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The App Store makes almost no money for Apple, as evident by their latest numbers (PDF):

Revenue for Software, Service and Other Sales (including sales from the Mac App Store in addition to sales of other Apple-branded and third-party Mac software and Mac and Internet services.) account for $729M, divided by the $28,270M they made the fourth quarter makes it about 2.6% of their total revenue, this does not account for costs for maintaining the infrastructure and paying for bandwidth. Revenue growth is smaller than for many other categories. However, it does add value to the devices that make up their real income.

As usual, TFS and TFA got it all wrong.

As so clearly painted out on Apple's website, there are two factors in play.

1. Apple's 1 year warranty
2. EU Consumer Law regarding to product quality at the time of sale

Apple's warranty continues to stand at 1 year. If anything short of intentional damage happens in that one year, you get full Apple tech support.

EU Consumer Law meanwhile covers a 2 year period, and as the weaker program takes effect during the second year of ownership. Pay attention here, this is important: if the buyer can prove the product was defective when it was sold, then and only then can they take the product to the seller (who is not necessarily Apple) for coverage. This is not the same as a 2 year warranty as you do not get any direct support from Apple - no phone support, no Apple Store, no authorized service providers; you get what the seller can provide, unless that seller is Apple. And even then Apple will not give the buyer the same treatment as a full warranty, and the burden of proof is on the buyer to prove that the product was defective at the time of sale.

For a real warranty over 1 year you still need to purchase an AppleCare plan. That gets you full and direct Apple support, and more importantly there is no burden of proof on the buyer to prove that the product was defective at the time of sale.

But that's not how they market AppleCare. They primarily market it as an extended warranty and extended support. Even the revised ad I linked to is slimy, with it still saying 1 year but then having a footnote.

I generally really like Apple, but these last two marketing stories have me a bit miffed. First it was the misleading 4G service with the iPad and now it is this warranty business. My only consolation is that I don't live in the EU, where all this misleading stuff is happening... so sure, Apple marketing is a bunch of liars, but at least they aren't lying to me directly (yet) :)

Can any of the programs available to jailbroken phones prevent scans?

You're using an iPhone and you have illusions about your privacy? Dude, have you read the EULA? Law enforcement has more restrictions on what it can and cannot do with your data than the manufacturer does, which is basically no restrictions. Worry less about what the ACLU found out and more about the people who made your phone.

"...you agree that Apple and its subsidiaries and agents may collect, maintain, process and use diagnostic, technical, usage and related information, including but not limited to information about your iOS Device, computer, system and application software, and peripherals, that is gathered periodically..."

"...To provide and improve these services, where available, Apple and its partners and licensees may transmit, collect, maintain, process and use your location data, including the real-time geographic location of your iOS Device, road travel speed information, and location search queries."

"These unique identifiers may include your email address(es), the Apple ID information you provide, a hardware identifier for your iOS Device, and your iPhoneâ(TM)s telephone number. By using the iOS Software, you agree that Apple may transmit, collect, maintain, process and use these identifiers..."

By the way, that's all on page 1. There are 96 pages after that.

Alternative history of Apple: Apple engineer speeds up memcpy implementation. Does some serious application testing for compatibility. Talks to Steve Jobs. "So what have you been working on?" "I made the C library a few percent faster, which benefits all users. It makes Adobe Flash crash". Steve Jobs: Dies laughing.

Definitely an alternative history. (And, yes, memcpy() and memmove() use the same code for each of the other versions of that code - "scalar" 32-bit x86, SSE2 32-bit x86, SSE3 32-bit x86, SSE 4.2 32-bit x86, and PowerPC. The source to the ARM versions isn't available, so it's possible that for iOS it matters which one you use.)

But use memcpy() only where you don't have overlap, even if you're working on OS X (or, I think, most if not all of the *BSDs), anyway.

Alternative history of Apple: Apple engineer speeds up memcpy implementation. Does some serious application testing for compatibility. Talks to Steve Jobs. "So what have you been working on?" "I made the C library a few percent faster, which benefits all users. It makes Adobe Flash crash". Steve Jobs: Dies laughing.

