A few things have brought this on:
- I'm tried of my current computer crashing or slowing to a crawl regularly. Part of the problem is hardware, part seems to be the evil Windows registry.
- I'd like my software to work more seamlessly with one-another.
- The number of my friends and associates using Macs has reached a critical mass.
- Macs seem to actually be decent machines now.
- A major project that I'm working on is very Apple-related.
The biggest hurdle is still price.
On one monitor, I'm looking at Dell.ca. On the other, Apple.ca.
I've selected two fairly comparable laptops.
At first glance, the "base" price is pretty similar for the two computers. But then I start customizing...
By the time I've created the systems I want, the Mac is at least $600 more expensive. And the Mac is actually still a little less powerful (though it's hard to compare apples-to-apples, since they don't use resources identically). AND, this is just based on the Dell's standard price -- it's very easy to find a discount for a couple of hundred bucks off.
Is the Mac really worth that much more? Seems like that price difference would buy me a lot of anti-virus protection, other helpful utility software, an occasional "tune up" by a professional, and various hardware upgrades.
Then there are the conversion costs. I'll need to buy new software to replace what I already use on my PC. Some of my peripherals, cables, etc. will need to be replaced by Mac-friendly alternatives. And, I'm sure there will be a bit of downtime while I learn how to use the thing.
Here's the thing that bugs me: Much of Apple's extra cost appears to be unnecessary.
Take the hard drive, for example.
Adding 130GB to the Mac costs $150.
Adding 130GB to the Dell costs $80.
It's a hard drive. Nothing fancy. It doesn't care (for the most part) what OS is running or what device it's put inside. In short, it's a commodity. Why is the upgrade on the Mac nearly twice as expensive?
I realize that it's an "upgrade", not an outright purchase, so perhaps there's some sort of cost related to the customization. Or maybe the smaller drive is subsidized on the Mac or the larger is subsidized on the Dell. Or maybe some other weird reason exists.
But it still seems a little shifty.
Is Apple trying to charge me more just because they're Apple?
Even if the computer IS that much better, this "Apple-tude" (haha) continues to make me wary of switching.
What do you think?
1 comment:
Hi,
I've only owned one computer and it's a 5 year old iBook I use everyday. I use a PC at work and before that in the labs in university. What I have decided is that at the end of the day they are all computers that do almost the exact same thing. What I do notice about the Mac is the details.
Comparing hard drive size, GHz, GB, and price seems to always put the Mac on the wrong side of the equation, but when you use one you can feel a difference with it. Simple things like power cords - the plastic shield is a soft pliable material that doesn't hold the shape it was while in the box. It drapes down rather than kink like a figure eight. The plug to the machine is held on with a magnet so that the cord doesn't yank the laptop off the table but instead just pops off. The power transformer on the power cord is small, attractive, can plug directly into the wall or have an extension attached to it, and has built-in retractable arms that allow you to wrap the cord around the transformer. All that in a plug. So when you are paying more for a Mac it is partially due to the added design features in the little things that aren't spec'd on the side of the box or on a website. Subwoofers in all laptops, hard drives that are programed in the firmware to run quieter, higher quality memory, software that is optimized to run on that hardware. Little smart details that add up. And of course they look cool too.
The other extra cost is the included software that works right out of the box and the operating system that doesn't announce it's presence to you with warning balloons and hound dogs sniffing for your files. And finally the last bit of cost is what is referred to as the "Apple Tax".
Can you surf the web just as well with a PC as with a Mac? Of course. Will using a Mac be a life altering experience? No. It's a tool. That's it.
What was your decision?
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