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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Can Apple outgrow its reputation as a luxury brand? ]]></title>
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        <title><![CDATA[you are probably right]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3433084]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I'm sure it is already there, well seeing as nearly everything else is made in the East  lol]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3433084]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[ndveitch]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 05:15:16 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[&amp;quot;...moves the majority of the Apple business to the China.&amp;quot;]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3432700]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I thought it was already there.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3432700]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[CharlieSpencer_Palmetto]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 06:34:50 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Apple after Jobs]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3432598]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I would have to say that working with both Apple and PC, in all honesty, nowadays it boils down to personal preference. One thing I would consider is, what will happen to Apple after Jobs retires? Will they get a new boss who is only interested in the bottom line, and therefore moves the majority of the Apple business to the China. That will bring the price down drastically, and i'm sure everyone can guess what that will do to the reputation. At least it will then definitely out grow it's superior reputation  among other things. Although I do not personally use an Apple I can see why people would spend the kind of money on them that they do. They are really good machines. So in today's world it truly is down to personal choice, as it should be seen as which machine you would prefer to use and not what other people shove down your throat.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3432598]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[ndveitch]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:52:09 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[a departure from luxury brand]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3428586]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[their new Macbook line does just that:http://vimeo.com/20931631cheers!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3428586]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[skyeleith]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sun, 13 Mar 2011 09:40:52 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Response]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427927]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Regarding your last point, looking at other &quot;premium&quot; products, manufacturers do support them for a very long time. You can buy replacement parts for premium grade wood-working tools for many decades. I'm not talking about them supporting old hardware with new software, I'm talking about keeping the services available for the old OS/hardware combination and being able to get replacement parts for them.My comment was specifically about &quot;content&quot; not operating systems.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427927]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[dogknees]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:49:39 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[credit to the EC?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427913]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I thought they were equal opportunity jerks.  I gather they just don't like Microsoft and Intel.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427913]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lazarus439]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:12:28 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Neither]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427533]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I live in neither of the locations you mention.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427533]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[dogknees]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:50:32 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[You give waay to much credit to the EC]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427095]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[European Commision is about as pocketable, and demagogic as any other group that is primarily political or buerocratic. I doubt that it will be EU that will be the first to force Apple into selling the OS as a separate product (if it happens at all). Apple has a healthy bottom line despite it's small market cap, and due to it's small market cap it's under the radar enough to be avoided.Tho their marketing efforts in last few years (and I mean product management as well as advertising) might come back to punch them in the face later on, I don't see the boxed version of MacOS that is PC-friendly on the shelfs any time soon. Especially since they can always weasle their way out of it by claiming that the OS actually NEEDS their hardware to run properly.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427095]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[bojan@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:46:54 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Err.. maybe not in your part of the globe]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427080]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[You are forgetting that the world is not US and Western Europe.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3427080]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[bojan@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:36:53 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Re They Aren't Premium Products]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3426421]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[dogknees, Please support your argument.  &quot;The argument about the price only holds water if you subscribe to the idea that you should replace your phone/tablet/... every 12-24 months.&quot;And no one, Apple included is requiring you purchase new hardware in these refresh cycles.  Does Dell, IBM, HP, Acer, etc not refresh their product line at least as often?  Would you then say they are suggesting somehow that you replace your current hardware.  There are new products hitting the market  pretty darn regularly from most vendors.  You buy when you need or when that little something inside you says I just got to have.&quot;It's only the early-adopters that renew things ever 12-18 months.&quot;Agreed, but the same case is true for any vendors products.  