For as long as I can remember, one of the biggest objections Windows users posed to buying a Mac was the price. The conventional wisdom, repeated by many technology writers, had it that you must pay a premium to buy a product with the Apple logo on it. But is it really true?

Well, if you consider value, reliability and ease-of-use, the price issue is less important. What’s more, if you look down and deep into the issue you’ll find that Apple has been busy slashing prices on a pretty regular basis. The latest iPod update is just one example, but it’s an important one. You see, the competition, such as it is, has tried to beat Apple with either extra features, a lower price, or some combination of both.

Continue Reading...

Related Articles:

• Apple’s Missing Feature
• The Apple Music Report: Debunking the Conventional Wisdom
• Don’t Dismiss an Apple TiVo!
• The Apple Hardware Report: Doing the Unthinkable
• The One Paragraph Apple Music Event Report

Buried in the description about the new iPods was the fact that they only ship with a USB 2.0 cable. I mentioned this in passing in my original report on the product introduction, but it deserves more attention, because it was bound to generate complaints from Mac users who feel neglected, and don’t want to be forced to pay an extra $19 for a FireWire hookup.

Now I can see both points of view here. Apple wanted to get the prices as low as possible, to stay ahead of the competition. The iPod doesn’t exist in a vacuum and there are lots of predators out there ready to unseat the market leader at the earliest opportunity. If Apple isn’t going to provide a lot of new features, extra storage space, battery life, and a lower price have to serve as a compelling alternative.

And this isn’t the first instance of shedding extras. High-end iPods used to ship with both a Dock and carrying case. Now they are options. Then again, that case wasn’t terribly good, and third parties have far better alternatives. Besides, it helps the growing profits of the cottage industry that has grown up around the iPod.

Continue Reading...

Related Articles:

• The Microsoft Rip-off Report: Pay and Pay Again
• So is Safari Safe?
• The Mac User’s Dilemma: Saying “I Told You So”!
• Should Apple Remove the Gloves?
• Consumer Reports Screws Up Again!

The word for today is “slash.” And that’s just what Apple did to the prices of the iPod mini and the iPod Photo. But it’s not just a price cut. Yes, the 4GB iPod mini, for example, is now priced at $199, which is the level some suggested it should have been in the first place. But there’s a new 6GB version that retails for $249. The iPod photo is updated with the 30GB model at $349 and a new 60GB version at $449. Your regular, garden variety iPod, with a 20GB drive, is $299. The U2 edition? It’s still available, but you better hurry, as it may not be long for this world. In any case, Apple has also answered complaints that iPod battery life isn’t sufficient. It’s up to 18 hours on the new versions iPod mini and 15 hours on the iPod Photo (five hours for slide shows accompanied by music). In late March, you’ll also be able to buy an iPod Camera Connector, which will allow you to download photos to your iPod Photo direct from your digital camera. Any downsides? Glad you asked. The new iPods come with a USB 2.0 cable. This is largely a reflection of the fact that most Windows PCs don’t have FireWire. Yes, the FireWire port is still there, but you’ll have to shell out an extra $19 if you want a cable to go with it. The iPod Dock is also optional across the line, clearly a concession to the need to get the price points as low as possible. The updated iPods are supposedly available immediately, according to Apple, but you know how much that means these days.

Related Articles:

• The Myths About Apple Keep on Coming
• Newsletter #500 Preview: Is AT&T the Enemy to Continued iPhone Success?
• Newsletter #491 Preview: Microsoft’s Dreaded Secret: The Microsoft Tax
• Assuming Facts Not in Evidence
• A Look at Apple’s Golden Opportunity

The first mouse-driven computer I used was a Mac, so this may make me a little prejudiced on the issue. So it’s not surprising that I’m annoyed when I see Macs downgraded because they aren’t shipped with a two-button mouse, as if being more complicated is a virtue. I suppose the same philosophy explains why car makers are introducing elaborate computerized interfaces that require ten steps instead of one to switch to another radio station. Of course the same philosophy governs the Windows platform, so it’s certainly not original by any means.

Now in the early years, you really didn’t need more than a single button mouse on the Mac for any reason except to add custom functions. Perhaps the most insidious example of going button crazy is the Kensington Turbo Mouse Pro, which sports no less than 11 buttons plus the trackball. And by chording, or pressing more than one of the buttons that surround the trackball, you can engage still more functions. I suppose they expect you to go to Mouse School to sort all this out.

Continue Reading...

Related Articles:

• When Will Apple Deliver A Decent Mouse?
• All This for a Mouse?
• Newsletter Issue #518: Apple’s Magic Mouse is an Acquired Taste
• The Night Owl Will Switch to Notebooks — In Five Years!
• A Look at Apple’s Scheme to Take Over the Windows Desktop