Apple Laptop Upgrades Costing 200% More Than Dells 935
An anonymous reader writes "C|net is highlighting the astonishing cost of Apple laptop hardware upgrades, compared to Dell — in some instances, Apple is charging 200% more for upgraded components, such as memory and hard disks. Either there's a serious difference in the quality of components being used, or Apple is quite literally ripping off those who aren't able to upgrade hardware themselves."
Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Top end vendor charges more for service than mass-market vendor.
Film at 11.
Let me fix that for you (Score:5, Interesting)
Fashionable vendor charges more for service than mass-market vendor.
Film at 11.
There fixed it for you :)
Apple computers have their uses to professionals, but to the average Joe on the street it's just a more fashionable (and perhaps reliable) computer - and those are the people who are getting fleeced because they don't know how to swap out some computer parts.
Re:And here demonstrated is the sad truth.. (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm reasonably certain that Apple has never manufactured hard drives. If you bought a hard drive from an Apple store, chances are good you could have gotten the exact same hard drive somewhere else. That has always been one great irony of Apple, that users think they're getting better hardware than PC users (and because of discount PC builders, in many cases they are), but dollar for dollar, they're not getting hardware that you can't get on a comparatively priced PC.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Sorry, antitrust is designed to thwart that kind of tying only if one has a dominant market position, and is using the tying to extend that dominance into a different market. With 5% or so market share, Apple is small enough to be free to do what they like in the way of bundling and tying.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
So it should be redesigned to stop any company from doing something some consumers don't like?
If you don't like it don't buy from them. There are plenty of other computer manufacturers....it just won't be a Mac.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Informative)
Re:This isn't about Macs, but parts (Score:4, Informative)
Bullshit. The most recent mac I purchased came with cheap HYNIX memory.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Antitrust should definitely not be for punishing companies just because they do something that, while we don't like it, we're not actually being forced into taking part in. This is more like one of those "vote with your dollar" scenarios.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Not really. We just need to enforce our existing antitrust laws. Apple gets away with this sort of stuff because the market is so broken. If there were multiple, practical alternatives for desktop OS's with fast paced innovation driven by competition, Apple would not even be able to bundle their OS and hardware without losing money. The only way they get away with charging as much as they do for some of their upgrades is by leveraging OS X. Fix the market and they'll unbundle those products out of economic necessity.
Now that is nonsense. You are absolutely free to buy memory and hard drives wherever you want, and they are easy enough to install yourself. Some models make it a bit harder, but you can buy different models. You can attach and monitor you want, and if you are looking for a graphics card and don't find what you want, complain to the graphics card manufacturers.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Wow, what reality do you live in? Apple's charging of hardware upgrades has absolutely NOTHING to do with their bundling the OS with their hardware.
I'm waiting for the demand of customers to be able to buy the engines separate from their car. I mean, do you realize how much BMW is charging for that engine. And they just bundle it right in.
This is pure capitalism. If you don't like the upgrade options, don't buy them (there are many alternatives available to buy upgrades for memory and hard drives). Apple is charging a premium for their upgrades just like BMW charges to get navigation or a 6-CD changer.
Re:Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
Apple is, and always has been, a hardware company. Check the numbers, a huge percentage of revenue comes from HW sales. The OS is designed to support those hardware sales. Sales of upgrades to existing hardware customers should not be misinterpreted to mean that Apple is selling its OS to the general public as a software company.
OS X is like the iDrive menu technology BMW built for its cars (and sometimes just as controversial). You cannot buy that Audi car and demand that BMW's iDrive run on it. iDrive was designed for BMW cars. And OS X was designed for Macs. You might be able to hack the iDrive software and get it to run on the Audi system, but that does not mean that BMW is now forced to make iDrive software available to any Audi owner that would like it. BMW may offer upgrades and improvements to existing owners, but that does not mean everyone is entitled to buy iDrive and put it on arbitrary hardware.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Only at Slashdot can Apple's overcharging be the fault of Microsoft... :-)
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple gets away with this sort of stuff because the market is so broken. If there were multiple, practical alternatives for desktop OS's with fast paced innovation driven by competition, Apple would not even be able to bundle their OS and hardware without losing money.
What an enormous wad of bullshit. Apple was doing this sort of bundling long before Microsoft established their monopoly. You remember back in the 80s when there was real desktop competition, right? Well, that time was also the heyday of Apple Computer, Inc. They enjoyed more success in that period than at any other time prior to the past few years, and it was all done in a diverse, competitive market and with a fully integrated hardware/software solution.
