It's Official: Macs are NOT more expensive!

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More ammunition to lay this old concept to rest:

http://computerworld.com/action/art...icleBasic&articleId=9023959&intsrc=hm_ts_head

Great article. Love this quote near the end:

"The release of OS X transformed the Mac marketplace. It's a vibrant, growing community. There's an excitement around Mac products, software and hardware that you just don't feel in the Windows world any longer. I'd forgotten what that felt like."

Amen!
 
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good article! :)
 
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Good read, but even if Macs were a bit more expensive, I'm willing to pay. For me, it's become a necessity, not a choice.

Just like those built-in bidets. You'll never use toilet paper again.
 
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Good read, but even if Macs were a bit more expensive, I'm willing to pay. For me, it's become a necessity, not a choice.

Just like those built-in bidets. You'll never use toilet paper again.

Hilarious. And true. :D
 
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Nice writing style on that one - I agree in many ways, when I was deciding which mac I want to save towards I wanted to look at what the components cost so I spent a little time just working out some rough basic costs

I was aiming at the mini originally but it didn't come out at very good value, then looking at the iMac, it came out pretty good value, all considering

The only problem is I don't need a compact case and i'd rather use one of my spare CRTs as a monitor.. I('ll still probably go for the iMac, but just as a secondary PC

Nice read, thanks for posting it
 
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The misconception has really always been because Macs have often required you spend more money.

You can get a Windows PC for $250 - 300, if you aren't particularly ambitious about the specs. The cheapest Mac is more than double that.

Hence, it becomes a 'fact' that Macs cost twice as much. If you actually compare similar spec' machines, it isn't true.

It doesn't really figure so much in the home or very small network market, but if you're an IT manager buying 200 PCs at a time, that $200 - 300 difference suddenly becomes tens of thousands of dollars.
 
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You can get a Windows PC for $250 - 300, if you aren't particularly ambitious about the specs. The cheapest Mac is more than double that.

yea but have you ever used one of those 300 dollar pc's????? you might as well start all over again and writing out books in glyphs by using a chisel and hammer on a cave wall!!!!!

mac's and pc's are similarly priced, but like mentioned above if you can save 200 bucks a piece when buying 300 pc's that is a significant cost. but built into that cost is the savings the company will make...aka fireing half of their IT staff because there is nothing to fix!!!!
-chris
 
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yea but have you ever used one of those 300 dollar pc's????? you might as well start all over again and writing out books in glyphs by using a chisel and hammer on a cave wall!!!!!

mac's and pc's are similarly priced, but like mentioned above if you can save 200 bucks a piece when buying 300 pc's that is a significant cost. but built into that cost is the savings the company will make...aka fireing half of their IT staff because there is nothing to fix!!!!
-chris

Well, that's the point. Yes, I use $300 pcs all the time.

They're just fine for knocking out spreadsheets and documents, and handling email. That's all 80% of my users ever do. The ones that don't might need a $400 pc. They all connect to servers - only then are we getting into Mac price territory.

It's not a reflection on Mac to say this. It's the same logic that dictates when you call a cab you get a Chevy, not a BMW. None of this is saying Macs are *too* expensive, it's just that for some jobs they cost too much.

A lot of people don't realise this. they just think Macs are expensive, without understanding that they're BMWs, not Chevys.
 
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Nail on the head there

Coming into the computer world? You probably don't want to be spending over the odds just to check your e-mail

With apple you always know what they sell but for many tasks this is sadly limited
 
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As I said, there are thousands of reasons why Macs justify their prices, even if they have slight edge over computers. I can only say, OSX.
 
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One factor that most over look is what you get on the Mac, software wise. Initially the cost may be equal or slightly higher than PC. Then you add the cost of software, in my experience, the PC is much more costly.
 
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Not necessarily. It's true in terms of the quality of osftware (we all agree here) and the richness of iLife etc.

Everyone's software habits are different, but I love certain high quality applications on the Mac such as Yep, Inbox, Overflow, Xtorrent and Newsfire. They all cost me a bundle, and they're worth it.

The selection of software is also really good. I very rarely find some crappy piece written by some shady developer on the Mac.
 
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28825icon_jeewiz.gif
 

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When I bought my MBP back in December, first I was interested in a change of OS. Had been experimenting with numerous distributions of Linux, and it just wasn't ready for prime time for me. As a semi-avid reader of Computerworld, MaximumPC, and PC World for many years; there began a new trend. The contributors and editors, with their disappointment in Vista, all were experimenting with OS X. And liking it. The editor of at least one of these hardcore "Windows" mags seemed to have totally made the switch and refused to have Vista on his own personal machine. So began my own look at OS X.

