Ok Apple Woodworkers which would you prefer

So the big media frenzy erupted yesterday on the Apple watch. Well i wondered what all the fuss was about since i have already tried out this concept over a year ago with my Samsung watch and their new at the time Gear watch and frankly after a relatively short period the watch no lies on my desk unused. Thank goodness i only put $50 into it thanks to my phone provider and Samsung.

But when i heard yesterday of the pricing of the Apple watch i had to pause and think.

What would it cost you to get to use the watch. Well you need the latest apple i6 phone that will set you back in the $800 dolllars unless you buy it on a contract which still means you paying for it just over a longer period.
Then you need the watch which will set you back around $600 for the watch.

Now something that got me going is that my good old timex which i actually like and use as a daily watch (yeah i am still old school even down to the leather strap) dont need my phone with me to work properly.

So i wondered........what was the price in the US of a Sawstop contractor saw and would a woodworker rather have a sawstop contractor saw $1750 which i figure with a bit of care and attention will be around for his grandkids to use or would he prefer to invest the coin in a piece of tech that is most likely going to be obsolete in a couple of years time.

I somehow cannot help but feel society is losing its sense of value.

It would have been nice though if all these phone and watch manufacturers would have considered that we have standards like usb, bluetooth nfc all to be able to allow devices of different types to connect with each other but NOOOOO the good old control freaks are back at it again.
So my Samsung watch dont work without a Samsung phone and an Apple watch wont work without an Apple phone. Wake up tech companies.

Sorry for the rant but man it gets to me, i feel sorry for the parents who are going to have their wallets cleaned out because kids are going to "have to have it" to be "part of the in crowd" .

Apple has never had a problem charging and getting high prices for their products. I'm sure we can easily list other brands of sun glasses, tennis shoes and power tools that have been similarly successful in building this sort of following. My father tells of a friend who bought a new Cadillac every year. I know many people who always buy the latest iPhone no matter what. Their other gadgets can age gracefully but, in their world the iPhone has got to be the latest or its junk.

Two people

One person buys a "I" thingy-ma-jig - 800+600 = 1400 ----- MEGA TOP DOLLAR

One person buys a Saw Stop - $1400 ---- BARGAIN price.

TEN years from now - 2025

"I" thingy was thrown away years ago.

Saw Stop still running strong - and retains about 800 in value - EASILY


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So OK lets say person #2 bought a nice Jet Contractors saw for 800.

Ten years from not - Jet still running strong and still has value of 300-400

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I have a flip phone that cannot run apps - happy to have it.

I don't wear a watch

I guess I'm as old school as Rob... I resisted carrying a cell phone as long as I could, but when I opened my booth at the Public Market back in 2011, we had no way to connect a phone at the booth level, the main office at the market was totally unreliable for phone contact and since the wife was not going to make the market every weekend, I needed to have a phone..so we added my cell to my son's account with Verizon, but I wanted the least technology I could get away with... a flip phone... I still carry the same phone today and if I ever have to replace it, probably will get another flip phone (if they are still made by then) or else I just won't replace it... I rarely use it anyway.

As for the watch, I no longer carry a watch at all, but if I did, it would be a Timex or something comparable... and it likely would be a pocket watch ... I have two of those... one is battery operated by Timex and the other is a hundred year old Waltham railroad watch that has to be wound every night... it still works... the battery operated one has a dead battery and Wal-Mart no longer replaces batteries in the watches they sell.... means I have to take it to a jeweler to get a new battery...

My son is into the electronic stuff and does keep up with the latest and greatest, but he's also in that industry, being a computer programmer with his own company and has to keep up with the technology, but he's also practical enough that when he has a device that still works and does the job he needs, he sticks with it... I know he's using a 5 year old Mac-book lap top that he does a lot of his programming on... his I-pad is version 2... when he bought my wife an I-pad for Christmas a couple of years back, hers was a version 3....

I just don't want to be so connected to the electronic world.

