Is that the same Marker that makes the bindings? They should have some brand loyalty inherent in that though. Interesting comparison with North Face though, given that they didn't really achieve overwhelming sales (IMO) until they created some products with lower price points/other products price points rose.
I always wanted North Face stuff - super functional, cool designs, great colours - but too bloody expensive. I picked up a Gore-Tex shell with a Gore Windstopper fleece for under $100 on ebay, brand new. Sure, new stuff is expensive, but man, I hardly shop at retail for clothes anymore. There are other great Gore products out there and I used to buy them from a store called Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC.com) because they were cheaper. Well, their prices rose and North Face fell or stayed the same. I like the fit and design of the NF stuff better and I don't have to put up with the pro-organic, holistic, granola crunching staff anymore. Price point not much different.
With respect to Apple, I'd say they finally figured it out. I kind of want an Ipod, but can't really get any honest answers with respect to the Dell competition. I don't hate Dell, my computer runs fine and I know enough to fix it if I have to on my own. But I hate Oprah and she recommends the Dell. But I also hate all the Ipod wannabe's. Not the folx here, but the university aged gotta have one to be cool crowd. I like the idea of having all my discs on one player, that's neat. But reading Jeff's comments about it being half full with 200 discs makes me a little concerned. I haven't counted lately, but I'm easily way over 300 and probably closer to 500, so now space becomes an issue
Maybe I'm better off for the time being sticking with my Sony mini-disc and just recording the songs I really want to work out to. That's the only place that I really use a player. At home I prefer to hear my wife and kid, at work I use the phone way too much to have buds in place and it's illegal to drive with one on, though it could be used with my car stereo, but I like the variety of radio too.
As far as figuring it out goes, I still don't think they'll draw that many people away from PC's. As Chris pointed out, expensive. I disagree a bit with Chris as to the quality of components - I owned three Macs prior to shifting to PC's and all were stable and quick, even with slower processor speeds than the comparably priced PC's. But we switched away from being avowed Mac fans because work for both of us was PC based. Sure you can get software on a Mac to mimic a PC (SoftWindows?) but why bother. Most people don't come close to tapping the potential of anything other than their hard drive, so what would the necessity be. I also don't buy into the "our product is better because it's sexier/trendier/hotter" bull****. I know/knew Mac's were good computers, I sure as hell don't need some jackass from U2 flaunting it in my face. You play great music, you cannot save the world and some of your actions are horribly misguided - you cannot relate to the poor. The sentiment is noble, yes. Sorry, pet peeve about musicians/actors trying to be something more than entertainers
If both workplaces go to Mac's, great, we'll switch back and be happy. I just don't see my employer doing that on the basis of a handheld music player.
