[El Pre$idente]

Regarding Sherlock:

-Flights only checks North American flights

-Stocks only checks the North American stock market

-Yellow Pages only checks the US directory

-Ebay does not check ebay.co.uk

-Movies only checks North American cinemas

So what is the point of setting localisation to UK/Europe in the prefs when most of Sherlock's services are useless outside North America? And how does Apple have the audacity to advertise this application on their UK and Europe apple.com pages? I'm still waiting for iPhoto print services too.

[Nexus5]

Originally posted by El Pre$idente:
Regarding Sherlock:

-Flights only checks North American flights

-Stocks only checks the North American stock market

-Yellow Pages only checks the US directory

-Ebay does not check ebay.co.uk

-Movies only checks North American cinemas

So what is the point of setting localisation to UK/Europe in the prefs when most of Sherlock's services are useless outside North America? And how does Apple have the audacity to advertise this application on their UK and Europe apple.com pages? I'm still waiting for iPhoto print services too.

Yes, Apple still is an very US-centric company. Thats very sad.

nexus5.

[Developer]

Localizing Sherlock plug-ins requires more than just translating the user interface. They'd have to write new plug-ins for every country.

Maybe we'll see Sherlock auto update them on saturday?

[:haripu:]

However, there's one good thing to it. Now we have a decent file find function back and are not forced to use the bloated sherlock application any more.

it has become less and less usable over the past two years. now it think that google gives me more relevant hits on my queries.

so: sherlock pretty useless, ichat AIM only. why do i have the feeling that people outside the US get less value for the same (or more) money?

[Sven G]

Originally posted by :haripu::
why do i have the feeling that people outside the US get less value for the same (or more) money?

Actually, in Europe (with the various VATs, etc.) Jaguar costs � 166, which is considerably more than US $ 129 (euro and dollar having approximately the same value)!

Apple's international customers indeed pay much more both for software and computers, but in the end get less - really unfair, IMO!

[seb2]

Originally posted by Developer:
Localizing Sherlock plug-ins requires more than just translating the user interface. They'd have to write new plug-ins for every country.

yes and no. translate works everywhere and also i tried the "flights" for inner-german and inner-european routes and it works perfectly. -- it just doesn't autocomplete the names of german airports...

[seb2]

Originally posted by Sven G:


Actually, in Europe (with the various VATs, etc.) Jaguar costs � 166, which is considerably more than US $ 129 (euro and dollar having approximately the same value)!

Apple's international customers indeed pay much more both for software and computers, but in the end get less - really unfair, IMO!

plus, shipping is free in the u.s. -- here, it's not.

[Developer]

Originally posted by seb2:


plus, shipping is free in the u.s. -- here, it's not.

plus, despite of �15 express shipping my 10.2 is still showing as 'being assembled'. I guess I won't get much before friday (next week).

[eno]

Originally posted by Nexus5:


Yes, Apple still is an very US-centric company. Thats very sad.

nexus5.

True in many ways, but not in others. I for one am quite impressed with the way Apple's OS handles foreign languages, fonts and scripts.

[undotwa]

Actually, the fact that Apple has those country preferences in Sherlock is very promising.

It shows off Sherlock's modular design, so anyone can write localized modules for Sherlock. I'm pretty sure Apple is too. Just give them time.

[Jamie]

MacWorld UK recently quoted a representitive of Apple UK who said that a local version of Sherlock 3 was in progress.

Also, Apple UK is working on partnering with a company like Fotango to bring iPhoto prints to the UK.

J

[mrfrost]

Do I need to start a new topic titled "How useless is Sherlock outside the US/UK" now, or should I wait a little longer?

[curmi]

It's also pretty useless in Australia.

Actually, OSX is very good at foreign language font support (extremely good). The problems the Apple guys have are:

+ They aren't good at foreign language application/service support.
+ They think the English speaking world is happy that US English (and US Letter) are the default.

The problem is that they are not quite an international company. If they were, they would have developers in other countries writing sherlock plugins so that on day one of Jaguar release there would be a number of countries supported - not just US now, others later.

[noisefloor]

Originally posted by :haripu::
Now we have a decent file find function back and are not forced to use the bloated sherlock application any more.

Amen. Problem is...

It's slow as hell and it's not multithreaded, so doing a search locks up the whole finder. Which is WORSE than sherlock.

Right now Find is one of the worst features in 10.2, hopefully it will be fixed for the next version.

