who the heck would pay $2,500 USD for this?

[nerp]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: nerp

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: nerp

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: nerp
Nice looking computer. . . .with the cheapest, crappiest keyboard ever. Seriously.

The keyboard is actually pretty high quality. I think you mean you don't like the design, right? Fortunately you can use any USB keyboard with a Mac.

No, I hate crap rubber dome and scissor switch keyboards. I'd get a thinkpad if I was forced to use a laptop keyboard for long periods of time. Otherwise, I'd get a Happy Hacking Pro 2 or some small portable keyboard with cherry switches if I had to. Us keyboard whores universally accept the fact that Apple keyboards are among the worst of the worst in terms of quality of switches. They're cool for updating your facebook status or typing some blurts in an IM window, but if you're writing professionally or a serious programmer, the last thing you should use is a laptop keyboard, or worse, an apple keyboard.

Thank god for desktops and model Ms. 🙂

So... you're saying it's the design that you don't like.

The keyboards used in the mac are cheap using low-cost, chinese made switches. It's a quality issue, not a design issue.

So they're prone to breaking? Or the action is not as smooth as other keyboards that use scissor switches? In what way is the quality poor, aside from the location of manufacture?

I'm writing this on an IBM model M manufactured in 1990. Aside from being taken apart and cleaned a couple times (can't do that with an apple keyboard) this keyboard has never ceased to function and feel as perfect as the day it came out of the box. The only apple keyboards to have similar longevity are the original Apple Extended II keyboards which use high quality switches. I really don't think that the apple keyboards being sold today will last for 20 years the same way a M does. My M doesn't have that "shiny" effect on the keys, the letters haven't been worn off (and never will) and the key action is fantastic.

Granted, the newer apple keyboards are better than the ones from the recent past, but they're still overpriced and no different than $5 to $10 keyboards you can buy on newegg. You're paying for the appearance, not the build quality.

Not only is the keyfeel on the new apple boards (yes I've used them) yucky to me, the switches are just generic off-the-shelf parts, not much different than the switches you'd find on a $15 laptop-style keyboard on newegg. I would rather use a cheap keytronics with semi-decent mechanical switches.

And to another poster, the "mighty mouse" is a high quality, american-made board that is based on the original IBM thinkpad design. It's a rubber buckling switch design and superior to the best lenovo thinkpads. If you want to get "serious work done," a mighty mouse is about a 1000 times better than the apple chiclet (not a genuine chiclet) scissor/rubber switch board.

http://geekhack.org/showthread...?t=737&highlight=worst

That thread highlights some of the atrocious keyboards over the years.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
http://store.apple.com/us/conf...419LL/A?mco=NDE4Mzg5MA

Would you like to add 4 gigs of ram for another $1000.00 dollars?

Hahahahahaha even DDR3 is getting cheap on newegg. Think I saw a 6GB deal a few days ago fro 140 bucks.

 

[PCTC2]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: LtPage1
It's a workstation, not a cheap gaming Dell. You're paying for the proprietary hardware and the warranty.

There is nothing proprietary about the hardware. Off the shelf Intel server board, one or two Xeons, a "proprietary" GeForce GT 150 which is just a POS 9500GT, and some FB-DIMMs. Actually, the only really absurd thing about these new Mac Pros is that they should come stock with 1. a better fucking keyboard and mouse, I can't see ANYONE getting serious work done with a "mighty mouse". 2. Some graphics hardware to match that i7, not a stupid 9500GT. 3. WiFi, they're already charging $2,499...4. Finally, some SAS drives. Again, if this is a "serious work" machine then it needs some SAS or a VelociRaptor, not what's probably a WD6400AAKS. That's budget gamer build stuff.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishL...ishListNumber=12633708

I'm not saying anything, but I'd like to point out it is not a proprietary Intel board as the processors and RAM are on a daughter-board that pulls out, and all other components are on the installed board.

 

[FP]

I am not an Apple fanboy but I must say, my Macbook Pro is by far and away the best laptop I have ever owned. I have owned Dell, IBM and Toshiba laptops and NONE of them come close to touching the quality of my MBP. Throw in Apple's fantastic warranty/replacement service and I will always buy Apple laptops from here on out.

Desktop/servers are a different story. I build all my own rigs and enjoy it. I agree the Mac Pros are quite expensive but if you are a design shop you really can't use anything else.

 

[EGGO]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
God Mac users are retarded.

Generalizations are genius!

I can get 32GB of memory for a little over $1000

http://www.transintl.com/store...818&RequestTimeOut=500

 

[n yusef]

Try comparing the prices with other dual Xeon systems. I agree that for a single CPU, Apple is a rip-off. For two CPU systems, their prices are competitive with the Dell system I checked out (Precision T5400).

Also, keyboard opinions are subjective. I quite like the Mac Pro/iMac keyboard.

 

[blinky8225]

Originally posted by: Baked
Schools.

Yup. My school has labs filled with these things. Using Bootcamp, they have have almost all the Macs set to dual-boot XP or OS X. Unfortunately, Windows PCs cannot boot OS X, so I foresee us getting more and more Macs in the future.

 

[nerp]

BTW, I'm not an apple hater. I'm considering an imac for the house, mostly for clutter reasons, but you can bet your ass the keyboard is going on ebay and a Unicomp is taking its place.

 

[Inferno0032]

Originally posted by: FP
I agree the Mac Pros are quite expensive but if you are a design shop you really can't use anything else.

I never understood this. What is it with this argument that keeps getting played about Apple computers being a "design necessity." Any person I've talked to about this, the best they've given me is, "you can install brushes and fonts for photoshop easier."