Re:Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
No it's not. Learn what Anti-Trust is.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
And this is wrong because? (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple doesn't forbid you from providing your own upgrades. Anyone that has been around Macs for more than a few months knows where to order the exact memory sticks that they use for each model, at a fraction of the cost.
The 3GB upgrade for my Mac Book Pro was $99 including shipping, Apple wanted $300 or so for the upgrade. This is not an equivalent upgrade, this is the exact memory stick model that Apple was trying to sell me. And it is a customer allowed upgrade, so it does not affect my warranty coverage.
In the past it was not possible to upgrade the hard drives for Apple laptops, nowadays the cases are designed so the hard disk is easy to remove.
It is not a ripoff, Apple is not in the business of selling at cut throat margins by selling volume. They are in the business of selling premium items at a steep markup. It is just one of thousands of businesses in this country that operates the same way.
Go to your local Target and see how some 19" HDTVs are $400 while others cost twice as much. Price can't be the only criteria. There's a reason why a Sony HDTV costs a hell of a lot more than an Olevia.
Re:And this is wrong because? (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, I'm willing to forgive it because it doesn't affect me. I just bought a MacBook. I like it. I had three options: for $1100 I could have a 2.1 Ghz Core Duo, 1 GB of RAM, 120GB HDD, and a CD Burner. For $1300 I could upgrade to a 2.4 Ghz Core Duo CPU, double the RAM, add 40 GB to the HDD, and get a DVD burner. For $1500 I could get a 250 GB HDD and a black case (otherwise it was identical to the $1300 version). I did the math real quick and decided that the $200 for the middle option was a good deal, but the extra $200 more for 90GB more HDD was not (Oh, and a black case... can't forget that). I now own a laptop whose features compare favorably with similar Dell offerings; had I spent the extra I'd have been either foolish or not done my research. If Apple can convince people to part with an extra $200 for a case color, I say power to 'em. I'm just not one of those people. I may even drop $100 for a 250GB HDD and upgrade the silly thing if it becomes a problem... but right now I'm not even filling half the drive.
Apple's gear is perfectly reasonable if you pay attention to what you are actually buying; but just like anyone else they'll charge premiums when they think they can get away with it.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Apple (Score:5, Informative)
During MS's antitrust case, the judge ruled that Apple wasn't considered competition because Macs and PCs are two different markets.
Using that logic, Apple doesn't have any competition at all in the "mac marketplace".
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Customer service is a service, and it's part of a larger package. Apple has its own business plan. They do not market towards the tech savvy. They provide a product that works for people who are scared to death to open their computer cases and, say, replace a video card.
Think of them as being in more of the boutique computer business. If they can get more money by providing easy-to-use (though not as adaptable) products with a slick design, then what's the problem?
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Indeed. Apple, just like Dell, or any other company is charging "what the market will bear". If they can get away with charging twice as much for a component, then they will. Dell would do the same thing if they could.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Indeed, it apparently would shock interstellar donkey to know that tech-savy people sometimes have criteria other than the cheapest box they can find. For example, they are often well paid and would prefer not to have to waste a lot of their time fiddling with system-level things of their desktop computer.
I personally sysadmined and otherwise managed multiple computers, including the main central ones at a NASA center. I designed several of the major systems there. I think I count as tech savy, and I know quite a lot of other people who are. We also had a technical Apple sales representative (one who could actually "speak Unix") specifically marketting Apple stuff to us, so I'm a bit puzzled where he came from if Apple doesn't do the kinds of things he was doing, as interstellar donkey appears to claim.
Sure, I could put together my own boxes; I've done that. I've also bought boxes from Dell. My time happens to be more valuable than any price difference involved. Last time I checked, the hardware cost of a box was almost negligible compared to the cost of keeping one supported in our environment. I'd expect anyone who had actually worked in a professional environment full of technical people to know this. Or is Donkey's notion of "tech savy" restricted to hobyists?
Re:Apple (Score:4, Informative)
And apparently unless you are NASA maybe that's a good thing. I oversaw a quarter of a million dollar XSAN install and dealing with Apple Enterprise was a joke. Fucked up quotes, reps (more than once) going on vacation without notice, shipping the wrong product, cocking up the install and not admitting it or sending an engineer out until legal threats were brought to the table.
I found EMC to be way more professional and technically knowledgeable.
Of course this is anecdotal and maybe I just got the moron squad from Apple Enterprise.
Re:Apple (Score:5, Informative)
The last time I checked (Consumer Reports), the only thing Apple has over other vendors is better customer service: not technology.
What? Consumer Reports showed them as having a very significantly lower failure rate during the first year than any other vendor (as of early 2007). That was the last real study I saw them publish on the subject.
