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• Wednesday, November 7, 2007 11:53 AM

  most people don't buy PCs instead of Macs because they are cheaper

  If Macs are really better and cheaper than PCs, then why don't more people own them?

  Most people don't buy PCs instead of Macs because they are cheaper. PCs are available at every price point. However, the cheapest PCs are slow and lack storage space. While certainly some buyers choose $500 PCs, most don't. So, I'm guessing that the average PC price is within a few hundred dollars of the average Mac price.

  So, why do more people buy PCs? I'd argue that its because they are actually better computers. For one, they connect to every and all peripherals without much fuss. Example: where I work, we have a computer projector. Its only about a year old. Nevertheless, it takes a brain surgeon to connect a Mac laptop to it. However, PC laptops never have any problem with connecting. Plug it in, switch your screen output using your function keys and you are ready to go.

  Gripes about the Windows operating system are no longer valid. I will grant you that the early versions of Windows were buggy and clearly inferior to the Mac OS. However, XP is very good. I've had XP running on this computer for 4 years with no OS crashes and no reason to reinstall, etc. Occasionally (perhaps once every 3-4 weeks), an application will crash. However, the OS seems bulletproof. Admittedly, Vista has had some problems. However, its safer and even more stable than XP.

  The virus issue is a red herring. True, there are more viruses written for PCs. However, a $30 virus protection program has kept this computer virus free for 4 years.

  There is more software available for Windows PCs and much of it is as good or better than the Mac software. I recently went looking for a video editing package and found a variety of possibilities at a range of price points and features. Multiple choices exist for most applications and competition keeps quality high and price low.

  There are many other reasons why Windows PCs are better than Macs. The average consumer knows these reasons and makes their choice based on a real comparison of the two platforms. The common Mac-user assumption is that most people don't own a Mac because they are ignorant is just plain wrong.

  My experience is that most Mac users have never touched a PC and really have no idea what using one is like. I bet this is case with our writer. I'd like to challenge Farhad to actually use a modern, state-of-the-art PC (no $500 Walmart specials) for a few months and then blog about his experiences.

  —Mike_in_NM Read Mike_in_NM's other letters
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