Definitely an alternative history. (And, yes, memcpy() and memmove() use the same code for each of the other versions of that code - "scalar" 32-bit x86, SSE2 32-bit x86, SSE3 32-bit x86, SSE 4.2 32-bit x86, and PowerPC. The source to the ARM versions isn't available, so it's possible that for iOS it matters which one you use.)

But use memcpy() only where you don't have overlap, even if you're working on OS X (or, I think, most if not all of the *BSDs), anyway.

Alternative history of Apple: Apple engineer speeds up memcpy implementation. Does some serious application testing for compatibility. Talks to Steve Jobs. "So what have you been working on?" "I made the C library a few percent faster, which benefits all users. It makes Adobe Flash crash". Steve Jobs: Dies laughing.

Definitely an alternative history. (And, yes, memcpy() and memmove() use the same code for each of the other versions of that code - "scalar" 32-bit x86, SSE2 32-bit x86, SSE3 32-bit x86, SSE 4.2 32-bit x86, and PowerPC. The source to the ARM versions isn't available, so it's possible that for iOS it matters which one you use.)

But use memcpy() only where you don't have overlap, even if you're working on OS X (or, I think, most if not all of the *BSDs), anyway.

Alternative history of Apple: Apple engineer speeds up memcpy implementation. Does some serious application testing for compatibility. Talks to Steve Jobs. "So what have you been working on?" "I made the C library a few percent faster, which benefits all users. It makes Adobe Flash crash". Steve Jobs: Dies laughing.

Definitely an alternative history. (And, yes, memcpy() and memmove() use the same code for each of the other versions of that code - "scalar" 32-bit x86, SSE2 32-bit x86, SSE3 32-bit x86, SSE 4.2 32-bit x86, and PowerPC. The source to the ARM versions isn't available, so it's possible that for iOS it matters which one you use.)

But use memcpy() only where you don't have overlap, even if you're working on OS X (or, I think, most if not all of the *BSDs), anyway.

Alternative history of Apple: Apple engineer speeds up memcpy implementation. Does some serious application testing for compatibility. Talks to Steve Jobs. "So what have you been working on?" "I made the C library a few percent faster, which benefits all users. It makes Adobe Flash crash". Steve Jobs: Dies laughing.

Definitely an alternative history. (And, yes, memcpy() and memmove() use the same code for each of the other versions of that code - "scalar" 32-bit x86, SSE2 32-bit x86, SSE3 32-bit x86, SSE 4.2 32-bit x86, and PowerPC. The source to the ARM versions isn't available, so it's possible that for iOS it matters which one you use.)

But use memcpy() only where you don't have overlap, even if you're working on OS X (or, I think, most if not all of the *BSDs), anyway.

Alternative history of Apple: Apple engineer speeds up memcpy implementation. Does some serious application testing for compatibility. Talks to Steve Jobs. "So what have you been working on?" "I made the C library a few percent faster, which benefits all users. It makes Adobe Flash crash". Steve Jobs: Dies laughing.

Definitely an alternative history. (And, yes, memcpy() and memmove() use the same code for each of the other versions of that code - "scalar" 32-bit x86, SSE2 32-bit x86, SSE3 32-bit x86, SSE 4.2 32-bit x86, and PowerPC. The source to the ARM versions isn't available, so it's possible that for iOS it matters which one you use.)

But use memcpy() only where you don't have overlap, even if you're working on OS X (or, I think, most if not all of the *BSDs), anyway.

Alternative history of Apple: Apple engineer speeds up memcpy implementation. Does some serious application testing for compatibility. Talks to Steve Jobs. "So what have you been working on?" "I made the C library a few percent faster, which benefits all users. It makes Adobe Flash crash". Steve Jobs: Dies laughing.

Definitely an alternative history. (And, yes, memcpy() and memmove() use the same code for each of the other versions of that code - "scalar" 32-bit x86, SSE2 32-bit x86, SSE3 32-bit x86, SSE 4.2 32-bit x86, and PowerPC. The source to the ARM versions isn't available, so it's possible that for iOS it matters which one you use.)

But use memcpy() only where you don't have overlap, even if you're working on OS X (or, I think, most if not all of the *BSDs), anyway.

