New MacBook Air

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PG has been a Windows user for a very long time and an MS-DOS user prior to that.

All of the PG offspring are Mac users.

On many occasions, PG has had the Windows vs. Mac discussion. Several years ago, with the help of one of his offspring, he purchased a lightly-used top-end Mac desktop and appropriate software to see if he had the potential to become a Mac guy.

After about six months of trying, he was feeling no buzz and one of his offspring inherited the Mac.

He won’t go into detail, but, over the years, PG has collected a variety of Windows software programs and utilities, both widely-used and obscure, that, for him, make his use of a Windows computer quite efficient. Every few years, he upgrades his hardware for more speed/memory/storage/virtue. (For computer geeks, PG’s current desktop contains a healthy i7 processor,  32 GB of RAM, 3 TB of internal storage, including a 1 TB SSD and 16 TB of external storage, so you can see he suffers from an advanced case of something.)

OTOH, PG owns and has owned and enjoyed several iPhones, so he’s not constitutionally anti-Apple.

For visitors to TPV who don’t pay attention to such things, Apple introduced a new MacBook Air yesterday, the first refresh of a popular entry-level Mac laptop in several years.

As with many things Apple, the price increased. For $1199 (up from $999) you get a 13-inch hi rez display (nice, but not large), an i5 processor (middling performance), 8 GB of memory (not much) and a 128 GB SSD (teeny, at least by PG standards). Its built-in camera (Skype, Facetime) is 720p (low rez lame, could impair your online image if you don’t buy an external webcam which will impair the sleek MacBook Air’s appearance).

One commentator on all things Apple opined that Apple’s overall strategy is to raise the Average Selling Price (ASP) of all of its products. The latest iteration of this strategy began with the new iPhones introduced a couple of months ago – $100 or so more expensive than last year’s comparable models. The MacBook Air continues the +ASP strategy.

Over the last several years, based on sales, Apple has evolved into a phone company rather than a computer company.

In terms of unit numbers, Apple sold about the same number of phones in late 2017/early 2018 as it did a year earlier. Increased iPhone revenue occurred during that period because of increased prices.

PG read somewhere that cellphone users in the US are keeping their existing phones for a longer period of time than they have in previous years.

Apple’s competitors in the smartphone and laptop/desktop computer markets have been adding features, but not increasing prices like Apple has.

So here’s the question (PG promises to get back to books shortly): Where’s the tipping point for Apple? When are its products going to cost more than they’re worth, technically and as a lifestyle statement?

“How did you go bankrupt?”
Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.

~ Ernest Hemingway

65 thoughts on “New MacBook Air”

  1. I think Jobs’ objective was to make a computer that could also make phone calls. If I just want to make phone calls, I can get a $20 phone with $17/month charge.

    So we now have small, very powerful computers and call them phones? OK. We have computers in different forms, and call them phones, tablets, or computers, depending on the form.

    In terms of an Apple tipping point, they are already far past the tipping point if we limit ourselves to looking at technology and lifestyles statements. Many people place great value on the ease of integration between Apple products. That can probably fall under lifestyle, but it is far more than a statement. It’s real.

  2. I’ve never owned a Apple computer, though a brother and my mom had/used appleIIe’s for a bit (I did though buy and play with a ‘Laser 128’ which was an appleIIe/c clone.)

    The base problem I have always had with them (besides being overpriced) was the inability to upgrade/expand the dang things. On the PC side other than my first PC (386/40, mono, single 5.25 floppy) I’ve made my own, and before it was finally retired that first one was ‘upgraded’ out the wazoo.

    From PG’s system he has a ‘wee’ bit more ‘mad money’ than I do to throw at his toys. 😉 But the real kicker is that I don’t think he could get anything like his PC in a Mac; but even if he could, if he then wanted to upgrade his video he’d just drop in a new card and load the drivers in his PC. On the apple train he’d have to buy a whole new Mac – if they even had what he wanted.

    As to PG’s question? When the last fanboy/gal that drank the koolade can no longer afford to waste the money on them …

    Hmm, other than the small screen, this looks like a good sub for the new macbook – and it has a better camera! 😛

    https://www.amazon.com/BLU-Advance-Unlocked-Smartphone-Black/dp/B072N6BD9V/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529630048&sr=8-1&keywords=android+cell+phone+unlocked

    • “The base problem I have always had with them (besides being overpriced) was the inability to upgrade/expand the dang things.”

