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Ballmer Scorns Apple As a $500 Logo
theodp writes "Speaking at a conference in NYC, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did his best to refan the flames of the Mac vs. PC rivalry: 'Now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction [against Apple],' Ballmer said. 'The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment — same piece of hardware — paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.'"
Jealousy is a stinky cologne, Stevie. ;)
"And, they keep changing the OS and user interface faster than we can copy it! Bastards"
Brett
I pay the extra $500 not so much to get the Apple logo on my computer as to keep the Microsoft logo (and hence the Blue Screen of Death) off of it.
How much is it really worth to have a white laptop for instance?
It's an especially interesting question when there are people who will then pay an additional $200 to get a black MacBook.
The CB App. What's your 20?
Please note: the following comments are not about you personally; I do not know you. The comments are a broad-strokes response to anyone who makes this argument.
So, congratulations. You saved $100 for the privilege of spending $600 on games in the life of the OS installation, wasting 1000 hours in the interim, severely limiting your social life and development of your social skills, increasing your later-life health-care costs due to lack of exercise and poor nutrition, adding another $75 to your electric bill and 600 pounds of carbon emissions to the environment due to the energy usage while you're playing those games on your high-powered gaming system.
If you love games, great. But from a more holistic perspective, it's a dubious argument.
The CB App. What's your 20?
on the other hand, the vista window is a much-better known logo. like Mr. Yuk (tm) it serves as a valuable consumer warning device.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
OS X: $500
dark turtleneck + horn-rimmed glasses: $150
Ballmer has failed to cast his Svengali-like spell over me. I... I just don't know. It's just that for some reason I cannot explain, I am able to control the impulse to go out and buy a retail copy of Windows Vista Ultimate.
Sometimes it seems that I can go days without even thinking about it. This very morning, I got out of bed, and got myself a cup of coffee, and it didn't even occur to me that if only I had Microsoft Select Plus licensing, I might have Windows Embedded Enterprise in my coffee pot.
I wonder. Does this mean I have developed some kind of unusual resistance to Ballmer's powers of persuasion? Does this mean that I, unlike so many millions of others, have somehow managed to penetrate that fatal glamour?
That makes me feel so... so... special.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I'm glad it makes one appear homosexual, because I am homosexual.
I also use a Mac.
Apples are selling just fine, what is he talking about?
You're new to /. aren't you?
According to Apple, about 50 bucks less than having a matte black one.
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
Except we know the value of the software, Apple sells it seperately for $130, or about what an OEM edition of Vista Business adds to a typical Dell.
We can therefore conclude that installing Windows on a PC degrades its value by $370. Good to know.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
to whine about the mouse.
What has OS X been doing for years that Windows 7, which hasn't been released yet, can't, which makes it so superior?
I fixed your sentence.
First you have to pay the monopoly fee
You know I asked the Mac geniuses at the Apple store about that one, but was rather dismayed when they wouldn't let me pay with Monopoly money.
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
About the one-button mouse: Apple's "Mighty Mouse," introduced in 2005, has no visible button, but can be configured in software to have 1, 2 or 3 buttons. With the "unibody" macbooks, this concept was ported to the macbook trackpad. The glass trackpad acts as one big button, but can be configured for right-click (by clicking the right hand side of the pad).
No, the price difference is so the Faithful can run around flaunting their glowing logo and think they are superior people. Bah.
No, we do it so people like you can feel superior flaunting your non-glowing logo. You need every little bit of joy in your life you can get, and we are quite generous.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
I agree. It's offensive of Ballmer to say that that Apple sells a $500 logo.
It's worth at least $750-800.
My loaded MacBook Pro was $4200. That's at least 3 grand in status that I can lord over the sad sacks in my Caribou Coffee Shop.
And worth every penny in my improved self-image and ability to strike up conversations with cute girls with eyebrow piercings. I didn't get that kind of play with my Lenovo, I'll tell you that.
It doesn't go anywhere past "Aren't Apples great? They have an almost "holistic" approach to computer design, don't you think?" but still...
You are welcome on my lawn.
I'm thinking of inventing a one pedal car. Physically, not functionally; I mean that would just be silly.
To disengage the clutch, you press the pedal three times in quick succession. The engage the clutch, four times in quick succession. To increase the engine speed, two groups of three taps, and to decrease it, three groups of two taps.
The brake? That's important - you wouldn't want to run into anybody's arse, at least figuratively, and so it's configurable. Either you you type out "stop" in morse code or tap long-short-long-long-long-short while selecting any tune that has "Stop" in the title on the onboard mp3 player, provided you downloaded it legally from iTunes. Death to pirates, mwahahahaaha.
One other thing you might like to consider: The last time France lost a war was before macs had two button mice. That last time Germany started one was before macs had two button mice. And yet, still people mention those things. Go figure.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
We do it because Sony fanboys are almost as fun to troll as furries. :)
By reading this you acknowledge that you have read it.
Too bad you blew all that cash, you could have tried a more direct approach.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
A couple of weeks ago, I had to replace the battery in my timex watch.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
cute girls with eyebrow piercings.
As we all learned in Pulp Fiction, piercings are for better sex. If you care about the girl having a pierced eyebrow, you're doing it wrong!
I am fairly fanatical about Microsoft. I enjoy just about everything they make.
I hate just about everything Apple makes.
Lets see how fast i get modded Troll.
He's not lonely! He's got his developers, developers, developers, developers!
Your ad here.
Isn't he down to developers, developers? They just laid off a bunch.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine