic screen, the world's greatest trackpad, and software to leverage at all, and heck even pure aesthetics over a few more 3DMark or Geekbench points, or saving 3 minutes when encoding a movie.
But that's just me.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
bionic77 said:
Logical and to the point. Unfortunately, the anti Mac brigade does not seem to get that.
outunderthestars said:
if thats all you think a computer is about, then you will never understand why people would prefer a Mac.
there is a unique design to the oversized trackpad that works with the customized software to make navigation easier. there is the battery that lasts 10 hours in a machine that weighs 5 pounds and is one inch thick. theres the sleep mode that lasts 30 days on the macbook air and every laptop wakes from sleep in an instant.
see where Im going? if you dont give a shit about actually interacting with your computer and software, then youll never understand why someone would find value in those things over raw CPU speed.
and using anecdotal evidence from this forum to talk about reliability? lol. check the actual stats. top of the charts year after year for least amount of failures. Theyre not worse than other premium sellers. plus theres the bonus of the apple stores for easy service if things do wrong
the comparison to Monster and Bose is wrong headed and only makes sense to you as you seemingly dont understand the other design aspects that add actual utility and value for people who buy a Mac. Monster HDMI cable adds no improvement to signal over a monoprice cable. that is not the case with running OS X or having a huge battery life in a light frame.
A Mac is not for everyone but its foolish to assume that it offers nothing special for anyone
LyleLanley
Banned
Jin34 said:
Yeah I thought about that afterwards. I thought he meant upgrading from 10.x.1 to 10.x.2 or service packs for Windows.
Wow. No disc drive with a desktop is impossible for me. I use it to install OSes, large software apps (like office), PC games outside of steam (rather not spend a day downloading 20 GB), movies (HTPC), burnt media, and ghost boot discs.
And slow down the kernel? A device driver for a disc drive? Is your computer using punch cards or something? Linux distributions support plug & play for all sorts of media and run faster than Windows and OSX.
And slow down the kernel? A device driver for a disc drive? Is your computer using punch cards or something? Linux distributions support plug & play for all sorts of media and run faster than Windows and OSX.
outunderthestars said:
Since when was a computer just about the specs? Does software, aesthetics, was and comfort of use ever come into it? I'm not saying YOU have to appreciate things beyond the raw ingredients of something, but can you not see that others might?
It's like, say, you put a pile of ingredients to make a meal in front different cooks. One makes a perfectly cooked steak with a side of mashed potatoes, served with a knife and fork and charges $20, the other makes a hamburger and fries in a paper bag, charges $10. Hell, maybe a third puts them all in a blender and charges $5. You're completely entitled to choose the meat smoothie if you want, but even though all three give you the same sustenance, can you not see that the experience could be different depending on what you value? Likewise, there's nothing wrong with going for the burger. MMmm. Delicious. But does that mean the people who go for the steak are insane or bad consumers?
Crap, I would probably go for the hidden 4th option and make it myself for cheaper - but again, not everyone is willing or wants that.
Ok weird analogy.
It's a weird argument, this PC vs Mac debate - the debate is always the same (on both sides, admittedly), but Apple fans hardly ever say that "well it's a mac, therefore it's better". In actuality, it's more often the detractors that put that in our mouths. And we never damned people who consider specs above all else.
We're not putting the aesthetics ahead of utility. We're putting pleasure and enjoyment ahead of it. Damn us for enjoying our machines/devices? And even that said, there is PLENTY of utility you get for getting a Mac.
LyleLanley
Banned
SeanR1221 said:
64GB for $1000? Where are you seeing this?
LyleLanley
Banned
LCfiner said:
SeanR1221 said:
Oh, Ok. Yeah it's fairly expensive and you can't upgrade it but it's not like they're just putting a stock ssd in there.
I never said mostly, or at least didn't intend to imply it. What I suspect is a sufficiently significant percentage use it in that manner such that if they left to other solutions, it could lead to sufficient negative growth to bring the line's relevance into question. Particularly if Apple sees a fair amount moving to their other offerings.numble said:
As for HTPC usage data, no I haven't seen hard data - it isn't released to my knowledge. So it's primarily anectodal, though not simply from peers. I've been heavily involved in computing, home theater, and CE for better than two decades. While pouring through articles, magazines, forums, conferences, etc ... I've seen significant usage of the the Mini primarily for media from many users. That isn't to say people don't use if for other things as well, but it certainly seems to not only be cited as a major use, but many owners even specifically cite it as an HTPC solution when people are asking for recommendations.
Similarly, my involvement has yielded the impression that as far as Mac OS distribution, iMac and their laptop lines seems to be the lion's share of the userbase. The Mini has always seemed to come off as a niche product in their portfolio by the industry, etc.
When you say the total Mac revenue line is available, does it separate things into products? If it does, and there's any indication that you're correct in theorizing it isn't niche, and moreover actually represents a majority of desktop sales I'll be happy to retract my entire theory. Certainly if it is a big seller as a general desktop, there's no reason to assume HTPC competition will have serious consequences. Can you supply the data?
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