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Many people have already made very good points, but I'll go ahead and try to group them in to one post (and maybe add a few more of my own):
1) An admittedly technically inferior product sells for more money initially, and will later resale for more money... this proves to me its value? To me that just says that the same fanboys who get tricked by new Apple products are also tricked in the same way into buying used Apple products. And if a resale PC really is so "bogged down with spyware"(more on this later), then a complete formatting should do the trick to cleaning it back up. Who doesn't do a complete format before selling/giving away an old computer of any kind anyway? Ugh... I mean, in both cases you admit that the PC has better specs and is cheaper... but the value comes in resale? Really?
2) How many people resell their computers? I know to me, personally, one of the great advantages of owning a PC is that I very rarely have to resell or get rid of a whole box. I can upgrade bit by bit. The ram one year, the graphics card the next, and eventually grab a new mobo/processor combo. I very rarely get rid of my HDDs (just my really old ones that are tiny, but hey my old 80gig is still quite useful) and I'm still using the same DVD+-RW drive I got... oh man, I dunno how long ago.
3) Spyware? Viruses? Yes. I agree with you here... to a point. That is why I recommend Apple to people like my grandmother, or my way technophobic exgirlfriend (not an implication that all girls are technophobic, just that she was). They are easier to maintain for the type of people that get tricked by spam email, look up porn in weird places, download "desktop buddies", screen savers, or who knows what. But anyone with any competent computer skills should have no problem avoiding viruses and spyware on a windows platform. About the only place I can think of someone with reasonable intelligence actually getting a virus is from downloading pirated software.....
4) You're comparing HPs to Macs. I... I don't have anything more to say. This will go back to my grandma/exgirlfriend argument I guess. But hey, lets throw my dad in there too, who just doesn't feel like building a computer, and is a casual user with no need for up to the date specs (doesn't play games, or run CS3, maya, or anything like that). Hell though, I dunno why people like that buy new computers more than every 6 or more years really. A 6 year old machine should have no problem browsing the internet and running MS Office. There's certainly no reason for someone like that to update their computer every year.
5) Serious users are really the point (or, my point at least). I'm with you that my grandma and ex should definitely have Macs, and that hey maybe my Dad could have one too. But anyone who's serious should have a PC given the current market. The best graphics card you can get in a Mac Pro is the 7300GT... really? And this computer with a 2.66 dual core and the aforementioned graphics card, with only 1gig of ram (in the form of 2x512 sticks), and no monitor is $2,500?!?? That's ridiculous. It's not even worth the time to look up how much it would cost to build a machine that destroys that one on NewEgg. I can tell you right now: it'd be CONSIDERABLY cheaper, especially if you keep in mind that most (even just reasonably advanced) users out there probably already have a 100+gig HDD and a DVD+-RW drive that they wont need to replace.
But again, that is an advanced user. And I will agree with you that those who are completely technically uninformed would be better off with a Mac, and that those who are lazy and can afford to have someone else build them a computer might be better off grabbing one because they're pretty and they wont need to do anything to intense. My problem is, you never made that distinction at all in your post. You imply that everyone should have a Mac and that they're inherently more valuable because people get tricked in resale the same way they get tricked during the initial sale.... and that's just ridiculous.
~S_R_
Aaaaand, I'll go ahead and throw in all the cliche stuff I tried to avoid, but I just gotta say:
- I'm a graphic designer currently employed by a well known (within the industry at least) motion graphics firm.
- I'm not an Apple hater. I have a Macbook Pro, and an iPhone, and I love them both and am glad I can afford such luxuries, but I'd never kid myself as to think I was actually getting some amazing better value from them.
