Yea and if apple continues to charge these prices they better start putting out a more relible product.
my macbook is barely two years old and the screen is already starting to go out.
not to mention my touchpad is non-functioning.
and lets not forget that my battery that lasted 3hours and 30 minutes, now only last about 1hour and 30minutes. i have a feeling those battery "caliberation" you are suppose to do, just shorten its life.

where as my father's and mother's extincted dell's continue to run for some unknown reason being 6 years old.

dont get me wrong.
dell is the devil if there ever was one.
but my apple its helping..

correction to my previous comment..
but my apple its not helping..

First off I'd like to ask, when did PC stop meaning Personal Computer and start meaning the Windows platform?

Either way, I always preferred Windows, mainly because of the ability for all my games to work on it (or perhaps, the only reason). Problem being is Vista lowers the amount of games I play (can't play any dungeon keeper any more, someone needs to make an open source version). Though if I could play more games on a Linux computer I would so load it into my machine... but yeah, gamers want a computer they can play games on... Vista has separate (higher) requirements for games (or no support at all) which makes it not so good in that market (but what it does have is enough for me to still use one)....

I've used both Macintosh and Windows, I personally have no problem using either of them (though I never owned the Macintosh so I can't speak on hardware), in fact the first time using one I taught the owner how to do things (how ironic).... either way, they both have their strong points in some way or another, and I don't foresee either dropping out of the race any time soon.... or the prices dropping too much as Solid State Drives start to get incorporated more and Organic Light Emitting Diodes start to appear in monitors....

As far as the desktops go, if you factor in the monitor, and the mouse, and the keyboard, all the software, webcam, and microphone, i think the mac will be less.

As far as the desktops go, if you factor in the monitor, and the mouse, and the keyboard, all the software, webcam, and microphone, i think the mac will be less.

IBSHNAZZYESQUE, No, that MAC will not be cheaper even if you add additional peripherals to a pc like scanner, printer, joystick, whatever. The MAC is still WAY more than a standard desktop. You would really have to trick out a desktop with a ton of other goodies to match the MAC price.

ibshnazzyesque is correct, when compared feature to feature, processor to processor and memory to memory, the Mac price tag is comparable to anything else. Of course it's debatable whether you need the 2.2 gig Core 2 Duo, a few megs of memory, and a DVD burner, but that's a personal decision.j Apple just doesn't make a stripped down model like everyone else does. Most people buy a basic Widows based PC to 'save money' but by the time the add everything they really want to it they end up spending more that a Mac costs.

Is it just me or does Mr. White seem to relish in manipulating data to spread hatred? Almost all his articles seem to trash creativity. Even when he is proved wrong like I did last time and SMAJ further helped IBSHNAZZYE to prove it this time. No one ever gives Sony a bad time for their pricing structure on their computers. Doesn't Sony have a few computers designed similar to Macs?

Lets go further shall we? Last time I checked there were over 3000 viruses known to attack PC computers. The same data said less than 200 viruses are known to attack Macs. Isn't extra security worth a bit more?

The author almost got it right with the Vista bit but almost is not good enough! Vista sucks because its a terrible rip of MAC OS (as all windows products have been) but heres the final catch: PRICE. Vista is expensives and the last time I check MAC OS was running less than a 100. You might think the hardware is expensive but the software is usually priced fairly.

Another concept is the UGLY PC. It's not too often company comes over and sees the computer and says "wow nice gaming rig. Does that thing have a 2000 watt power supply?" Most people actually just hide the PC away because its UGLY. Meanwhile I can't count how many compliments people get on the beauty that is part of the MAC style. Not needing extra furniture to hide your computer should be worth some money.

And isn't even half as useful.

OK... Apparently, IBSHNAZZYESQUE has never had to purchase anything for a PC. SMAJ’s statement is completely and utterly incorrect. The only time you might even come close in price when purchasing the PC and a whole boatload of peripherals is if you’re purchasing through an 800 LB gorilla like Dell. They’re stuff is usually over-priced to begin with, but it still wouldn’t be as much as buying a MAC and all of the same peripherals for it. Even the MACs AAC audio file is limited to over-priced Apple media players, whereas MP3 files play on anything.

Furthermore, YOGURT’s statements about viruses is a bit uneducated technologically. The reason there are so many more viruses for PC’s is strictly “because” there are so many more PCs on the market than MACs. In the eyes of the people who create the viruses, why bother writing code for a MAC, which only had maybe 9% of the market, when you can write the code for a PC and stand a much better chance of it affecting someone. The problem that MAC will encounter as they continue to grow is that more and more viruses will be built for them. That’s how the hacker mentality works.

