SmileyNev - How Do You Like Dem Apples?

fly said:
You two are so cute when you debate. BTW, I think you must have missed the point of his post too, cause that's pretty much what I said.

No, I got his point. I just think he's bald.
 
smileynev said:
Upgradeability is unnecessary for the average consumer. Beyond adding more memory and storage, the vast majority of buyers out there aren't interested in anything else.

Do you upgrade your toaster?
Your TV?
Your Stereo System?

No, you go out and buy new ones.
You've missed the point as well. The point is the cost of the Mac Mini must be sub $500. Apple isn't selling them at a loss. My question is, what the fuck is the point of selling this since it isn't going to lure a whole lot of NEW people to Apple? No PC user is going to buy an un-upgradable box, even if they don't plan on upgrading it. Its set into the minds of people that not having that ability is foolhardy.

Now here is the point. Give them away. Say they give away 100,000 of them and it actually costs $400 to make them. That's $40M. Most people spend more on SuperBowl ads. I'm sure they pay marketing monkeys more to design those print ads and God awful stores. Included in the box is a web address or book that will explain in plain terms why Apple is cooler than a PC and teach people how to use it. The product has a max shelf life of maybe 2 years. So an investment of $20M/year could skyrocket their market share. THAT would be smart.
 
theacoustician said:
You've missed the point as well. The point is the cost of the Mac Mini must be sub $500. Apple isn't selling them at a loss. My question is, what the fuck is the point of selling this since it isn't going to lure a whole lot of NEW people to Apple? No PC user is going to buy an un-upgradable box, even if they don't plan on upgrading it. Its set into the minds of people that not having that ability is foolhardy.

Now here is the point. Give them away. Say they give away 100,000 of them and it actually costs $400 to make them. That's $40M. Most people spend more on SuperBowl ads. I'm sure they pay marketing monkeys more to design those print ads and God awful stores. Included in the box is a web address or book that will explain in plain terms why Apple is cooler than a PC and teach people how to use it. The product has a max shelf life of maybe 2 years. So an investment of $20M/year could skyrocket their market share. THAT would be smart.

If you give them away now people will expect to have them given to them in the future. Its hard to convince someone that an item they once got free is now worth $500. If I get something for free I usually consider it crap. Adding a monetary value to an item increases its worth in the consumer's eye.

The point of the mini is to lure the iPod buyers over to the mac side. Before, if you walked into an Apple store to buy an iPod, you couldn't get away with spending less then a grand if one of the computers caught your eye. Now you can easily spend less then that for both.

I doubt they make more then a few dollars on these things. You have to keep in mind that motherboards and processors on the mac side are significantly more expensive then on the PC side.

Most people buy a computer for what it does, not whats inside. They want ease of use, not PCI slots. The PC has evolved into a consumer device not much different then your home theater or your refrigerator.
 
smileynev said:
If you give them away now people will expect to have them given to them in the future. Its hard to convince someone that an item they once got free is now worth $500. If I get something for free I usually consider it crap. Adding a monetary value to an item increases its worth in the consumer's eye.

The point of the mini is to lure the iPod buyers over to the mac side. Before, if you walked into an Apple store to buy an iPod, you couldn't get away with spending less then a grand if one of the computers caught your eye. Now you can easily spend less then that for both.

I doubt they make more then a few dollars on these things. You have to keep in mind that motherboards and processors on the mac side are significantly more expensive then on the PC side.

Most people buy a computer for what it does, not whats inside. They want ease of use, not PCI slots. The PC has evolved into a consumer device not much different then your home theater or your refrigerator.
The fact you compare your home theater to your fridge is frightening.

And people will pay later for the latest and greatest if there's a must have upgrade. Maybe give away is the wrong term. You could make it a contest.
 
smileynev said:
If you give them away now people will expect to have them given to them in the future. Its hard to convince someone that an item they once got free is now worth $500. If I get something for free I usually consider it crap. Adding a monetary value to an item increases its worth in the consumer's eye.
People buy bottled water.
 
theacoustician said:
The fact you compare your home theater to your fridge is frightening.

And people will pay later for the latest and greatest if there's a must have upgrade. Maybe give away is the wrong term. You could make it a contest.

They already have contests like that. BTW, can I link you to this cool thing....
 
Older PC users don't do upgrades. Rarely they pay someone to do them for them. They just the same computer for years and eventually replace it with another one with either it dies or it's so slow it can't do anything anymore. the mac mini will dominate that market because they are cheap and they are decently made and fairly stable. The mac mini will also do good in the low end labs at schools. Places that people just need a browser or word processor they will be great.
 
b_sinning said:
Older PC users don't do upgrades. Rarely they pay someone to do them for them. They just the same computer for years and eventually replace it with another one with either it dies or it's so slow it can't do anything anymore. the mac mini will dominate that market because they are cheap and they are decently made and fairly stable. The mac mini will also do good in the low end labs at schools. Places that people just need a browser or word processor they will be great.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

No way. I had to support Mac clusters at my school. If I was Director of IT and someone proposed a Mac cluster, I'd have them publicly flogged.

The only joy of working in one is watching people wander around trying to figure out how to turn them on. I would purposely turn only one on and put a broken chair at that location. Without fail, people would always choose that computer, sit in the chair, and warble around in it while they tried to work. Cracked me up.