Mac to go below $500?

[chequita guevara]

Yeah, whatever. If I can get a government business grant, I might get a Mac, just to test websites on.

[Agathon]

The main problem for me is that you've never been able to get polytonic Greek to work properly on Windows without jumping through hoops. Even then, it still doesn't work properly.

At least M$ finally got it to work right in Office 2004, well mostly anyway.

[Agathon]

I can't see why Apple would bother with a sub $500 Mac. They are doing fine as it is. The company has had a record year without actually doing very much. Next year should be a good one.

I'm about due for a new mac, but I have to find out what I'm doing first.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Ya know... Fez's attacks almost make me want to by a Mac. ALMOST .

Yeah, Fez's attacks are pretty funny, reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeediculously funny! His posts radically funny, just like Sava's.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Your posts almost make me want to return my iPod, ALMOST .

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
I can't see why Apple would bother with a sub $500 Mac. They are doing fine as it is. The company has had a record year without actually doing very much. Next year should be a good one.

I'm about due for a new mac, but I have to find out what I'm doing first.

The Mac marketshare is continually shrinking. The "best" years for Apple have a marginal increase in number of units sold, but they're still dropping ridiculously fast in terms of actual marketshare.

Apple has many problems with their core business, ones most Mac fans choose to ignore.

Third party support, for one, is dropping. Adobe is the most prominent example of them pulling Mac support. Many companies are switching to dual Windows + Linux development, if anything, and it makes little sense to make a Mac port too -- especially with Apple's track record of putting those products out of business later with a first-party solution after it uses them to get the market established.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Originally posted by Agathon
I can't see why Apple would bother with a sub $500 Mac. They are doing fine as it is. The company has had a record year without actually doing very much. Next year should be a good one.

I'm about due for a new mac, but I have to find out what I'm doing first.

They have had a record year in iPod/iTunes sales, but they've had yet another dissappointing year in computer sales.

I think what Apple needs to do to appeal to both the Mac and PC crowds is to start walking a fine line, that is they need to put one foot in a Mac user's shoe and the other in a PC user's shoe--think and like a Mac user (think different ) in some ways and think like a PC user in some ways. This will allow them to hang on to their niche market while at the same time work towards swaying millions of potential switchers to switch.

If this rumor holds true, then this is a very good first step towards this goal for Apple. I say, "Keep up the good work."

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Spiffor
People at school are often keen to play computer games, which are almost non-existant on Mac (and even the girls, who are less interested in games than boys, generally turn to boys when it comes to knowing which computer to buy).

Having no games on it isn't a good reason not to buy the system? And people don't get *gaming* experience when using the computer labs at school.

Mac has almost no chance to find customers among the high-school people, because of its extreme lack of games. However, Mac could look for customers among slightly older "hip" or "artsy" people, which are too old already for games, but young enough to care for fashion. This is the niche Apple seems to have been exploring recently, but that niche is quite sucky.

i.e. they're playing computer illiterates for fools

Mac's greatest advantage is the simplicity of the product. For hardware and for software alike, Macs are made to be easy of use, which is made possible by the Mac strategy of making all aspects of the computer. Old people (especially retirees) could appreciate Mac's effort to make their computers fool-compatible.

So is Windows, in fact. Boot it up, click "start".

Should Mac offer an affordable box, it could score some points among the old, who'll gladly pay 100$ more for something that works right out of the box, and where you don't have to plug anything but the power plug

You don't have to do that for windows either.

[Agathon]

The Mac marketshare is continually ...

blah blah blah...

People have been saying Apple is doomed for years. Yet they continue to keep going and they are financially sound. They were the best performing stock this year IIRC. That's what matters in the end - the bottom line. Your gloom and doom predictions are, as usual, not supported by the facts.

But I guess that you think you are more knowledgeable than professional stock analysts. I don't believe I've ever met a more inflated egomaniac than you; nor one with less cause to be so.

If Apple does release a cheap machine, I don't think it will sell. Then again, I thought the ipod was a bad business decision, as were the retail stores. Most people thought the same. Both of those have been very successful, so it shows how much amateur opinion is worth.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Agathon
The main problem for me is that you've never been able to get polytonic Greek to work properly on Windows without jumping through hoops. Even then, it still doesn't work properly.

Of course, the average user cares so much about being able to read polytonic Greek on their computer...

[Agathon]

They have had a record year in iPod/iTunes sales, but they've had yet another dissappointing year in computer sales.

They're in no danger of going out of business. That's all that matters.

[Agathon]

Of course, the average user cares so much about being able to read polytonic Greek on their computer...

Well I do. I couldn't care less about the ignorant Greekless mob.

[Kuciwalker]

You're not doing anything to dispell the Mac stereotype

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Originally posted by Agathon
They're in no danger of going out of business. That's all that matters.

Perhaps not because if their computer business fails they could just run as a media company as a backup, but the computer part of their business might still fail if they don't do something about it and do something fast!

[Agathon]

You're not doing anything to dispell the Mac stereotype

Shut up you unsophisticated peon!!! Get back to your pornsurfing!!