Posted on 09/25/2012 6:20:40 AM PDT by markomalley
The concept of “cool” is, appropriately, like a snowball. Just when you think you’ve got a grasp of it, it melts away. Still, cool is the most resilient of slang words. While other terms have become cringeworthy from overuse, cool has stayed firmly within the lexicon. Cool is put in service to describe a galaxy of objects and incidents – from fleeting moments to multi-billion-pound brands. It's the beatnik's curse.
Whole industries exist to tell us what's cool now, what will be cool next and when the cool evaporates. The annual CoolBrands survey, published this week, is just one small outcrop of the cool industry, a pseudoscientific barometer of the brands the British public considers desirable.
(snip)
The problem with apportioning cool rankings according to the whims of a panel of 39 experts and a 200-strong sample from the general public is clear when you dig into social networking data. Figures supplied by the social media monitoring agency Brandwatch reveal Apple's "cool" is a more complicated concept than you might think.
On average, 10,000 people a week tweet about Apple and its products being cool, compared to just 4,000 saying the same for Samsung. But closer inspection reveals that the percentage of positive tweets about both brands is roughly the same, while more negative sentiments are expressed about Apple’s products. Cool can only get you so far.
Similarly, Virgin Atlantic – which came in at number eight in the top 20 –is at the heart of a disconnect between its apparent cool and the public’s response. Brandwatch’s analysis suggests Twitter users are more likely to discuss it in negative terms than rival carriers British Airways and Emirates.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.telegraph.co.uk ...
That's the reason a lot of the imbeciles in America voted for 0bama in '08!
Lucky you, I sold out at $600!!
The only time I was in a i mac store was to get an add on ten key for my 27 imac that mrs al baby got me for Christmas
i spent 50 bucks and you would have thought i bought out the store excellent service
What I like about buying my Macbook from the Apple Store, is if I have a problem, I bring it in, and get it fixed within 2 or 3 days.......Good luck with all that if you buy a laptop at Best Buy.
Dell XPS 15" laptop: $1999
Well you can’t sell too early but you can sell too late just sayin
That's why people pay a premium for Apple and Virgin products: because the value is there.
People think value is cool, because you don't end up looking like a schmuck when you buy something like that.
Absolutely!
Sure you could buy a cheaper laptop.
But then you’d have to use it.
Not sure about Apple, but a lot of professional gamers like a powerful PC laptop with a smaller screen due to being able to see all the opponents at once in their FOV.
1. Apple's hardware architecture has always been one of the cleanest and best in the business, and their software is beyond compare, they created the entire market for graphical user interfaces 2. Virgin Atlantic introduced incredibly high levels of service, elegant use of space, and affordable luxury in the transatlantic market while lumbering unionized fossilariums like United and TWA were still flying dingy, boring and expensive airplanes that were out of date and falling apart. The most fabulous trip I ever had was in Virgin Upper Class after Air France overbooked me in Business Class and I demanded they find a business seat for me. There, Free Marketeers of Free Republic. That's why people pay a premium for Apple and Virgin products: because the value is there. People think value is cool, because you don't end up looking like a schmuck when you buy something like that. And hipsters are all about image. The image you get from buying these products and services is that you're a smart person who may spend a fair amount of cash, but you get what you paid for, and maybe a bit more. Maybe, just maybe, Steven Jobs and Richard Branson got that.
I don't know about Emirates or BA, but Virgin is far far more pleasant to fly on than most of the other airlines I've traveled with of late, including SW, which is OK, except for the hard seats. BA codeshares with Delta, so you can book a transatlantic flight on BA, but find yourself boarding a Delta plane. I use a Mac for the simple reason that, expensive as they are, it's worth it to me to minimize virus and spybot worries. If and when those emerge as greater problems for Macs, I'll rethink it all. I recently replaced my Mac, but shopped PC's as well. One of the PC salesman told me, "get a Mac." I'm 64 years old, cool has nothing to do with it. "Cool" is reserved for my 16 year old Dodge diesel 4x4 pickup truck.
