Macworld Forums: MacBook Air price cuts make it tougher on Windows ultrabook makers - Macworld Forums

Post your comments for MacBook Air price cuts make it tougher on Windows ultrabook makers here

Windows Ultra Books sounds like just like another unsuccessful line, netbooks. It seems the these PC manufactures are throwing ideas against the wall and sees what sticks.

To be fair, HP, ASUS, and others have managed to undercut Apple's prices somewhat, and have promised to hit the $699 price point. That said, one of the points of the Ultrabook project was to drag the PC market out of the commoditized doldrums it had been in. If PC manufacturers need to undercut Apple by so much that they are making the same razor-thin margins they did before, they'll wonder what the whole point was.

KPOM, on 12 June 2012 - 02:14 PM, said:

Apple's competitors continue to take the "Walmart" approach, i.e., value = low price. Basically a crap product. They are unwilling to do what is necessary...and that is go back to the drawing board and design a quality product with a great OS. These manufacturers are hampered by MS's offering a subpar OS. Sorry, but they are screwed-on many levels!

I find this story to be somewhat absurd as well as many of the comments, so please get off your high horses.

I've used PC's for the majority of my professional life. Several years ago I decided to switch to the Mac. I now have a MacBook Pro and a Mac Pro, both of which are a couple of years old. However, I'm now seriously wanting to go back to Windows since I have had a ton of problems with both of these computers.

OS X has some great points, but it certainly isn't the be all and end all that all the Mac fanatics seem to think it is.

Finder is generally horrible. I do a search for a file type in a folder that has sub-folders and Finder brings up all the file types in ALL OF THOSE folders, even if I only want the files in the top folder. I haven't found a way yet to limit the search to just the top folder.

It's also infuriating that Finder doesn't list the FULL path of the files when you do a search of the system. The only way to find out the exact location of a file is to highlight it - how irritating is that, especially if you have thousands of PDF, AI, JPG, etc. files on your system. And don't even get me started on the subject of how Finder lists files and folders. Explorer was great because it always listed ALL folders first, then all the files (including the full paths for all opf the files and folders, right there where you can see them without having to highlight anything - how odd is that?. With Finder, the folders are scattered about in the list with all the other files so you have to either scroll through the files to find the folder you're looking for or sort by type which then re-orders the files and folders separately, but then you typically still have to scroll through the Finder window to find the Folder you're looking for, all of which are typically somewhere down the list of files - why oh why? And fonts - ugh!

Getting back to the subject at hand, I'm considering replacing my MacBook Pro with an Asus Zenbook. The Asus is less expensive and of just as high or better quality than the MacBook Air (check out some of the comparative reviews). The Mac Pro will probably be replaced with an HP Z800 or 820 - hands down better built and easier to upgrade than the Mac Pro since I've had one here to test for comparison purposes with my Mac Pro.

What is most amazing to me is that so many Mac fans seem to gloat over the fact that Apple charges exorbitant prices for their computers. I'm glad you are so happy to throw your money at Apple. Personally, I'd prefer to keep as much of my money as possible. But then, that's just me.

clh126, on 12 June 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

sunnyone, on 12 June 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

Really? First you ask people to get off high horses and then you call them fanatics??? I gotta say your communications skills are commendable. Keep up the good work...

KPOM, on 12 June 2012 - 02:14 PM, said:

No, they have not undercut Apple's prices because they are NOT SHIPPING THE SAME PRODUCT.

If one pizza maker sells you an extra large for $20 and another one sells you a small in an extra large box for $18, THAT IS NOT UNDERCUTTING.

sunnyone, on 12 June 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

I seems to me that you may need to do a little more learning about how Finder works. Check the advanced tab in Finder's preferences and set your search to start in the current folder. Set Finder to show results in columns then click the file type column. Your folders will no longer be scattered about. Also set view path bar. It helps.

The general fix with having tons of problems on a Mac is the same as Windows, do a complete wipe and reinstall. As a previous beta tester for MS, I know all of the pains and painful fixes they end up telling you to do. There isn't an OS today that won't eventually tell you to start over when things get whacked out. Upgrade over upgrade, and update over update tends to being out the worst in clutter and garbage that even a permission fix won't fix. Or a new account won't fix. I just did this on both my MBP and iMac with Lion. They both run way faster and I'm also ready for Mountain Lion.

