The Mac Sucks!

A while back, we discussed how Apple likes to market its products using “absolute” statements. For example, it talks about Mac OS X Leopard as “the world’s most advanced operating system“, iTunes as “the world’s most popular digital media player“, and the MacBook line as “the world’s greenest lineup of notebooks“. Their competitor Dell didn’t sit idly by and let Apple make that last claim without taking them to task.

Dell, which has been making what is described as “one of the most substantial efforts in the industry to produce more environmentally sound products and shrink its carbon footprint”, approached the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ National Advertising Division (NAD) to complain that Apple has no right to make such a bold statement. After examining the situation, the NAD claims that while Apple can legitimately claim that the MacBook line is greener than product lines from a specific competitor, their claim that the MacBook line is the “world’s greenest” has “potential for overstatement”. (This sounds like a nice way of saying “Come on, Apple, aren’t you exaggerating a bit? You’ve done some good work but don’t let it go to your head.”)

Later in the report, the NAD suggests that while Apple does have a very “green” product line, that it should adjust its advertising to make clearer that it’s comparing its products to a specific competitor or competitors, and it should avoid the reference to “world’s greenest” in the future. In typical Apple style, they interpreted this as a “clear victory” and thanked the NAD for “confirming that its MacBooks, as compared to all of the notebooks made by any given manufacturer, are the world’s greenest notebook computers”. Put more simply, Apple is going to go right on claiming its products are the “world’s greenest” even though the NAD has advised against making such a bold claim.

None of this negates any of Dell’s other points about Apple’s “green credibility”. Dell’s CEO Bob Pearson posted a statement about this back in December 2008. In that post, Pearson says that Apple isn’t taking part in any conferences or blogosphere activity on environmental issues and that Apple doesn’t seem to be doing much more than making “wild claims” and advertising, while companies like Dell are making a genuine effort to reduce emissions, eliminate unnecessary packaging, become carbon-neutral (which it did in 2008), and focus on energy efficiency. One example of Dell’s efforts is that it topped the TBR Corporate Sustainability Index Benchmark Report in May 2009. Apple, it should be noted, apparently didn’t make the top 10 on that report. Oh well, maybe next year…

Dell’s director of product management for its business client group, Darrel Ward, says that while Windows 7 appears to be superior to Windows Vista, its proposed pricing will be an obstacle to widespread adoption. Ward is quoted by CNET as saying that “In tough economic times, I think it’s naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a stronger swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista.”

Still, Ward seems to be encouraged by the level of interest Dell is seeing in Windows 7. “When Vista came out we didn’t have the motivation to do the types of services that we’re doing now. We didn’t have the clear customer demand for such services,” he told CNET, “We do have a visible number of customers, large and small, who are actually waiting for Windows 7 and who have already put plans in place to target the transition to Windows 7, they’re asking Dell for help. That demand and this opportunity is stronger than it has been in the past.”

While raising prices during a tough economic period doesn’t sound like a very smart move for Microsoft to make, there does seem to be a much stronger interest in Windows 7 than there was for Windows Vista near its release. That’s not surprising. When Microsoft released Windows Vista, it seemed to think customers would automatically upgrade as they had done in the past. However, Microsoft’s corporate customers (the bulk of its users) didn’t find Vista a compelling upgrade. It was more strict about the drivers it supported, didn’t work with a lot of older legacy applications corporations were using, and offered little incentive (in terms of improvements) to upgrade. It didn’t help that early adopters complained about incompatibilities, slowness, and frequent security warnings.

Microsoft has an opportunity to improve its situation with corporate customers in Windows 7, if it doesn’t price itself out of consideration. Most businesses are watching their finances carefully, and for Microsoft to be able to convince them to invest in an upgrade to Windows 7 they will have to demonstrate how Windows 7 will make things better than they are with XP. Given that XP has proven to be a relatively stable and secure environment in the business world, that could be a tough sell, especially if licensing costs increase significantly.

Let’s hope the powers that be in Redmond recognize that times have changed and that while Windows 7 is indeed an improvement over Vista, that doesn’t necessarily justify a price increase.

The AppleInsider web site posted an analysis of Dell’s new “Adamo” laptop line. The laptops are clearly designed to compete with Apple’s MacBook Air, offering what Dell claims to be the thinnest laptop in the world. Like the MacBooks being shipped today, the Adamo is reportedly constructed from a single piece of aluminum. It was designed to evoke images of “fine watches” and other luxury items. It also supposed to position Dell as a designer brand and luxury PC maker.

On the one hand, it’s good to see a mainstream PC maker challenging Apple with a thin designer machine. It will help that the machine is even thinner than the MacBook Air. On the other hand, Dell’s Adamo is even more expensive than the MacBook Air, at a time when netbooks are dominating the laptop market because of their low prices. I’m inclined to agree with AppleInsider that this is strange timing to introduce a “luxury” product line.

Last year, Dell released the Latitude XT, an enterprise laptop PC with multi-touch functionality similar to that used in the iPhone.  On Wednesday, HP unveiled the TouchSmart tx2, the first “consumer” laptop to feature multi-touch functionality.

