Comments on: Speaking of Apple's Prices... Why Are They So Damn High?

By: Apple’s Mac Pro Discontinued in Europe, Here’s a Modular Design That Could (But Won’t) Replace It - NoFilmSchool

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:08:28 +0000

[...] the ‘pro’ to his or her own devices (literally). Which is fine, because if it’s really sexy, and it works very well, that may be enough for the pro in many of us, at least. For those who dream of more, though, dream [...]

By: Stéphane Torregrosa

Stéphane Torregrosa — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:03:59 +0000

I’m on the same reflexion since a few months. The first step was my new smartphone. I had an Iphone 3GS, and when came the time to change, after a lot of time, I decided to buy a Lumia 800 (at this time, WP8 didn’t exist).

Why Windows Phone and not Android ? For the same reason that I choose Mac Vs PC. I knew I would be tempting to manage a lot of things in the OS. I just want a system who works well without the need of “manipulate” (in French, we say “bidouiller”, I don’t know the english word) the OS. For me, it’s lost time.

At work, we use Mac computers (Macbook pro & iMac, and we are waiting for the hypothetic new Mac Pro). At home, after a few iMacs, I decided to build my own Hackintosh (your blog was a good source of inspiration !). It runs really well, for the same budget than an Imac, I’ve got a really powerful computer.

Sorry for my language mistakes, I’m French :-)

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 01:05:56 +0000

At the end of the day its just the same thing in an expensive box. Abet one you cant open.

Oh and anyone who tells you macs “just work” obviously has not worked with enough of them :)

By: Thyl Engelhardt

Thyl Engelhardt — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 09:00:44 +0000

Which surprises me. To get to 12000 dollars, you need to spec the system with dual 6-core Xeons E5645. Two of them alone would cost me 2800 _Euro_ at a well known, cheap supplier here in Germany.

By: Dheep'

Dheep' — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 05:36:30 +0000

“Wait, you’ve made it to 2013 without a smartphone?” What is a Smart Phone? No ,really ,what is it ? I have yet to see one that is very Smart (literally or figuratively).
Some of you people are SO funny. Still arguing about what is best PC or Mac? Really? You haven’t figured it out? But you are all so smart !
Don’t forget ,just a very short time ago you were the turkeys lugging around Bricks thinking you were Kool . Then ,but a few minutes ago you had antenna hanging out your ears to let everyone on the street know how important you were. You know for when that call from the CEO comes in for you.
Me ,I prefer my Cross -Platform Legal Pad and Sharpie.

By: Montana Casey

Montana Casey — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 06:02:34 +0000

Who cares?

I’ve worked on tons of different boxes, different platforms, software from Flame to Nuke to AE, Avid, and Vegas. If the projects suck, or you suck as an artist, it doesn’t really matter. I know I’m deviating from the topic here a little bit, but I think it’s important to remember that no matter what gear you’re using, it makes no difference if the creative is garbage, or the story is lame.

With that off my chest, I will say that I do prefer LInux > all for speed and functionality. It’s been no secret that Apple’s product is an overpriced luxury. Their brand is what they sell. They sell an image. That image has been related to creative professionalism. I remember I used to get chewed out by workmates for calling attention to that. Now it seems it’s publicly acknowledged. There is a reason they clear 28.3 billion in revenue yearly. Overpriced is an understatement.

They are pretty, though. I typed this on my girlfriends macbook air 2012.

By: Rachael

Rachael — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 04:52:29 +0000

I priced a MAC desktop @ $12,000.
I then built my own PC with the best components I could find for just over $2,000.

I own a MacBook Pro which I can’t replace because they dumbed the new ones down so much.

I bought a loaded 17″ PC laptop that runs Premier Pro et al with no problems. I paid only $1,000.00 for it.

Apple’s just not worth the money for what they offer.

Rachael

By: altnetid

altnetid — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 00:32:56 +0000

I left Apple behind almost 2 years ago.
No certainty in the Pro market left me no option but to switch to PC.
You still pay top dollar for HP Z series but like Apple the hardware is configured precisely to the OS – in this case Win7x64. And it is rock solid.
I must say that other than the superficial sexiness of a Mac the PC edges it in performance and reliability.
Plus you get a 3 year warranty from HP and it’s just so damned easy to upgrade especially with all that nVidia goodness.
And luckily the Avid license is transferable and it also means I don’t have to use the dying Final Cut anymore (by the way… Premiere is now second behind Avid as the best cutting software).
I enjoyed my Mac days, but I ditched them before they could ditch me.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:41:59 +0000

Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DH71

By: Ryan Koo

Ryan Koo — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:01:27 +0000

I’m on the exact same lineup… Kindle for reading (cross-platform), Google everything else (cross-platform), Macs for laptop/desktop hardware, Android for mobile.

By: Danny Derakhshan

Danny Derakhshan — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:21:10 +0000

I use Mac computers and as a Google fan, I am trying to use Google Docs/Drive software, I love my Android phone and plan to keep Apple for desktop/laptop computing and Android as my phone OS. I also have a Kindle for reading books only.

