Talk:Apple Macintosh/Archive

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it was a mistake for Jobs to kill the clones. cloners could bring standard ATX design to the masses, build it yourself macs, overclockers, enthusiasts, etc.

even Dell and other companies could offer ox x clones.


Should there be mention of how around 90% of people who use computers use Windows-based PCs instead of Macs?

Since the vast majority of people have never used a computer at all, I doubt that's true. --Brion
The statement reads, "90% of people who use computers...", not "90% of people". --Chan-Ho Suh 10:15, Sep 15, 2004 (UTC)
You should be skeptical of this. The usual 97% or so marketshare statistic one hears refers to PCs sold. This includes computers used at the checkout counter, the workplace, etc. I don't think there's any available statistics figuring out the percentage of home users who use Wintel machines versus Macs. --Chan-Ho Suh 10:15, Sep 15, 2004 (UTC)

It is true that 90% on computers are WinTels. This is however somewhat misleading:

In the nineteenth century, a company emerged called International Business-Machines. IBM gave all of the new industry which have gron to large to manage themselves a solution -- Business-Automation. IBM specialized in ways of automating record-keeping, management, accounting, et cetera. By the early twentieth century, a saying emerged:

"None ever got fired for buying IBM."

In the mid-1940s, a company called Remington-Rand (makers of electric shavers) started making computers. Since companies use computers for business-automation, IBM entered the computer-business, in the later 1940s, after Remington-Rand. Since none ever get fired for buying IBM, by the early 1950s, IBM made more computers than all other companies combined.

In the 1970s, the first personal computer, the Altaire came to be. The first successful computer -- indeed, one of the most successful computers of all time -- the Apple II. IBM wanted in on the market. In the late 1970s, IBM started development on its personal computer.

IBM was in such a hurry to make its personal computer that it outsourced the processor to Intel and the OS to Microsoft. In 1981, IBM released its computer. The computer was a big success. Almost immediately, other manufacturers started making computers with Intel-processors and Microsoft-OS, and then selling these IBM-compatibles for 100$ less than IBM. Soon these IMB-compatibles became WinTels. The WinTel never became dominate on its own merits. "None oever got fired for buying IBM."

WinTels have a reputation of being:

  • Hard-To-Use
  • Unreliable
  • Insecure.

MacIntoshes have a reputation for being:

  • Easy-To-Use
  • Reliable
  • Secure

The one area wher MacIntoshes get a bad rap is price. This is because Apple.Com chose to aim for a niche of qualty when everyone bought IBM-compatibles so that they would not get fired. The cheapest MacIntoshes start at 1k$. These compare very well with WinTels at the same pricepoint. I shall use an eMac as an example:

All eMacs come with these features:

  • All-In-One Compct Design
  • 17-Inch Plat CRT Display
  • NVIDIA GeForce2MX Graphics
  • 2 FireWire-Ports
  • 5 USB-Ports
  • 10/100Base-T Æthernet
  • AirPort-Ready With Buit-In Antenna & Card-Slot
  • 56K internal modem

The 999$ model has these specific specifications:

  • 700MHz PowerPC G4
  • 128MB SDRAM
  • 40GB Ultra ATA drive
  • Combo drive (CD-RW/DVD-ROM)

The 999$ eMac certainly compares well to a WinTel at the same pricepoint. For 300$ more, one gets this:

  • 800MHz PowerPC G4
  • 256MB SDRAM
  • 60GB Ultra ATA drive
  • SuperDrive (CD/DVD-RW)

The 1.3k$ certainly compares very well to WinTels at its pricepoint. I do not know about any WinTels at this pricepoint capable of burning DVDs I recommend buying it and them giving the RAM to a friend and then upgrading the RAM to 1GB.

I hope that this answers your questions about MacIntoshes.

?alabio 05:56 Feb 28, 2003 (UTC)

Unfortunately, it's impossible to make comparisons between an entry-level eMac and a new WinTel PC because you can't buy a WinTel PC as slow as that. The reason why it can come with a "Plat CRT" (I think you mean flat LCD) and a fancy graphics card is that WinTel PC volumes have driven prices down. PS4FA 21:34 22 Jun 2003 (UTC)

The Apple Mac wasn't the first mass-market RISC PC, the Acorn Archimedes was :) Crusadeonilliteracy 07:30, 15 Sep 2003 (UTC)

The current section on clones is, I feel, far too long. In the overall story of the Mac, this aspect is minor, and increasingly so. The amount of space in the article given over to this is disproportionate. However, it's hard to see what to cut, so may I suggest moving this section to its own page - it'll help keep this article easier to read while providing the full story for those who want to know. Graham 23:56, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

  • I agree with that. Are there any objections? 1189 23:42, Jun 23, 2004 (UTC)
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