There will always be those in any camp that just feel that they have to have the latest greatest bleeding edge device.  Oh my .2Ghz faster, I just got to have that so I can keep my bragging rights.&quot;The real problem is that Apple have built the value of the company on the backs of the early adopters and they don't have a business model for the average person that might only buy a new product from them every 5-10 years.&quot;Hmm Apple seems to be in a pretty sound financial position at the moment and I know quite a few folks running some pretty darn old Apple hardware.  Again defend your argument and I might be persuaded.&quot;They even try to exclude the average customer by requiring updated equipment to access the latest content, despite the fact that they could make it all backwards compatible if they chose to do so.&quot;Once again defend your argument.  Yes there have been OS's and Apps that over time dropped support for old hardware.  How long should any company support anything and everything ever made?  Could Apple have continued support for PPC in the current incarnation of OSX?  Well sure they could, but where is the advantage to that?  Should you limit your forward motion just so that you may allow everyone to play in the same sandbox?  Well then they should probably also build in support of 680X0 processors as well.  Let's look at the requirements of Windows 7  1GHz processor, 1GB ram 16GB drive space.  Sure you could get it to run on a machine speced to these standards, but what would the user experience be?  So let's shoot Apple for realizing that while they could keep older systems supported a little longer the user experience on such a system would suffer.  Now who get's the black eye for that.  Not Joe user who's trying to run a modern app or os on old hardware.  It would be Apple or any other Vendor for that matter because you told me it would work and, well it sucks, you lied.  So again I say support your argument.  Convince me with facts, examples.  Simply stated something, doesn't make it so.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3426421]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[tony@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:18:40 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Steve Jobs is public enemy]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425648]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I have been an anti apple guy.Reason: 1) They been using x86 parts yet we can't replace or repair those parts like how we do that with the PC.2) They been very closed and their support is hazardous to my bank accounts.3) I can do a lot more on the PC than any MAC. And about the out-of-the-box experience, manufacturers just need to hire better applition packagers.4) I don't want the IT world to be ruled by a dictator with an Apple flag.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425648]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[t3chn0m4nc3r04@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sun, 06 Mar 2011 19:01:35 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Exactly My Point]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425437]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Since Apple is the best living example of a vertical monopoly, if it gets big enough, it will run afoul of the anti-trust laws in the US, Europe or maybe both.  When that happens, it's fully possible it could be forced to &quot;unrestrict&quot; its OS.  The EU is doing something very similar with it's requirement that MS offer multiple browsers in Windows 7/Europe.There are very few fan boys who claim that there is anything in inherently different about the hardware Apple uses to make its machines.  Apples does use first quality parts, but those same parts are readily available to anyone else, except for the BIOS on the motherboard.  When 99% of those who claim absolute superiority of Apple computers over everything else, they actually mean the OS, not the hardware it runs on.  They may not say so explicitly, but it's clear from context.To be sure, there is lower quality hardware out there, but purchasing it rather than the top-of-the-line components is a choice, just as buying a Ford Fiesta in lieu of a Rolls Royce is a choice.  Most PCs from top and even second tier manufacturers operate reliably long after they have become functionally obsolete.  A client of mine just retired half a dozen Gateway Pentium III PCs that were manufactured in 2001.  They still worked perfectly, but they simply could no longer run the software the client needed to use.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425437]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lazarus439]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sat, 05 Mar 2011 11:07:24 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Correct]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425289]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Yes sir. You can buy an OSX disc but it won't just install nicely on any hardware. The &quot;hackintosh&quot; images floating around the intarwebs are just as the name implys. Not only is installing OSX on non-apple hardware unsupported, it's agenst the TOS. This means you could certainly never sell a PC will OSX on it legally. Otherwise DELL (Or companies like this) would have been selling their own Macs long ago.This is the only instance I am aware of an OS that is crippled in this way. Generally hardware manufacturers don't make all of their software and vice versa.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425289]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Spitfire_Sysop]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:58:26 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Yes, I Have]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425220]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[When did Apple start selling OS/X as a standalone product?  I was under the impression that the license requires it to be run only on Apple hardware and that there's something in OS/X that looks at the BIOS to make sure it is.As I recall, hacking OS/X to not make that check was the basis for Apple to shut down that company.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425220]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lazarus439]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:47:05 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Ever hear of Hackintosh?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425186]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Mac OS can run on many peecees other than Macs or the 'iWhateverrrs&quot;Forcing Apple to sell its OS separately is silly. You can already buy Mac OS X alone, but not the iOS. Who'd want to buy iOS separately anyway. It can't even fully multitask like my 5-year-old phone can, or android, or symbian.