      That’s another myth about Apple computers. Historically, Most of Apple’s computers were open architecture and expandable; even their laptops until a few years ago.

  3. Not to prolong the Windows vs Mac (Coke vs Pepsi) religious war, but while I have enjoyed the design chops of many (not all) Apple device designers, I hate beyond endurance the entire concept of a walled garden. I’ve lived too long with technology not to have “future-proofing” in the front of my mind whenever it’s time for a new acquisition.

    The only Apple device I’ve ever been forced to spring for was a tablet, for an app I had to have which only came on that platform. Pretty tablet, but that’s the only thing I use it for.

    • I’ve never understood the complaint that Mac OS is a walled garden as a reason to avoid Apple’s products. Windows Android and various flavors of Linux are also walled gardens.

      • It depends on how you look at it.
        Apple works more like the video game industry in demanding a cut of revenues from selling software, content, and services to “their” customers. An access fee or vigorish, depending on your point of view.

        Other platforms, you can write and sell software for without paying a red cent to the platform holder.

        The Mac used to be as open as Windows and Linux but after Jobs came up with the appstore it has become more of a gatekeeper to their customer base. if you want to sell something to Apple customers you are expected pay Apple.

        iOS is even more tightly locked down at the hardware level and Apple has used that appstore in…questionable…ways. During the conspiracy antitrust trial the DOJ presented emails documenting how Apple refused to approve a Random House App for iOS until they joined iBooks. Classic tying antitrust violation that one.

        Android and Kindle ereaders are walled gardens too but they allow hardware owners to bypass the official gates through sideloading which Apple does not. This has given rise to the “industry” of iphone jailbreaking.

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_jailbreaking

        There is a difference.
        How important a difference is in the eye of the beholder.

        • How important a difference is in the eye of the beholder.

          Sure. That’s the case with something like DRM or Kindle files, too. People tell us it’s a bad deal for consumers, but only a sliver of consumers ever encounter the basis of the complaints. Most don’t even know about them. Few care.

        • It’s snowing in Hell now because I agree with you but only from a developer’s perspective.

          As a consumer, walled garden = incompatible operating systems. Once I purchase a computer running a certain OS then I am restricted to programs that are compatible with it.

          • The griping about walled gardens isn’t about market fragmentation; that “war” ended in the 90’s along with tbe “Unix uber alles” dreams. The dissatisfaction with walled gardens today relates to the flexibility of the user experience and monetization of tbe customers.

            At the consumer level, where is where the griping comes from, walled gardens tend to funnel sales through “official channels”. The level of griping is proportional to how aggressive the platform owner is in monetizing the “official channel”.

            Apple is fairly aggressive on the Mac side but extremely aggressive on the iOS side, Google and Amazon less so.

            On consoles, the gatekeeping impacts developers; Nintendo is the most restrictive (resulting in a $10 surcharge on most games for the SWITCH), Sony a bit less, and Microsoft the most permissive. Sideloading of apps is blocked on all (not totally unreasonable because of online gameplay) but sideloading of *content* is enabled to varying degrees. Again, Microsoft is more permissive, allowing games mods, bypassing their store for transactions, and supporting most audio and video formats. They were the first to allow crossplatform online play, Sony was the last and only after a big kerfluffle with gamers.

            On the ebook side, the walled garden plaints are more of a pining for a “universal” ebook format. That dream died with the Agency conspiracy.

            Walled gardens are an increasingly common feature of the digital world; blame goes to Nintendo first, and Apple second. You play their game or not at all.

    • What makes Scrivener better on the Mac? I use the PC version and am pretty happy with it.

      (Vellum I know about, and your opinion jibes with what I’ve heard elsewhere.)

      • I’ve used both windows and Mac versions. The mac version can handle large files better, has better indexing and faster searching. Its menus are cleaner and auto-save works better.

        • Also, I’ve only ever used the Mac version (which I love), but as I understand it, the Windows version is always behind in the development cycle. Thus, Windows users must always wait for new features and improvements.

  4. I have a pc laptop (i7 8th gen, plenty of memory, decent specs) and a MacBook as my current daily drivers.

    The MacBook is a really great machine.

    So is the PC.

