Gadgetopia

Steve Jobs kicks puppies.

You can get a 17" LCD for $299 not the $400 indicated in the article. Also IF purchased from Dell or Gateway most of the software costs included will be reduced alltogether or significatly. And I would suspect would lower the cost of the PC by $100-200 vs. the Mac specified.

"You can get a 17" LCD for $299 not the $400 indicated in the article."

Sure, but not all LCD's are of comparable quality. Remember, this is an apples to Apple's comparison (pun intended.)

"Also IF purchased from Dell or Gateway most of the software costs included will be reduced alltogether or significatly."

One of the main points of the author is that a stock Dell or Gateway won't match the hardware of the Mac. This is a custom-built PC, so the software is not bundled.

Gosh, based on this analysis, I'm going to ditch all the PCs in my office and get Macs instead. Oh, wait, NONE of our industry-specific software will run on Macs.

Switching only works if you can find replacements for everything. In many cases, you can't.

Personally, I prefer the element of danger involved in owning a PC vs. a Mac: trojans, worms, etc.

i can't leave windows - games games games (and don't give me that console is better than a pc crap either)

"Personally, I prefer the element of danger involved in owning a PC vs. a Mac: trojans, worms, etc."

I love it! Extreme geeking. What would it be without the adrenalin rush when the next virus hits? Livin' on the edge, dude!

"Gosh, based on this analysis, I'm going to ditch all the PCs in my office and get Macs instead. Oh, wait, NONE of our industry-specific software will run on Macs."

I don't think anybody's advocating a wholesale switch -- use a hammer where a hammer is needed. Heck, even I know that Wintel gunk has its place. This article is aimed squarely at those who insist that Macs are overpriced. Period. If you don't like the message, sorry.

An owner of both: a custom made p4 3.0 with 1.5gig DDR and a nice Radeon card and a g5 I can tell you that by going to sites that wil allow you to select different companies (mostly online companies) to buy PC componants from, I was able to build my p4 for under 1000, around $875 to be a bit more accurate, while I spent around 1200 for my g5.

...The sad thing is I am almost always (and currently) on my half priced p4. I haven't touched to g5 in 2 weeks

I use both. My new Dell PC is riddled with adware that I can't shift, whilst my 4 year old i-book is as healthy as the day I got it. No competition.. PC's are a joke.

One, a mac is also a pc seeing as how pc stands for personal computer, two, the reason why non mac pc's have adware, spyware, trojans, worms, viruses and things like that is because more people have windows than macs, so naturally a nerd with a dell will write a macro common virus to ruin other people's windows system, if everyone had a mac, than you'd have the same problem, because nerds with a mac will find a weakness in the OS and exploit it, you can't say pc's suck because of all that trouble, nooo, the reason there is that trouble is because they're better, faster, and more popular, people just have to learn how to maintain their comp, which isn't hard, but as for pentium vs athlon, athlon pc's are better, pentium sucks, and macs suck, so there you have it

So there we have it. Great. I'd like to congratulate on you on your eloquent presentation of such original information.

Golly, your comment is virtually bursting with new thoughts. No one has ever discussed -- nay, even thought of -- the stunning revelations you have just shared with us. I'll never look at the situation the same way again.

We are all better people because of your subtle influence on our lives.

Windows PCs and Macs are both good for different things. I personally favor macs. I use my G5 to edit video and make 3D animations. The only reason to use a Windows PC is if you need your games that are not available for Mac or you are a buisness that must use software that is not yet supported by the Mac platform. I have had my laptop (also mac) for 4 years and i have not had to upgrade its hardware. It still runs great with no problems... well i needed to get a new battery but that is not a mac thing... just that rechargeable batteries only get about 600 charges to them. Two of my friends have PC laptops that became useless after a couple of years - they were raving about how much better they were than my G3.

One new thing i would like to bring up is the OS. OS 9 sucked. Many people used a mac prior to OS X and yes, they were terrible. OS X changed everything and it is 100 times better.

I like the compatibility that is with macs between the hardware that they design and the software they also design. With a windows computer you have dell or hp or whoever make the computer and then Microsoft on the OS. Macs are much more fluid and they utilize all of the power, nothing is wasted.

i personally favor pc's for the games, for all those mac lovers it is time to use a computer compatible in the bisness world. (by the way, im useing a mac right now)

Why no mention of linux? after all it is a UNIX variant, same as Mac OS X, but it is FREE......

I didn't chime in with Linux on this one because the dead horse didn't need another kick. =)

to all you pc lovers out there... pc are the best!!! they're cheap... easy to use... and have lots of cheap software they do the job... to all you mac lovers out there who are trying to convert these pc lovers shhhhhhh!!! let them be... it's our secret!!!

I know that the above comment is meant as a joke, but it inadvertantly reinforces a very important point --

Part of the "Apple mystique" is that not many people have them. I'm firmly convinced that the Mac fanatics wouldn't be nearly as intense if Apple had a 90% market share. Part of the sense of belonging and pride that Mac fanatics feel is because they view themselves as the downtrodden, the underdogs, the misunderstood, the lone voices of reason in the wilderness, the elite, the ones who understand the truth in the face of the lockstepping hordes.

Not a derogatory comment, just an observation.

I think it's about brand management more than it's about market share. Apple has styled Macs as simpler, cleaner computing, and largely delivered. Mac software often has fewer options than its PC counterparts, but the options that are there are the ones that everyone needs. Apple fans have been marketed something different and simpler, Apple delivered, and the users love it.

37 Signals is another company that's done very well with this. Check this recent post where they talk about raising the rates for BaseCamp: http://everything.basecamphq.com/archives/000300.php

Most of the comments are from people praising the price increase, because they feel like they're getting such a great value. Excellent management of the brand.

You guys are just overanalyzing the situation. Buy a Mac and you'll understand.