It looks like they updated the page. It now says this in two other places:
"This product supports very fast cellular networks. It is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE networks and WiMAX networks."

Current spec page:
http://www.apple.com/au/ipad/specs/

Google cache of the page without the message:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fau%2Fipad%2Fspecs%2F

I use:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id431523208
for writing longer messages.

I agree that Blackberry is better for long messages but this app helps quite a bit.

Ask a question - get yelled at. Ahh, such is ./

Back to the topic: "If I found out a company I was outsourcing my work to was treating its captive workforce badly, I'd say something to them 'BECAUSE I HAVE A FRIGGING CONSCIENCE!'"

Well, since Apple has been performing audits and improving conditions since 2006, they must be your favorite company: http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/

I'm glad I read.

You think that's bad? This Australian specific page on the Apple website makes me think straight away that Optus Virgin and Telstra are the phone companies that I need to talk to in order to get the full benefits of the iPad.

Telstra's 4G network doesn't work on the frequency used by the iPad, and the other two companies don't even offer 4G, not even HSPA+.

Try looking at the Australian version of that page: http://www.apple.com/au/ipad/4g/ Sure it does mention that 4G works only in the US, only in fine print, and not where it talks about the 4G features themselves. I also don't know if that was a recent addition or if it said that at launch. The page also states "iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G models connect to GSM/UMTS networks worldwide" and there is no mention there that 4G functionality only works in the US/Canada. You could also argue that "4G LTE" isn't specific enough (not all forms of 4G are LTE) to make it clear to consumers that 4G only works in the US.

"But it really is 4G, because HSPA+ is called 4G too" doesn't work because neither Apple nor users really consider HSPA as 4G.

Seems like only LTE is marketed as 4G in Australia, for example.

And even Apple's own ad says:

And if you're in a location without a 4G LTE network, you'll still get access to fast 3G networks including HSPA, HSPA+, and DC-HSDPA.

You're looking at US site.

At current version of Australian site, for example, "US and Canada" part is only in fine print - though no mentions of 4G except for page url and name, only "fast wireless" (don't remember if it was that way before or did they change the page since yesterday).

Yeah, if only Apple had advertised it without qualification.

But they didn't:
http://www.apple.com/ipad/4g/
"The new iPad supports fast cellular networks around the world — including 4G LTE networks in the U.S. and Canada.*"
"*4G LTE is supported only on AT&T and Verizon networks in the U.S. and on Bell, Rogers, and Telus networks in Canada. Data plans sold separately. See your carrier for details."

Hence this whole claim is BS.

Advertising is advertising, but they explicitly said, in descriptive text AND foot notes what countries the 4G works in.

...While I think Slashdot does need to get criticism from time to time, I don't think the editor issues are on the same level as Unity & the cult of Jobs.

(posting anonymously since I work for a popular hardware manufacturer)

As for me... I:
* am a hardcore Linux nerd, since the 0.9.x days
* write kernel device driver code, and publish it as OSS
* have contributed mainline kernel code that you are probably running in your Android phone
* publish personal OSS software on sourceforge
* can do just about any file manipulation operation faster at the bash prompt than any windows user can do using whatever tool they prefer
* install Linux on every server I run
* hate recompiling my video drivers every time I install a new kernel
* hate having to fix broken functionality after installing an update
* need my workstation to be 100% functional every time I boot it up
* run Mac OS X on my workstations because of the last three things

You made a perfectly good example of what is wrong with /. now with your whole "cult of Jobs" remark. That is the kind fanboyism that is killing this forum.

OS X is a good Unix, based on BSD and with most everything in it open source.

I boot up my workstation with Firefox, Mail.app and an iTerm session ready to go. I love Linux, but I can't do that reliably or as easily with any Linux distribution out there to date. The nvidia driver breaks, the flash player breaks, the sounds stops working. I want a Unix that works reliably and securely. That Unix is OS X.

FUCK YOU for being such a little piece of shit so tied up with your Google fanboyism that you have to condemn people for wanting to run a decent OS. You can continue to support your stupid fucking spyware company (or are you a retard that doesn't realize how they make they're money).

