Too bad they're still vastly overpriced. The simply fact is that if you can de-bug the problems associated with Windows based PC's you get alot more performance bang-for-the buck when compared to Macs. You pay at least 10 percent more for the Mac packaging, stylish cases etc etc...No thanks.

If Mac were to drop their prices even a little, they would gain a tremendous amount of current PC users who are on the edge...but leaning toward Windows still due to the exorbitant prices of Mac PC's.

Go Linux buddy! Hate to break it to you, but did you miss the security bulletin last month for MACs. 47 crits! Not good, not good at all. And you still have to pay overinflated prices for hardware and software. Buy that cheap, and faster, PC hardware and sell your Vista license. Download your favorite flavor of Linux, and enjoy the free apps, better browsing, and more secure environment. And oh yeah, what is still the biggest killer for MAC, lack of software. I VM server my Windows session to use my PC only apps and live a happy camper, and with fatter pockets.

i'm sorry, but if you are not computer literate enough to own and operate a PC without the issues mentioned in the article, you should consider a typewriter and some stamps. until i hear someone admit 'i just think macs are cool, and the ads got to me' i'll have to assume the reason for 'the switch' is user incompetence.

@Chris.

"Expensive" is not synonymous with "overpriced". Apple only competes in the mid-range and high-end markets, meaning that there is no "stripped down" model to choose from, only fully-loaded machines. Part-for-part, they cost the same or less than machines from EVERY OTHER MANUFACTURER. Hate them for lack of choice, but "overpriced" is a non-Jobs era Apple practice that hasn't been valid in a decade.

@Chris Rudis

47 Critical Flaws - only 2 were exploitable, and only one hadn't yet been fixed, but feel free to continue to cherry-pick the details that support your world view.

As for "lack of apps", umm... it's a certified UNIX OS. Every app that's POSIX or UNIX compatible (including every "Linux" app) can run with a simple re-compile if there isn't an OS X version already. I'm sure what you mean is that there is a lack of GAMER DOODZ titles... except for the most popular ones, there is no love for Gamers or games in Cupertino.

Apple's computers are not overpriced in the US. Compare any 2GHz or above Core 2 Duo chip Windows laptop or desktop against Macs, and the price difference will be within $100; with Macs often winning unless there is a coupon involved.

But it's true that you can't get a Mac laptop for $300 to $1000. But those laptops still tend to have Celerons, Core Duos, or AMD chips in them.

And to be fair, it's also true that Mac mini doesn't compare that well.

Ok first of all I support Windows, Unix, Linux and to a very small degree Mac. Of them all for a home PC I prefer my Mac! That does not mean that all the other OS's fall short that simply means for what I do at home I like and prefer a Mac.


While it is true that Macs are pricey they are worth the cost in my opinion. The cost of a comparably equipped windows system is not that far off. Consider a 64bit Dual core intel laptop running vista ultimate and I am pretty sure you won't find it for $600 - $800!


While it is true that you can debug many of the windows faults why should you have to? After all it was easier to make Unix user friendly then it has been to debug windows!

Umm, 10 percent is "vastly overpriced"? And then you don't have to de-bug. Key phrase is the "if you can".

Hmmm,
I have a newish - a couple of months old - computer I had a business build for me. PC, dual monitors, tons of memory. It cost me about what a stripped down Mac would. I had XP put in. Vista offers nothing I want.

The machine runs like a top. No issues.

The moral? It's not really that PCs or Macs are better. It's that a sane strategy for owning and maintaining a machine trumps the usual annoying PD vs Mac diatribes.

Have a local pro build you a machine. Use someone who has been around and who can provide you with knowledge and maintenance in future.

For me, many of the programs I need are available only on the PC, and none are Mac only.

Macs are more expensive? Ever try to sell a three year old PC? Check it out - Macs maintain a much higher resale value than PC's. Apple has some of the highest scores on customer service/tech support (Consumer Reports)
It's the same reason people buy Toyotas versus General Motors autos. I'd rather spend more up front knowing it'll be worth much more later. And the owner experience is generally much better - but try telling that to "Chevy" guys. Get the analogy to PC's?
.

Overpriced? You haven't compared (no pun intended) apples to apples.

I bought a new laptop earlier this year. By the time I upgraded the memory in a Windows laptop to something that could actually run Vista and added up the software I would have to buy I realized I could buy a Macbook for LESS money. Yes, LESS.

I've had an iBook for close to three years now and it's running without so much a glitch. I've been through two Windows laptops at work in that timespan and right now my current XP system is wobbly again, about to go back to our IT department.

Overpriced? Hardly!

Hey, I a Mac fanboy/fanatic however you want to say it. I wasn't born that way.
About 4 years ago I was happy tweaking my registry, downloading spybot/adaware and trying to find drivers for my pc. Then I got talked into buying an iMac by my professor at college. I have used Win 98, Me, 2000, XP and Vista. Now to me they are tolerable sometimes. But what I can't get over is the fact that I don't have to spend all of my time taking care of my computer. I don't have to wait on it to tell me when I can or can't use it. I can expect it to work when I want it to work. Now it was hard at first. I had to figure out what to do with that extra time. Time I had spent trying to figure out which free anti-virus was the best or waiting on windows to reboot after it had shut down while I was in the middle of working because of a scheduled update. Well, before this turns into a rant, let me just say. I can't go back. I wasn't sure who Steve Jobs was until this happened to me. I had a vague memory of an apple IIe in grade school. But now it's too late. I have been converted. And if they raise the price. I will pay. Only when my apple quits serving me they way it does or Linux catches up will I consider anything else. It just works. Isn't that what I paid for?

