Comments on: Apple Marketing Makes Wide Eyed Zombies

By: Ry

Ry — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:35:22 +0000

I bought a macbook simply for the editing program, Final Cut Pro. no complaints i love the computer, and didn’t buy it for the fuzzy feeling

By: Rich Reed

Rich Reed — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:47:43 +0000

I had been a PC user for 20 years. Friends of mine in California convinced me that I MUST get an IMAC. After one last attempt to get support from Microsoft I decided to purchase a new IMAC with the Leopard OS. What a fiasco. I wen to the Apple store. It full of nerdy looking kids running around. I rarely got the same answer to my questions regarding the IMAC. I got a lot of hype but very little reality. I was impressed with the ability to run win xp on the IMAC and use MS Office 2003. I was told that they had a version of office that was JUST LIKE Microsoft called Entourage. This is a fairy tale. The Apple version is much different. I was also told that I only needed the 1 gb of ram to run the system. Once I installed the Parallels program (for running win xp) the system slowed to a crawl and Parallels started crashing. I was told that they would transfer all the data if I paid $99 for the “One On One” program. I explained that my data was crucial and that I wanted to be assured all of it was transferred properly. It was not. I lost most of my notes from the Office 2003 contacts file and many of the phone number. I also was told that it would take 24-72 hours before I could get my new machine. I called when the 72 hours was up and was informed that they had lost my paperwork and that nothing had been done. I raised so much hell that they had it done the next day. I picked it up but when I got it home I discovered that some of the things that I wanted transferred had not been. I took it back. Then I had to take the machine 2 more times because I could not utilize the e-mail program in Entourage to send e-mail. I tech support several times and they were absolutely no help. I then had to take it back to the store. They did some things to it and said it would work now. I got it home and it didn’t the next day I took it back. I left it there and they called back later to say that it was fixed. I googled the problem and there were many other people having the same or similar problems. I told the people at the Apple store this but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other. I was told again that it was fixed, but when I got home it wasn’t. I finally called Microsoft and they fixed it immediately.
If they know they have a problem they should find out the solution themselves, instead of putting their customers through what I was put thru. Apparently they are all programmed to deny that they have any problems with the new Leopard OS or maybe they just don’t care.
I rank their customer service right up there with Microsoft.

By: Scoble Nails It - Apple’s Brand Promise » PC Mechanic

Scoble Nails It - Apple’s Brand Promise » PC Mechanic — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:09:38 +0000

[...] this kind of response from anybody. It is like I said a while back, Apple’s marketing makes wide-eyed zombies out of [...]

By: john

john — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 03:24:09 +0000

There’s another quite important thing to mention here, apple has developed an operating system for their computers that is ACE and does not allow for malware and viruses to f-ck up the computer (in fact there is hardly any malware or viruses for osx).

Their gadgets, are sure to get peeps to buy macs in the end, but anyhow, if peeps do, they will get a simpler and less troublesome life using the OSX operating system that more or less never breaks.

But yeah, I agree, Apple are smart, and their mareketing dep. should be priced for their excellence.

By: Juman

Juman — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:57:03 +0000

I love apple. They design cool looking stuff, that gets knocked off and improved in china for 1/4 the price.
So if the sheep want to all go use Macs, that’s fine with me… I’ll just keep buying the superior Chinese rip offs, and apple buyers can feel all snobby, and help fund the design of the next innovation in visual style. Everyone wins!

By: jj

jj — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 04:13:53 +0000

I have only owned an ipod, and when I went to a Iriver, I was dismayed at how poor the software was (user interface).

I think you skip over the fact that Apple is about user experience, and user interface is so important. Mac OSX really is a much better designed OS than Windows. Its why I am going to buy my first mac soon.

Design: Apple wins here, and its not just an irrelevant point, why does everyone check out sports cars and beautiful houses and nice furniture etc etc?? – its because design is important to people. Its not an irrelevant feature. Prepare to pay a premium, if noone else can compete with the design stakes.

You are totally right about the marketing. Its pure genious. I want apple stuff even when I think it doesn’t have everything and its a little bit more expensive. But I think without the design and user interface/software, no one would care about Apple.

There are some definite annoying things about Apple – like really annoying, but there are some positive things too – the allure of apple is not just illusionary – not just all about zombies tripping over each other – people want things which are designed well and which have a strong identity in terms of brand and as an item.

I think Apple should be regarded as one of the companies which has spearheaded the movement for well designed electronic items. The industrial design of their products has constantly been uplifting for the industry which has always struggled a bit with quality presentation of electronic goods. Things are getting better now, but remember how things used to be.

By: lpmiller

lpmiller — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:58:21 +0000

you are a little confused on the warranty. it’s 90 days free phone support (web support is for the full year) and a full year warranty. The 249 is for apple care, which extends the warranty to 3 years. This is not different from dell.

By: Bob Plumer

Bob Plumer — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:48:56 +0000

I’ve often wondered what the allure of Apple was. Yes they build quality stuff I don’t argue that. It seems as if the image of exclusivity makes it irresistible even though the stuff is priced higher than comparative products. I sort of picture it as buying a Cadillac vs. Chevrolet. Both will get you from point A to B the same. It’s just a matter of how much you want to spend to get there.

By: Wayne Smallman

Wayne Smallman — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:18:06 +0000

When looking at the all-new Apple as opposed the Apple of the 80s through the late 90s, they rarely put a foot wrong these days.

So their success is — and you rightly point out — down to a number of factors, not just the products themselves.

It’s that sense of exclusivity that helps bolster the sphere of expectation.

However, when Apple do get things wrong — as they did with the recent price cut on the iPhone — they start looking like the old Apple again.

In fairness, S. P. Jobs did release an open letter to explain their reasoning. But the bottom line is, while Apple got the price drop right, the timing was totally wrong…