WTF is up with used mac prices

[purbeast0]

from my experience, the people who are vw enthusiasts that act all smug for the most part aren't americans.

 

[cronos]

Same here. I just wish it had two buttons on it so even the simplest of games could be played without needing an external mouse.

Huh? I have two 'buttons' on my 2009 MacBook Pro trackpad.

 

[lagokc]

There is lies your problem; people aren't buying "hardware", they're a buying a solution for their computational needs.

I can't tell difference between i5 and i6 macbook air, I couldn't honestly even tell the difference between core 2 or whatever the last one was and the i5 I have... hardware specs is one of the least important criteria when it comes to my usability of a laptop. It's incidental; implementation detail.

I realize this probably doesn't make much difference to you but one minor difference is that the i5 exists. But if you're buying a Mac I could see how existance of the CPU wouldn't be an important factor. :awe:

 

[Broheim]

from my experience, the people who are vw enthusiasts that act all smug for the most part aren't americans.

it was more directed at you and others qualms with vw, over here in europe vw's aren't expensive to buy, maintain or fix. (although the smart people will buy a skoda instead, vw in every sense except for the badge).

 

[vi edit]

Huh? I have two 'buttons' on my 2009 MacBook Pro trackpad.

Current Macbooks are buttonless. The trackpad can be depressed to replicate a normal click & "hold". Or you can two finger tap to replicate an alternate click. No clue how the two finger tap works in games though. I don't game at all on the device (or any laptop for that matter).

 

[purbeast0]

it was more directed at you and others qualms with vw, over here in europe vw's aren't expensive to buy, maintain or fix. (although the smart people will buy a skoda instead, vw in every sense except for the badge).

so you're telling me that it's cheaper to maintain a european car in europe than it is in america?

OMG I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED!!

 

[Broheim]

so you're telling me that it's cheaper to maintain a european car in europe than it is in america?

OMG I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED!!

hence the

 

[purbeast0]

hence the

 

[Midwayman]

I realize this probably doesn't make much difference to you but one minor difference is that the i5 exists. But if you're buying a Mac I could see how existance of the CPU wouldn't be an important factor. :awe:

Only really strengthens the argument that it is the computer illiterate driving up used mac prices, doesn't it?

 

[halik]

I realize this probably doesn't make much difference to you but one minor difference is that the i5 exists. But if you're buying a Mac I could see how existance of the CPU wouldn't be an important factor. :awe:

Err i7, whatever the new one is this year.

 

[halik]

Only really strengthens the argument that it is the computer illiterate driving up used mac prices, doesn't it?

Heh I have a CS degree from top 5 program; I think you're confusing computer literacy with "stuff that intel made in the last 5 years". The latter being fairly incidental, unless you write compilers for intel or are making something very tailored to a particular instruction set.

 

[cronos]

Current Macbooks are buttonless. The trackpad can be depressed to replicate a normal click & "hold". Or you can two finger tap to replicate an alternate click. No clue how the two finger tap works in games though. I don't game at all on the device (or any laptop for that matter).

I know about the buttonless part, that's why I put 'buttons' inside quotes.

What I'm saying is that while they look like a one piece trackpad you can still emulate 'left click' and 'right click' by pushing the bottom left/right corners of the trackpad.

 

[vi edit]

I know about the buttonless part, that's why I put 'buttons' inside quotes.

What I'm saying is that while they look like a one piece trackpad you can still emulate 'left click' and 'right click' by pushing the bottom left/right corners of the trackpad.

Gotcha. To be honest I really don't care for the "click" function on the trackpad. It's a very deep press and really requires your fingers to be at the very bottom for it to work well. The only time I ever use it is to click on the user picture after a powerup/reboot as a simple tap does not register on that screen. That is one complaint I do have. But really for most of the stuff I do with the device I never need to use it.

 

[ControlD]

I know about the buttonless part, that's why I put 'buttons' inside quotes.

What I'm saying is that while they look like a one piece trackpad you can still emulate 'left click' and 'right click' by pushing the bottom left/right corners of the trackpad.

Yep, there is that. It works great for normal computing but sucks terribly for playing games.

 

[Staples]

Used Apple products have always been very expensive.

This is why places that buy used electronics only really buy Macs.

 

[Eug]

Gotcha. To be honest I really don't care for the "click" function on the trackpad. It's a very deep press and really requires your fingers to be at the very bottom for it to work well. The only time I ever use it is to click on the user picture after a powerup/reboot as a simple tap does not register on that screen. That is one complaint I do have. But really for most of the stuff I do with the device I never need to use it.

I absolutely love it. Best trackpad I have ever used.

My wife is old school though, and prefers the physical button... which is one reason (besides cost, and the fact she was going to use it in the kitchen) I got her a MacBook instead of just giving her my MacBook Pro and upgrading.

---

BTW, re: Build quality. It depends. For that recent purchase I checked out a whole bunch of machines at several different used Mac stores.

For the aluminum MacBook Pro, a pristine machine was more the rule than the exception. In fact, I'd say 9 out of 10 looked great.
For the plastic MacBook, a pristine machine was more the exception than the rule. Most looked like they had be run over. Cracked cases are extremely common, and in fact the only reason my top case looked so good is because the repair shop replaced it... probably because the original one was cracked too.

 

[Staples]

Oh boy, I love the comparisons to Macbook Pros

[typical Mac hater]I mean, they have the same CPU and RAM so they are essentially equal yet the Dell Vostro costs half the price[/]

 

[DesiPower]

Apple = stupid, Apple users = stupid people... and OP is looking for sense there... oh so much fail...

 

[AMDZen]

Was looking to find a used mac for $200 bucks and it seems all sellers have used corvette syndrome. As in they think its worth 75% of its value 6 years later.

It's called holding their value well.

You may not like it as a buyer but you would love it as a seller

 

[Midwayman]

Heh I have a CS degree from top 5 program; I think you're confusing computer literacy with "stuff that intel made in the last 5 years". The latter being fairly incidental, unless you write compilers for intel or are making something very tailored to a particular instruction set.

Not knowing what hardware you are buying is actually pretty central to the issue of why old macs sell for so much.

 

[Eug]

It's called holding their value well.

You may not like it as a buyer but you would love it as a seller

Yep. In fact, one store here has a deal here where if you buy a new machine every two years with AppleCare, if you give back the old one they'll give you the new one at 50%. And then you can repeat that. Buy one today for 100% retail, and then in 2015 get one at 50%, and in 2017 get one at 50%, etc.

This would be good for people wanting higher end production machines like i7 iMacs, etc.

The main problem I see with this is Apple's release schedule. This would work great if Apple released updates every year at the same time, but they don't.

 

[Eureka]

Current Macbooks are buttonless. The trackpad can be depressed to replicate a normal click & "hold". Or you can two finger tap to replicate an alternate click. No clue how the two finger tap works in games though. I don't game at all on the device (or any laptop for that matter).

I don't know how you game with a trackpad in the first place.

That being said, I do agree... macbooks have the best trackpad by far.

 

[Rakehellion]

Therein lies your problem; people aren't buying "hardware", they're a buying a solution for their computational needs.

I can't tell difference between i5 and i6 macbook air, I couldn't honestly even tell the difference between core 2 or whatever the last one was and the i5 I have... hardware specs is one of the least important criteria when it comes to my usability of a laptop. It's incidental; implementation detail.

Exactly.

 

[Rakehellion]

Yep, there is that. It works great for normal computing but sucks terribly for playing games.

Every trackpad is bad for playing games.

 

[ringtail]

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