“I’m a Mac dabbler, not a Mac user. My teenage daughter accuses me of not being cool enough to ‘get’ the Macintosh gestalt, and she may be right. But I’m hearing from more and more small business people who switched, and I’ve identified three primary reasons for the surge in Mac deployments: lower costs, Intel chips, and Web applications,” James E. Gaskin writes for Network World.
Gaskin writes, “Macintosh prices haven’t dropped to PC levels, but they are closer than ever before. The Mac Mini for $599 costs more than an entry level PC desktop, but at least the Mac has an entry level, which wasn’t always the case. An Apple iMac at Frys.com, including LCD monitor, is under a $1000. It still costs more than a comparable PC with comparable LCD monitor, but again it’s closer.”
MacDailyNews Take: Forget for a moment the important fact that only Apple Macs can run Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows natively and also concurrently via fast virtualization and ignore the value of Mac OS X, iLife, Front Row, etc. Please find us a PC that offers the following for less than $999 in anything remotely resembling iMac’s slim form factor (or even just a box and monitor):
• 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 512MB of PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 memory
• 160GB Serial ATA 7200-rpm hard drive
• 24x Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
• 17-inch LCD (1440 by 900 pixels)
• 802.11n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet
• Mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections
• iSight camera
• Support for external display in extended desktop and mirroring modes
• Two FireWire 400 ports
• Total of five USB ports: three USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps) on computer, two USB 1.1 ports on keyboard
• Headphone/optical digital audio output
• Built-in microphone
Gaskin continues, “Many more people are willing to pay a couple of hundred dollars extra for the Mac Cool Factor than are willing to pay a cool thousand extra, which has been the case in the past.”
MacDailyNews Take: The difference between a “Mac dabbler” and a “Mac user’ is obviously the ability to recognize the value of Mac OS X and Apple’s Mac-only applications. James, your daughter is right.
Gaskin continues, “[Apple Macs run] Windows as well as OS X. You can dual-boot between OS X and Windows using Boot Camp, or you can get the popular Parallels Desktop for Mac and run both systems at one time… This solves the common Mac user problem of needing to run one or two proprietary Windows applications… You still need to buy Windows software for your Mac, and you pay a little more for your hardware than if you stayed with a PC, but you face a speed bump rather than a brick wall. Many readers have told me they have switched to a Mac and love it, and feel the extra dollars to keep a Windows app or two available are a small price for happiness.”
MacDailyNews Take: Again, while Apple doesn’t play bait-and-switch by selling bare-bones, cut-rate, cheapo PCs, is a Mac really more expensive than a comparable PC?
“If you’re going to buy new hardware to support a new operating system, you may find that switching to a Macintosh costs less and gives you more than upgrading to Windows Vista. Besides, regardless of Vista’s new glass-like interface and Mac-inspired Gadgets, Apple still does Macintosh better than Microsoft copies Macintosh. And Apple is about to roll out its operating system upgrade to answer Vista, which should keep Macintosh that much farther ahead.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: (Added 1:24pm EDT) Obviously, Apple already “answered” Vista years ago. Mac OS X Leopard will simply extend Apple’s already significant lead over Microsoft’s Windows.
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Comparable PC, my ass.
This whole idea of the low cost PC goes out the window when you go to Dell’s site and actually write up an order, your 500 pc turns out to be 1200 bucks. But you do get all those extra virus, spyware and trojan horses…
Whenever I price out a cheap Dull pc because I feel as though I have to have so my kids can play educational games, the price is never as low as pc lovers claim you can get one at.
It is almost like bait and switch.
I think the point he’s trying to make is you can get a windows pc cheaper than a mac, most of the people buying them are only looking at price. The specs you listed above is gibberish to a lot of people.
When it comes to macs, most of the people I talk to only know about the comercials.
I have constantly recommended Macbooks to people but they go and buy Dells and Toshiba’s because they are cheaper. Poor fuukers.
Mac vs PC system shootout here
http://www.systemshootouts.org/
While I appreciate that this “dabbler” is willing to give the Macintosh a look, the statement that Macintoshes are still more expensive than PCs is downright wrong. There are PCs cheaper than Macs, but if you take the time to compare a Mac to a similarly configured PC, you will notice that PCs are more expensive than Macs. Let’s get the facts straight, people!
<i>And Apple is about to roll out its operating system upgrade to answer Vista…<i>
No take on that one MDN? That one is just begging to be corrected. I’ll take a crack at it:
Take: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is not an answer from Apple to Microsoft’s pig lipstick hack job Windows Vista. Apple’s answer to Windows Vista was Mac OS X 10.2, which appeared years before Vista was even out of the vaporware stage. Apple doesn’t need to answer to a derivative company that only poorly copies their former releases.
Hope that works.
You get what you pay for… This I believe to be an absolute Truth.
By a Cheap PC = spend more money fixing, upgrading and fighting attacks. By a top of the line Mac… and they all are… TCO will save you not only money but headaches.
“It is almost like bait and switch.”
More like sweat and bitch. Right?
