Apple Mac vs. Apple PC

[Michael CM1]

I think people tend to forget that the small details are what make a Mac actually a Mac.

It goes from small touches like a backlit keyboard and multitouch trackpad all the way to using the latest hardware from Intel under the hood. These can add value to the machine, but it is up to you to decide which computer you would like to buy.

Is it actually a $1000 difference? I doubt it. I've seen many comparisons, but before I purchased my Mac I went to match the chipsets used in the Macbook Pro including higher end video chipset with equal amounts of dedicated/discreet video memory only to find that the costs were roughly equal.

That's true in most computers. There are a lot of hidden things that can be cheapened without a user noticing until the thing breaks. Desktop makers love to do that with motherboards, video cards, stuff like that. Basically be suspect of something you don't see in an advertisement.

In the end, being able to run Leopard is what makes it worth a bazillion dollars. I shudder when I think what my life could've been like had I spent it fixing Windows machines instead of doing different stuff where I use Macs all the time. Sure, they're old at work, but they're more reliable than most Windows PCs I used to have.

 

[Hmac]

At the end, we are all Mac users but I just wanted to make a point that Apple has to decrease its prices in order to attract more customers.

Decreasing price is one way to attract customers. The other way is to provide a high perceived value for the existing price. Apple has choseln the latter way and it certainly seems to be working for them.

Bottom line, Apple's growth rate is just fine, their revenues are just fine...cutting prices would be a disaster and will never happen. Mac will always be a premium-price computer.

 

[rjp]

Would trade aluminum for plastic any day!

I know that the MBP has more expensive material (Aluminum) compared to the Vaio AR

I have a MBP and I would gladly pay more to have a plastic enclosure if it were offered. Plastic is a superior material in many ways. Aluminum is too cold when off, too hot when on, dents, and blocks wireless reception. My plastic MB performs so much better on WiFi than my MBP.

Somehow Apple has convinced us that Aluminum is actually an upgrade. This is a marvelous trick of advertising. Make then think Aluminum "looks cool". I think the real motivation is that plastics are worse for the environment.

 

[kwfl]

Well according to Stephen Baker, "If you don't give people a choice, people will spend more."

http://blogs.eweek.com/applewatch/content/channel/macs_defy_windows-gravity.html

but not all people are prepared to pay more.

so i guess that is how apple is gonna expand controlably.

 

[tveric]

I think the real motivation is that plastics are worse for the environment.

So this is another reason you're in FAVOR of plastic?

 

[Skeletal-dæmon]

Just quickly before I begin my own rant: Aluminium does not block wireless reception. Just like plastic doesn't block it, nor cheese, nor lots of sheets of paper stuck together with U-Glu. Why else would the AirPort antenna be in the lid of the MBP?

Anyway, my rant. In the UK, Apple's prices are inexplicably higher than in America and even in Europe. The basic MBP costs £1,299 which is the equivalent of $2,575 US - the MBP in America costs $1,999 US - last time I checked our value-added tax was 17.5% not 26%. So when Apple tells us the difference is because of tax we all know that they're lying through their teeth.

When you start looking round, you realise that you can buy a machine with virtually exactly the same internal parts as an Apple computer for roughly between half and three-quarters of the Apple price (depending on the retailer) plus Windows XP (no way I'm touching Vista) and still be sitting at around £750-900 for a machine with the exact same specs as the £1,299 MacBook Pro.

But still, I buy Apple products because I know that, price aside, I'm going to get a computer that will work for years to come. My Mac Mini is two years old now, and it still runs comparatively better than my old Wintel laptop did two years after its purchase. Hell, I still have a PowerMac 6200 from way back in the early nineties, and it runs as smooth as it ever has.

Later this year, I am getting a MacBook Pro to take with me to university. From what I have seen from the campus and course tours, I will be one of very few people who own a Macintosh computer. But do I give a damn? No. I'll have spent £1,599 on the high-end 15" MacBook Pro, and they'll have spent £800 on a Dell CR4P.

I'll have a vastly superior computer with vastly superior applications that come as standard; mine'll look better, run better, run better design software titles (I'm going for a television degree so Final Cut here I come), and most of all, mine is likely to last the full four years at university.

So buy a PC if you must, and save yourself those dollars. You'll need them. For antivirus software. For tech support. For maintenance. For replacement components. For upgrades. To re-buy hardware that is compatible with Vista. To re-buy hardware again after it turned out not to be compatible neither. To pay for a new computer after you threw the old one on the floor in a temper.

I know the prices are high, and don't get me wrong as a student I feel the burn in my wallet as much as the next lad or lass. But you're paying for a machine that will outlive/outrun/out-perform/out-cool the comparative PC.

 

[Brend]

Ergonomics!