YOGURT also got it wrong about who ripped off from whom… The latest MAC OS is actually a rip of a Linux OS. Look it up.

The MAC business model is also flawed. An example of this is in firewire. It’s true that firewire is faster than current USB2.0 (though USB3.0 is quickly approaching and is expected to out-perform firewire), the difference is in the cost to let PC, laptop and peripheral makers use it. While USB is a freely-shared component that any company can use to build new and exciting products, Apple charges for every single firewire unit that gets installed into any product. This is one thing that will keep MACs from ever passing PCs in the market, because companies don’t want to pay extra for a component that they can use for free in a different design.

The real reason MACs are increasing in sales is due to hype, pure and simple. They claim to have less viruses, but that’s only because there are fewer MACs. They claim to have the thinnest laptop ever, but Sharp still holds this title with the Muramasa notebook from back in 2003. They claim the iPhone is the future of phones, but for around $300 less, the Palm Centro does just about everything the iPhone does, and even surpasses iPhone in some tests (testing was done here on DVICE.com). They claim it “just works”, but that’s only if you want to limit yourself to a much smaller selection of products and tasks/chores that it can do and at much higher prices for those products (and with more restrictions on their use).

Some say they’re “prettier” than a PC… though this is one of the most useless reasons to choose a computer… I’m a gadget freak, and if I have a choice between a modernistic, plain looking cube (with no room for upgrades) over a tower, I’d choose a tower in a heartbeat because I know I can trick that thing out with everything from a full home-automation setup to an old-school tape deck. And for someone to say a PC or non-MAC laptop isn’t useful, when is the last time you saw a ruggedized MAC for taking on the road, camping or even into battle? When is the last time you saw a MAC automatically controlling your home security, entertainment system, lighting, HVAC and watering your lawn all from one single unit?

I’ll keep my PC and kick-butt ruggedized laptop, thank you very much!

I own PC's and Macs, newest are a Dell Quad Core with Vista and Macbook with Leopard. Along with a Mac mini used as a video podcast and DVIX media server, a couple XP Pro servers, a Linux server, a Linux workstation, a few XP Tablet PC's and even a Sun Solaris server (running 24x7 since 1996 with zero failures).

I worked with PC's since 4.77mhz and DOS 1.0 ...and remember 1984? That was my first Mac. I didn't actually buy a PC until Win95, as Amiga was making me too much bread and butter doing video work. Then switched to Solaris and got a real job. Left Mac as well... but came back after OSX arrived.

I then switched to iMacs for my video work... and still today. (Though, I use the Dell to crunch DVD video into DVIX, ...and play the cool games).

I moved my wife off of a HP laptop to a Macbook to get rid of the adware/malware/virus issues of IE/Outlook. And just its simpler to maintain. No virus checker even needed.

That HP is now my Linux workstation, accessed from my Dell using VNC. I run only 1 program on it; Firefox, set up only for my banking and other high security sites. Far more secure than any other system, except Solaris*. Even if my Dell were keystroked, VNC/Linux/Firefox would be unaffected.

Another 10yr old Dell is running Linux server for my web development and Asterisk PBX as my phone system.

The Mac Mini being only 6" square and a few inches tall and quiet as a mouse, makes for excellent media server running Front Row and iTunes for video podcasts. Also the Dell serves up Divx movies for the Mini. All very nice on my 37" HDTV.

Vista is finally working out well, though, not that much different from XP Pro, in what I do with it. I remote desktop to XP machines at home and VPN to office. Also have a dedicated Win2K dual display machine for VPN to work... (even to access my X11 Solaris OpenWindows remote GUI.)

Bottom line, each machine, just like each OS and each programming language has its good and bad. I find no one system can do everything, nor would I want that... get over the "mainframe mentality" of one size fits all. Remember, Computers are TOOLS, and just like tools, there are many different kinds because each solves a particular problem. Put down that hammer, if you need to remove a screw!

* = Solaris is highly secure only because few use it! (too obscure for hackers to bother.) There are exploits, but no known viruses in the wild. and w/o many around, a virus couldn't spread far.

BTW, the number of viruses against PC's is >100,000 now and because of variants, its expected to reach 1 million next year. See http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/040408-number-of-viruses-to-top.html

And there are far fewer that 200 for Mac (in the wild). Try 2 or 3. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1655373&tstart=0

Firewire is still primarily used for video transfer, thus reason why your video camera probably has firewire. And so do most decent laptops (and PC's for $15 extra).

...And its my $49 X10 controller running the house, not my $1499 Dell.

