What is the price with Windows 7 Ultimate? That is the equivalent to OS X.
Also, what is the price for a similar spec'd Dell Latitude. The Latitudes are considered in the same class as Macs.
right? i paid 200 bucks just for the most basic form of windows 7, and only 30 for snow leopard. what the ****?
wasn't vista like 600 dollars? it's nice that some of you can get student/teacher discounts, unfortunately not all of us have the pleasure.
the most irritating thing for me was they didn't even offer a family pack sort of deal for windows 7. i wanted to install it on two of my computers so that my girlfriend and i could play oldschool windows games together. they told me i'd have to get two copies. i was like...man **** that, 400 dollars to reminisce? i installed it on both computers anyway, and now my copy tells me it's not genuine. i don't give a crap that it takes my desktop image away and pops up with notifications telling me so every 5 minutes, because when i'm on windows i'm only ever in a fullscreen game and never see its bull.
edit: windows 7 ultimate is $320. not counting tax.
here's a comparison with dell's latitude:
first thing i noticed was it's catered to businesses. it even makes you select a type of business before proceeding to the spec sheet...
i chose the 13 inch to go with the 13 inch macbook pro:
the mbp's lowest option for a processor is the intel i5, so i chose the latitude with the i5, which immediately puts the price at $1,379. this is the savings price that dell is offering right now, otherwise the "starting price" listed above that is $2,036.
let's see what else we get on this, now that we have selected the version with the 15 core. i'm sure we all agree that windows 7 ultimate is the closest you're going to get to snow leopard, so let's select that. it gives the option to include microsoft office. let's go ahead and add that, while also adding mac's version of microsoft office. both offer the home and business edition for $200 dollars. but if you choose to get iWork instead (mac's "office" applications that can export their files to the microsoft equivalents) you spend $50.
we're gonna go ahead and skip warranty since none of us give a ****.
wow, then they offer the recovery disks for 3 bucks. at that low of a price, why not just include the damn thing by default.... (adding them by the way, seeing as all macs come with their recovery disks). ah, now we're at the "security options" page. seeing as you can't function on windows without antivirus, we're going to add that as well. never heard of "trend micro security," so let's go with norton.
they both come with 4gb ddr3-1333mhz by default, so we're leaving that alone.
alright now we're at the HDs. they don't have matching HD options, except for the option to put in solid state drives. apple's 128gig is cheaper than dell's, but its 256 ver. is more expensive than dell's. let's pick the 256gb solid state drives on both.
we're gonna skip any sort of dock stations, unnecessary.
they both have the same optical drives. mbp's battery is a 75w lithium ion, dell's can only go up to 60w lithium ion, so let's put that one (only 20 more bucks). it gives the option to select an additional battery, we're gonna skip that. should only need one. same wifi card. both come with built in webcam and mic. to add a bluetooth module to the latitude, though, is another 20 bucks. there's no option to take the bluetooth out of mac, so let's put the bluetooth in the dell. mbp comes with a sdxc card slot, so let's add the card reader to the dell. it also comes with a finger print reader (lol, i remember my vaio came with that...never used). both have backlit keyboard. skippin all this extra "HOT DEALS" and finance and accounting software (this comp's meant for business, so that's probably why it's offering). skipping carrying cases and whatnot as well. we're just looking at the computers.
this is interesting: it offers a warranty service for the batteries. but they're for if the battery wears out within 2 or 3 years, depending on the packet you choose. funnily enough, the macbook i got in 06 still has yet to need a battery change. so while dell is expecting you to need to buy a battery within 2-3 years, mac doesn't need another.
also skipping all these external monitors. wow, i know, the options never end. i'm sure i'll find the end of it soon.
it offers a recyclable option toward the end here, i don't know why you would have to pay to make your computer recyclable, but since one of mac's commercial-boasts is about being able to recycle their computers, we're going to lob that on as well. (28 bucks).
congratulations! you have finished personalizing!
end price:
dell latitude: $2,375
without sale: $3,032
13inch macbook pro: $1,898
because the price difference is already so steep, i'm not going to bother looking for available windows applications that could equate to what comes in ilife free when you buy a new mac.
throw some more cheap computers at me to compare specs/prices. i'll see what i can find. i'm sure we'll eventually find one that comes out cheaper than a mac.
