Can You Really Afford To Buy Apple’s Products?

Macworld is always exciting, even when the new product announcements are disappointments. No matter what Apple does, there’s always a disappointment somewhere.

The new and diminutive MacBook Air does not really disappoint. Unless you think about it. It’s another beautiful and expensive toy from Apple. One of many owned by each Macworld attendee.

It’s alright to argue with me about MacBook Air being called ‘expensive.’ Expense is relative, right? At $1,800, Air is less expensive than the ultra light models from Toshiba and Sony, both of which have smaller screens and keyboards.

However, Air is more expensive than a MacBook, and about the only thing really notably better than a MacBook is that the air is half the size. Not half the basic length and width dimensions. But thinner. Really thin. Really elegant. Really lustful.

That’s my point. Apple has come up with another product for which to lust, a beautifully crafted machine that costs more than the utilitarian MacBook line without offering more, but slightly less than the MacBook Pro line which offers much, much more.

Maybe this is the so-called Apple Tax that I hear and read about from time to time. Whatever it is, Apple is Everywhere™ these days, just as Microsoft once wanted Windows Everywhere to be everywhere. Apple’s toys and gadgets and machines are what we want and what we’re willing to pay for to keep up the addiction habit.

What do most PC owners, business or personal users, get from Microsoft? Windows, Microsoft Office, and a few and somewhat obscure utility applications. Most people know about Windows and Office. Those are the standards.

What about Apple? Increasingly, for Apple’s growing number of customers, it’s a Mac on the desktop, a notebook Mac, an iPod of one model or another, now the iPhone. There’s the upgrades to Mac OS X, upgrades to iLife ‘08, upgrades to the pro applications.

That’s not all. With Apple we also have the lustful Apple TV Take 2 which works so smartly with iTunes Store and the new movie rentals. What’s not to like?

Then, to feed my Apple Addiction™ Steve introduces a 21st century Cube in the form of an ultra light notebook to die for. MacBook Air.

Yes, everyone here at Macworld wants an Air. I honestly think some Mac users would buy it just to be able to touch it.

Think about it. Air is not quite half the weight of a MacBook but it does less. Mostly. There’s no extra USB port, no FireWire port, no Ethernet port, no hard drive expansion capability, no removable battery, and it costs more. But everyone here wants one. How does Apple do that?

Nobody is twisting my arm, or any arms or other appendages attached to Apple’s more than 100-million customers. It’s a choice, right? But it’s a choice to buy Apple’s growing list of Must Have™ and lustful products following the aura and influence and advertising from the company’s savvy and spiritual leader, Steve Jobs.

Can you say Time Capsule? No wonder wireless backup was dropped from Time Machine when OS X Leopard was launched last year. Apple had another lustful product idea-- marry the slick Airport Extreme with a big hard drive and let Time Machine do the magic.

Apple is Everywhere™ these days. It’s almost to the point where I can no longer afford to be a member of the church, or viewed another way, no longer afford to pay my junkie.

Off Topic Note: Here’s a few questions for Mac users: (1) What’s the world’s fastest browser? (2) What’s the best notebook for Mac users? (3) What’s a good back up strategy for your Mac?