Quote:
Originally Posted by dmaul1114
... The hardware just isn't worth the cost. ... more just the iPod line which I've always found inferior in features to stuff offered by the competition.
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Not to turn this into a Good vs. Evil debate, but generally, Apple boxes are better designed and better built, and only a little more expensive, if you compare apples to apples. I use Macs for work, and a PC (several over the years) for my Home Theater. Generally, the build quality of the Apples is noticeably superior.
As to the iPod/iPhone part, yes, there are cheaper alternatives, as well as alternatives which do more. I still keep a heavily hacked HTC phone running WM 6.1, because it has a real turn-by-turn GPS I use when I travel. But, the UI of the iPhone is light-years better: much more intuitive and easier to use. BTW, I've never been even tempted to use my HTC as an MP3 player - it's just too much of a pain (even though its interface is hacked to look like an iPod:-)
On a similar design note, I didn't get the K1 precisely because its looks were offensive to me.
Finally, paper books will go away, to a large extent. As e-ink type technologies produce larger, cheaper, better-looking screens, and layout on screen improves, there is no reason why ebooks should not replace paper for most applications.
BTW, I am sure at one point some people were arguing about the virtues of parchment, compared to the cheap feel of paper.