I've had a lot of notebooks and computers over the past 30+ years (OK going that far back they were luggable computers - sort of). Every one I ever owned was junk in six months. My 2006 17" MBP is still running great and in excellent condition even after three years of toting it in an out of my car 5 days a week. My 2006 iMac is still running perfectly. My 2010 MBP 15 is flawless and is now in my car daily. My 2009 27" iMac is now even better with a new SSD.

To find a computer built better than an Apple is an absurd statement at equal price points. I've looked, touched, felt, and walked away from everything offered. There is a reason Apple is what it is and sets the standard others fail to catch up to. Consumers will pay the price for exceptional quality and unmatched user experience. I'm not a fanboy - they have their issues and quirks. But they make one heck of awesome line of products that companies like HP, Dell, Samsung, Toshiba, Acer, and on and on and on - wish they would have built first.

Best of luck with your new purchases, I sincerely hope they serve you well and for a long time.

Please, please, please, please go back to Windows. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

You refugees from the Wintel community are the only thing that is wrong with the modern Mac community.

WE HAVE ALL SEEN WINDOWS AND WE PASSED ON IT. WE DIDN'T WANT IT. IT DOESN'T MEET OUR NEEDS. NOT BECAUSE WE ARE ON HIGH HORSES, BUT BECAUSE WE ARE NOT ACCOUNTANTS, AND WINDOWS IS MADE 100% FOR ACCOUNTANTS.

I cannot believe that Internet comments have gotten so stupid that here is a guy who doesn't get that Mac users DON'T LIKE WINDOWS.

THAT IS WHY WE ARE MAC USERS, GENIUS.

@ Sunnyone: Clearly, you haven't learned to tweak the Finder. I suggest you follow Lakes98's advice before abandoning ship. It's understandable that a Wintel convert to Mac may not know the need to tweak the Mac. We longtime Mac users tend to make it sound like its perfect out of the box.

I use Windows at work on rare occasions and only when I absolutely must. I have NEVER had a satisfying search experience on it. But, I freely admit its because I have no idea how to refine the task. And I have no interest in learning.

It's been said many times before, but its true. If your brain thinks like a computer programmer, you'll love Windows. If you think like a "normal" person, the Mac is more intuitive. It makes perfect sense to a computer programmer that "I want to START the shut down process, so I'll click the START button to turn off my computer." To the nontechnical mind, that's absurd.

The one task I HATE in the Mac Finder is moving a file from a sub folder to the folder above it. We really need a move command! Other than that, I'll gladly through more money at Apple because they give me a better user experience.

“It’s just not clear if it all will pan out for [ultrabook makers],” said Gillett. “You could say that the Air is more expensive, that’s something people have said for a long time. But if you do a feature parity, the price difference drops away.”

^I've been saying that about the MBA for years. Believe me, I've tried to spec the "PC" competition, and it's near impossible to do for less than the MBA. With this price drop, it's going to get a lot harder for the "PC" makers to match price.

The SMB enterprise I deal in basically requires Windows products, yet when it comes time for a new ultraportable in the networks, it starts and ends with the MBA13, running Win7 in Bootcamp. So far, everyone is happy and I have had no service issues - at all.

Why all the fuss? Buy what works for you and shut up about it.

Hamranhansenhansen, on 12 June 2012 - 10:35 PM, said:

Oh please! You're just as bad as sunnyone, tarring a wide swath of people with the same broad brush. Many switchers are perfectly happy on their Macs. The simple fact is that Windows and OS X do some things differently. Those who are used to the Windows way of doing things sometimes never learn their way around a Mac, for a variety of reasons. Heck, many veteran Mac users don't really know their way around a Mac. So what else is new? It's been said about art, but it's equally true about computers: We like what you know. If you know Windows well, the Mac may be hard to get used to. Some, like sunnyone, try and never complete the transition. Others make the switch and never look back. People are different, for Pete's sake. Why is that so hard to understand? When we lambaste those who are different from us we only show our own ignorance. In my opinion intolerant Mac fanatics are every bit as obnoxious as intolerant Windows fanatics (or open source/Linux fanatics for that matter). There's plenty of room in this word for Windows users and Mac users. Get over it.

danmusician, on 13 June 2012 - 05:59 AM, said:

A very good add-on to solve this issue is Pathfinder. Hopefully a Move command will be added to Finder at some point.

With regards to searching through Spotlight or Finder, I too get frustrated sometimes. But there is no doubt that the "average" Windows user that I watch and counsel has a MUCH, MUCH greater problem conducting an effective search on that platform. As in all cases, once a user becomes proficient in a computer task on a given platform, they will see challenges in doing the same task on a different platform - but that should not be a surprise...