[WJMoore]

Originally posted by Developer:


plus, despite of �15 express shipping my 10.2 is still showing as 'being assembled'. I guess I won't get much before friday (next week).

We get free (standard) shipping here in AU but we're still in the same situation as you guys regaring Sherlock and the "Still be Assembled" message.

[dfiler]

It seems to me that some people are bashing apple soley because there is a discrepancy between the cost and features for US users and users outside of the US. While I will agree that North Americans can be annoyingly oblivious to the rest of the planet, I don't think apple deserves any critisism on this topic.

Apple has always done an excelent job of future-proofing their software so that it can be localized with ease. This was one of the major reasons for a multiforked filesystem in the original mac OS. It was no easy task, and one that the rest of the software industry didn't bother with. Localization was accomplished by allowing key things such as menu and dialog text to be modified without recompiling code. When Steve and cohorts left to form NeXT, they took this one step further in a number of ways via packages. Now, with OS X, they built in full Unicode support and include all languages in the same version so that users can switch back and forth with ease. Compare this with Microsoft, or just about any other software company and you will see that Apple is taking great efforts to treat non US users with equal respect.

However, Apple is a business. Efficient software engineering and management practices dictate certain release schedules. It would be horrendously inefficient to develope multiple languages in parallel during the beta phase. It is _far_ more efficient to work soley in your native langauge so that more iterations of rapid prototyping can be accomplished in the set time frame. Once the internal and external APIs of a particular piece of software are near finalization, developement work can branch out without work being scrapped by changes in program design. Why would a company delay the release of the first branch until all branches are finished? Just to make impatient people less jealous?

Apple has finished (mostly) the new Sherlock API and is probably hard at work at the localization process.

As an American, I have no problem with the fact that Sony products make it to market quicker in Japan. This phenomenon isn't contingent upon the Japanese being conceited or inconsiderate. Rather, its because packaging, government regulations, marketing, and even some engineering/design work is all more difficult when dealing with the less-familiar. In this example, the less-familiar is a foreign market.

Does this thread remind anyone else of little kids at an ice cream shop? You know, the kids who throw temper tantrums because they didn't get their cone first.

[kzmk]

i wonder what you'd say if you were in our situation...

[mitchell_pgh]

Considering Sherlock 3 isn't even out yet... you can't really bitch...

I'm sure they will work on this...

[Gee4orce]

Well, there has to be some reason to keep on using Watson...

Actually, Watson's UK support is pretty bad too - but that's more the fault of the web sites it screen scrapes and/or the lack of (demand for) customised plugins

[seb2]

Originally posted by dfiler:
As an American, I have no problem with the fact that Sony products make it to market quicker in Japan. This phenomenon isn't contingent upon the Japanese being conceited or inconsiderate. Rather, its because packaging, government regulations, marketing, and even some engineering/design work is all more difficult when dealing with the less-familiar. In this example, the less-familiar is a foreign market.

i don't want to be picky, but what if some new sony cd player had a few buttons disabled in the u.s. version and was about 10 - 15 % more in the u.s. -- wouldn't that feel a bit strange?

or if you bought a car from a british company and even the u.s. version had the steering wheel on the right side? they could simply say: "well, that's what we do here"

but i don't want to start any flame wars here. let's take each other's hands and sing.

[Eug]

I only use the Movie section, and it works perfectly in Canada. Not surprising though, since many of our companies are US/Canada combo companies anyway.

[kmkkid]

Originally posted by Sven G:


Actually, in Europe (with the various VATs, etc.) Jaguar costs � 166, which is considerably more than US $ 129 (euro and dollar having approximately the same value)!

Apple's international customers indeed pay much more both for software and computers, but in the end get less - really unfair, IMO!

Us Canadians also get a bum deal. We pay alot more for all apple products and hardware, and apple isnt doing a thing about it. At least they lowered some prices in Europe, were right next door and see no price equality.

It's about $3600 CAD after taxes for the new 17" iMac compared to the US' $2000 .... $1600 more ....

/me wanders off to cry a river

Chris

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Ya the Yellow pages do not work in Canada. The plug-in for Watson did.

[Eug]

Originally posted by kmkkid:


Us Canadians also get a bum deal. We pay alot more for all apple products and hardware, and apple isnt doing a thing about it. At least they lowered some prices in Europe, were right next door and see no price equality.

It's about $3600 CAD after taxes for the new 17" iMac compared to the US' $2000 .... $1600 more ....