    ( And, actually, my experience of MacBooks is they are often cheaper than the PC because if you sell them on two years later you recoup 70% of the sale price. )

  5. On the other hand, Hemingway also said, “But if you have reserves of almost $300 billion in cold hard cash, I guess you don’t have to spend a lot of time thinking about bankruptcy.”

  6. Ultimately, as in most things,the consumers will decide.
    For those who use Apple devices, the advantages are that they are fairly user-friendly and they are unlikely to get viruses or malware, but the disadvantages are lack of control and customisability.
    I guess people just want different things from their devices.

        • That is also how you get them on Windows. They don’t just magically appear. You have to click on something. Most errors on computers are because the users go somewhere they shouldn’t be, or do something they shouldn’t. Macs are just as vulnerable as PC’s and they have been for years. The myth that they don’t get virus’ or malware is perpetuated by people who don’t know how computers work.

          • Anyone know the infection rate of Mac infections vs PC infections? Is the number of Mac viruses loose the same as the number of PC viruses?

            Computer A and computer B may both get infected the same way, but if there are a million circulating viruses for computer A, and only one for computer B, it’s likely the probability of encountering an infectious situation is different.

            These are reasonable questions for people who know how computers work. Do we have the answers?

  7. I have a tablet and a dumbphone. And Apple products have always been too expensive, except for the Apple IIe.

            • “Internet Archaeology is a thing. (Maybe. )”

              I have a character burying herself in a database where she can hunt and find records the way they were ‘day one’, as well as what they were changed to at different times through their history. (Uncovering what the ‘powers that be’ wish would stay buried …)

            • Just about all of the mags ran April Fools articles, although I think that CC was the only one that dedicated entire issues to it.

              I have fond memories of the real ads, though, particularly those run by one chip seller…

              • There was the one ad about the high power floppy ejection system. “No more stuck floppies! Note: warranty does not cover accidental decapitations.”

                David Ahl’s crowd were…creative computers alright.

  8. I grew up, first on one of the brands of computer that didn’t survive to the end of the 80’s. Second on IBM clones.
    I have now inherited a third-hand iPhone, and it serves my needs, (most of the time, one useful app is a real resource hog, or I’d check it daily.)

    The question can be better answered by asking the question, when will any overpriced, luxury, conspicuous resource, become too expensive to sell? Diamonds? Fancy cars from fancy names? Designer label clothes? You don’t need high-end of any of those things to do the job they’re designed for, except to impress. Certain cheap brands of clothes outperform designer clothes, and if they get torn, you can afford to replace them. Same with computers.

    I don’t hate Apple, but I don’t need to swing around a fancy, high-concept design, laptop to show my tech-geek bonifides.

    You can keep your DeBeers, your Jaguars, and your MacBooks, (I couldn’t name a high-end clothing label off the top of my head). I’ll continue to use commodity computers.

    • I don’t hate Apple, but I don’t need to swing around a fancy, high-concept design, laptop to show my tech-geek bonifides.

      Neither do I. I doubt anything shows my tech-geek bonifides. Never really thought about it. But I do use Apple products because they best conform with my personal tastes and preferences.

    • I own two Apple laptops and didn’t purchase them to demonstrate my wealth to anyone else. I.m disabled and rarely leave home; when I do my gadgets remain behind.

  9. I started using Vellum for formatting. Took me less than 4 days to upgrade all 11 books (22 versions) and for the first time I have style in my books. Vellum clearly says they aren’t making a version of their software for windows or even the iPad. I bought a 2012 MacBook Air on eBay for $280 and it’s doing a beautiful job with Vellum.

    At the moment the MacBook is sitting in a file cabinet and I’m back to windows for everyday use.

  10. I was a rabid Mac user for many years. When I started consulting, I had to get a Win laptop to “mesh” with my clients’ hardware/software.

    That was 17 years ago. I still used my Mac for my own stuff, but ever so gradually migrated to the Win. When it came time to get a newer, far more powerful laptop, I bought a used Dell D630 for $215. Since then, I’ve added more computers (as backups, etc.), all Win.

    I still have the Mac, but haven’t used it in years. The functionality and GUI between Macs and Wins is now almost indistinguishable. And I simply can’t justify Mac costs v. Win costs; it’s just not cost v. benefits effective.

    • My only problem is that ‘we will update when you least expect it’ .10 they have now (so I’ll have to wait and see what’s out there when my 7 systems give up the ghost.)

