02-21-2007, 01:56 AM
[quote The Grim Ninja][quote elmo3]whoops, then you get a beautiful monitor that you end up throwing away when you no longer want the computer it's bolted to.
Damn. If only Macs didn't have such poor resale value.
That's not the point. It's NEVER good when the monitor is bolted to the computer. Eventually, NO ONE will want the computer--which means a perfectly good monitor gets thrown in the trash, increasing the whole waste problem.
And as the iMac gets older the fact that it has an attached monitor has increasingly less value, because people don't buy used computers because of the attached monitor--they buy used computers for their usefulness as computers. As the usefulness of the computer goes down, nothing about the monitor can or will change that.
Plus, the market for such a computer is by definition limited. I have all the monitors I need, personally chosen by myself for their various qualities. If I need a new Macintosh, I am not ever looking at iMacs because I don't need the monitor.
So much for resale value. By definition, the iMac resale audience is limited, which also limits its resale value.
Choice is good. It's like those cars with expensive run-flat tires that cost $300 each, minimum, to replace and for which there are no other competing brands and styles of tire. You're stuck with the one type of tire, which is a compromise and which may or may not suffice for your real needs. Give me choice every time. A Macintosh computer has to come from Apple, so there's no real choice there--but its display can come from anywhere and have any varying number of qualities that makes it more suitable for its purpose and user.
Damn. If only Macs didn't have such poor resale value.
That's not the point. It's NEVER good when the monitor is bolted to the computer. Eventually, NO ONE will want the computer--which means a perfectly good monitor gets thrown in the trash, increasing the whole waste problem.
And as the iMac gets older the fact that it has an attached monitor has increasingly less value, because people don't buy used computers because of the attached monitor--they buy used computers for their usefulness as computers. As the usefulness of the computer goes down, nothing about the monitor can or will change that.
Plus, the market for such a computer is by definition limited. I have all the monitors I need, personally chosen by myself for their various qualities. If I need a new Macintosh, I am not ever looking at iMacs because I don't need the monitor.
So much for resale value. By definition, the iMac resale audience is limited, which also limits its resale value.
Choice is good. It's like those cars with expensive run-flat tires that cost $300 each, minimum, to replace and for which there are no other competing brands and styles of tire. You're stuck with the one type of tire, which is a compromise and which may or may not suffice for your real needs. Give me choice every time. A Macintosh computer has to come from Apple, so there's no real choice there--but its display can come from anywhere and have any varying number of qualities that makes it more suitable for its purpose and user.