So, go ahead and keep continuing to use the software that I WROTE and is running on your phone, your desktop or your router, then shitting on those of us for wanting to run a decent desktop OS.

30% is comes out of the publisher.

"not being able to offer the book for less anywhere else"
and that's just false.

return of the king
Apple: 9.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-return-of-the-king/id503026877?mt=11

Google: 8.51
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/John_Ronald_Reuel_Tolkien_The_Return_Of_The_King?id=WZ0f_yUgc0UC&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImJvb2stV1owZl95VWdjMFVDIl0.
That's just one example.

Stop 'Just sayin' and start thinking for yourself.

Read this page and then note the "au" in the URL, not also the prices in Austalian dollars. It is clearly targeted to Australia and it highlights 4G capability.

It doesn't look that way to me. It reads:

Ultrafast wireless. Full speed ahead. Designed with next-generation wireless technology, the new iPad with Wi-Fi+4G connects to fast data networks around the world.

As a comparison, look at http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/ and http://www.apple.com/au/ipad/features/ Notice the big difference when talking about wireless? There's a gigantic 4G LTE on the default and no 4G LTE on the AU page.

Read this page and then note the "au" in the URL, not also the prices in Austalian dollars. It is clearly targeted to Australia and it highlights 4G capability.

It doesn't look that way to me. It reads:

Ultrafast wireless. Full speed ahead. Designed with next-generation wireless technology, the new iPad with Wi-Fi+4G connects to fast data networks around the world.

As a comparison, look at http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/ and http://www.apple.com/au/ipad/features/ Notice the big difference when talking about wireless? There's a gigantic 4G LTE on the default and no 4G LTE on the AU page.

Read this page and then note the "au" in the URL, not also the prices in Austalian dollars. It is clearly targeted to Australia and it highlights 4G capability.

It doesn't look that way to me. It reads:

Ultrafast wireless. Full speed ahead. Designed with next-generation wireless technology, the new iPad with Wi-Fi+4G connects to fast data networks around the world.

As a comparison, look at http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/ and http://www.apple.com/au/ipad/features/ Notice the big difference when talking about wireless? There's a gigantic 4G LTE on the default and no 4G LTE on the AU page.

To be clear it goes beyond that. It's not that their product doesn't support one carrier in Australia, it's that their product does not support the band that the regulator has designated for 4G (everywhere in the world except North America mind you). But it's only a question of advertising such as the Australian iPad website not only makes mention of 4G but also lists 4 Australian companies on the page dedicated to 4G, three of which do not offer 4G services at all.

It's not an issue of compatibility, otherwise every phone manufacturer around the world would be in the shit. It's an issue of completely misleading advertising which is entirely under the control of Apple. Not only does the iPad not support 4G in Australia, but it won't ever support it as we don't use that set of frequencies, so don't advertise it as a feature to us. It's not rocket science.

Also I believe the AC was simply replying to the grandparent explaining who determines what the G standard is, and who will say if you can call something 5G. It's not a marketing term despite what Dilbert makes us think.

Oh it gets even better than that, check out this apple page - which not only says "4G" but also lists Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone as offering compatible data plans.

Assuming that Apple has not advertised 4G in any Australian-targeted advertising, they should be OK.

Read this page and then note the "au" in the URL, not also the prices in Austalian dollars. It is clearly targeted to Australia and it highlights 4G capability.

As several others have pointed out, the Mac Mini Server with a quad-core i7 is $999. Of course, that's only 2.0GHz, with 4GB of RAM and 2 500GB drives, and no Blu-Ray. The "Clarksfield" mobile i7 is no slouch - it's close to desktop i7 performance, and beats some older desktop i7s.

If you want to beef it up, you can get it with 8GB RAM and 1.5TB of drive space for $1749. Whether that's a "better buy" is up to you to judge.

http://www.apple.com/macmini/server/

Sorry to double--post; but the answer is right on the front page of the "course". To wit:

The course web site was developed and tested primarily with Google Chrome. We support current versions of Mozilla Firefox as well. The video player is designed to work with Flash. While we provide a partial non-Flash fallback for the video, as well as partial support for Internet Explorer, other browsers, and tablets, portions of the functionality will be unavailable. So, they say "For best results, use Chrome". They don't even MENTION Safari at ALL (and this is MIT we're talking about!!!!). Heck, they even say they only have "partial support" for IE.