/me wanders off to cry a river

Chris

I dunno what you're talking about.

BEFORE tax:

Top of the line iMac on US store: US$1999 (CAD$3119)
Top of the line iMac on Cad store: CAD$3149 (US$2019)

That's a US$20 price difference, or all of 1%.

[pinlo]

Originally posted by Nexus5:


Yes, Apple still is an very US-centric company. Thats very sad.

Agreed. And considering one of Apple's main goals is to increase their market share, it's not a very good way for them to be.

However, many web sites are also very US-centric, and these are the web sites with whom Apple has made their deals.

I wonder if Apple has (or will have) a plugin SDK for Sherlock similar to what Watson has (they copied everything else...). That way, non-US users could at least have a way of "filling in the gaps".

I know it's far from ideal.

[Developer]

Originally posted by pinlo:

However, many web sites are also very US-centric, and these are the web sites with whom Apple has made their deals.

You would be surprised to hear that such web sites exist in other countries too.

[pinlo]

Originally posted by Developer:


You would be surprised to hear that such web sites exist in other countries too.

You would be surprised to learn that not *all* Americans are the way you imagine them to be (although most probably are).

In fact, I know that they do exist, and I was especially careful to choose my words in a fair and accurate manner. I think my statement still stands, and I honestly feel your pain.

In case you didn't catch it the first time:

I'm on your side.

[Nexus5]

They are still working on it: Now there is a "Terms of use" btn in the channels. Also the list of content providers gets longer.

nexus5

[seb2]

haha, and they don't seem to encode non-low-bit-stuff; try entering "doppelg�nger" in the dictionary pane -- no results. then enter "doppelganger", you get the result for "doppelg�nger" -- whatever...

[kmkkid]

Originally posted by Eug:

I dunno what you're talking about.

BEFORE tax:

Top of the line iMac on US store: US$1999 (CAD$3119)
Top of the line iMac on Cad store: CAD$3149 (US$2019)

That's a US$20 price difference, or all of 1%.

It's the fact that $3500 is ALOT of money in Canada. You can get 2 GREAT PC's for that price, it's just outrageous, sorry if your rich and can't understand I know it's not a $1600 price diff when converted I should have made that clearer. But these major companies should lower the prices for foreign markets if they actually want to sell products internationally. I'd say $2500 CAD b4 taxes wouldnt be so bad, but still expensive. You know apple is charging way more then it actually takes to make their products, so a little leway on foreign markets wouldnt hurt them any.

I know I definately will be glad when our dollar is at par with the US'. (Predicted for late spring 2003!!) then I wont be so bitchy

Chris

[dfiler]

Originally posted by seb2:


i don't want to be picky, but what if some new sony cd player had a few buttons disabled in the u.s. version and was about 10 - 15 % more in the u.s. -- wouldn't that feel a bit strange?

or if you bought a car from a british company and even the u.s. version had the steering wheel on the right side? they could simply say: "well, that's what we do here"

but i don't want to start any flame wars here. let's take each other's hands and sing.

What if? It happens all the time. How come my Japnaimation has horrible lip-syncing? Japanese game systems routinely have more features in the native versions. They're also released in Asia/Pacific region long before north america and europe. Mobile phones routinely have more features in their native markets. Music and video entertainment is usually released first in the market from which it originated. There is nothing wrong with this phenomenon!

You should reserve your critisism for companies and organizations who snide other cultures and markets as a result of xenophonia or bigotry. Apple is definately not in this category. If anything, they are a role model, going out of their way to engineer software that can be easily localized.

If the world was homogenous, speaking one language, having one culture, and having no trade regulation, then you might have a case. Until that day, if you don't live near where a product is made, you just might have to wait a bit longer for for the product. And here's the real shocker, that product just might be tailored for the people its easiest to sell it to.

[The Evener]

Originally posted by Eug:

I dunno what you're talking about.

BEFORE tax:

Top of the line iMac on US store: US$1999 (CAD$3119)
Top of the line iMac on Cad store: CAD$3149 (US$2019)

That's a US$20 price difference, or all of 1%.

