pretty funny but apple probably spends more money on advertising than MS does (but what do I know?). I have never seen an MS ad on TV but I've seen plenty of Mac ads.
According to each company's quarterly statements...
Apple spent 12% of net sales on "Selling, general, and administrative"
Microsoft spent 24% of net sales on "Sales and Marketing"
There can also be differences in how the money is spent. For example, I see a lot of MS advertisements in print (Magazines, etc) for Microsoft. Also, they might be also spending some of their money by subsidizing Dell, HP, etc, hardware ads (similar to how Automakers help pay for local dealership ads).
It now seems that every single thread will be hijacked by the whiners lamenting the lack of Firewire in the new Macbook.
Give it a break whiners ...You are oblivious to the facts that most CONSUMER devices available today are USB2.0 compatible with no FireWire connectivity - you might not like it but you have to face reality.
Since you wanted a hijacking...
Most beef sold is hamburger rather than steak, so obviously burgers taste better?
In any event, the crux of the FW debate is partially that some portion of existing Apple customers have built up a not-insignificant installed base of Firewire peripherals in the post-SCSI era, and the interface was supported across the entire product line. However, the key is that for Apple to get rid of FW before something demonstrably better is available is a clear step backwards, and a dangerous precidence.
I have no qualms with Apple offering a 'Switcher' product, but the underlying disconcerting issue is that Apple appears to be willing to sacrifice their relationship to existing customers in order to cater to expansion through new, unproven consumers ... historially, this is a bad business decision in a down economy.
I fail to see this logic. Anyone with half a brain should know how to use a computer, whether it be a PC or a Mac. I for one have never had any of these supposed "frustration problems" ..
Perhaps that's because you're only 23 years old, and you still consider the task of resolving various computer glitches to be "interesting" instead of frustrating.
I'm willing to wager that those who have no issues with Windows/PCs actually know how to use and maintain a computer.🙄
The eye-opener is to be exposed to a different OS after you've been eating the MS dogfood for years. It isn't until then that you realize: "Hey, I've been eating freaking DOG FOOD!"
The truism is that you're happy until you realize that there's something better, and you don't have to be content eating dog food.
YMMV. Personally, I've also been using both OS's for decades and its not that I can't jump through the hoops but rather that I find the need to do so far more frequently on Windows to be
banal.
In general, what has happened is that my personal tolerance for "stupid stuff" is lower, because I know that there's better alternatives. Sure, sometimes they cost more, but that's mostly because dog food is cheap.
Built my own PC tower without monetary limit...
I used to do that myself, back before you were born. Don't presume that you're somehow smarter or more special than all the other readers.
Some ... perhaps many? ... of us came through our early 20s with the same approach and attitude that you're manifesting. This included DIY building PCs because we could make "better" systems that cost "less" and so forth.
The bottom line? We were simply willing to spend our free time doing something that we gained entertainment from, even though in many cases, the form of "entertainment" was the glee to be saving money. The fallacy is that we considered our free time to be free, whereas it really is not.
Perhaps as your free time becomes more limited, you'll choose to change the way that you spend it. And for part of that, perhaps you'll decide choose to "throw money at" various challenges so that they consume less of your time. Doesn't matter if it is DIY building a PC, or paying someone to pull an oil change in your car instead of doing it yourself...life is full of trade-offs.
I no longer consider the care & feeding of a PC to be an interesting, "fun" to do hobby, so I no longer DIY build my own PCs, and I choose PCs that I have learned are of demonstrably lower maintenance. Ultimately, its my time and I'll choose to spend it as I wish.
-hh