      If 10 and Macs are my only choices I might just do my banging of a keyboard on a little Raspberry Pi (on this site with it right now in fact!) Wouldn’t be able to do the DAZ artwork, but the free word processor will do.

      • Try this:

        https://www.download3k.com/articles/How-to-Configure-Windows-Updates-in-Windows-10-01365

        Short version:

        1- Tell Windows you are using a metered internet connection.
        2- Tell Windows when to download and install the bug fixes and security updates.

        Pro version lets you defer the feature updates, too.

        There’s a lot of FUD out there.

        You could also try one of the Linuxes or Android boxes. (You can get a fairly useful desktop out of a $60 Android box.)

        It’s not just W10 and Mac.

        • All true (and that Pi was $35 or so, $70 for the ‘everything you need’ kit.)

          On a personal note I don’t intend that Microsoft see a penny from me for .10, between the spyware and blue screen updates I don’t see it worth it. Hopefully before too long they’ll get a clue and they’ll have a reboot to something that isn’t a leased ad (or maybe DAZ will add a Linux/Android version.)

          I still have some old metal laying around, maybe it’s time to do some kit-bashing. I have an old tower with an AMD 900 and two gigs of ram that used to run windows server 2000 (and Nero to rip CDs), tap the 5 volt power to run a Pi and one of those little ‘tinkerboard’s. The 2000 could still run Word and the other two the internet (it won’t be pretty, but it’ll play! 😉 )

          • Don’t hold your breath.

            MS is doing fine (their market cap is up to Amazon levels) and consumer Windows isn’t all that important to them. The whole free migration to W10 is all about reducing Windows versions and support costs. The choices are W10, W10Pro which lets you block everything as long as you are willing to do your own support, or go elsewhere.

            They’re at the point where they can afford to lose demanding customers. Cost effectiveness runs both ways. That’s why Apple has gone years between Mac updates. They too can afford to lose demanding customers.

            Remember, its the post-PC era.

  11. I’m Windows all the way, partly because of the horrible job iTunes does on a PC. But also, I like to upgrade as I go, and I agee with the above people, I really don’t like the walled garden Apple has set up.

  12. I always say I am allergic to Apples. But I look at it from a different direction. Apple has always been antagonistic toward 3rd party developers. Their technical documentation has always been lousy and expensive, a barrier rather than an aid to development.

    Msft, on the other hand, has always been welcoming to 3rd party developers. With the right creds, they would fly you to Redmond, put you up in a decent hotel, and give you free classes. At one point, they even gave us access to Windows source code and took our suggestions for changes that made our life easier. Even small fry independents get free classes, free Cokes, and employee discounts at the company store. Easy to like.

    It does not surprise me at all that PG has specialty applications that are not available on the tree-fruit platform.

    All that being said, they have some good designers in Cupertino. Too bad they live in a cage.

  13. Computers are just tools.
    There is nothing magical about any of them.
    Let the tool fit the task.

    But, like any tool, care and maintenance is required.
    There is no such thing as a maintenance-free computer; even embedded systems need monitoring and updating, especially if connected to the internet.

    The biggest danger lies not in the choice of platform but in a lack of awareness of the dangers.

    It’s a lot like driving a car and never changing fluids. It’ll work fine for a fairly long while…until it doesn’t. At which point you almost certainly will be looking at a catastrophic failure.

    • There is no such thing as a maintenance-free computer; even embedded systems need monitoring and updating,

      My four-year-old Acer Chromebook is meeting that challenge. While I’m a Mac fan, I always have a cheap computer that takes all the rough treatment. Kind of like a Bic pen. Consumable. Nothing important on it. When it goes, OK.

      I paid $175, have horribly abused it since I got it. I have never done any updates, let it update itself, and pay no attention to the OP system. It’s been outside in the rain overnight, crushed, dropped, bounced around the back of a truck. Never had a virus I know of.

      Acer deserves credit for the durability, but the OP system just keeps on going.

      • Right. You let it update itself.
        The maintenance service is part of the price you paid.
        That is a feature of Amazon tablets and readers.
        And XBOXES, too.
        Somebody somewhere is making sure the system stays up to date–unless you actively prevent it.

        I have an Acer Win10 laptop that cost $169, new, on Amazon.
        So far it is working perfectly for what I use it.
        It is probably using much of the same hardware.
        (I’m getting close to 18 hours battery life.)

        It also updates itself. 🙂
        It doesn’t bother me but some people complain about auto updates.