I call "lazy coders"... Or ones who are Google fanbois/getting funding from Google.

Yes. VERY odd, since these are the recommended laptops for MIT Students. And HERE is an MIT Media Lab "success-story" page on Apple's site. And HERE is MIT's iOS APP!!!

Odd, indeed, don'tcha think?

Sorry to double--post; but the answer is right on the front page of the "course". To wit:

The course web site was developed and tested primarily with Google Chrome. We support current versions of Mozilla Firefox as well. The video player is designed to work with Flash. While we provide a partial non-Flash fallback for the video, as well as partial support for Internet Explorer, other browsers, and tablets, portions of the functionality will be unavailable. So, they say "For best results, use Chrome". They don't even MENTION Safari at ALL (and this is MIT we're talking about!!!!). Heck, they even say they only have "partial support" for IE.

I call "lazy coders"... Or ones who are Google fanbois/getting funding from Google.

Yes. VERY odd, since these are the recommended laptops for MIT Students. And HERE is an MIT Media Lab "success-story" page on Apple's site. And HERE is MIT's iOS APP!!!

Odd, indeed, don'tcha think?

I don't have any monthly data cap

What carrier, what country? In my country, satellite and cellular ISPs have roughly 5 GB/mo caps. Even wired home ISPs such as Comcast have a monthly data cap. And if you're outside of 3G coverage and your device has fallen back to EDGE, you will probably not have enough bandwidth to maintain an AVC stream, but an SWF can still successfully preload at that speed.

Any game that requires dragging won't work.

The choice of Flash or HTML is orthogonal to the choice of pointing device. Here's how it could work, whether in Flash or in HTML: A script on the page marks the interior of an element as clickable and not scrollable. Touching the surface fires a mouse over event, an immediate mouse down event, a series of mouse moved events while the finger continues to move, and a mouse up event.

No one is going to stop making laptops.

I said "stop making laptops that are small enough", or in other words, "stop making laptops that fit in a bag designed for a laptop with a 10 inch screen".

why don't you provide a link to the headline you mention.. is it this one?

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/14/2870374/new-ipad-apps-larger-size-retina-display

"The applications developed by Apple have been upgraded to support the Retina Display. For example Keynote was previously only 115MB but its latest version is 327MB. Numbers is up from 109MB to 283MB, Pages moves from 95MB to 269MB, and iMovie from 70MB to 404MB." (Translated from Vietnamese)"

iMovie is the only one that went up over 5x.. and that's because they added a new feature called Trailers. there's built in themes with animations and music so most of that increase is the stored audio/video assets.. it was NOT a straight retina bump - else it wouldn't have been demo'd in the ipad keynote. you can't compare the current and previous version because they're not (feature wise) the same app. garageband also got bigger.. from 600MB to almost a 1GB I think.. but that's because they added string instruments and the ability to "jam" with other people and record all 4 tracks in the app. those string loops are big.

here's the info about Trailers for the desktop version of iMovie - all the same features are in the iOS version.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/#movie-trailers-section

the pertinent copy from the appstore
Create movie trailers
  Choose from nine new trailers with immersive graphics and original scores by some of the world’s top film composers*
*Trailers are available on iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later. (probably because of RAM constraints)

the "CMX-HD" format that Comixology and Marvel are using now caused a noticeable increase in file size.. but of all the titles I have, they average increase is about 3x.. and the ones I have (pre-HD) were around 20-25MB, now they're 75MB.

3x may seem like a lot, but look at the difference. (photo by Andy Ihnatko)
https://twitter.com/#!/Ihnatko/status/180865456389885954/photo/1
(note the paperclip in the foreground)

Why get a refurb? Because, as other users have mentioned, the refurb isn't too bad. Look at this snippet from the Apple Store:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad2_wi_fi
Apple Certified Refurbished
We test and certify all Apple refurbished products and include a 1-year warranty.
All refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell.

