| ??? 05/10/07 04:58 Modified: 05/10/07 23:08 Read: times |
#138958 - You just have to know how to shop. Responding to: ???'s previous message |
Andy Peters said:
Richard Erlacher said: From what I've observed, Apple has never made anything (aside from a short-lived, feeble attempt with the LISA) that approached a serious computer, opting instead for video toys. Now they're into iPods, etc ... ...
So the 8-core Mac Pro is a toy? There's no competing machine in the Windows world. Apple has a way of turning everything of any potential value into a toy. If you shop, a ~3 GHz notebook PC with a GB of RAM and a big enough HDD costs <$500 complete with a factory warranty. Check eBay (no, not for second-hand stuff), eCost.com, Pricewatch.com, etc.
I doubt you can get a comparable Mac notebook for 3x that. In addition to the warranty issue (as in, "good luck getting that off-brand $500 laptop fixed"), there are other things to consider. Compare the screen resolutions and size. Compare the actual processors -- are you getting a dual-core machine or a single-core? Does the $500 machine have Gigabit Ethernet standard? Bluetooth? 802.11g? FireWire? DVD burner? DVI output that lets you run dual-head display? I don't know what I'd do with a dual-head display on a notebook. I've never bought "off-brand" notebooks. Most of them have been major brands. The HP notebook down by my feet has all the features you mention, aside from bluetooth, for which I've never had a use, though I've not needed the firewire on my notebook either. Most of my desktops are HP's. Though I seldom use 'em, there are about a dozen Apple computers of various sorts in storage, though I've given away quite a few, so I'm not unfamiliar with 'em. I've never had a problem getting a PC fixed, though I've only had to deal with that once in the past 20 years. All the notebooks I've had, though some have been given away, still work fine and I'm quite certain the ones purchased in the past 5 years can still be repaired at reasonable cost, unlike any MAC hardware I've ever had to have estimated. In general, when I had an Apple product break, I simply tossed it, since repairs were so slow and costly. They always cost more than a complete PC system adeuate to the task. Start adding those features to the $500 laptop and you've easily tripled the price. In fact, I haven't seen any non-Apple laptop with Gigabit Ethernet and FireWire as an option. Dell won't let me configure the $500 laptop with two 2.16 GHz Core2 duos (fastest allowed is the 2.00 GHz). Choose a 15" display with resolution greater than 1280 x 800 and watch the price go up. That one I use all the time has a 17" display at 1024x768. We got one for one of my associates with 17" display at 1600 x 1200 for about $500 about a year ago. So my point is: if you're willing to compromise (especially on important stuff, like screen real-estate and a separate video processor (not the GMA shared-memory thing)), you can certainly buy a $500 laptop. But compare point-by-point, and you'll realize that the cost of current Macs is comparable to similarly-configured Windows machines.
#include "prymymacbookprofrommycolddeadfingers.h" -a I put great worth on screen real estate, which is why most of the monitors here are 20" or larger. If Apple sold hardware that I need, I'd buy it, if someone else didn't beat their price on something I like better. I don't like Apple. I don't like their products. It's just a personal preference, but it's my preference. RE |
