Apple Cult -- All Just Vacuous Branding?

Pangur Bán

Pangur Bán

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Reading this interesting blog this week, by John Cassidy:
How Long Will the Apple Cult Endure

I have conversations about Apple with my friends, and say "it's the same Chinese slave-factory junk with some extra branding gimmicks" and they tell me "it's an objective fact that Apple computers are light-years ahead of their rivals".

Truth be told, I don't really know. I know you can buy a Lenovo with the same specs for a third of the price or less than a mac book, but the je ne c'est quoi after that ... the result of good branding manipulation? What's the objective evidence? For or against?

I know there are lots of computer experts out there. As Thomas Henry Huxley said in the 1860 evolution debate, do no use your "great gifts to obscure the truth"; i.e. please don't use that expertise to slavishly support Apple if you have not come to think that independently, but any objective data for or against the quality of their products I'd like to hear about very much. Not just "oh my mac is so great it has neva broked and like my BestBuy like didn't run my Battlefield 7". Nope; I've had two IPods and they both sucked in my experience. Objective stuff, pretty please.
 
Apple has cultivated a myth of technological superiority, but it's really superiority in terms of interfacing. I've yet to find an mp3 player I enjoy more than an ipod touch. It's just so brilliantly laid out -- so much so that for no other reason than the mp3 player function, I'd buy an iphone.

But since I don't think apple can stay ahead of the curve forever in terms of creative spins on existing concepts, I wouldn't invest in the company.
 
I use the macs whenever I am at the library at college, but that's more just 'cause they are always open and sometimes I just like to not always use windows.

I kind of hate Apple though. I can't imagine I'd ever buy one of their products. It's an irrational hatred. Well I know some of it makes sense but then some of it just seems like I hate them because I do, sort of like how I am with Bing.
 
Apple makes some very good products, and they are undeniably innovative in terms of functionality and design. They are very overpriced because of marketing, though, so they're not a rational buy unless you have money to spare. Personally I own an ipad and an ipd, like them both, but would never pay the markup for a mac book.

Lenovos are crap, btw. The company I work for switched from Dell to Lenovo to save some bucks, and just one year later had to switch back to Dell because of all the qualityand assistance issues. I strongly recommed you to stay away from them.
 
@Luiz, Is there anything wrong with Lenovos that would pose problems for a private netbook user? The story on the street is that Lenovos are great until you have to interact with the company, in which case it wouldn't bother me as I've never had to interact with any of them directly in the past and that could as well change for/against with any company.
 
Remember, these are probably the same people who wear $200 jeans with holes in them.

It's all just fad/brand.

edit: oh my x-post
 
contre said:
Apple has cultivated a myth of technological superiority, but it's really superiority in terms of interfacing. I've yet to find an mp3 player I enjoy more than an ipod touch. It's just so brilliantly laid out -- so much so that for no other reason than the mp3 player function, I'd buy an iphone.
Click to expand...
This. Apple's great advantage is that they truly design their products thoroughly from a user's perspective, and it shows. It's not really worth the extra price, imo, though.
 
Wish I'd bought shares when they were $10 a few years ago, just topped $600 last week :/
 
Most ppl are not techies. And they are also lazy thinkers. Apple taps into that. Being able to communicate with that market is what makes them successful (understanding your user) and evil (manipulation thru deceit and spin market)

I prefer freedom so I stay away from apple products. I don't need my hand to be held when it comes to electronic devices so there's no gain to be had by choosing apple.
 
Pangur Bán;11351347 said:
@Luiz, Is there anything wrong with Lenovos that would pose problems for a private netbook user? The story on the street is that Lenovos are great until you have to interact with the company, in which case it wouldn't bother me as I've never had to interact with any of them directly in the past and that could as well change for/against with any company.
Click to expand...

I suppose the problem is less intense for private notebook users, specially if the way you use the laptop makes it less likely to fail (Ie, you don't move around much with it, you don't let it heat, etc.). But even with my personal laptops I have needed technical assistence more often than not, and Lenovo is a total failure in that department. And the sheer number of issues the company faced with the Lenovos does suggest that they are of inferior quality overall.
 
This (the picture) is what Apple drones really believe. They can make Hardcore rich white businessman look like nice, selfless, caring people. And there ability to twist facts is pretty awesome too (the facts in the picture are a lie).


Ice_Tyrant said:
I use the macs whenever I am at the library at college, but that's more just 'cause they are always open and sometimes I just like to not always use windows.

I kind of hate Apple though. I can't imagine I'd ever buy one of their products. It's an irrational hatred. Well I know some of it makes sense but then some of it just seems like I hate them because I do, sort of like how I am with Bing.
Click to expand...
I use Macs when I'm at the UIC library too. All the PC there are budget $400 ones. There are no budget Macs. And any $1500 computer , Mac or PC, is going to run faster then a cheap $400 one.
 

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I'm no fan of Apple PC's, but I will give them this: Apple has supply chain management that other companies can only dream of.
 
Apple has succeeded in making tech gadgets a status symbol. Their profitability is tied to their branding and intense customer loyalty, and their recent (relatively speaking) ability to be ahead of the curve. The iPhone and iPad all would not have been possible without what made Apple huge: the iPod and iTunes. Before the iPod Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy and people thought their days of innovating were over.

I am wondering what they can do next, though. The iPhone and iPad will only last so long, Google and others are chipping away slowly but surely.
 
I was at a conference last week and the only computer that "bluescreened" in the middle of the owner's presentation was from Apple. :lol:

In some cases Apple might have a slight quality advantage, but nothing that justifies the price.
 
I wouldn't buy an apple computer/laptop. Other than the OS being different, it seems like the major components are the same (with the case being an exception).
 
I used to tell people to get a Mac just so they would leave me alone. The idea being they don't have to be smart enough to pick out a good brand and model.

luiz said:
I suppose the problem is less intense for private notebook users, specially if the way you use the laptop makes it less likely to fail (Ie, you don't move around much with it, you don't let it heat, etc.). But even with my personal laptops I have needed technical assistence more often than not, and Lenovo is a total failure in that department. And the sheer number of issues the company faced with the Lenovos does suggest that they are of inferior quality overall.
Click to expand...

Were you using the business models or the consumer models, because that makes all the difference? The Lenovos I have used were some of the most durable machines I have seen. I've never had any kind of failure and the build quality was great. My company uses everything, but Lenovos are probably the favorite right now.
 
Apple used to be very very expensive...it used to be 3-4 x a PC but its very much more affordable now... perhaps maybe 1-1.5X more ex....

i believe that is the reason for Apple explosive popularity..

of coz, there are now fanatics that claim Apple's product is flawless...

The iphone 3S sucks as a phone thou.
 
$104/share in cash is nice. Apple's operational expertise is the best in class. As Integral said, their supply chain management means they don't have large profit sapping inventory. In 2010, HTC couldn't buy enough screens because Apple pre-paid their manufacturers for the iPhone 4. Same for high end drills for iPad 2.

Question is whether they can continue to be revolutionary rather just evolutionary?
 
Their products are good, but its the brilliant branding that takes it to the next level and allows them to charge more than competitors and still out sell them
 
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