By: Seanj Hegarty

Seanj Hegarty — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:28:07 +0000

Apple has always been a cunning business model. In 1984 they cut a deal with a bunch of colleges across America to force students to buy it’s computers at $1500 a piece. I had to buy one of the first ones to go to college where I wanted to. It was a 128k machine and within 6 months they released a 512k. The 128k version was basically useless at that point because there no programs being made for it anymore. Also it looked really cool with it’s original windows setup, but you really could not program on it without some external software you had to buy. Radio Shack’s TRS80 was $599 at the time and if you learned DOS you could make it do what you wanted. Today, I could build the most awsome Pc platform computer for the Price of the cheapest Mac. Compare the HPZ800 with all of it’ upgrading capacity to the Mac Pro and see what the comparison is or even go to your local computer repair guy and see what he could put together for you with $3500. I would never buy another Mac no matter how “sexy” they look.

By: Tim Rockwood

Tim Rockwood — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 02:52:32 +0000

Perhaps reading Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography will remind some folks that there’s an ethical imperative to supporting innovation, which always costs more. Few draw the Macintosh–Mercedes analogy but it’s worth considering. Hyundai and Kia have bought and deconstructed many of the Stuttgart machines and attempted to emulate; the price differential is set by human consumptive behavior in the marketplace.

By: Heiko

Heiko — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 02:05:01 +0000

Totally agree. Apple does use high-end hardware, you always have to compare apples with apples (pun intended).
When the MacPro uses two Xeon processors, you’ll have to know that a single one of these cpus costs like 900 dollars. Also a PC case with the built quality of a MacPro case easily costs 250-300 Dollars, you cannot at all compare it to some cheapo 50 bucks PC case.

However the question is, do I really need two 900 dollars Xeon processors, or would I be fine with just on i7 quad core in my desktop system. And no, I don’t want an iMac as an editing system. That is where I can’t choose anymore with Apple. The options are very limited. for a hardware freak like me who sees a million options that I can build myself into a nice system, I always end up building a PC system.

By: Heiko

Heiko — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 01:54:27 +0000

Did it ever occur to you that not everyone here must be a “filmmaker”?
I am not a filmmaker, I am a cameraman, and I mean cameraman – less dop, more camera operator. And I like it. I work as a cameraman and I shoot mostly documentary type tv pieces for the company I work with. It is not glamorous, it is not Hollywood, but I like it!

I also like to read about and talk about cameras, camera tech, and computer tech, which besides photography is my other big time hobby.

So yes, I do everything you criticize. But believe it or not, I love it!

By: Heiko

Heiko — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 01:45:26 +0000

I totally agree. I work with Macs a lot professionally, but I have been assembling my own Windows PCs since 1998. The stability or speed or workflow of a good windows system (since Win XP) is no other than that of a Mac system. My own self-assembled Windows PCs have a certain hardware quality which assures that the PC runs just as stable and fast as the Mac system, only my options are better and the price is a little lower.

What I am tired of hearing is that Macs run much more stable than PCs or can do stuff better and quicker. As I said before, I work with Macs a lot, and every time a program crashes on me I think “good thing I have a Mac, because they always work perfectly”…

Don’t get me wrong, I kind of like Macs and OSX. Macs have are well designed computers with good hardware, and the OS is really good, too. Security wise OSX is still a little better I think because of its Unix core, I’ll admit to that.
However I hate being so limited hardware-wise. Apple never had a middle-ground desktop system, they only ever sold the overpowered Mac Pro with the most expensive server hardware, or the stylish but very limited iMac. My PC systems were always in-between, where I was getting a lot more power than from the iMac, but at 1/3 of the price of a MacPro.

Right now, the MacPro is pretty much old hardware for too high a price, it is not really an option for anyone half sane.
But would you really want to use an iMac as an editing workstation? I wouldn’t! It only has a mobile graphics chipset, you can’t even change the graphics adapter, and changing the harddrive is a days work if you even dare to do it yourself.

By: Dale

Dale — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:29:55 +0000

Don’t know if this is still the case, but 3 or so years ago, I was doing my research on buying my first iMac, the RRP I was looking at was around about 2900 and the reseller I went to said he could get that down to $2800, no further and even at that point he’d only be making 100 dollars on the unit anyway. So wether this is an isolated case or being an Apple reseller seems to be a horrible business decision.

As for the Mac vs Pc argument, I can see the merits in both systems, but for me I’ve been a Mac user for 3 years (and with the purchase of my brand new top end 27 incher) I’d say for 3 years more. For me, it works, I like the infrastructure and to beat an old horse “it just works” …for me.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:46:01 +0000

Ironically, I haven’t had a phone for about 3 years and I’m 17. I don’t really care. If I was to ever buy a smartphone it would have to be a high end one because the lower end ones are just a waste of time. The S3 or iPhone I would much rather prefer over a $150 phone, mainly because of the screen size. They give you a touch screen and expect you to type using such a small size. Blah.

By: Lazy

Lazy — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:34:07 +0000

Hating on any one who questions why Apple is over charging? Whether or not its worth the price is very debatable, Ever since Apple switched from IBM CPU to Intel CPU we can now compare apples to apples! While i used to be an Apple fan boy, I do not see the Value in them anymore. Every “No one makes it like Apple” is usually about how it feels, not how it works. As to your MBP pedestal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131390
The samsung series 7, Intel Core i7-3630QM 2.4GHz, 1.5TB HDD, 16gb ram, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M 2gig, 17.3″ screen, Blue-ray.

it is a little bit thicker at 1.29″ -1.9″ but at $1,699 I’ll deal with it.

By: Vladimir

Vladimir — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:09:50 +0000

Exactly. It’s not enough for a piece of hardware to have the same specs to be the same. It’s not about processors, or graphic cards, or a hardrive, it’s about the whole package, hardware + software in a real working enviroment, and no one can come close to what Apple does.