Competition is supposed to erode ALL excessive profits, so that is what is happening. PCs (incl. Apple) have largely become commodity products, which makes it almost impossible to compete on anything BUT price.
And why so obsessed about quality? We throw away millions of WORKING PCs every year because they are no longer meeting our (vanity) needs. So that means we should build them to last longer?
Low end vs high end: I have two Toshiba 15" notebooks, a low end one Core Duo with integrated graphics and a high end Core2 Duo with dedicated graphics and pricey bells and whistles. The higher end just runs too hot, It is a constant challenge to keep it clean enough to prevent the CPU from overheating and throttling down. And why exactly would I pay extra for that? And incidentally, the screen, casing, keyboard etc. are identical on the two systems. On the high end system, I paid extra (and probably through the nose) for more RAM, bigger HDD, "better" CPU, dedicated graphics, Vista Ultimate, better sound, fancy track pad, bluetooth, etc. The high end system cost twice that of the low end system, and I am sure it was more profitable for both Toshiba and the retailer. But the QUALITY is the SAME.
No, this issue is just the universe unfolding as it should, and much ado about nothing. And if I had to do it over again, I would not buy a high end notebook. It just isn't worth it.
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