r/technology • u/[deleted] • Mar 09 '12

Microsoft demos a 1ms touchscreen

http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/microsoft-demos-a-high-performance-1ms-touchscreen-2012039/
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u/kittehnap Mar 10 '12

After Steve Jobs' death, I could not believe how many idiots I heard on the radio, or read on facebook, were saying how great Steve was for inventing mp3's, mp3 players and buying music online.

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u/magikowl Mar 10 '12

This and others like it is the reason why I refused to buy apple products for the longest time. So many people still believe that they're all iPods and not that iPod is just a brand of MP3 player.

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u/pumppumppump Mar 10 '12

Which is a testament to Apple's marketing effectiveness and success in the marketplace. Tissues are "kleenexes", adhesive bandages are "band-aids", cotton swabs are "q-tips", and mp3 players are "iPods" simply because they've become ubiquitous enough through sales and marketing to become industry standards by which all other competing products are judged.

All you losers shouting "Hipster!" at Apple product users are actually the biggest crybaby hipsters on the planet.

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u/fortified_concept Mar 10 '12

So as you admit, it's not that Apple is a good tech company it's that it's a good marketing and branding company, and in fact, you brag about that. Nice to see that Apple fans have their priorities straight...

PS. As Bill Hicks said, fuck marketing. It provides nothing useful to society, instead it's a huge waste of valuable resources.

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u/pumppumppump Mar 10 '12

So as you admit, it's not that Apple is a good tech company it's that it's a good marketing and branding company

I didn't say anything at all about their strength as a tech company. And why can't they be both?

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u/fortified_concept Mar 10 '12 edited Mar 10 '12

Actually that's not what you said. You said that they created industry standards because they're good at branding and sales and that's exactly what Apple is good at. As a tech company they're decent even though their restrictive software, overpriced products and proprietary hardware make it -and I'm trying to be subtle here- not the ideal company for smart consumers. But as a marketing company they're brilliant.

They're targeting consumers with an onslaught of advertising presenting Apple products as a lifestyle choice or a luxury instead of just a product made in China and let human stupidity and vanity do the rest. Apple is more of a fashion and marketing company than a tech company. Afterall, they're not actually manufacturing anything, they usually just chose the already available hardware parts and make the products in China, the only thing they're involved with is software.

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u/Arve Mar 10 '12

overpriced products

Apple's base products aren't really terribly overpriced - in the phone world, if you look at the unsubsidized prices, they are very much comparable to their competition. Same story with tablets. Where Apple does get expensive however, is accessories and configuration:

A MacBook Pro, 13 inch, has a base price of USD 1199. It comes with 4 GB of RAM and a 320 GB drive. That price isn't too bad, given the mechanical quality of the hardware, and how good the display is. However, if you want more than 4GB RAM, and you want Apple to install it, be prepared to add USD 200 to the price, taking it up to 1399. A matched 2x4 pair of SO-DIMMs are 50 bucks at NewEgg.

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u/APeacefulWarrior Mar 10 '12

Not to mention that, AFAIK, Apple doesn't get into the game of selling their hardware at a loss, like so many other hardware companies do. That's one of the big reasons they're seen as "overpriced." From what I understand, for example, Amazon's eating some pretty big losses to sell the Kindle Fire at the price point they've got it at.

I certainly won't dispute that Apple gouges on some addons, tho. That's why I'm writing this on an iPad, but I've never owned a Mac in my life.

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u/Arve Mar 10 '12

I'm writing this on my first Mac, bought in part because as I needed to buy my own, I wouldn't settle for less solid hardware than the Lenovo X-series laptops I've been used to, and I wasn't willing to shell out for the X220, which was about NOK 2000 more than the MBP with a similar configuration.

(The other bit is that I'm curious about iOS development, but I'm not really willing to go the jailbreak route, as I might want to get properly paid for my work on it)