Re:Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
Maybe they just want a clear and simple user interface without having to worry about viruses, worms, bot-nets, service packs and malware, broken registry settings, mismatched device drivers. That would be reason enough to avoid Windows.
For a non-technical person who needs a computer as a tool to do their work (eg. legal, consulting), avoiding the risk of losing the use of their computer for two to three days may very well justify the extra expense of an Apple over a PC, even if they are not doing digital content creation.
Re:And this is news... how? (Score:5, Funny)
BTW, nice attempt at that "carefully hand crafted computer, made by artisans who trained for decades" canard. Apple is as mass produced as every other product out there (exploding batteries, anyone?). What IS different is that Apple manages to get at least 50% profit out of everything they make.
Apple batteries may explode, but at least they explode with style ! And look at those sticks of RAM, that shade of green obviously wasn't picked at random. That's genius design at work. Reminding you that at the heart of your computer there's still a little bit of nature.
No wonder it's expensive.
Silicon Graphics (and any other maker of workstations that had standard parts in them) used to do the same thing BTW.
Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Funny)
Oh I think we could figure it out. But we would of course insult you endlessly for buying a Mac and investing into the rape that comes with it.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Insightful)
"By paying extra, we get to avoid the ignorant twit who thinks that computer brands are a religion."
Err... you're saying you avoid that by going *to* the Apple store?
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Insightful)
Your NFCG is about 10 times more competent with a PC or PC laptop than with an Apple. Most of them would be lost if you asked them to upgrade your MacBook. You can pay the NFCG now and pay extra to fix their mistakes later or you can pay Apple service now.
Adding memory or replacing the hard drive on a MacBook is trivial (as long as you have a size 0 phillips screwdriver). Anyone who can hold a screwdriver and is not legally blind can do it.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:4, Interesting)
Don't you need a Torx #8 to get the drive off its sled?
Would be nice to have, but if you don't have one, then you don't need it :-)
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:4, Informative)
Not unless they've recently changed the Macbooks. When I had one on loan for a short while I pulled the hard drive just to see how accessible it was, and IIRC it was held in place solely by friction and the little flap thing that covers the back of the drive and the memory slots. No sleds to speak of.
I could be way off here as it was a while ago, but I know that I didn't need any Torx screwdrivers to get at it.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Funny)
Remind me never to lend you anything... I have a feeling you might hand it back to me, along with a bag of "spare" screws that were left over after you put it back together again.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Informative)
Golly sir those Macs must run on fairy dust and Unicorn poop...
Give me a break it isn't some magical device people. Apple uses off the shelf parts. Apple even provides instructions on how to do it!
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1270 [apple.com]
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacBook_13inch_HardDrive_DIY.pdf [apple.com]
If your local computer guy can READ and use the internet this is a piece of cake.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Informative)
If your local computer guy can READ and use the internet this is a piece of cake.
I am a FNCG and I don't do HD upgrades on my MacBook Pro myself largely due to warranty issues. If I screw up something up during the installation I'm stuck with the damage but if Apple does they have to replace the machine. Upgrading desktop boxes is, of course, a different story. I don't buy parts from Apple. I can source laptop hard drives for example, from third part suppliers at about 50% of the price my local Apple dealer sells them at. Apple has yet to refuse to install the components I hand them. The last time I upgraded the HD in my MacBook Pro I wanted a 320G disk which the guy in the Apple repair workshop said they wasn't available. I came back like 45 Minutes later after finding one single computer shop in town that sold 320G laptop drives and asked they guy I talked to previously to install it. He wanted to know where I got it from but I just told him it was from another supplier in the city and that it was way cheaper than Apple's upgrade parts and that he should let me know if he could figure out where I got it. When I got the MacBook back from the shop later that day they had installed the drive and OS X but they renamed the drive after the shop where I bought it instead of the default name "Macinstoh HD"...
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
um what DRM? there is no DRM n the hardware. Apple simply uses the intel upgraded version of the 80's piece of shit tech of BIOS. it is Called EFI and any OS that supports booting from EFI can load on a Mac.
BIOS like PS/2 ports are outdated but stick around because that is all MSFT supports well.
installing hardware in most macbooks does require someone with OCD though. there are lot's of little screws to be undone. My question is how many people actually upgrade memory or hard drives in laptops? by th
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The OS checks against a hardware key stored in EFI to ensure it is booting on Apple hardware, right? How is that not DRM?
Windows, Mac OS X and most Linux distros support using USB keyboards and mice out of the b
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:4, Informative)
One of the first things I did when I bought my MacBook was to double the RAM, and replace the hard disk with a 250Gb one.