Plus, you can add AppleCare if you wish. To me, this makes getting the refurb as good as a new unit, but you save $50.

Covered by Apple's one-year limited warranty

Most people don't want to spend countless hours scouring eBay and hoping to not get ripped off. My time and a 1 year warranty is worth more than the $100 difference.

Of course there's no BT profile for BT microphone headsets and mice. This is consistent with Apple practice.

- A microphone headset would let you make private calls with VOIP apps, which might mean less calls on your iphone, or even not need your iphone at all if properly implemented.

Only problem with your conspiracy theory is that it's complete and utter bullshit, since the iPad 2 and up do support HFP: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3647?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US along with every other profile the latest iPhones do except Phone Book, since it can't actually dial a phone.

You can use a BT microphone headset with Skype / Facetime just fine.

Apple refurb products have the same warranty as the original product, and for the iPad that also includes:

We test and certify all Apple refurbished products and include a 1-year warranty.
All refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell.

You should explore more about the Exposé feature here and here on OS X.

You should explore more about the Exposé feature here and here on OS X.

If you take a Mac and Price spec for Spec (Every spec even if you don't think it is a big deal such as glowing keyboard with light sensor or weight and thinness) You will find that the Price of the Mac is the same as any other new Commercially built system out there of the same quality.

For the very low-end models, maybe, but when you look at the price of the higher models and upgrades -- literally comparing Apples to Apples -- it's readily apparent that their prices are way off, and egregiously so.

Let's compare two "base" iMacs, the only noted difference being the processor and HD:
21.5" Core i5 2.5GHz & 500GB -> 21.5" Core i5 2.7GHz & 1TB [$300 difference]
Core i5-2400S 2.5GHz $184 & Seagate Barracuda 500GB $84 (Total: $268) -> Core i5-2500S 2.7GHz $205 & Segate 1 Barracuda TB $109 (Total: $314)
Actual Difference: $46 Apple's Markup: 552%
Sources: Intel's price list 500GB @ NewEgg 1TB @ NewEgg

Component upgrades for the second iMac:
2.7GHz Core i5 -> 2.8GHz Core i7 [Add $200.00]
Core i5-2500S 2.7GHz $205 -> Core i7-2600S $294 Actual Difference: $89 Apple's Markup: 125%
Source: Same as above

4GB -> 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB [Add $200.00]
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 $25 x2 = $50. Actual Difference: $25 Apple's Markup: 700%
Source: The most expensive laptop 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM @ NewEgg

4GB -> 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB [Add $600.00]
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 $25 x4 = $100. Actual Difference: $75 Apple's Markup: 700%
Source: Same as above.

1TB -> 2TB 7200RPM Serial ATA Drive [Add $150.00]
Seagate Barracuda 1TB $109 -> Seagate 2TB $130 Actual Difference: $11 Apple's Markup: 1263%
Source: 1TB @ NewEgg 2TB @ NewEgg

And then there's the whole issue of using mobile components in a desktop. Why would they do that? Not to provide value -- mobile components are generally more expensive and lower performing then their desktop components -- but to cram them into a retarded form factor. Sorry, Apple's tax is alive and well, and it's insulting to an informed consumer. You can throw together a *better* system for well less than what Apple charges for its iMac and as a bonus, you don't have to buy a new your monitor when you upgrade your entire system. And for $28 and a little pre-planning, you can even throw Lion on it or run it in a VM. Yes, you have to learn or know how to do it, but as they say, ignorance can be expensive.

If you take a Mac and Price spec for Spec (Every spec even if you don't think it is a big deal such as glowing keyboard with light sensor or weight and thinness) You will find that the Price of the Mac is the same as any other new Commercially built system out there of the same quality.

For the very low-end models, maybe, but when you look at the price of the higher models and upgrades -- literally comparing Apples to Apples -- it's readily apparent that their prices are way off, and egregiously so.