Here is my two cents. Apple is all about ergonomics; especially the macbook pro which is absolutely great if you do not want to use an external mouse and/or keyboard. Need I to "touch" on the great touchpad features? Simply revolutionary! Then try working on a pc laptop - pure misery to me, I would not want to get one for free. They are designed by monkeys or people that are in league with mouse and keyboard manufacterers.
When I am on the move, I don't want to fill my bag with peripherals that are designed to be excluded - only Apple pulls it of.

 

[Michael CM1]

I have a MBP and I would gladly pay more to have a plastic enclosure if it were offered. Plastic is a superior material in many ways. Aluminum is too cold when off, too hot when on, dents, and blocks wireless reception. My plastic MB performs so much better on WiFi than my MBP.

Somehow Apple has convinced us that Aluminum is actually an upgrade. This is a marvelous trick of advertising. Make then think Aluminum "looks cool". I think the real motivation is that plastics are worse for the environment.

Aluminum gets hot when it's on because it dissipates heat better than other materials. Therefore, the inside of your MBP is keeping cooler, which prolongs the life. I don't think aluminum has anything to do with wireless reception. Aluminum is used in millions of computer-related things and I have never heard anything about it degrading a wireless signal. I have had wireless issues with my MBP recently, but that all happened with the 10.5.2 update. There are many different reasons your MBP may have an issue that your MB doesn't.

Plastic is a little worse for the environment since it's made from oil, but you can recycle both. Aluminum will last MUCH longer than plastic.

 

[8767092]

My last reply with regards to linked speeds and pricing was hastily made. mhnajjar corrected me on it and I'd like to follow up.

Sony's Vaio line is a premium line with some options Apple's Macbook Pro line does not offer such as the Blu-ray reader writer. I believe it is a fair comparison to line up the Macbook Pro against the Sony Vaio as a prosumer product as both seem to target similar market segments looking for premium computer products.

I ended up with the following configurations to compare:

Sony Vaio VGN-AR770:

Intel® Core 2™ Duo Processor T9500 (2.6GHZ)
Microsoft® Windows Vista® Ultimate with Service Pack 1
2 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-667, 1 GBx2)
240 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm]
DVD±R DL / DVD±RW / DVD-RAM Drive
LCD 17"WUXGA (XBRITE-HiColor™) with integrated video camera
WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
Extended Battery (BPL9)
No Engraving
Microsoft® Works
Photo Plus
Video Premium
QuickBooks Simple Start
Norton 360™ All-In-One Security (60 Day Trial)

The total comes to: 2658.99

Apple Macbook Pro 17":

2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution LED Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
iLife 08

The total comes to: $3049.00

These configurations come with a difference of $390.01.

====================

The Sony Vaio computer was configured with additional software to match some of the functionality found in Apple's included iLife software. This is an important package as it allows for people to perform different tasks that most PC configurations cannot perform without additional software not included with the PC. The value is subjective, but for the comparison to be accurate the software must be comparable. I've also configured it with Vista Ultimate which offers the Bitlocker and Aero features which Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard has standard.

It always comes back to personal preference and pricing comparisons are always highly subjective so buy what you want most.

 

[shakenmartini]

Your comparison is very valid, however I think the extended battery on the AR series sticks out and downward (and only over 2/3 of the back to the left). This is the only way to get more than 1-2h of battery life.

For me this drives me nuts that PC makers have designed their laptops with "standard" lightweight batteries that only get < 2h of battery life and the extended batteries stick out and back behind the laptop.

While I don't own a mac yet, this alone is worth $390 or more. My current laptop has this "feature" and it ends up taking up more space in your bad than if they would have just added a few millimeters in thickness throughout the entire laptop to accommodate a bigger battery.

Also does anyone know if someone makes a 17" laptop that is 1" thick? I don't know of any off hand since I drifted into wanting a mac instead.

 

[rjp]

Aluminum gets hot when it's on because it dissipates heat better than other materials. Therefore, the inside of your MBP is keeping cooler, which prolongs the life. I don't think aluminum has anything to do with wireless reception.

Aluminum (like any conductor) will interfere with wireless RF performance. This is why Apple put the antenna in the rubber-like section on the screen hinge on the MBP. This is an better than having it in the case or lid, but still having so much aluminum in the proximity of the antenna effects the directionality and gain of the antenna (usually for the worse), and touching the aluminum case makes it worse still since then your entire body is effecting the beam pattern.

Apple has done a good job trying to compensate for the effects of the aluminum case, and as a result the MBP wireless is still better than PC notebooks I've tried, just not as good as the plastic MB.

As far as the heat conduction I agree completely! The aluminum case definitely helps keep the inside of the machine cooler by conducting the heat away into your legs.

 

[8767092]

There is a reason they call them notebooks instead of laptops now.

I like the aluminum case of the Macbook Pro as I use it to compile code from time to time. From what I can tell the case helps keep it cool when there are major batch compile projects to complete that might take 3 - 5 hours. The case gets warm/hot, but the computer doesn't shut down or have any issues.

I can compare that to a computer from another large OEM, that cost almost as much, which will shut down constantly during intensive tasks due to cooling issues.