And yes, that was because of the horrendous premiums they charge on their hardware upgrades.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Informative)
The software side of the new disk is easy - toss in the installer disc and it works its magic. Getting at the hard drive in the MBP is very much a non-trivial process (the standard MacBooks hard drives are as easy to access as anyone could reasonably expect in any laptop). Moving the data across is equally easy, provided you have another machine or a drive enclosure.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Informative)
You can up the memory without voiding the warranty, at least on the MacBook Pros; I'd imagine on most systems too.
As for the Hard-drives, I don't know.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Interesting)
I upgraded the hard drive and memory on my MacBook Pro and had no problems with getting my machine serviced by AppleCare on two occasions. And those were full logic board replacements, not cursory looks at the battery or anything.
(It was the first-gen MacBook Pro. Lots of issues with those, although Apple did take care of me.)
Same here w/o AppleCare (Score:3, Informative)
Had upgraded my MacBook to 2G for 40â instead of the 200â it would have cost on the Apple store, and put in a 160G HDD ... and had it serviced for /free/ due to a warranty extension on the battery.
Unfortunately they did something wrong, the system doesn't recognize whether the power adapter is plugged in or not. Weird.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Informative)
How the hell did i get modded as a troll for not wanting to void my warranty? Morons.
Probably because everyone knows that opening a Mac doesn't void the warranty.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:5, Informative)
You were modded down because just about everyone knows that it's unlawful to void warranties merely because service wasn't performed by an authorized vendor.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty.shtm [ftc.gov]
"Tie-In Sales" Provisions
Generally, tie-in sales provisions are not allowed. Such a provision would require a purchaser of the warranted product to buy an item or service from a particular company to use with the warranted product in order to be eligible to receive a remedy under the warranty. The following are examples of prohibited tie-in sales provisions.
In order to keep your new Plenum Brand Vacuum Cleaner warranty in effect, you must use genuine Plenum Brand Filter Bags.
Failure to have scheduled maintenance performed, at your expense, by the Great American Maintenance Company, Inc., voids this warranty.
Re:Neighborhood friendly computer geek (Score:4, Interesting)
200% cooler (Score:5, Funny)
They cost 200% more because owning an apple makes you 200% cooler.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It's also a convenience charge, similar to how getting an umbrella at wal-mart is cheaper than getting the same umbrella at a golf course during a tournament once it starts raining.
200% cooler = completely correct (Score:5, Insightful)
The comment gets to the core of the entire issue. Apple charges 200% more for the same components because their customers want to pay more. In an extremely wealthy society there is always a group of people who have much more money than the norm, and it is very important to these people that they are able to differentiate themselves from the rest of the population through a series of 'class markers'.
These are items that only they buy because they are much more expensive than similar items available for the general population. Yes these items are better quality, but the degree of higher price for better quality is much greater than would be justified by the cost of the components. So the wealthy aren't selecting these brand items solely for better quality. They are doing it to identify themselves to the other members of their class.
There are many companies that have always positioned themselves into this market niche. But Apple is one of the few companies that continues to insist that their excessively high prices are only a direct result of their 'commitment to high quality'. It is ironic that they have been successful at marketing their 'cool factor' by selling commodity components at such a large premium since the entire concept of 'coolness' in the USA is a set of behaviors and lifestyles designed to give dignity to people with little or no money.
The entertainment industry has been most successful at marketing this contradiction. Apple is the first technology company to do so as well. Even to the point of having their business revolve around a prima-donna rock star personality.
I've detected this about Apple ever since the introduction of the Macintosh, when this kind of mentality started at Apple. I recommend watching them for amusement, but don't buy their products even second-hand. Buy clones (for personal stereos) or functional equivalents (for personal computers).
Despite all their grandiose advertisements, Apple has always existed for only one reason: to transfer wealth from the wealthy (who need to have a non-proletariat PC) to Steve Jobs' bank account.
Desktops too (Score:5, Informative)
This is also true of Apple desktops.
Simple check: Go to the Apple store, and price a Mac Pro 8-core with the basic amenities; 2 GB ram, the recommended HD. Then price it maxed out; one HD of the largest size (1/2 TB last I looked) and 32 GB of RAM. Finally, take the original price and add 32 GB of RAM in 4 GB sticks (the Mac Pro can take 8 sticks) from a reputable online store. The difference is astonishing.
I have a recent Mac Pro, and I expanded it the sensible way; the amount of money I saved by doing that is staggering. I've had absolutely no problems.
