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Wednesday, November 7, 2007 12:00 AM

Once and for all, proof that Macs are cheaper than PCs

Let's put to rest the myth that an Apple computer will set you back more than a Windows PC. In fact, it'll cost you less.

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  • Thursday, November 8, 2007 07:24 AM

    Re: Mike_in_NM

    Yep, you're right. I'm a sheep that keeps using Windows despite the fact that a Mac is a better computer. I do this because I'm ignorant, lazy, and myopic.

    And don't forget condescending :-)

    Your irony is noted, but the real issue here is that when people don't believe that they have any problems, they are complacient and are not actively looking for alternatives. Many computer users (both sides) are sufficiently satisfied with what they have, so they aren't actively looking to see if there's something better. They simply keep doing what they've been doing.

    There's nothing wrong with this per se, even though it is a lost opportunity for improvement.

    Like I said: "The common Mac-user assumption is that most people don't own a Mac because they are ignorant is just plain wrong." Most of us have tried Macs and we're not convinced they are better computers.

    Typically, this last "tried it" was a decade ago, under OS 8 or OS 9. The problem with the paradigm of "tried it once a long time ago" is that things change. For example, my first Japanese car was a 1991 and it sucked - but how many poeple still claim that Japanese cars still suck today?

    PCs are more popular because they are judged to be better by most users.

    Where "better" was classically based only on initial purchase price instead of lifecycle costs, and in light of a standardization mandate that was made by a select few people down in the bowels of the local corporate IT department.

    I don't dispute that the PC was a better _value_ for years in terms of how most people chose to define "value". However, this utterly fails to explain why Apple didn't go out of business back then, nor does it explain why Apple is making big marketshare gains today.

    The simple explanation is that the consumer's definition of "value" is changing and Apple has become substantially more competitive. Since the initial purchase prices of Macs aren't cheaper than PCs, then it simply must be something else.

    -hh

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