The first computer I bought was from Radio Shack and came with 256K of memory and a floppy disc, no hard drive. I paid nearly the same amount of money for it as I have for my last purchase. Over the years I have certainly subsidized my share of the computer industry but this time I decided to try a MacBook Pro, why, because the software has become sophisticated enough to allow me to run a Mac OS and a Windows OS at the same time.

Because I write software in Visual Basic I needed Windows but I was ready for a change and what a change. Let's see; I bought the computer with OS 10, bought Parallels and loaded a newly purchased version of XP, then upgraded to Leopard.

It is an awesome machine but yes there is a price, namely; "the price". However, the ability to use both at the same time is like nothing I've had the pleasure to experience before. Regardless of all the complaints, where would we be if not for "Jobbs and Gates"?

I am so tired of hearing the "Macs are overpriced" argument. You get what you pay for.

I switched to a Mac and will never go back to a PC dominated by Microsoft software that just "doesn't work".

Recently I was looking for a source to combat this lame argument and came across this article, it is a good read.

But Macs are so expensive!

I have run PC's since the late '80s and haven't had any of the problems that people associate with PC's / Windows. No malware, viruses, and only rare hardware problems. (I've replaced one power supply and one CD drive across 19 years of operation and four machines.) All of my machines are still running, even my 286 from 1988. Every one of my machines was a good deal cheaper than anything remotely comparable (when there was anything remotely comparable) in the Mac lineup.

During that time there have been zero "killer apps" (definition: programs I had to have) available for the Mac only, and very many available for the PC only. More power to those who bought and are happy with their Macs, I feel the same way about my PC's. Don't delude yourselves into thinking that the decision is a "no brainer", each machine has its strengths and weaknesses. Intelligent, rational people can and do differ as to which system best meets their needs.

You get what you pay for..

5 copy iLife $80
5 copy iWork $80
5 copy Leopard OS upgrade $189

ie everything you need, then...

1 copy Vista Ultimate $250
1 copy Office Home/Student $125
(No equivalent to iLife)

And you can soon see the differences.

Then add up all those lost hours getting Windows set up. And paying for and running antivirus software. And then fixing and re-installing Windows after a year. And then try and sell your PC...fat chance.

Just look on eBay to see how secondhand Macs sell for.

The arguments are all over. Mac has won, it'll just take time for the rest to recognise it.

You know what they say.....once you go Mac, you never go back. As a long time Windows user (3.x and DOS before that), I switched over a year ago and couldn't be happier. I will never ever go back to Windows. I have Boot Camp with XP because I had some programs I thought I needed, but have found many replacements for the Mac (many that work better and easier to use). I'm working on getting completely MS free. I've thought about Linux, but since much of the software that I use is not distributed for Linux (ie Adobe's products), it wasn't a viable option--but most of my web server stuff will go to Linux.

Ive used several linus distros, I refuse to use Vista, I like XP and Ive used OSX. I have a lenovo laptop with a triple boot between XP, OSX and Ubuntu 7.10. Forget about price of hardware, get whatever hardware you and want and install whatever software you want.

Ive found Ubuntu to be the best choice (and certainly the cheapest- its hard to beat free).

Open source and free is by far the best way to go.

See there is a toyota-mac link...

I'm noticing the same anecdotal evidence of more Macs in my neck of the woods as well. Truly is becoming a snowball.

I have noticed many more Macintosh computers around me, too. There is definitely a trend in progress.

The comment that "Macs are too expensive" is a bogus one. Apple does not built low-end computers. Macs offer an an excellent value, especially when you consider that they can both Microsoft Windows alongside OS X.

Businesses may be locked into Microsoft Windows for a long time to come -- but the Macintosh is ideally suited for the home environment.

Ooh please sell me a mac. I'm really up for the vendor lock in afforded by Steve Jobs. Infact, I never want to buy another piece of hardware unless it's got that cute little apple logo on it. Also I only have one finger.

Bad news for you apple fans - viruses have now been detected in the wild (feel free to look that phrase up) for OSX, so the "Windows is riddled with spyware" argument no longer holds water. Good luck getting games for the Mac by the way.

Mac is expensive, and then in most cases you are locked into Mac software; in some cases, there are no Mac equivilents to software available on the PC. In almost every type of software available, there are alternatives on the PC that are open source or freeware or inexpensive shareware. The free software built into the Mac, with few exceptions, is great for home use, but can't stand up to full commercial varieties available on the PC (or high-quality shareware or opensource). Mac also limits your peripheral options. It is true that by controlling the market, they can control the quality of the accessories, but they also control the $$ and availability of competing products, as well as limit the chance that competing products can be made to work better and faster, using newer versions & newer drivers. Oh, and speaking about versions, how many peripherals, hardware and software has Mac made obsolete by not even attempting to build in backwards compatability into their OS upgrades (although that is generally the problem with MS and their Vista upgrade; some BC doesn't work, other BC built in to the system is what causes the exploits & system failures; I think MS was a little too grandiose to try so much inclusivity). And PLEASE don't get me started about what happens if you do get a system problem or corrupt software with your Mac; on a PC, I can fix them myself!
PC is far and away better; those "I'm a Mac/ I'm a PC" commercials should be pulled from the airwaves by the FCC for false representations!