Re:Desktops too (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Desktops too (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Desktops too (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Desktops too (Score:4, Informative)
Re:XServes Too.. (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah the Xserves are insane. I called them up asking whether I can upgrade the drives myself and they said that you have to buy at least the 80GB units to get the drive trays. A $3000 machine and it comes with one 80GB drive and two useless blanking plates (and only a single quad-core xeon to boot)? Screw that. I just pieced together an 8-core/2GB/2x80GB 1U from Dell for $1700; even if you add $1000 to that for the OS X Server Unlimited-users version, you're still $700 cheaper in specs.
I'm willing to pay a premium to get a better product that works right the first time, but Apple is REALLY milking it on the pro-oriented hardware.
It costs a lot to be trendy: (Score:5, Insightful)
Doesn't matter if it's trendy clothing, a trendy car or anything else, it's going to be more expensive if it's the 'cool' thing to do.
Oil change at the dealer (Score:5, Insightful)
1. I don't know how to change my own
2. I prefer to use the dealer since they can do warranty replacement on the spot if something is broken
Yes, I pay probably twice as much, and I like it. Kinda seems like the same situation here.
But.. (Score:5, Insightful)
The thing is not about the 'dealer' generically overcharging. It's about Apple overcharging more than other vendors overcharging. All of them charge more for options for the general philosophy you hold justifying it, but overcharging more than a comparable competitor....
BTW, I did have the dealer change my oil during warranty because they sent me coupons for free oil changes for the duration of my warranty, but in the end, I find it hard to see how an oil change could break anything else, so I do it myself now that it is out of warranty.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Two thoughts on that.
1. You should learn; it isn't that difficult. I was changing my mother's car's oil at 15. Just make sure you don't drop the drain plug in the pan :)
2. In my state, any reputable mechanic can do warranty repairs. You should check with your local mechanic to see if you have similar laws on the books.
As a rule, I never go to a dealer for anything except for warranty repairs, but those are extremely rare since I've only owned one car with an actual warranty (and it was a Honda). Deale
Re:Oil change at the dealer (Score:4, Informative)
Get a Fumoto valve [quickoildrainvalve.com], never worry about dropping the plug again
Duh? (Score:5, Insightful)
I like Apple. I've got my MacBook Pro next to me. At home we have another MBP, a MacBook, and an iMac. In the past we've owned numerous other Macs (all the way back to an LC II).
So let me say... duh. It is very well known that Apple does this. Read any thread on Macs here on /. Someone says Macs are great computers. Someone replies "but look what they charge for RAM!". The someone else says "well yeah, Apple is like that, buy the RAM separately."
This OLD. This is STALE. This is well known by anyone who watches this stuff. It's stupid, but Apple is allowed to price gouge if they want. This is just some "journalist" writing about a "discovery" to get page-views.
Just don't buy your upgrades from Apple.
And don't give this guy the hits he doesn't deserve.
Re:Duh? (Score:5, Informative)
Yep, but also watch out when Apple has specials. When I bought my MacBook, I was going to get the base model and upgrade the HD and RAM to get it to be nearly the same as the middle model.
But they were running a special at the time (I think it was a Back-to-School special). For about $200 more, I could double my RAM, upgrade my HD and get a slightly faster processor. So I just paid the $200 upgrade as it would have cost me as much just to buy the parts.
Re:Duh? (Score:5, Insightful)
I would like to also declare along these lines that the following subjects are also OLD and STALE:
Microsoft abused their monopoly power to destroy old competitors such as Netscape and others.
Pointing out that IE6 and IE7 are horribly not web standard compliant.
Pointing out that older versions of Microsoft products (XP SP1, IIS 5, IE6) had massive security problems.
See, because it's Apple, Apple fanbois think that once their problems have been discussed (and minimized, rationalized, and written off as not problems at all) that even if these problems are never addressed they should never be discussed again. But we don't afford any other vendor that courtesy. We don't say "Oh, everyone knows Microsoft's browsers aren't very standards compliant, lets not discuss that again."
It's comments like this, trying to knock people who are pointing out that this problem STILL exists, and the legion of fanbois posting on this story coming up with 20 different reasons why Apple has to charge this much and why it makes sense, or posts like yours saying this isn't news that's just how Apple is, stop talking about it, that make the best response in the whole set of threads: "Kool aid much?"
Yes, Apple can price gouge if they want. Yes, we can and will talk about it.
And yes, I own a Macintosh, an Apple TV, an iPod nano, and I have about $2,000 into iTunes store so far. --- (Apple fanboi street cred)
Oh Please (Score:3, Insightful)
Watching this stuff (Score:5, Insightful)
This OLD. This is STALE. This is well known by anyone who watches this stuff.
The point of the article could be to get more people to watch this stuff.