  14. Just wait until something on your mac breaks, and then you go and try to get it fixed. Apple is actively fighting Right to Repair, and even Apple certified techs have horror stories to tell about dealing with them. My wife does Graphic design for a living, still works on a Macbook 2013 at home for personal use. Professionally works for a department of the Federal Government. One of the systems in the Graphics Department broke, and Apple was giving them the runaround on getting it fixed, wanting almost 1.5 times the cost of the system to repair it, they’d have to send it in, etc etc etc, to the point where a senior level executive eventually called someone in Apples customer support Apple direct extension, spent about 20 minutes on the phone with them, explained the DOJ was just a short walk away, and lo and behold a week later everything they needed to fix the computer was there. But seriously, theres plenty of vids on youtube describing the hoops Apple makes it’s own certified 3rd party repairs techs jump through to get someones system fixed.

    And it’s just as bad, if not worse, with Iphones. Late last year my daughter dropped her phone, and the screen cracked. Apple wanted around $250 to fix it. To be honest, money was tight, it was $250 we didn’t have, but a local cell phone repair shop fixed it for about $90. Then in April my daughter is freaking out, her phone turns on, but it won’t do anything. Touch the screen, and nothing happens. Turn out IOS 11.3 was pushed out, and it detected she had a third party screen installed, and disabled the phone from accepting any input. The solution? Take it to apple and pay them $250 to replace the screen.
    But in the end enough of their customers complained that they pushed an update to the update and restored functionality.

    @Felix “It’s a lot like driving a car and never changing fluids. It’ll work fine for a fairly long while…until it doesn’t. At which point you almost certainly will be looking at a catastrophic failure. It’s a lot like driving a car and never changing fluids. It’ll work fine for a fairly long while…until it doesn’t. At which point you almost certainly will be looking at a catastrophic failure.”

    If it’s a microsoft car, you can fix it yourself, or take it to any number of repair shops and get it fixed for a reasonable price.

    If it’s and apple car, they’ll charge you an exorbitant amount, and if you take it to a third party repair shop, they’ll lock your steering wheel one day.

    Dav

  15. Last Winter when I was preparing to replace my seven year old Windows desktop I looked at a lot of new Windows machines but didn’t see anything I really liked in my price range. Then I found a great deal on a factory new late 2015 build 27″ iMac on eBay and grabbed it. Other than an old iPad it was my first Apple product. The 5K retina display is fantastic but from a performance standpoint I don’t find it any improvement over Windows. I don’t regret the purchase – I spent about as much as I would have on a Windows machine with similar specs – but it hasn’t turned me into an Apple fanatic, either.

  16. Many years ago I purchased a Mac laptop, influenced by a clever TV ad campaign they were running and the recommendations from friends who said Macs are intuitive and elegant.

    I couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. Word for Mac was infuriatingly slow and buggy, and I found nothing intuitive about a computer that had you burn files to a CD by dragging the files to trash.

  17. I’ve posted this before, but why not take the opportunity to bore you good people yet again? I was a PC guy for about 25 years but switched to Mac for Scrivener, which was Mac-only at the time. (I’d been toying with the idea of giving Mac a try for a few years before that.) My wife had to listen to me curse and complain for a few months while I adjusted—both because I wasn’t used to it and because Macs, like anything else, have their WTF aspects to them. But in the end, I’m very happy that I made the switch. I, too, was worried about it not being customizable, but once I got used to it, it’s as customizable as I need it to be, and I like the way nearly everything works. As long as I can afford Macs, I’ll stick with them.

    My biggest complaint about Windows was that every new release was more cumbersome than the one before, so it was only a matter of time until your machine couldn’t handle the latest version. With the Mac, I’ve actually had OS upgrades run faster. Eventually, an old machine can’t handle the latest, but that just happened to my 2011 Macbook Pro—which, to be fair, has upgraded RAM and a new hard drive—with the most recent release of Mojave. The fan runs a lot, but the machine’s still usable with High Sierra. Not bad, says I.

    If money were an issue, however, I’d go to one of the neighborhood computer-repair storefronts and buy one of their refurbished Lenovos, which undoubtedly started life with some large corporation in The Loop. For 300 bucks, those things are a bargain.

    • I bought a Lenovo about a year ago and had to return it because the wrist area had an edge that was literally painful. Liked everything else about it, though.

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