Let's compare two "base" iMacs, the only noted difference being the processor and HD:
21.5" Core i5 2.5GHz & 500GB -> 21.5" Core i5 2.7GHz & 1TB [$300 difference]
Core i5-2400S 2.5GHz $184 & Seagate Barracuda 500GB $84 (Total: $268) -> Core i5-2500S 2.7GHz $205 & Segate 1 Barracuda TB $109 (Total: $314)
Actual Difference: $46 Apple's Markup: 552%
Sources: Intel's price list 500GB @ NewEgg 1TB @ NewEgg

Component upgrades for the second iMac:
2.7GHz Core i5 -> 2.8GHz Core i7 [Add $200.00]
Core i5-2500S 2.7GHz $205 -> Core i7-2600S $294 Actual Difference: $89 Apple's Markup: 125%
Source: Same as above

4GB -> 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB [Add $200.00]
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 $25 x2 = $50. Actual Difference: $25 Apple's Markup: 700%
Source: The most expensive laptop 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM @ NewEgg

4GB -> 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB [Add $600.00]
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 $25 x4 = $100. Actual Difference: $75 Apple's Markup: 700%
Source: Same as above.

1TB -> 2TB 7200RPM Serial ATA Drive [Add $150.00]
Seagate Barracuda 1TB $109 -> Seagate 2TB $130 Actual Difference: $11 Apple's Markup: 1263%
Source: 1TB @ NewEgg 2TB @ NewEgg

And then there's the whole issue of using mobile components in a desktop. Why would they do that? Not to provide value -- mobile components are generally more expensive and lower performing then their desktop components -- but to cram them into a retarded form factor. Sorry, Apple's tax is alive and well, and it's insulting to an informed consumer. You can throw together a *better* system for well less than what Apple charges for its iMac and as a bonus, you don't have to buy a new your monitor when you upgrade your entire system. And for $28 and a little pre-planning, you can even throw Lion on it or run it in a VM. Yes, you have to learn or know how to do it, but as they say, ignorance can be expensive.

If you take a Mac and Price spec for Spec (Every spec even if you don't think it is a big deal such as glowing keyboard with light sensor or weight and thinness) You will find that the Price of the Mac is the same as any other new Commercially built system out there of the same quality.

For the very low-end models, maybe, but when you look at the price of the higher models and upgrades -- literally comparing Apples to Apples -- it's readily apparent that their prices are way off, and egregiously so.

Let's compare two "base" iMacs, the only noted difference being the processor and HD:
21.5" Core i5 2.5GHz & 500GB -> 21.5" Core i5 2.7GHz & 1TB [$300 difference]
Core i5-2400S 2.5GHz $184 & Seagate Barracuda 500GB $84 (Total: $268) -> Core i5-2500S 2.7GHz $205 & Segate 1 Barracuda TB $109 (Total: $314)
Actual Difference: $46 Apple's Markup: 552%
Sources: Intel's price list 500GB @ NewEgg 1TB @ NewEgg

Component upgrades for the second iMac:
2.7GHz Core i5 -> 2.8GHz Core i7 [Add $200.00]
Core i5-2500S 2.7GHz $205 -> Core i7-2600S $294 Actual Difference: $89 Apple's Markup: 125%
Source: Same as above

4GB -> 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB [Add $200.00]
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 $25 x2 = $50. Actual Difference: $25 Apple's Markup: 700%
Source: The most expensive laptop 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM @ NewEgg

4GB -> 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB [Add $600.00]
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 $25 x4 = $100. Actual Difference: $75 Apple's Markup: 700%
Source: Same as above.

1TB -> 2TB 7200RPM Serial ATA Drive [Add $150.00]
Seagate Barracuda 1TB $109 -> Seagate 2TB $130 Actual Difference: $11 Apple's Markup: 1263%
Source: 1TB @ NewEgg 2TB @ NewEgg

And then there's the whole issue of using mobile components in a desktop. Why would they do that? Not to provide value -- mobile components are generally more expensive and lower performing then their desktop components -- but to cram them into a retarded form factor. Sorry, Apple's tax is alive and well, and it's insulting to an informed consumer. You can throw together a *better* system for well less than what Apple charges for its iMac and as a bonus, you don't have to buy a new your monitor when you upgrade your entire system. And for $28 and a little pre-planning, you can even throw Lion on it or run it in a VM. Yes, you have to learn or know how to do it, but as they say, ignorance can be expensive.