Dollar for dollar, we can't complain, you are certainly right on that score. I think the poster was making a broader point about affordability -- it's not as if the average income of Canadians is 45% more than their American counterparts. So while the conversion is fair, Canadians pay more for a similar Apple product based on their average income. Some companies, such as Ford and GM, actually sell their cars at a cheaper price in Canada than in the US if based on a dollar-to-dollar conversion -- essentially, they have chosen to price it according to local market conditions. So, a $28,000 US Dodge Caravan doesn't sell for $43,000 Cdn, but more around $31,000 Cdn ($20,000 US). This is creating headaches for automakers since grey market dealers are coming into Canada, buying up cars, and then selling them in the US market, pocketing the difference. Our dollar is trading at a dismal 63� compared to the US greenback which is the main reason for the huge discrepency. Of course, we are not alone on this -- the Aussies and Kiwis have also been hammered by money traders.

On the Sherlock front, I think those outside North America have a point about its functionality, or lack thereof. I think if Apple made it clear localization was "coming soon" then people would feel a lot better. If non-Americans took the glacial speed of iPhoto localization for ordering books/prints as any indication, no wonder they are concerned.

[pinlo]

Originally posted by dfiler:

If the world was homogenous, speaking one language, having one culture, and having no trade regulation, then you might have a case. Until that day, if you don't live near where a product is made, you just might have to wait a bit longer for for the product. And here's the real shocker, that product just might be tailored for the people its easiest to sell it to.

Please try to be more confrontational in future posts.

[talisker]

Originally posted by The Evener:


Dollar for dollar, we can't complain, you are certainly right on that score. I think the poster was making a broader point about affordability -- it's not as if the average income of Canadians is 45% more than their American counterparts. So while the conversion is fair, Canadians pay more for a similar Apple product based on their average income.

It's an interesting point. Apple does seem to price its products at broadly speaking the same amount (give or take taxes etc) everywhere, irrespective of local market conditions. eg. the UK/New Zealand exchange rate is roughly 3 NZ$ to the pound, but people in New Zealand only get paid in NZ$ about twice what people in the UK get in pounds. So Apple products (and many other imports) are in real terms about 1.5 times as expensive in NZ compared to the UK.

But I don't think they can really be criticised too much for this. After all it's a commercial decision - it's perfectly reasonable for them to sell at the same price everywhere. If as a result they find their sales in a particular country are too low, they may choose to do something about it, but I dont see that they are obliged to. In fact, with the internet giving us easy cross-country price comparisons, and the introduction of a single currency zone in Europe for example, fixed global pricing seems increasingly to be the way to go. I'm not an economist, but over time I would suspect this will act as a force to narrow gaps in costs of living between countries.

[Eug]

Originally posted by The Evener:


Dollar for dollar, we can't complain, you are certainly right on that score. I think the poster was making a broader point about affordability -- it's not as if the average income of Canadians is 45% more than their American counterparts. So while the conversion is fair, Canadians pay more for a similar Apple product based on their average income. Some companies, such as Ford and GM, actually sell their cars at a cheaper price in Canada than in the US if based on a dollar-to-dollar conversion -- essentially, they have chosen to price it according to local market conditions. So, a $28,000 US Dodge Caravan doesn't sell for $43,000 Cdn, but more around $31,000 Cdn ($20,000 US). This is creating headaches for automakers since grey market dealers are coming into Canada, buying up cars, and then selling them in the US market, pocketing the difference. Our dollar is trading at a dismal 63� compared to the US greenback which is the main reason for the huge discrepency. Of course, we are not alone on this -- the Aussies and Kiwis have also been hammered by money traders.

Yes, but the computer market is quite different than cars. For OEM computer parts, one expects to pay in the same ballpark in Canada or the US, or even Tokyo for that matter. Cars on the other hand, vary much more greatly.

If $3200 is too much to pay for a top-of-the-line iMac, then don't pay it. You can't blame Apple for your Canadian employer paying you less. Indeed, my main desktop is a PC, partially because of price. Interestingly however, the same desktop would cost about the same in Canada and the US.

P.S. My car (Toyota Prius), costs almost the same in both countries. US$20000 in the US, and CAD$30000 in Canada. I believe at the time of pricing the price was almost identical. You can't expect Toyota to drop the Canadian price every time the dollar drops. Indeed, because our dollar is dropping, in effect, the Canadian Prius has become cheaper than the US one. But if anything, I'd expect Toyota to HIKE the price in Canada, if the Canadian buck keeps dropping.

[curmi]

Originally posted by The Evener:
...If non-Americans took the glacial speed of iPhoto localization for ordering books/prints as any indication, no wonder they are concerned.

Or look at the fact that non-US-English spell checking has only just been added to 10.2 - well over a year after 10.1 was released...

