Smartz said:
I'd like to say that as someone who only recently ( last 2 years ) switched I would say that i would agree with the unknown quantity line. I was always under the impressions that Mac's were extremely expensive and offered no real benefits....now i feel like Dr Mac as i keep recommending my friends and family to make the switch.
Vista could work to really galvanise many people and the launch of a well featured Leopard could then help the PC user to move forward. On a off note one thing that Mac really do need to address if it wants to grab market share is to target gamers.
It is rubbish when i hear people say that gamers are not an important market or that Mac's are not about games. Gamers are a very important PC buying segment and i think that Dell's purchase of Alienware shows that it is a good, high margin market to be in. If only there was a way to run PC games via virtulisation at full boot camp style graphically accelerated speed, then i could see those who do enjoy dipping into some gaming being attracted. Failing that Apple should start working with someone like Nintendo to port the type of games that are making the likes of the DS sell by the bucket loads.
It's not that Apple doesn't want the gaming market, but here's the problem with gamers: upgrades.
I can't upgrade an iMac. I can do a few things to a Mac Mini, but nothing with the graphics, and with the price, it just isn't worth it.
As far as Apple's laptops work, they are some of the worst on the market. As if laptop upgradability wasn't hard enough, it takes over 50 screws to get into the guts of an iBook, not to mention the issues people have had with screws on either of Apple's portables.
The only truly upgradable model that runs (a legal version of) Mac OS X is the PowerMac G5, which, while some people would go for it, it costs a lot of money.
One of the few things I like about the Windows side of things is the fact that you can build a gaming PC for $500 (you can't even get a new Mac for that price), or you can blow $5,000 on one.
That's why Apple will never get the gamer market. As much as I love Apple's machines, and I think they deserve the best design awards you can get, they just aren't expandable.