Mac vs. PC costs

[rlk-FrUbXkNCsVf2fBVCVOL8/A at public.gmane.org (Robert Krawitz)]

   Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:00:48 -0400
   From: Jarod Wilson <jarod-ajLrJawYSntWk0Htik3J/w at public.gmane.org>

   On 06/20/2009 08:08 AM, Jack Coats wrote:
   > Real numbers from real life installations are always fun to see.  Vs the
   > FUD that M$ put out about how much more it cost to run Linux than M$
   > products some time ago.
   >
   > I think most of us will concede that Mac costs more to acquire (initial and
   > software) than PC based products.

   I still disagree that its the huge gap people make it out to be,
   though with caveats. A unibody aluminum MacBook Pro with an LED
   backlit screen is NOT comparable to some random PC laptop with a
   flimsy, fugly plastic case and a non-LED screen. If you actually
   try to spec out an attractive PC laptop with similar features
   across the board, not just cpu/hard drive/memory, there's really
   not all that much price difference. The main difference is that you
   can buy really really cheap PC laptops, while the bar is much
   higher for a Mac laptop.

The question is how important the LED backlit screen and the aluminum
case are.  I don't treat my laptops gently, but don't have problems
with them.  And I don't care about curb appeal.

   Some examples:

   The Dell Adamo, Dell's supposed answer to the MacBook Air, actually
   costs *more* than the MacBook Air, last I looked, and that was
   before Apple cut their prices down a few weeks ago. Features are
   pretty comparable on the two.

I'm not interested in smallest and lightest and thinnest.

   Oh, reasonably sure neither of the Dell XPS systems have backlit
   keyboards w/ambient light sensors that light them up like the MBPs,
   which, if you've used 'em, you *know* is a very cool feature.

My wife's MBP has that lighted keyboard.  If I could get it for $20 or
so I might, but it isn't something I'd lose any sleep over.

   I'm sure others have contrary experiences, but in my personal
   experience, cost of ownership for both my PowerBook and my ThinkPad
   are pretty much identical. The PowerBook, despite being about four
   years older, is still a much nicer looking machine, and has the
   backlit keyboard spiffyness, while the ThinkPad has the
   "ThinkLight" (what a joke)...

You're talking to someone who's owned Inspiron 8000's and 8200's, just
about the ugliest laptops anyone's ever built.  My 9400 has a nasty
ding on it where I removed the Designed for Windows sticker and then
used acetone to remove the sticky stuff that also removed some of the
paint.  The real joke is that I would care how a laptop looks.

   > Some friends have related horror stories about getting their Macs
   > maintained and failures, others think Apple walks on water.
   >
   > Reality must be somewhere in between.

   Yup. They have their flaws. Its a BITCH replacing the hard drive in a 
   PowerBook or a MacBook Pro. Its one screw in my ThinkPad.

Since I've already upgraded the drive in my 9400 twice (lots of photos
and VirtualBox images does that to you), that *does* matter to me.

-- 
Robert Krawitz                                     <rlk-FrUbXkNCsVf2fBVCVOL8/A at public.gmane.org>

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