[Giano]

Originally posted by dfiler:


What if? It happens all the time. How come my Japnaimation has horrible lip-syncing? Japanese game systems routinely have more features in the native versions. They're also released in Asia/Pacific region long before north america and europe. Mobile phones routinely have more features in their native markets. Music and video entertainment is usually released first in the market from which it originated. There is nothing wrong with this phenomenon!

Yes...but the problem is that sherlock hasn't only a lack of features....for me , in italy, it is completely useless...Watson too, but at least it has more feature that can i use...
An other exemple is iChat...how many people in europe use AIM ?
Why don't create an app like Fire ?

And about price...the best new G4 in Italy cost 6.766,80� in Usa 4999$
I don't know what you can do in USA with 4999$.......With more or less 6766,80 � i bought my car...

We are the province of the empire....

[Hawkeye]

Originally posted by kmkkid:


It's the fact that $3500 is ALOT of money in Canada. You can get 2 GREAT PC's for that price, it's just outrageous, sorry if your rich and can't understand I know it's not a $1600 price diff when converted I should have made that clearer. But these major companies should lower the prices for foreign markets if they actually want to sell products internationally. I'd say $2500 CAD b4 taxes wouldnt be so bad, but still expensive. You know apple is charging way more then it actually takes to make their products, so a little leway on foreign markets wouldnt hurt them any.

I know I definately will be glad when our dollar is at par with the US'. (Predicted for late spring 2003!!) then I wont be so bitchy

Chris

In case you're new, Apple computers are expensive EVERYWHERE. Are you saying that you should get special discounts because you're a foreign market? Excellent plan. I live in Raleigh, NC. The cost of living is significantly lower here than in Cupertino. Perhaps I should get a discount as well.

Oh, and as for U.S.-centricity: Perhaps all those Australian and British software companies should take advantage of this to better market their widely selling operating systems. Redmond, Washington's Windows and Cupertino, California's Mac OS are the only big players on the market ... are they? Oh, wait, they are! Running computers for the entire world is a tough business, so if either of these companies lag in their extra-U.S. features, sorry. Sit tight, I'm sure they'll get to you when they can.

[kmkkid]

Originally posted by Hawkeye:


In case you're new, Apple computers are expensive EVERYWHERE. Are you saying that you should get special discounts because you're a foreign market? Excellent plan. I live in Raleigh, NC. The cost of living is significantly lower here than in Cupertino. Perhaps I should get a discount as well.

Apple is hardly basing their prices on the cost of living in their home town. They ARE however basing their prices on the US economy and dollar. So yes I do think foreign markets should get a little more of a price drop just to even it out a little (I'm not talking evening the tag amount, I'm just saying make it a little less scary for other markets and their consumers.) Afterall more sales = more money right? even if they sacrifice a little in the price exchange, it certainly wouldnt hurt them. Just because you have a ton of money to waste on a computer that "may" last 5 years (and be horridly outdated) doesnt mean others do. In reality you need to buy a new computer every year just to stay current. With Apples prices here, most just can't do that. I'm just saying Apple should think about all markets and what their consumers can afford, if they want those consumers that is.

Chris

[Hawkeye]

Originally posted by kmkkid:


Apple is hardly basing their prices on the cost of living in their home town. They ARE however basing their prices on the US economy and dollar. So yes I do think foreign markets should get a little more of a price drop just to even it out a little (I'm not talking evening the tag amount, I'm just saying make it a little less scary for other markets and their consumers.) Afterall more sales = more money right? even if they sacrifice a little in the price exchange, it certainly wouldnt hurt them. Just because you have a ton of money to waste on a computer that "may" last 5 years (and be horridly outdated) doesnt mean others do. In reality you need to buy a new computer every year just to stay current. With Apples prices here, most just can't do that. I'm just saying Apple should think about all markets and what their consumers can afford, if they want those consumers that is.

Chris

This argument is extremely old. People have said this for years here in the States. Apple computers cost way too much for the average consumer. It's pretty intimidating to "Switch" to a computer that costs twice as much (or more) than for what you could spend to build your own x86 system. (Like you said, I could buy two PCs for that price.)

Foreign markets shouldn't get any special consideration, in so far as I'm concerned. Not because I'm a stingy, weathly American who hates foreigners, but because I hate exceptions. This isn't helping out a third world country in getting school aged children connected to the internet. We're talking about cutting prices so some chap in London or Toronto can run a Power Mac at a price comperable to an x86 system while over in the good ol' U.S. of A. we're still paying top dollar. Sorry you're not getting all the features, but like I said before, Apple is a U.S. company building computers in the United States.