The world is made up of people who make things that other people are willing to buy. Truly is what makes our world go around. Because we would not spend the money or could purchase something similar for less money doesn't change that. And that is a good thing for those folks who have to put beans (or rice) on their tables regularly and make those things. We can rant and that is good to vent, but it is a waste of air and energy. Personally, I cannot get that worked up about what other people buy or don't buy. Or, for that matter, are willing to pay. And I do have an iPhone, but my watch (which I try to remember to put on before I go to work) is cheap and tossed and replaced with something equally cheap, when the battery dies. That happens about every 18 months. And no qualms about engaging in the throw-away economy we live in. Besides, a new battery is almost as much as a new watch.

cordless drills, I've got four knocking around with dead batteries........cheaper to purchase new drill than new batteries!

Kind of the society we live in at the moment i guess!

I enjoy technology of almost any kind. I don't however feel the need to buy the newest and greatest. Another example of technology I don't understand is people using a GPS on the dash or attached to the windshield for their commute to work and back home? Don't see the need for a iWatch or google's version either. Doesn't my phone do everything the watch does, but with a larger screen? Of course so does my tablet, chromebook, etc.

PS....I have spent a lot more on phones, tablets and computers in the last couple years than I have on tools...After Leo's analogy above, I don't see that happening again!

John Daugherty said:

cordless drills, I've got four knocking around with dead batteries........cheaper to purchase new drill than new batteries!

Kind of the society we live in at the moment i guess!

Click to expand...

Four Ridgid drills with free batteries for life . . . wheeee. I haven't bought a battery for a decade but, your point is well taken as my DeWalts are setting in a drawer rotting.

I destroy watches, even good well built ones, if it lasts a year that is a LONG time. I carry heavy stuff in tight spaces day in and day out, so a wrist watch has no chance, thus I think you will not see me buying an iWatch. Oh, and I already have a SawStop

I haven't worn a wristwatch ever since I started carrying a cell phone that displayed the time of day. I have a Bulova Accutron that my dad bought for me to put in a very nice Native American bracelet/watchband that was my grandfather's, but I only wear it for special occasions.

I love my iPhone, but there's no way I'd shell out any money to carry a miniaturized version of it on my wrist.

this latest product only proves what the "I" in "I-whatever" stands for....

Well, I like watches, other than my wedding ring it's the only jewelry I used to wear, but not enough to spend that much on one. I used to have no problem spending that much on a nice looking watch if that was what I wanted. However, with all things, situations change and so do spending habits. Bling now days seems to come in calibers, not carets.

Ready to have your mind blown? How about a $10k watch with an 18 month lifespan (OK sure it might technically work longer but what are the odds any of them are used longer)?

http://store.apple.com/us/buy-watch/apple-watch-edition

Nope I don't get it either.

If you haven't flown lately the in flight magazine was a lot of poorly disguised ads masquerading as articles for stuff I'd never ever buy no matter how much money I had. Pretty sure some of those clothes cost more per piece than I'd normally spend in a decade.

Well, don't leave out the accessories (bands), price only $49 to $449... http://store.apple.com/us/watch/watch-accessories

The watches retired when I did. Don't want to be held to a time schedule. The weekends are kinda bad cause can't keep up with them.
The new gadgets don't have a great feel to me unless they cut, mold, or do wood work, or gardening. Just enjoy life to it's fullest and don't
sweat the little stuff. Be good to one another.
David

In my youth there was running, boating, fishing, hunting, team sports and scuba diving and staying on time for appointments and picking kids up at school, etc.. Not so much anymore. These days I just need a calendar with the year on it. I wouldn't hesitate to spring for a good waterproof/fitness/organizer watch if I was still as active. There are some activities and places that are not phone friendly. When it comes to table saws, I have and like my PM 66, but would trade for a slider or saw stop if my grandsons showed any interest in woodworking....just to provide a safer environment.

I remember when we bought our first home computer in the early '90's; a Packard Bell 486 with a 33 MHz processor and a whopping 8 megs of ram. Had a nice high speed built in 24 MHz modem too. Within six months of that purchase the Pentium processor came and after about three years that system was completely obsolete. so we moved on to a bigger, better system, and another after that and another after that, etc, etc. Like Carol said, people are going to continue to build and others are going to continue to buy it. I do find the comparison with the Saw Stop interesting since the technology inside that system is in essence a small computer, most likely just as prone to upgrades and modernization as any other computer.