I forgot to mention this point! Software 'borrowing' is difficult. However, as an industry guy, perhaps Mr. Manjoo would be assassinated if he freely discussed such items in his articles.

I'd also like to add/ re: my above post: Salon REALLY needs to feature an 'edit post' feature as I made a host of errors. Basic forum share/freeware has this....

Over the years I've gone back and forth between using Macs and Windows PCs, depending on my work. Most recently it's been Windows, but I've really enjoyed my encounters with OS X, and it's been great seeing Apple return to producing good systems based on superior design.

So I was sold long ago — my next computer will be a Mac! I've been certain of this for a while, and I look forward to my purchase.

... in about 3 years. See, the thing is, I haven't bought a new computer in quite a while, and I expect it will be a while before I do. Why should I ditch the tools that are already working for me? So if Apple is still doing as good a job sometime into the early 2010s, they'll have a new customer.

I can't imagine my attitude is unusual, and it has nothing to do with resale value.

has nothing to do with price.

It has to do with games. You see, I play PC games, and the Mac doesn't seem to have the availability and the distribution mechanisms to cater to me when it comes to the games I play.

Until that gets fixed, well I am going to stick with my PC.

Resale value?? That is how you are trying to justify buying a machine that is more expensive to own in every way from OS to application software to upgrades to repairs? How many people buy a computer for it's freaking investment value? Not I. Not many. Not any? Oh yes, I forgot, Macs don't crash... HAHAHAHA! Macs don't get viruses. Our IT group says they use Novell Groupwise (mail) for the very same reason Macs don't get viruses: the market share is so small why bother writing a virus for it?

I can see it now, racks and racks of Mac PCs being used for everything from database to web to Citrix servers. No I can't, because it will never happen. And yet, that is just what HP/Compaq, Dell, and even Gateway have been doing for years. I know. I manage enterprise database systems for one of the largest employers on the east coast. I also run a project recording studio out of my home. PCs are winning in this arena as well, as a similar high end Mac (not some entry level piece of junk), will cost you 30% more, and won't run some of the most popular media software like Giga Studio, or Sonar. Even Pro Tools got wise and now runs on a PC. I can buy a ton of muscle in the PC platform. More than can even be stuffed into a Mac. Period. Try this with your Mac: eight quad core CPUs and 100 GB RAM, two terrabytes disk space. Ha Ha.

A Mac is just a metrosexual dream. Get used to it, and go get a manicure or a Double Ristretto Venti Nonfat Organic Chocolate Brownie Frappuccino Extra Hot with Foam and Whipped Cream Upside Down Double Blended, and stop spouting this nonsense.

Overall, the resale argument is a valid one, but there's a lot more to consider. Let me take this point, for example:

"After just a year or two of use, a Windows machine gets so gummed up with spyware, viruses and other nasty stuff that it seems malicious to ask anybody for money for the thing."

I see this a lot in the computers of friends and colleagues, but a simple solution is to simply wipe it out and reinstall windows (takes about an hour, mostly unattended - all computers come with the discs needed to reinstall everything that was originally installed, and no, this does not qualify as 'heroic measures'). In addition, it seems an obvious act before selling a computer - would you sell it off with all your documents and history intact? So the argument that a Windows machine is somehow less valuable because because of viruses or spyware - even a runaway case of "nasty stuff" - is quite unfounded. An hour's labor restores it to its initial shine.

In fact, as a heavy computer user, professionally and personally, I find it advantageous to wipe things out fresh occasionally anyway. The time spent reinstalling is guaranteed to be less time consuming than troubleshooting all the "nasty stuff," plus it's a completely brainless and simple process (stick in a CD and click "okay" and "next" a lot). Oh, so you have to reinstall your fishbowl screen saver, too. Boo hoo.

In addition, I would argue that a Windows machine's life can be prolonged by a wider range of available inexpensive replacement parts than a Macintosh. A simple search (eBay and elsewhere) reveals that if you purchased Mac model X in year Y, you are generally stuck replacing the (fill in the blank part) with only that vintage and for quite a premium. It won't work with the same part from year Y+1. The rarity of parts drives up the price profoundly.

This is especially troublesome with Powerbooks. I'm limping along with a titanium Powerbook 400 with various power problems because the replacement parts cost almost double what the computer is worth. On the other hand, if my video card poops out on my PC, I can nip down to any tech store to buy nearly any inexpensive PCI-X video card and get back to work. If I own a PowerMac G5, I can choose from a handful, and that handful only has so much in common with the handful I can use in my PowerMac G4. Here's where I need someone with a computer science degree to help me figure out which one will work with my specific flavor of Mac. Any more or less frustrating than dealing with the vagaries of a PC? No. All computers are frustrating.

It's true that as Mac's occupy more of the market share, prices are dropping a bit. But until the makers of hardware and software get more reasons to develop products for that platform, PC users will always have more options for usage now and maintenance down the road. And PCs, over the long haul, remain the less expensive purchase than Macs.

Regards,

Mark Pfaff