Of course (Score:5, Funny)
In other news: radio upgrades cost more on a BMW than on a Hyundai. With that or with RAM upgrades, you can either do it yourself (or hire someone), or you can let the dealer do it. Guess which is always more expensive?
Apple is quite literally ripping off those who aren't able to upgrade hardware themselves.
That would literally hurt.
Re:Of course (Score:4, Insightful)
no they dont. the local Car audio shop charges the same price for a specific stereo to be installed in a car.
Right, which is analogous to saying that the local computer shop will charge the same to upgrade an Apple or a Dell.
now at the dealer is a different story. only fools get work or upgrades at the dealer.
Which was my whole point. Buying RAM from Apple is like buying a CD changer from BMW. It's not going to be better than what you could get from a local audio shop, and is almost guaranteed to cost you a lot more.
quality of components isn't the only cost factor (Score:5, Interesting)
Also, compared to most smaller market players, both Apple and Dell are outrageously overpriced in this regard.
Re:quality of components isn't the only cost facto (Score:4, Informative)
True, but very old news (Score:5, Informative)
Change your own oil! Or don't! (Score:4, Insightful)
Sometimes (the last two times) I change my own [automobiles'] oil. Sometimes I don't. The point is whether or not I feel capable or up to it and whether or not the money and time I spend is worth more or less than the money.
Personally, I wouldn't dream of paying someone to work on my computers. But that's just me... and probably most everyone here has similar sentiments. HOWEVER, the masses think of computers as difficult, scary and complicated beasts and would rather pay. If they bought an Apple, they are no stranger to the belief that they pay more but are getting more. While the latter is debatable, that's not the point. The point is that they are more than likely very comfortable with paying whatever price they end up paying or else they would seek less expensive alternatives... and there *are* alternatives. This is a classic "what the market will bear" capitalism. Leave it alone.
Or a little of both (Score:3, Interesting)
You are paying for the service. It's not a new thing. Have a look at internet hosting providers, where many will charge you an extra $60/month for an extra gig stick of RAM, or $600 outright to have it installed.
As for the quality of components, it's well known that Dell - and many others - use shit components. The last few Dell's I serviced (and I avoid them if at all possible now) had cheap, no-name brand BS boards, bargain-basement RAM, and feather-light cruddy PSU's. On top of this, oft-times stock components (floppy drives, etc) would not work in them, due to special case-configurations (such as the drive-screws being on top instead of bottom) that worked only with Dell components. The dell components were still genero-brand crap, but higher priced and altered enough that they were the only ones that fit.
So is it ripping off customers? Well, they're definitely paying more. But I'd consider a long-lasting, reliable PC at $1500+ a deal compared to a $500 unit that runs like crap and may decide to die (and take my data with it) anytime.
I haven't disassembled any of the newer macs in awhile though, but why not buy the parts and - if you don't want to pay Apple to install them - get a local geek to do the job?
Literally Ripping What Off Consumers? (Score:5, Funny)
If Apple is literally ripping off consumers, I think you forgot your direct object. Maybe Apple is quite literally ripping the arms off those who aren't able to upgrade hardware themselves? Why isn't this bigger news?
Isn't that the idea? (Score:3, Informative)
Apple is a premium brand, so you pay more for everything.
One of the ideas behind this strategy is that you are trying to attract primarily the most 'price-insensitive' customers. These are, after-all, the most desirable customers.
One can see how it pays off with the recent AT&T deal. Apple got the best of the deal, but AT&T justified it to their shareholders by reminding them that these are the best customers you can get.
Of course, getting these customers is not as easy at just raising your prices - being the #1 cool brand is the key and is very expensive in marketing etc. - but the upside is huge.
Wow, after about 20 years this hits the news? (Score:3, Insightful)
I've been an Apple user for quite some time, and quite frankly, this is not news. This has always been the case.
Any time I configure a machine for myself, or help someone configure their machine, I always set any Apple accessories to the minimum, then budget in an order from Newegg, OWC, etc, for any RAM and HD expansion needed.
On one hand, yeah it sucks, however many of the newer laptops, especially the Macbook (not pro) line have made it very easy to swap out RAM and HDs, so it really isn't that much of an issue. The one place that you really have no option is if you want to upgrade the CPU.
Is it a money grab from Apple for those who don't know better/are timid of their own upgrades/don't care? Does it really matter? Quite frankly if you don't research before buying anything you are probably going to get taken. This also increases the market for 3rd party upgrade retailers from Mac users who are in the know.
I know there is this stigma that Mac users only care about looking cool and being clueless, however many of the Mac/Apple users I know do not really fit into that niche at all. Many of us chose the machines we have because they fulfill the needs we have, can run the software we desire, and at a price point we are happy with. Most of us have machine that look a bit worse for the wear due to being used day in and day out both in offices and on-site. Just because Apple marketing likes to play the 'cool' person card whenever possible to grow brand recognition, does not mean that there are not serious professionals out there using the platform for serious work.