As CNet reports, “How did HP accomplish this feat, when Microsoft won’t add multitouch functionality until it releases Windows 7?  By partnering with an Israeli company called N-trig.”  The tx2 reportedly looks like a standard convertible tablet PC, and is priced at $1,149 and up.  At the low end, the device features a 2.1 GHz AMD Turion X2 CPU, 3GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, ATI HD3200 graphics, and 32-bit Vista Home Premium.  

I’m inclined to agree with CNet’s Matt Elliott when he says, “Personally, I’ve never understood the draw of a tablet outside, perhaps, a few specific occupations that require the use of specific software and where one lacks of a desk — say, insurance agents in the field or medical professionals moving from one patient to the next. For me, nothing is a more efficient input device than a QWERTY keyboard, along with a mouse or touch pad.” But hey, to each his (or her) own.

Still, I wish HP (and Dell) success with their multitouch devices, and am curious to see what response (if any) comes from Cupertino.

According to Fox News, three of the largest makers of LCD screens pleaded guilty to price-fixing and will be forced to pay fines totaling $585 million.

The products affected by the price-fixing included Apple iPods, Motorola Razr phones, as well as laptops and monitors sold by Dell (and presumably lots of other companies).

The official quoted in the article said that “the termination of the conspiracies should lead to lower prices.”  Perhaps that means iMacs and iPods will come down a little in price soon?

A Mac-hating friend of mine passed along a link to a Mac vs. PC comparison on the “topnewsblog”.  The comparison, such as it is, shows an iMac reportedly priced at $3999 (must be an old price, as they aren’t that expensive now unless you really deck one out) and a Dell PC at $1299 (also sounds a little high to me – maybe both include software?), then shows below it a picture of a game from each platform.  The Mac game is childish looking and claims to be running at only 8 frames per second, while the PC game looks almost like a movie scene at first glance.  I share the link not because I think it’s a great, fair, or even accurate comparison, but as an example of the perception that many people have about the Mac and Apple.  This is the kind of image Apple will need to overcome if it is to substantially increase its share of the desktop market.

According to The Register, UK consumer organization “Which?” surveyed UK customers to identify the most reliable laptop computers. At the top of the list came Sony and Toshiba, with 93% scores. Fujitsu-Siemens got 91%. Apple and Dell scored 87%. After that came Acer and HP with 84%.

Apple did top the list for customer satisfaction, at 93%. The PC manufacturers ranged from 68-77% satisfaction.

For desktop PCs, Apple, Compaq, and Dell came out on top, followed by Acer, eMachines, and Medion.

Dell recently announced the release of the Studio Hybrid PC, a small form-factor computer that industry analysts describe as a competitor to the Apple Mac Mini.

The Studio Hybrid is priced starting at $499.  At that price level, the computer includes an Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2390 CPU running at 1.86GHz (533MHz FSB, 1MB Cache), Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 operating system, 8x slot-loading dual-layer CD/DVD burner, 1 GB of DDR2 memory (667 MHz), a 5400-rpm 160GB SATA hard drive, Intel GMA x3100 video card, stereo audio with 5.1 channel digital output, and a 1-year in-home service warranty.

Upgrade options include faster CPUs (up to 2.6 GHz Core 2 Duo), Vista Ultimate operating system, up to 4GB of RAM, a 6x slot-loading Blu-ray disc drive (DVD+/-RW and BD-ROM), Sound Blaster Audigy HD, a TV tuner, wireless-N networking, and more.

The system is offered in 7 colors:  Slate, Emerald, Quartz, Ruby, Topaz, Sapphire, and Bamboo.

For those of you who are curious, here’s how the Mac Mini and Studio Hybrid stack up to each other:

For $100 less than the Mac Mini, Dell provides a system which offers a slightly faster CPU, larger hard disk, faster video card, DVD burner (versus DVD-ROM), HDMI video output, and color choices for the case.

Speaking in “green” terms, both systems meet Energy Star requirements.  The Dell Studio Hybrid meets Energy Star 4.0 standards with an 87% efficient power supply (Apple doesn’t publish similar specifications on its web site).  The Studio Hybrid is packed in 95% recyclable materials, and comes with a system-recycling kit so that the unit itself can be recycled when no longer viable.

The Dell system includes an in-home warranty repair service, whereas the Mac Mini requires the unit to be returned to Apple or an Apple Store for service.

All things considered, the Dell Studio Hybrid is a worthy competitor to Apple’s Mac Mini.

If you think everything at Apple runs on
Macintosh hardware and Mac OS X, think again Mac Fanboys.

Gizmodo snapped an image of an iPhone display being rebooted at an
AT&T store. That display, a 42″ Samsung LCD, is being driven by a
Dell PC running Windows XP. That’s right, not a Mac.

Need
proof? See the Gizmodo article…

(Yes, it’s not an Apple Store, but clearly Apple didn’t supply AT&T Stores with Macs on which to run their iPhone promotional materials.)