This comparison is completely bogus. The price for the Inspiron is understated--it starts at $724 at the Dell online store, and that price does not include the iMac's 20-inch monitor, WiFi, or anti-virus software; the Dell does not have dual-layer DVD, as far as I can tell, nor does it have a webcam; also, the comparison uses a freshly-released Dell product compared against a 5-month old Mac so as to take advantage of newer CPUs and lower component prices. Dishonest, to say the least. A more honest comparison shows the price difference at $1200 to $1350--just $150 different, not $500 as this clearly biased article suggests.

But there are other factors as well. Despite the hearsay experiences of individual users, Macs have fewer breakdowns and are cheaper to maintain, with far superior technical & customer support. The iMac has a far smaller footprint and better design, runs a superior OS (sorry, that's not bias, it's simply true), and can run Windows if you need it to. Take away the frustration with Vista, malware, spyware, adware, upkeeping security, dealing with poor tech support, etc., etc., and the imagined price difference--wildly exaggerated in the above hit piece--melts away.

Nice try, though.

Here's My contribution to this debate that's been going on for a long, long time. I configured 2 almost identical base systems. 1 for Mac Pro, and 1 from HP. This comparison is based on a customization of current models on each respective web site. Here's the results and prices:
Total
$4,848.00
Ships: 2-4 business days
Free Shipping
Next business day delivery available
Click "Update Details" to reflect changes to system price and shipping.
Specifications

One 2.8GHZ Quad-Core Intel Xeon
4GB (4x1GB)
Mac Pro RAID Card
300GB 15,000-rpm SAS
None
None
None
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
One 16x SuperDrive
Apple Cinema Display (20" flat panel)
None
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Keyboard + User's Guide

Here's the HP, but I tricked it up with a lot of extras for a grand total of
$2638
Operating system Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) edit
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q6700 (2.66GHz) edit
Memory 4GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM (4x1024) edit
Graphics card 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT, 2 DVI (VGA and HDMI adapters) edit
Hard drive 640GB RAID 0 (2 x 320GB SATA HDDs) - performance edit
Networking Premium Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n (2x3) & Bluetooth(R ) edit
Primary CD/DVD drive Blu-ray / HD DVD player & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burner edit
Front Productivity Ports 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, video, audio edit
TV & entertainment experience Dual ATSC-NTSC TV tuner, PVR, 1 FM tuner, remote edit
Sound Card None (Integrated 7.1 channel sound w/ front audio ports) edit
Productivity software Microsoft(R) Office Basic Edition 2007 edit
Security software Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008 - 15 month edit
Speakers Logitech X-530 speakers (5.1) edit
Keyboard and Mouse HP wireless keyboard and HP wireless optical mouse edit
Your additional options:
Click edit to modify. NOTE: These items are in stock and will ship immediately.
Headsets & webcams Premium Stereo Headset edit
HP 2 Megapixel Webcam edit
Monitor HP w2408h 24in Wide flat panel, integrated speakers edit

If you want an OS like Mac OSX (incidentally it costs $129) you can download and do a dual boot on the HP with any Linux Variant and the Linux software usually comes pre-built with almost the exact same interface as Mac OSX but for FREE.

I can't believe that apple wants to charge $500 just to add a RAID array, and another $500 just to go from 2Gig RAM to $Gig. $599 for a 20inch flat panel. You could buy a 32inch HDTV at 1080p at walmart and use it for a monitor at that price.

In my experiences, hardware is hardware. If you want to pay through the nose for the same hardware you can buy somewhere else for half the price, be my guest. If you think about it, if the hardware is fundamentally the same, then that means your really paying a crap load for OSX, which you could get almost the exact same thing for free. Even apple releases some of the sources for their Operating systems, they have to, because it's based on open source.

I will say this about VISTA: Like XP was 8 years ago, so is VISTA now. People said the same things about XP (memory hog, costs too much, etc...). I do know that I've been running Vista for coming up on two years with absolutely NO VIRUS OR MALWARE protection, NO FIREWALL, and nothing other than what comes with Vista. To date, I have not had any viruses, malware, spyware, key loggers or any other bad thing that I didn't put on there myself. I do not use IE except for well established web sites such as netflix.com.

Security is a trivial matter, if you like going into questionable websites, you should consider a "live CD" OS so that there is no risk of infecting your machine.

Great job, THISONEGUY!

what many of you aren't taking into account is that mac doesn't make a generic computer... All of their machines with exception to the mini are hi performance machines. If you want to compare macs to an entry level dell you're being a moron, if you want to compare to competable of like an alienware machine, then we can talk about the ups and downs