Steak (Score:5, Insightful)
"Can you believe it? When I go to the local steakhouse, they charge me more than twice what the meat itself actually cost! I can grill porterhouses for the whole family for half of the cost of going to the restaurant, and then there's the cost of gas! WTF! Restaurants suck!"
And yet you keep going to them.
Geek squad, car mechanics, roomba accessories, batteries for power tools, printer ink cartridges, etc... the list is long of transactions that grossly favor the seller. This is business. Things are not priced according to their material cost, they are priced based on their market value. They cost what they are worth to the target market.
You could sit all day making little beaded merkins with fur trim and I won't pay you a damned cent because I don't want your damned merkins. You get paid what you're worth. Apple gets paid what their products are worth on the market. They have done the math and figured that they make more money by charging X dollars and losing a few customers than charging X to more customers.
I hate it too and when I do buy apple hardware I downgrade the memory as far as I can in order to save money by buying it elsewhere.
Think of it this way: Buying RAM at newegg or wherever is cheaper than buying it from apple, but it's also cheaper than buying it from dell. So skipping the RAM from both companies saves you money. Right?
Maybe you feel like people are getting ripped off, but that's just because you're sensitive to this area of the market. I think people are getting ripped off whenever they pay a premium for something made out of 'aircraft grade aluminum' or titanium or whatever. I work with those materials all the time and the phrase 'aircraft grade aluminum' is as useless as saying mil-spec or heavy duty. There are mil-specs for shitty things, too. 'Heavy duty' batteries are among the worst. And aircraft aluminum ranges in strength from steel down to something you can rip with your hands.
So screw people who can't open the memory access panel on their computers. Apple has free and detailed instructions on how to do that for all of their hardware. If you're paying that much for RAM, then you're also probably the kind of person who pays $45 for someone to do their oil change or $6 for someone to make their coffee for them.
Again: Market value.
-b
Wow!! I didn't know (Score:5, Funny)
that Apple still made computers. Thought they were in the online music business or something.
This is news? (Score:5, Funny)
Three rules for owning Macs:
1) Do not talk about Fight Club.
2) Never buy the first generation of hardware.
3) Never order RAM or drives from Apple.
Seriously, this is old news. Buy the machine bare bones, order the stuff thuird party and install it yourself. As a bonus, it gives you an excuse to buy a set of Torx drivers!
Apple's prices are Completely Justified (Score:5, Insightful)
It has nothing to do with the technology or anything else other than a business decision, aimed at making more money.
I'd likely pay Apple for a larger iMac hard drive (Score:5, Insightful)
Because even as someone who works on those models, I really hate opening the glass/aluminum iMac models. Suction cups and dust rollers bug the crap out of me.
I would not, however, ever pay Apple for RAM upgrades. EVER. Unless I hit the lottery and didn't care about the extra $$$.
This is easy, kids... (Score:3, Insightful)
When Apple sells you upgrade hardware, they guarantee the upgrade hardware you bought works with the hardware you have. This guarantee places them at legal liability; You can sue them if it ends up being broken and they refuse to fix it. If you go buy RAM from the big-box store they do not guarantee it will work in your computer. Apple does. You are paying for their legal liability if the memory ends up being out-of-spec or something.
You could say the same thing about IBM selling parts for zSeries machines, or Sun and Sun parts. This is not uncommon in the workstation and higher markets. It is uncommon for PCs, and since the average slashbot has never seen anything other than PCs, they don't understand it.
Besides that, if the price is too high, don't buy it. There is no grounds on which to demonize Apple for charging what the market will bear. Apple (or Dell, or anyone else) is under no obligation to provide you a computer at whatever price you believe to be reasonable. You are not entitled to a Macintosh. (Insert California government joke here.) They charge what they want, and you pay them if you are willing. If you don't want to pay Apple's premium, don't pay it. If there are not enough buyers willing to pay the prices Apple sets, they will eventually be forced to lower their prices or go out of business. This is like me demanding IBM sell me a 2066 for $1500 because "disks are disks and it's just a big PC anyway, and I could build one off Newegg for $700"
Need To Look Up "Rip-Off" (Score:5, Insightful)
A "rip-off" is unwitting theft or cheating. To "rip-off" someone, as a verb, is to steal from, hoodwink, or otherwise cheat someone else who is not privy to what is happening before the fact.
