apple vs windows... ````

[SteveP]

i recently for a windows 7 laptop. i use excel, and stuff and am pretty used to the system.
i chose w-7 just cause i am familiar with it.

today i went to a microsoft store cause i was hung up on a couple of set up things...
got cleared up pretty easily cause everybody probably has the same issues.
microsoft store- few weeks before christmas... probably 10 employees ( all very friendly )
1 or 2 other customers in the 20 minutes i was there.

few doors down there is an apple store. probably 100 people lined up with a policeman letting them in one at a time...
place completely packed.

i dont know if something was released today... but the success of apples marketing and consumer friendly products was , once again, dramatically demonstrated.

[spopepro]

... but the success of apples marketing and consumer friendly products was , once again, dramatically demonstrated.

Yeah, but it's not just that. There's a ton more going on under the hood. And just because this turns into a holy war ususally, I'm a linux guy.

I think a good example that doesn't get into people's personal feelings is the Philips Hue lamps. Now, these are quasi-apple because they are currently *only* sold at apple stores. It's a kit that has LED lamps that screw into regular bases and a bridge that plugs into your router. You can then operate the lights over your phone, or using their internet portal.

It's freakin' awesome.

Now some will say it's silly and plain old lights work fine and should be good enough for everyone, and some will say that it's gimmic-y, and other will say it's all overpriced and over marketed, and others will say the interface is "dumbed down", but you dig a little deeper and the tech and design that went into the system is really mindblowing. My wife's a pro lighting designer and she's blown away and is already digging in further to hack around with it (which Philips encourages, or at least doens't discourage).

So when someone engineers a system top to bottom to the level that apple does, they might have lines out the door too. They probably do already.
huestore.jpg

[Tom]

Pfftthhh. Kids camp out to buy electronic gadgets. In the old days we camped out for stuff that mattered like concert tickets.

[echelon_john]

The difference? People don't go on dates to the Microsoft store. I have a buddy who worked in an Apple store for a while; he used to complain about the couples that would come in the store on weekend nights, obviously on dates, and flirt around the machines, take pictures together with the built in cameras, etc.

You need Microsoft to work. You need Apple to live.

[false_aesthetic]

You need Microsoft to work. You need Apple to live.

cuz all i do at work in play

[lukasz]

Their dominance began because they designed aesthetically pleasing products that were idiot-proof (linux based vs Windows and its registry/drivers/shoot-me-now). At this point Apple is just living off that legacy. I think that the ibook G4 I bought in the mid 2000s is a better computer than the Macbook Pro I'm typing this post on now (ignoring technological progress that accounts for differences in speed, of course).

I think there are bigger crowds at the Apple stores now than usual because they have just gotten done with product launches, coincidentally timed for the holiday season (heh), and people are in there to get the new stuff.

[davids]

You need Microsoft to work. You need Apple to live.

That statement makes me sad. They're both just computers, sophisticated tools.

Apple products often have lovely, graceful interfaces that I can appreciate as canny amalgams of function and aesthetics. But if there are folks who truly thing they need one "to live", they need to put it down for a good long time.

[mainemike]

i hve a dell laptop that was given to me new. i almost never use it, when i do, it doesn't work. i hve an ancient mac that i bought, refurbished, almost 10yrs ago. still works fine. i hve another mac that i bought 6 yrs ago - works perfect.
Microsoft's worst nightmare coming true @ TigerDroppings.com

[Nierman]

Apple somehow retains perceived exclusivity despite almost everyone having one.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S

[vertical_doug]

My favorite parody.... who you hanging out with?

[j44ke]

As I understand it, sales of iPhone and iPad support the rest of what Apple makes. And sales on iTunes supports iPhone and iPad. Computers are no longer the primary focus, except as support to the other elements of their business model.

[vertical_doug]

The subsidies the network carriers pay apple is what really drives the profit margin. (also the reason for the premium to sell unlock iphones overseas) If you see subsidies drop, you will see margin compression. It has been one of the reasons the chinese carriers have pushed back against apple. Itunes itself is not that much of a driver because of royalties.

[jitahs]

Popular baby names this year: Mac and Siri. I'm fucking serious.

[maunahaole]

As much as that makes me cringe, it is nowhere near as bad as those dolts who named their poor kid Hashtag.

[SteveP]

i have to say.. the apple ad that has the guy talking to his i-phone made me want to go into the tv screen and kill him or at least rip his tongue out.

[SteveP]

As much as that makes me cringe, it is nowhere near as bad as those dolts who named their poor kid Hashtag.

"yep, this is the quickest way to get to the sterilization room... wont take long."

[jitahs]

Anyone who uses Siri in public should be labelled Skidmark. Including Zooey Deschanel.

[Bobonli]

A lot of those people could have been there for after-sales support. I went to the Apple Store Monday for an accessory. Easily 80% of the customers were working with employees to get their phones set up, learning how to use email and download their camera's memory cards. On one hand, I'm encouraged to see a company coaching (for a price in many instances) its consumers; on the other hand, I wonder what rock these people have been living under that they don't know how to use an email app or how to create a folder based filing system without taking a course.

If you spend any time in one of the stores, I think you'd find that most people are window shopping, or getting help unless a latest and greatest item was released that week.

[Nierman]

...on the other hand, I wonder what rock these people have been living under that they don't know how to use an email app or how to create a folder based filing system without taking a course.

A rock shaped like a smart phone.

[vertical_doug]

iTunes 11: It’s time for Apple’s horrible, bloated program to die. - Slate Magazine