>> Know what else has a Core i7 processor? a Mac Mini.

> No it doesn't.

Yes it does. From Apple, right hand column: "2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 ... Configurable to 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7, only at the Apple Online Store." Of course ten seconds of checking would have told you that.

Except that's it's true at this vary moment. Cheapest macbook with a 17 inch screen direct from apple is 2500, while I can buy an acer aspire with a slightly slower cpu (2.2 vs 2.4 GHZ) for 900. Those are similar hardware, and the extra speed is not cost effective to purchase right now.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mini/select

The one on the right.
i7

Sure, a mobile i7, but an i7 nevertheless.

You can still order through MS's employee purchase program at the Apple store: http://store.apple.com/us_epp_151889?target=eppstore/microsoft

it is disturbing that the dogfood does not include an iOS app!

But it does. I've been told (but haven't tried it myself) that the best panoramic photo stitching app available on iOS is Photosynth, by Microsoft.

From Janary to Feburary of this year, Apple increased compliance of the 60-hour workweek from 84 percent to 89 percent.

I know it's all the rage to simply hate companies regardless to impress the ladies, but what happens if no-one ever acknowledges when a company does, in fact, takes steps that help why would any company bother going forward?

In fact if I had a non-Apple company I would take a clear lesson from the public reaction to Apple actually attempting to make things better - take no steps whatsoever because any action will be attacked as insufficient, and if you just let the workers suffer with no action you will be ignored.

I understand your reasons and I think you agree they aren't the sorts of reasons to sway tens of millions.

A few comments:

d) With the developer SDK you can put any app you want on. That being said, software diversity doesn't appear to be something customers by the tens of millions express much interest in.

(e-f) iPhone is designed to work with iTunes or iCloud. That's the product. You can mount the drive but you really want to use an application (and there are plenty of others) unless you know what you are doing. The file system on iOS is not designed to be user accessible and there are complex non obvious connections. I will agree that iOS is power user unfriendly.

g) Actually you can get them for free: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone/iphone3gs

h) What gender has to do with that one is again tens of millions. Men (in huge numbers) care more about phone size since their wear it on their waist. Women (in huge numbers) because they carry it in a purse aren't as concerned. I'm BTW a man who would like a bigger screen as well. There just aren't ten million of us so no one cares.

i) Agreed on Apple patent enforcing, possibly too aggressively. I don't think it is fair to call them a patent troll. They do really do R&D and they don't buy up other's patents.

j) Actually you can buy travel batteries for iPhone. For example: http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-K39264US-Travel-Battery-Charger/dp/B003XU5YSM
As for memory you can get up to 64g, that's a lot for a phone. As for external storage, iCloud provides that.

k) Me thinks you are just a bit hostile. They have excellent customer satisfaction numbers and the stores rate high.

Apple issues a monthly report of working conditions throughout for all it's suppliers.

From the report regarding indentured migrant labor...

"As a result of our expanded audits in 2011, suppliers reimbursed $3.3 million in excess foreign contract worker fees, bringing to $6.7 million the total that has been repaid to workers since 2008."

http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/code-of-conduct/labor-and-human-rights.html

You may not have remembered that, but I forgot all about the monitor and the ! to jump to the assembler. Was the call address negative because it was in ROM? (kind of makes sense, I remember reading how the architecture reserved half the address space for ROM).

Yup. CALL -151 = 65536-151 = 65385 = $FF69, the entry point to monitor ROM.

Apple ][ Forever. The 1984 promo didn't include the word "motherfuckers". But since you brought it up to start this subthread, I had to check, just in case.

Also, because of this.

In post #3941127, macs4all quoted someone:

WOW! Talk about Tech support!!! APPLE still lists the RELOCATED Mini-assembler (which ran in RAM) for the ][+ On their SUPPORT SITE!!! So, not only does that answer the question (no need for a RAM based mini-assembler if there was one in ROM, right?); but it also shows that APPLE SUPPORT ROCKS!!! Name ONE other company that archives support articles from 1979!!!

A quarter of a century later - despite having completely changed their attitude on moddability and hardware openness - it looks like they were serious about that whole Apple ][ Forever thing.