In this case, it is obvious that anyone doing their casual homework can figure out they are paying a premium for the same hardware on an Apple machine vs. a Dell or HP. This is hardly a "rip-off." It is simply the market at work.
Apparently, Apple feels that their customers are willing to pay that premium. They are charging what the market will bear. That's not a "rip-off."
An example of the latter would be a "switcheroo," substituting inferior components for what was advertised, for instance.
NOTE: I DO NOT OWN OR USE APPLE'S COMPUTER PRODUCTS; I OWN ONE 80GB IPOD "CLASSIC, AND THAT'S IT. I JUST LIKE PRECISE LANGUAGE.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:my personal experience... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:my personal experience... (Score:5, Funny)
my personal experience is that the Apple hardware is far superior and requires less upgrades and that is why the cost is much more.
Right... because Apple's memory comes from a *completely* different part of Tiawan than Dell's.
Re:my personal experience... (Score:5, Insightful)
Huh? We're not talking about the base hardware here. We're talking about the upgraded components you can get. Those components are the same ones you can buy on pricewatch or anywhere else. Anyone who is buying RAM or HDs from the Apple store is getting completely ripped off.
And what does supply and demand have anything to do with it? Trust me, Apple has plenty of computers to sell to anyone who wants one.
Re:my personal experience... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:my personal experience... (Score:5, Funny)
OH YEAH!!!
Re:200% more? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:200% more? (Score:5, Informative)
An 8-headed display Mac Pro is $3239. To which you add four 1TB drives, and RAM, both from elsewhere. You chuck out (or sell, it's very good hardware) the 2 GB stick of RAM and the HD it comes with.
RAM is $699 per 8GB (as pairs of 4GB sticks @ memorysuppliers.com); so you need $2800 for 32 GB; a 1 Tb drive is $190 (WD Caviar GP WD10EACS Hard Drive @ buy.com), so you need $760 for four drives. Total:
$3239 - macpro w/wifi, 8 display outputs (4x ATI 2600 XT 256MB), 2.8 GHz
$2800 - ram
$ 760 - drives
---------
$6799...
Same configuration (32 GB, 4x1 TB drives) from the Apple store:
$13,989.00
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It has always been thus (at least since Intel Macs came around), and well known in the Apple aftermarket community, too. Buy your RAM in the aftermarket - but please get the good stuff (it's still much cheaper than from Apple.)
The remarkable thing is the bargain they give on the base MacPro system - last time I priced equivalent 8 core Linux boxes, you'd have to pay 25% more to get equivalent hardware with no OS installed.
Caveat emptor - shop wisely and save some money. And, if you're worried about your
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
From your link:
That is what "ripping off" means in this context, but that is not what it literally means. Literally it means something more like, "to break off with a shearing force." It's humorous how often English speakers use the word literally when they mean the actually mean the thing figuratively.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree with the other poster. If it takes you 40 minutes to do a hard drive in a MacBook Pro, unless you're a consumer, you have no business being paid to swap drives in a MacBook Pro.
Those machines are also EASIER than the old 15" PowerBook, where one would have to more artfully bend the metal clips above the optical drive back into place before reinstalling the top case. That procedure was the indicator of a tech's experience on Macs.
And if you strip screws on a MacBook Pro, you need to throw your chea
Re:Not Quite a Rip Off (Score:5, Informative)
kool aid stains are showing.
The RAM that comes in the Apple products is the SAME RAM that comes in the Dell products.
its made in the same country and in the same plant, on the same assembly line, and purchased through the same distribution channel.
It's a commodity.
Or are you goingto tell me that Micron makes a special "Apple only" ram that they rigorously test to make sure is the very best stuff out there and then only offer it to Apple while at the same time taking the reject ram and selling it to their other oem customers?
not likely.
They'd be down to selling ram to apple only pretty quickly if their failure rate was that bad for the others.
I'll also point out this holds the same for Seagate and hitachi for hard drives.
Re:Three times as expensive? (Score:4, Informative)
You assumption has no basis in reality, yet you were modded up. /. does us all proud.
£90.01 from the Apple configurator. Doing the same upgrade with a Dell XPS M1330 costs just £30.01
30 * 3 = 90
30 + (200% * 30) = 90
Therefore, 90 is 200% more expensive than 30
using the Apple Web site will cost an extra £120. Doing that same swap with the Dell XPS M1330 costs just £40.01.
40 * 3 = 120
40 + (200% * 40) = 120
Therefore, 120 is 200% more expensive than 40
Who knew that "200% more" and "3 times as expensive" worked out to the same thing!?
I didn't read TFA, just assuming they mean 100% more expensive.
Not only does your ignorance do you proud, /. proud.
the person who modded you up does all of
/math, learn it.