Tag Archives: price

Daring Fireball: Mobile Phone Keyboards

Are software touchscreen keyboards good for everyone? Certainly not. But this is another aspect of the Apple Way. Apple tries to make things that many people love, not things that all people like. The key is that they’re not afraid of the staunch criticism, and often outright derision, that comes with breaking conventions.

via Daring Fireball: Mobile Phone Keyboards.

..and you know what?

He’s damn right – Apple products aren’t for everyone, and that’s okay.

No, it’s not about “maintaining exclusivity”, or anything like that. It’s not about “being of a higher status” than someone else. Mostly, it’s just about having quality.

People have said that the Mac is a way of life – once you go Mac, you won’t go back and all that – but it’s more than that.

There’s a heap of people out there that shop on price alone. And that’s totally okay – everyone loves a good bargain, and it doesn’t make sense to be ripped off.

However, I get the feeling that those that compare spec for spec don’t take into account the other things – things like the OS, design, all the R&D money, etc. It’s those things that make the whole package, and one of the things that appeal the most to new Mac users.

Fast Food Apple Pies and Why Netbooks Suck

Netbooks remind me of Monarch Burger’s apple pie. Just as Monarch Burger tried to take the standard apple pie form and attempt to fit it into a fast food menu, the netbook approach tries to take the standard laptop form and attempt to fit it into mobile computing. The end result, to my mind, is a device that occupies an uncomfortable, middle ground between laptops and smartphones that tries to please everyone and pleases no one. Consider the factors:

  • Size: A bit too large to go into your pocket; a bit too small for regular day-to-day work.
  • Power: Slightly more capable than a smartphone; slightly less capable than a laptop.
  • Price: Slightly higher than a higher-end smartphone but lacking a phone’s capability and portability; slightly lower than a lower-end notebook but lacking a notebook’s speed and storage.

To summarize: Slightly bigger and pricier than a phone, but can’t phone. Slightly smaller and cheaper than a laptop, but not that much smaller or cheaper. To adapt a phrase I used in an article I wrote yesterday, netbooks are like laptops, but lamer.

via Fast Food Apple Pies and Why Netbooks Suck — The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century.

I don’t really get the fast food reference – but hey, whatever floats your boat, eh?

Now with less DRM!

Sure, $2.19 a song mightn’t sound too pretty, but it’s not all bad. Most of the songs in the Top 100 list of the iTunes Music Store are still at the old $1.69 price point, but now they come with less DRM, and at double the bit-rate.

However, the part that sucks is that 4 songs out of the Top 100 are at the new $2.19 price point. It’s interesting to note that those artists with $2.19 songs are all signed onto Sony for their label – Rihanna, Jason Mraz, Beyonce – Akons on there too, but I think he started his own label?

It’s not all bad. I certainly won’t be switching to BigPond Music anytime soon. 😀

UPDATE: Okay, so maybe it is a little bad – as of the 8th April 2009, 1 out of every 5 songs in the iTunes Top 100 list is priced at $2.19. Eeek! :O