Telling Fact From Fantasy In the World of Apple Rumors 91
Harry writes "In recent years, fact-based reporting about Apple and its products has been almost completely overwhelmed by gossip, predictions, and speculation — an amazing percentage of which is embarrassingly wrong. I've put together a guide to figuring out which scuttlebutt is almost certainly fiction, and which has a shot at jibing with reality."
Clue: (Score:3, Interesting)
The only care about what products are available. Only fanbois and panicky investors care about rumors (normal investors should be in it for the long haul anyway).
Sort of an interesting read on why we should ignore mac rumors (and mind you i own 4 macs in my house and use them for dev, so i love 'em just as much as anyone), but otherwise a pretty pointless piece of reading.
I guess it's still better than idle.
Sometimes the truth sucks (Score:5, Interesting)
but Apple's use of Intel chips and similar chip sets validated the comparisons. Outside of OS X what we have is cutting edge cases: packaging. Apple is the mastery of packaging and marketing. Throw in a long standing and in some cases deserved following and the die is set.
That isn't to say there is some value in packaging. Yet this what happens is that there is this great disconnect. I follow and post to various mac forums (being an owner on an iMac and two iPods does let me get away with it) where the same people who one day berate Alienware (insert name of any PC specialty maker) for charging high prices for essentially fancy cased machines will drag you into the dirt arguing why the case on the new "mac xxx" is so revolutionary that it deserves exception.
The primary problem is that too many in the Mac community still fail to recognize that Apple isn't just about computers. They go out of their way to ignore the boards on the site dedicated to the iPhone and Touch. Yet from those products one can see why much of the Mac hardware is what it is. Is Apple big enough to create a multitude of products for both the Mac enthusiast and the music/phone consumer? Considering the state of Mac I think they aren't. While I laud them on continued extension of OS X I am really annoyed at the hardware I am forced to run it on. Apple goes to no end to stomp anyone trying to use their hardware or software in ways they don't approve yet at the same time refuse to fill the void that is being called out by these upstarts.
Apple put themselves into the same position IBM was in, they have a common hardware platform in Mac with the rest of the PC world. Their market is ripe for a competitor. It is only a matter of time before one surfaces who doesn't just back down. Apple's reaction will be interesting once OS X cannot be held to just Apple made computers. Frankly they should license it to very specific ranges on computers to fill the void in their product line they refuse to fill themselves. Create a system of "OX X" certified with real enforcement. Will it happen, no but it is nice to dream.
Macs are like Harley Davidson, only a fool buys them new. Get them used and save yourself the expense. Exploit the irrational expectations that some of the community have for having to have the newest item, this years new case. You will get a good machine and have the very same experience except you can look at your bank account and feel good about it.
Re:Sometimes the truth sucks (Score:1, Interesting)
I'd differ on the point of OS X. OS X is one of the crown jewels that Apple has, and it can be argued that it as well as the iPod saved Apple from bankruptcy.
OS X is one of the better operating systems out there. I can't think of any glaring weaknesses that are evident in the OS. One of the biggest arguments in its favor (and also applies to Linux, BSD, and other UNIX variants) is that companies who write for OS X understand the user/administrator privilege model and don't try to make every app on a system require root privs unless absolutely needed (which is a big problem with Windows, even though its no fault of Microsoft.)
The only thing that OS X really lacks is no built in facility for whole disk encryption. This can be remedied by third party utilities like PGP, but this functionality should be in the operating system. It would be nice for Apple to build some sort of BitLocker-like functionality into the OS so everything but a pre-boot stub is encrypted. FileVault is a good step in protecting user files, but there is still a lot of useful items to a thief outside of a home directory. Applications (especially license keys) and deleted files in /tmp come to mind.
Re:Fantasy: Apple computers aren't overpriced (Score:1, Interesting)
You're absolutely right. This is the downside of Apple's limited number of models and the relative infrequency of hardware refreshes. Add to that the fact that the product price never get's lowered and it's easy to see why in many people eyes Apple is overpriced.
To be fair. At this moment the iMac is the worst value in Apple's lineup and is listed as a strong DO NOT BUY in MacRumour's Mac Buyer's Guide. It's long overdue for a refresh. Once the next hardware refresh occurs (rumours say March, but who knows) it probably won't be so clear cut (for the time being).
First and foremost, Apple is a boutique product and doing damn well in spite of it.
You're never going to be able to come up with a justifiable price vs. performance matrix on a Gucci handbag.