Sure, you can buy ‘Core 2 Duo’ powered machines with more RAM, HDD and bigger screens for less. But don’t miss the quality of the components.

Just as an example, the CPU in the Macbook is the P7550. NOT a T4300, T6600 or the like you’ll find in almost every sub-$1000 Windows laptop. Check out similarly configured Windows laptops with P class Intel CPU’s in them and you’ll see how they stack up.

Bottom line is Apple builds $1000+ laptops that compare quite well with Windows $1000+ laptops. Sure you pay extra for the Apple brand, engineering (the unibody housing is something else), quality of materials, design, support etc. but it’s not a ton more. I’d say 10-15% premium. This is a small, well built, light, powerful laptop that does indeed compare just fine with similarly priced Windows machines.

I don’t use either Windows 7 or OS X to any extent that allows me to judge one better than the other. I like them both just fine and don’t think one OS is worth any more than another.

Again – yes – if you’re in the market for a $600 laptop, you can go get a 17″ monster with huge drive, Core 2 Duo at 2+ ghz (T4300) 4GB RAM etc. I’ve seen ‘em. They’re great bang for the buck and Apple doesn’t have a competing product. They don’t pretend to operate in this penny-pinching cut-every-cost-possible market.

I was happy to spend the extra $400 on my Macbook when comparing it to other high-quality high-end Windows machines that also cost in the $800-$1100 range.

You are not paying a premium for the hardware, you are paying a premium for the software which is subsidized by the hardware.

That is just my opinion…

JB

Guest accounts that kill user profiles without warning? Windows needs a virus or a really stupid user with a format command to do that one.

Safari more secure that IE? Hardly, sure the problems seem to be in different places, and we won’t mention IE’s completly ignoring CSS and other web standards, but a far as security holes, they seem to be peg for peg if you read when it comes to browser vulnerabilities, too.

It’s a matter of when, not if, large numbers of Apple users will be affected with an outbreak. The when being dependant on one or more of the hacker teams deciding that a small percentage of the potential targets is worth an attack over the larger group of windows users. So at the end of the day, are Macs more secure than Windows? No, it appears they are not. They’re just not attacked as much.

It’s known (but unspoken) that OS X is superior – which is why the Dell mini 9 (I think) is such a high-selling netbook.

If you’re the kind of person that needs to carry around spare batteries, then you are the kind of person that can easily take out the new apple battery and install new RAM. It’s not as hard as you would think. Check out the teardowns over at iFixit. The RAM and battery are actually pretty accessible. Most consumers, however, won’t ever buy a second battery let alone buy and install RAM on their own. That’s why Apple decided to go with these batteries. They sacrifice some of the ease in battery removal because they know most consumers won’t buy an extra battery and a 7hr charge will be a bigger selling point. Which brings me back to my original point above. Look at the battery life for the PC laptops up there. If you want to match the macbook’s you’ll need a second battery anyway. Which means you need to spend more money on top of the original list price for the laptop. With the macbook consumers get a 7hr life right out of the box and don’t have to worry about buying another battery. I fail to see the benefit of being able to swap out batteries if all it lets you do is match what the macbook already offers.

If Dells aren’t your thing, last weekend HP and Bing teamed up to offer 25% cashback on top of HP’s instant discounts. Open any weekend flier for your local electronics store and you’ll find similar discounts on various PC models.

Part of the PC buying experience is comparison shopping and bargain hunting. Not every model will be on sale every week, but with a little patience and homework you’ll find significant savings. Sure some people pay full price (like that Dell you linked) – just like how some people pay full sticker price for their cars without shopping around or haggling.

For better or worse, you’re pretty much going to pay Apple’s asking price regardless of where or when you make your purchase. In my mind then, the “Apple Tax” is the difference between Apples flat price and what I’d actually spend by buying a PC when it’s on sale (minus the premium I’d be willing to pay for Apple’s additional software and superior build quality). It’s shrinking every refresh, but it’s definitely still there.

A middle class family in the USA, can afford to buy a MAC worth $2000 without complaining at all. In Africa it is not so. Here in Africa or you think of India for instance, $300 may be too much for a family to afford this simply means that many people in that part of the world are living in 21st century without a computer system and this is going to continues till the nest millennium.

However, most of your argument is limited to the USA, without considering the poor nations of the world. I just bought a Desktop Compaq Evo D510 I could not remember what year this was manufactured. Since I lost my Dell XPS 1330 with full options and I wouldn’t want to spend so much on a system.

It is good to know that I can still load windows 7 on this system.

Apple is doing a great job as well as Microsoft. This is not windows against Mac OSx but Apple Mac against the rest computer manufacturers.

Whatever the case, it all depends on what you can afford and leave the rest.

How many people are using Mac outside the USA and how many are using Windows base PC, the Difference is much.

What ever savings they think they can make on walking into the store are all eroded when they walk out of the store.

Being an old git (41) I used PC hardware since the beginning and switched to Mac a few years ago. Where-as my old PC kit was always pretty worthless when it came to upgrade time or significantly less than its original price, you just don’t get that with Mac Hardware. I purchased a 24″ Aluminum Mac when they first came out and it cost me £1200, 2 years later, second hand value was £878, a £322 deficit. My Dell Latitude in a similar scenario years ago costing nearly £2k was worth £600 at a push.