What he said…
These articles do sound positive but I’m getting pretty tired of the “It Sucks Less” rationale from some of these FUDdy-duddys.
I suppose it’s better than the outright lies coming from the Turtle Boy and Fester Freak Show.
Yea, you get what you pay for when you buy a $500 PC. Believe me it doesn’t compare to an iMac or even a Mac Mini for that matter. Plus you can run OSX, Windows, or Linux natively. Your $500 PC wouldn’t even be able to run Windows at a decent speed without an upgrade.
Leopard isn’t an answer to Vista, Tiger still easily does that. Leopard is another giant leap ahead of the 5 year old version of Windows Vista.
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Vista is the answer to Mac OS 9.1
We don’t even know completely what Leopard will be like. How can this writer even begin to compare Vista and Leopard?
While it may be a nice, linear progression of OS X, it also could be somewhat revolutionary if they bother to FTFF.
While we may have some ideas about Leopard and the parts that have been announced, there has been a strange silence on some of the secret features. It could be a very exciting release.
Since few on the planet know what may exactly be in Leopard, comparing it with Vista is foolish speculation. Comparing Vista to Tiger is a more apt comparison. Unfortunately since he knows nearly nothing about OS X, a true comparison is beyond him.
“Switching to Mac may cost less and give you more”
“May” cost you less and give you more? How about “WILL” cost you less and give you more.
Hmmmmm,
Could he be as clueless as he sounds? Probably. LOL
But could there be a different answer??? Could the PC world be at the first stages of Mass Mac migration? Could these people be in the early stages of back peddling from the pile of brown that is MS?
Could it be like the person that steps in a pile of cow droppings and instead of yanking their foot out, they have to go thru a denial stage (“There is NO way that I could have stepped in that!”) and so they just pause, wiggle their foot to sort of check, then slowly, very slowly pull their foot out, then and only then do they go “EEEyYYYUUUUUU, what crap is that?” .
Maybe its the same here. First comes the backpeddle, then the, “Boy that was crap”, then they will get to the “How was I ever stupid enough to buy a Dell/ MS machine?” LOL
You never know.
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ne
It’s funny how grudgingly people are coming around. At least they’re voicing it now.
I am an avid mac user (since 1986)… and the high quality mac experience exists because of the vertical control over hardware and software, but this does come with a price…
and if you are the type who likes to build your own computer (which is beyond easy)… you can create a great machine for substantially less than any pre-built mac or pc. It would be great if I could put OSX on a DIY machine… have the elegance and the lower cost… and you know someone will find a way for OSX to work outside the mac hardware specs…
so for the DIY… the cost of a mac is substantially more… and that is just the way it is…
for Joe Blow who buys a pc from DELL or Best Buy… well you just get less…
marko
You can run a ‘cracked’ OS X in a self build PC.
In fact I was running OS X 10.4.? since February 2006, till October 2006. This was on an AMD dual-core 2GB machine.
It didn’t have quartz, and was abit slow, but it allowed me to get used to OS X, and build up my software collection
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />, so that I could take that leap from PC to Mac.
I finally bought my first Mac (a 24″ beauty) in October.
Personally, I think Apple should allow people to install a limited or trial version of OSX on PCs. It allows people to get a feel it.
Imagine if there was a limited version of OSX distributed on computer magazines. A hell of allot of people would try it out and a hell of allot of people would switch.
As for me? I’m gunno pass on my PC installable DVD to an IT manager at work. He’s curious..
Poos, you’ve got a good idea there vis-a-vis a trial version, but only uner these conditions:
1. You register and download it from Apple’s web site and you get only one download.
2. The installation is time limited, stops running after N days, removes itself from the PC, and leaves a marker file such that the OS cannot be installed again.
None of this is fool proof protection for Apple, but it should be adequate for users who are not Uber Geeks.
“Personally, I think Apple should allow people to install a limited or trial version of OSX on PCs. It allows people to get a feel it.”
I am slowing coming around to agreeing with this idea.
Maybe a stripped down, teaser copy of OS X. Maybe $10 a pop. Maybe bag them with Windows World magazine like AOL use to do. As is, no support.
But no full version for non-mac made boxes.
When comparing prices I don’t think it makes sense to point out that with the Mac you get “all the great iApps like Front Row and iPhoto etc.” Not everybody cares to have them. Not everyone is going to buy an equivelant to those free Mac apps if they buy a cheap PC.
So to say the Mac is a better deal because it has more software is like saying a Cadillac is a better deal then a Ford or Chevy because it has more ‘stuff’ inside.
The point is, if Jane or Joe Anybody wants a computer so they can surf the web and send emails they don’t give a rats ass about iLife apps. They are not going to use it….so why buy it. They want a computer like I want a telephone. I have a phone because I have to have one, not because I want it. It is a tool. Give me a cheap one that will do the job, that’s all.
“There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a
little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider
price alone are that person’s lawful prey.”
— John Ruskin (1819 – 1900) Victorian artist, scientist, and poet
MW: Pay. You can pay up front or you can pay later, but pay you will.
Leopard is not the answer to Vista
Format is the answer to Vista…