I always do a lot of research prior to purchasing any type of electronic hardware. Yeah, maybe too much. At least my wife thinks so. On second thought, not. By the time I make a purchase, I am already familiar with most of the pros and cons of a device. And by being familiar with a devices drawbacks (what it will not do) prior to purchase, my disappoints over the years have been extremely rare.

Anyway, on to the Apple site to see what they had to offer. Determined that the 15", 2.33Ghz and the 256MB Vram was the Apple hardware that fit into my personal needs and desires (and my budget). It seemed pretty expensive. So, next came cost analysis. On to check out HP (blech), Sony (well, maybe), Toshiba (not too bad, but just not the internal hardware I was looking for), Alienware (the bonus I had just received wasn't that big), Dell (like their monitors) and a few others. I found as the editor in the story above, none of them could compete price wise with Apple. I basically found 2 options. I could either save $500 and take a processor 2 levels down, a smaller screen, 1/2 the Vram, no built-in camera, no FW800 (on any of them), no bluetooth, or some combination of these. Or, I could spend an extra $500-750 and would have to go with a 17" screen, a little larger hard drive, maybe a built-in analog only TV tuner (no true hardware enthusaist would even consider such a thing), maybe a step up on the video card, and an X-Fi card.

After my research, the Mac hardware just plain made sense. At any price point it seemed in the Mac line, before the extras were considered, your money was going first to the best processor. As a hardware enthusiast this was a big plus for me. I just couldn't wrap my head around why companies were pairing a 1.6 or a 1.83 processor with 256MB video cards. It just plain doesn't make any sense whatsoever. It seemed to me the off-the-shelf systems were designed for a) someone that just can't afford a computer but need one (which isn't a bad thing) or b) planned obsolescence (as in, you'll be looking to replace it within 12-18 months and give them some more of your $$$ that much sooner).

So began my foray into the world of Mac's. After my hardware decision, OS X was really only the pièce de résistance.
 
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Not necessarily. It's true in terms of the quality of osftware (we all agree here) and the richness of iLife etc.

Everyone's software habits are different, but I love certain high quality applications on the Mac such as Yep, Inbox, Overflow, Xtorrent and Newsfire. They all cost me a bundle, and they're worth it.
.

I just looked at those Apps. I like OVerflow a lot, maybe I'll give it a whirl.
 
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I like that, but don't think I would have a use for it. If I were doing actuall work from my Mac, it would be great and I can see all sorts of ways I could use it. For home/personal use, it doesn't strike as me as useful for me. About 75% of the e-mail I get at home is Junk/SPAM anyhow, so it scheduling me to surf the porn sites would be sort of silly. ;)

Thanks for the link though, it's bookmarked and maybe I will have a use for it one day.
 
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If you actually read the whole article it says...
"There are fewer Mac models, so if your needs vary from what Apple has decided on, you may find a Windows model that costs less for you."
"On the other hand, if you search the Windows side first, you'll quickly discover machines that -- in features and price -- fit in between the Mac SKUs. And in those niches, they represent very good values. So there's one answer to the question of whether Macs or Windows represent a better value: If one of those "in between" PCs suits your needs best, you'd be paying an unnecessary premium to get a Mac instead."
"Nor did I cover the Mac Mini, a computer that I don't think is much of a bargain from a price/performance standpoint."
"I also didn't address the 15-in. MacBook Pro, and -- full disclosure -- I feel it's of dubious value."

The point of the article is not that Mac's are cheaper, but simply that a few Macs do well when compared to similarly equipped PCs. I will agree with that statement. That is a far cry from "Macs are NOT more expensive!"
 
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I agree with you Techpriest, yeah

You could take away from the article that macs are less expensive but only in controlled enviroments but that in no way applies to the real world where a mac computer may only be good value if you have exact needs for all the features mentioned.

There seems to not actually be anything to compare the macs to, they are always one feature too few or one feature too many so in guess work they may appear at reasonable value
 
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...you'd be paying an unnecessary premium to get a Mac instead."

That's exactly what I'm talking about. This "unnecessary premium" is so the opposite of unnecessary, I feel proud and happy to pay it, knowing my product will outperform the PC of higher specs in all areas. It starts with the boot up sound.
 

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