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3425186]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[suncatTR]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:12:27 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[But I already own one]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424797]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[and am happy with it.  Why spend money on a replacement and / or time learning it?A nice spreadsheet is exactly what I DON'T want; I can create that myself (and have before).  This is a nice database app where I don't have to do any data entry at all.  It's $25 subscription renewal includes a web link that does all the team updating, scoring and reporting for me.  (And I don't pay that myself; it's funded through the players' annual dues.)Again like Linux, in order for me to consider switching to a Mac it's going to have to do more than just duplicate what I can do with Windows and my existing apps.  There has to be some additional feature or function that I personally find beneficial, some compelling reason for me to make that leap.But it now occurs to me I just bought a new Dell desktop with Vista about two years ago.  I'm not going to be in the market for a new system of any brand or OS for at least three more years, possibly as many as five.  Perhaps Apple (or Linux or someone as yet unseen) will have something to offer by then to change my opinion.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424797]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[CharlieSpencer_Palmetto]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:28:52 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Good style, functionality, repair is user hostile]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424735]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I've worked for Apple. I like many of their products. However, they're moving so far toward style trouncing functionality and affordability, it's getting harder to justify the extra cost--and Apple's products remain expensive. iPhone is perceived to be classy, sexy, a computer, not just a phone--but it's a lousy phone, bad antenna, and very breakable, so I use Nokia phones for their excellent reception and sound quality. My Nokia smart phone has an easily replaceable battery, 5 mpix camera, and doesn't break when I drop it--the back falls off, battery pops out, put it back and the phone works fine.I like my iMac but dread the annoyance of taking an hour or two to replace the PRAM/BIOS battery, something I can do in our HP PC in minutes. Our iPods have died, or at least the batteries; it's a prying PITA to replace batteries, some even need to be soldered.I really like Mac OS X. I run Windows programs with Crossover Mac, and also have Ubuntu. With Intel Macs, the hardware exceptions are rare for multiple operating systems.Whenever I get so annoyed that I consider buying a PC, I work on a Windows PC and remember why I have an expensive Mac. It's insulting that Apple, primarily Steve Jobs, dares to make computers and devices that are difficult to open and repair, while it costs over $2000 to buy a Macintosh computer that's easy to open and upgrade/repair. All other Apple products are disposable. Too bad. I can't see the iPad as much more than a very expensive, breakable consumer device. I'd like to see something more like the Itronix tablet with full, not mobile, OS, but not so ruggedly expensive. I'm looking for the best PC to turn into a Hackintosh, like one of the Lenovo multitouch tablet notebooks/netbooks.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424735]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[suncatTR]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:00:10 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Some &amp;quot;buck the trend&amp;quot;]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424691]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Someone I know has just got round to buying an iPad - around the same time the iPad 2 was released.  He bought it for the luxury and prestige, rather than any sort of proper usability.So, with no real understanding of technology advances even in Apple products (he should have waited for the exact-same-price iPad 2) and no real aim for &quot;working&quot; with the iPad in a business sense, he still bought one - I don't think Apple will shake off the luxury brand image, since it is what shifts their products out the stores.I personally would want something I can work on and with - cheap to maintain, upgrade, and (if it comes to it) repair, and can run the software and games I like. &quot;Luxury&quot; could mean putting in a cooling system, or newer parts, or styling the case (or buying a prestyled case).For me, that isn't a Mac - Apple's products half depend on their styling out the box for a sale, while PCs depend more on their &quot;functionality&quot; and upgrade path. If Mac users seriously looked under the hood they'd find a 400 Pounds PC they paid 800 Pounds for, and the repair costs could get you a normal PC (case in point, the guy with the iPad has a macbook that went in to get the logic board replaced - for 400 Pounds. The problem? The network port stopped working).Before people talk about usability and ease-of-use of Apple products, the same guy as above can't use macbook; he frequently asks me to insert columns into spreadsheets, resize documents, print images off, find emails in his inbox and files on his hard drive etc. - again, styling and the appearance of &quot;luxury&quot; must have been a major factor in the purchase.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424691]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[DSG7]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:54:54 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[a luxury brand]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424659]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I still think they are priced to high for most people, in this economy where people have to cut back the price matters most.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424659]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[vitec@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:54:53 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Big Apple = Monopoly??]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424470]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Particularly in the computer arena, Apple can't allow itself to get too big.  Arguably, Microsoft got to be a software monopoly, but aside from mice and keyboards, never set a serious foot in the hardware side of computers.  If Apple allows itself to get too big in the computer arean, it will get slapped down as a classic vertical monopoly as it controls everything from supply chain to sales. That might be necessarily be all bad, however.  Perhaps DoJ or the EU will force Apple to sell its OS without requiring it be be delivered on a computer.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-341883-3424470]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lazarus439]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:42:48 -0800</pubDate>
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