On 1 Jan 2004, at 11:00 pm, Doug Pensinger wrote:
William wrote:
On the other hand
http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv3.jsp? CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id%20=305449
Apple are, on the whole, one of the better manufacturers in terms of reliability.
How'd I know I'd get a reply from you 8^)
I don't doubt that Apples manufacturing is superior. That's one of the reasons their computers cost more.
Their laptops are, according to several comparative reviews I've seen lately, cheaper than similarly configured name-brand Windows laptops. The G5 and the Xserve are also very competitively priced to equivalent Windows machines. The iMac on the other hand does appear overpriced on spec, but what value does the form factor and that fancy arm have?
iMac II is coming in January with a redesign to get the manufacturing cost down.
Apple's machines are built in the same far East plants as Windows PCs, and since Apple spends about 8% of revenue on R&D compared to about 1.5% from the likes of Dell it is quite hard to compete on price.
Why don't they have easily replicable batteries like cameras?
Cameras have a different pattern of use. I definitely need to be able to swap batteries in my digital camera in order to keep taking pictures. I usually carry a spare set of charged NiMh AAs (the 1600 mAh type) and a spare 128MB memory card when I'm taking pictures.
My mobile phone goes on its charger every few days and that pattern works fine for it. I'm unlikely to buy a new battery pack for my mobile phone when it dies since the list price for the battery is twice what I paid for the phone!
18 months seems like a short lifespan especially considering the cost of the product. I don't think I'd buy anything that expensive with an integrated battery.
Lithium ion batteries have a normal life-span of 300-500 discharge/charge cycles and 2-3 years. Those experiencing battery failure in 18 months are exceptions. The Dell DJ (amongst others) also uses an integrated battery in order to achieve compact size and low weight. This is the same battery technology as the iPod, with the same benefits and drawbacks.
-- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/
"It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will run out of things they can do with UNIX." - Ken Olsen, President of DEC, 1984.
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