@S2Hedgehog: I'll grant you there are some decent pro-mac arguments, but you take a few things a bit too far. As an example, the old price argument is mostly dead - for initial purchases. Cost of ownership for a PC, though, is going to be somewhat less. You have to shell out for Parallels or (gulp!) a full copy of XP on top of paying for any games you might want to run (trying to keep this relevant). Also, keeping a PC up to date in terms of hardware is considerably less expensive - in 2 years I'll be able to add a BluRay drive to my PC for probably $150. You'd need to buy a new Mac. Ouch.
You're right, tho, there are no low-cost options available for Macs. Which is a total shame, as most of the people buying the $399 or $499 Dells really could do with something as virus resistant and simple to learn as a Mac. Some people should NOT be allowed near something as . . . 'touchy' as Windows. And Apple would be able to rapidly grow their install base, too.
Also, the neat red underlining feature is available to PC's, too - you just need to use firefox, instead of (shudder) IE.
@TM: "Just look at the new 8 core Mac Pro! What other consumer PC has that right now? NONE!"
errr . . . Mac Pro's aren't consumer products - hence the 'Pro' in their name. The hardware platform is the same as PC, you can run windows on 8 cores, too, if you want to get a dual socket mobo - it's just not a common option. Check out the Alienware MJ-12® 8550i as an example of this. Same market, equivalent hardware (except the 8800GTX option!). No more a consumer PC then the Mac Pro, but no less 'consumer', either.
You can, in fact, upgrade your Mac desktops. I'm not sure where you get your information from. Since he is speaking about his Mac Pro, which you were quick to point out, he will in fact be able to upgrade to Blu-Ray or whatever it is once he feels like doing so assuming that they are compatible (and if Apple is going to put any into their product line, then they will be available). For example, my superdrive in my G5 tower has pretty much bit the dust after 4 years. It barely functions as a burner anymore for whatever reason. For less than $30 I can upgrade to a new superdrive, have the functionality back, and get a very large speed increase at the same time. Do I have to buy a new Mac Pro for it? Nope. My G5 still has a lot of life left in it (assuming Apple doesn't pull one of it's classic support-dropping moves... again). How about a graphics card? Same deal. RAM? C'mon, everyone knows you can upgrade your RAM in your Mac. HD? Same deal. Macs ARE upgradeable, even iMacs. As for the cost of ownership issue.. I largely agree that you will have to fork out more money to buy Parallels, XP, and all of that. Don't most PCs need some sort of anti-virus software? Macs don't have to purchase that. There are low-end Macs. They're used, you can find them on eBay. Just because Apple doesn't offer brand new low-end Macs doesn't mean you can't get a low-end Mac. Dell and the like offer old stuff that they couldn't sell. Apple doesn't. In the end, it's essentially the same thing. You can always get a refurb.
The N9 has arrived. What we can say from our first experience is that we're in the presence of a fantastically designed device with a gorgeous AMOLED screen and some highly responsive performance.
The most commented posts on Engadget over the past 24 hours.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
@S2Hedgehog:
I'll grant you there are some decent pro-mac arguments, but you take a few things a bit too far. As an example, the old price argument is mostly dead - for initial purchases. Cost of ownership for a PC, though, is going to be somewhat less. You have to shell out for Parallels or (gulp!) a full copy of XP on top of paying for any games you might want to run (trying to keep this relevant). Also, keeping a PC up to date in terms of hardware is considerably less expensive - in 2 years I'll be able to add a BluRay drive to my PC for probably $150. You'd need to buy a new Mac. Ouch.
You're right, tho, there are no low-cost options available for Macs. Which is a total shame, as most of the people buying the $399 or $499 Dells really could do with something as virus resistant and simple to learn as a Mac. Some people should NOT be allowed near something as . . . 'touchy' as Windows. And Apple would be able to rapidly grow their install base, too.
Also, the neat red underlining feature is available to PC's, too - you just need to use firefox, instead of (shudder) IE.
@TM: "Just look at the new 8 core Mac Pro! What other consumer PC has that right now? NONE!"
errr . . . Mac Pro's aren't consumer products - hence the 'Pro' in their name. The hardware platform is the same as PC, you can run windows on 8 cores, too, if you want to get a dual socket mobo - it's just not a common option. Check out the Alienware MJ-12® 8550i as an example of this. Same market, equivalent hardware (except the 8800GTX option!). No more a consumer PC then the Mac Pro, but no less 'consumer', either.
You can, in fact, upgrade your Mac desktops. I'm not sure where you get your information from. Since he is speaking about his Mac Pro, which you were quick to point out, he will in fact be able to upgrade to Blu-Ray or whatever it is once he feels like doing so assuming that they are compatible (and if Apple is going to put any into their product line, then they will be available).
For example, my superdrive in my G5 tower has pretty much bit the dust after 4 years. It barely functions as a burner anymore for whatever reason. For less than $30 I can upgrade to a new superdrive, have the functionality back, and get a very large speed increase at the same time. Do I have to buy a new Mac Pro for it? Nope. My G5 still has a lot of life left in it (assuming Apple doesn't pull one of it's classic support-dropping moves... again). How about a graphics card? Same deal. RAM? C'mon, everyone knows you can upgrade your RAM in your Mac. HD? Same deal. Macs ARE upgradeable, even iMacs.
As for the cost of ownership issue.. I largely agree that you will have to fork out more money to buy Parallels, XP, and all of that. Don't most PCs need some sort of anti-virus software? Macs don't have to purchase that.
There are low-end Macs. They're used, you can find them on eBay. Just because Apple doesn't offer brand new low-end Macs doesn't mean you can't get a low-end Mac. Dell and the like offer old stuff that they couldn't sell. Apple doesn't. In the end, it's essentially the same thing. You can always get a refurb.