[Giano]

Originally posted by Hawkeye:


U.S. company building computers in the United States.

oh well....good reason....
I think it could even sell mac only in Us and infact the European share i smaller than the small US quote....well perhaps there something wrong in its policy...
Go to see the apple site localized......italian site (that is make in US not in Italy...another good choice!!)....when it will become new? it has the old looking...why? why can't APple let make the site by the Local Apple, insted of centralized production of site?

bye bye

[GRAFF]

I was actually surprised at how uniform the European pricing is for 10.2. Now that it is easier to compare prices (thanks to the Euro), here are a few quotes from Apple Store sites across the EU zone...

Belgium: �168,19

France: �166,24

Germany: �161,24

Austria: �166,80

Ireland: �168,19

Italy: �166,80

Netherlands: �165,41

Spain: �161,24

[SJ]

Originally posted by Hawkeye:
... Apple is a U.S. company building computers in the United States.

Err... no they don't. Apple build their computers in Taiwan or China. If they built them in the US, they would be even more expensive.

Maybe they should relocate Apple to Australia... then Macs would be half the price.

Personally though, I blame greedy US money traders for screwing the Australian ecconomy and our dollar value.

[CarpetFluff]

Originally posted by pinlo:


Agreed. And considering one of Apple's main goals is to increase their market share, it's not a very good way for them to be.

However, many web sites are also very US-centric, and these are the web sites with whom Apple has made their deals.

I wonder if Apple has (or will have) a plugin SDK for Sherlock similar to what Watson has (they copied everything else...). That way, non-US users could at least have a way of "filling in the gaps".

I know it's far from ideal.

Quite right, I find the attitude of US companies very odd sometimes. My girlfriend lives in the US and when I'm trying to buy her stuff I find it a constant struggle to either get US online companies to accept my credit card (Visa and Mastercard are meant to be global right?) or they have no problem accepting it but their online forms are set up so that I simply can't complete my transaction data.

For instance many sites just won't let me enter my post code (zip) if it's not in US form, even though they have an option to select your country, they haven't thought far enough ahead to check if you'll be able to actually make your data conform to their online forms. So they must be sat there wondering why they don't get a lot of international business I guess.

I was really disappointed in Sherlock, you get to thinking that a lot of the 'extras' that are supposed to add value to the OS are becoming increasingly insular or unsuitable for a large number of mac users so why not make them all paid for add ons and give us the generic improvements to the OS (such as, extra speed, contextual menus etc). A bit like windows do with their 'plus' packages!? That way International customers could pay for the improved OS at a lower price and then add localised modules later on!

Am I living in a fantasy world? yeah probably

[kzmk]

Originally posted by curmi:


Or look at the fact that non-US-English spell checking has only just been added to 10.2 - well over a year after 10.1 was released...

speech recognition and text-to-speech...

[Hawkeye]

Originally posted by SJ:


Err... no they don't. Apple build their computers in Taiwan or China. If they built them in the US, they would be even more expensive.

Maybe they should relocate Apple to Australia... then Macs would be half the price.

Personally though, I blame greedy US money traders for screwing the Australian ecconomy and our dollar value.

Yes, true they are not BUILT in the U.S.. What is?

[JLL]

Originally posted by Sven G:


Actually, in Europe (with the various VATs, etc.) Jaguar costs � 166, which is considerably more than US $ 129 (euro and dollar having approximately the same value)!

Apple's international customers indeed pay much more both for software and computers, but in the end get less - really unfair, IMO!

Yes, blame Apple for local taxes

[harp]

So...Americans should have to pay more for stuff why, exactly?

[Sven G]

Originally posted by JLL:


Yes, blame Apple for local taxes

Who blamed Apple?!?

I just said that I think it's unfair that there are such wide price differences (and especially on the hardware front).

What is to be blamed - as others also said - is Apple's ( = Steve-O's) over-centralized, Cupertino-centered world view, which causes considerable delays in the internationalization and localization of their software (local resources not being used as they could!).

[cometodaddy]

Originally posted by Hawkeye:


Yes, true they are not BUILT in the U.S.. What is?

mine was built in Ireland, and the funny thing is that Irish people had to pay more than i did in Belgium for my G4.

I agree on the difference in pricing for hardware, but paying a lot more in Belgium for the same US. version seems a little bit odd.