You apple fanbois are supposed to be so smart yet you always give the same retreaded comparisons. Truth is 90% of buyers will do great with $500 Dell laptop not an overloaded POS Apple lap @1799. Look up the word overkill
Always count gains attained, not profits missed!
Then I drove the Autobahn. In a Mercedes. And an Opal (same category). What were nigh unto imperceptible nuances at limited US speeds became apparent and valued when cruising at 100MPH (and vital at 140). Upon return home to "Speed Limit 55MPH", the Camry's inferior performance was glaringly obvious, even at those lower speeds.
I still have that Camry, several years later. I'd never begrudge someone wanting, buying, and enjoying a Beemer or the like; I appreciate the superior experience and value the difference, even if other Cretins don't.
Likewise, I don't quite understand why anyone would want to pay less than $2000 for a computer. Yeah you could, but...then you'd have to use it.
The 15” MacBook isn’t intended for the part of the market that uses McPCs for email, etc. (in fact, that’s where the tablet market is being pitched instead).
People who need more powerful machines will look to the $1800+ models because they NEED them, whether they’re Apple, Dell, or something else.
I have to wonder why you devote so much time & energy to telling people their preferred computing platform isn’t worth the difference, when obviously so many think it is. The reasoning has been explained to you many many times, yet you reject it and adhere to your own inferior standards, expecting others to do the same.
The Apple users often appear to be Cult driven.
One of our younger relative’s wife owns the latest I phone, Pad and a new Mac this year. She admits to be an Apple cult member.
When my HP died this spring after about 4-5 years of use, this woman told me to look into the Mac. I could have bought about 5 HPs like the one I bought for the price of the Mac. Since I don’t have a sugar daddy or sugar Mommy, I bought another HP computer.
My new HP has Windows 7 and Explorer 8, and it was working out of the box in minutes. It connected with my new HP printer with zero problems and with our Infinity/Comcast connection in seconds. It is as fast as I need. When I have used my relative’s Mac, I don’t see any difference in speed.
When this female relative visits and uses my new HP, she admits that she can’t see that it is slower than her Mac. Her 13 year old, the real computer expert, says that both work very well, and she prefers my HP keyboard over her mother’s Mac. This 13 year old IT, say that my old HPw2216h monitor works great.
The good thing about America, is if the 53% of us who pay taxes and keep the county going, can afford a Mac they have that option or my option to buy another HP and spend the differenc on nice vacations or another Hobie Kayak!
“I would really prefer a third option.”
Consider the Ubuntu flavor of Linux.
Fast, easy and FREE!
My wife’s laptop had an early hard drive failure and the back up OS was on the drive!
Microsoft was helpful, $35 to mail me a new OS on disks. No complaints from me about MS.
I installed a new HD and loaded Ubuntu.
Our daughter said “Mom will never use Linux!”
With just a little help finding replacement software for her photo collection, she has had no problems!
Having installed for many friends and family, I have had very few issues. Fast easy help is readily available.
Try it you may like it!
Did mention it’s FREE!!
http://www.ubuntu.com/download
Using a phone, or any consumer product, to prop up your self-esteem is very manly.
I buy Apple because my electronics are no longer an indentured hobby for me.
So, you are now the Overload who gets to dictate what people need? Your name isn't Mooch, is it?
Look at the build quality of any Apple product, and then check out the support after the sale - compare and contrast against the competition. If you would look at the lifespan of your average laptop (~3 yrs) and the average lifespan Apple laptop (>5 yrs), you would see that not only are the Apple laptops better built (more robust, better screen, better keyboard, better battery), upgrading the OSX is like $20 compared to upgrading MSFT (Vista to 7 means >$100).
The resale value of the Apple product line should tell you something. All you have to do is be smart enough to look at the data - and wise enough to disengage your emotions. Look at the facts, stop listening to those voices in your head.
Now, before you go off on an emotional tyrade and accuse me of being a Applefanboy, let's add some cold hard facts. I own exactly 3 apple products: a 10 yr old iPod (still works just fine, in my office right now), the iPhone 4 and the first generation iPad. I have no Macs at home. I have owned 6 Windows PC, and currently have 3 Win7 PC's at home - but after using Win8 on my laptop - I can tell you my next PC will be a Mac.
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