[spinoza2]

I'm not sure where Dan got that price for the virus protection: I just checked the Norton site and the mid-level package of anti-virus cost $50 a year per machine. For the two machines over four years the costs would be a whopping $400 just to protect your machine from viruses. All of this, of course, is unnecessary with a Mac.
Also, if you try to replicate the iLife suite on a PC, most likely with Adobe and similar products, you're also talking about several hundred dollars per machine. Let's see, iPhoto would be Adobe Photo Elements on a PC ($80 per PC), GarageBand would be Cakewalk, Steinberg, or other software ($80 per PC), iMovie would be Pinnacle Suite, ULead or something similar ($100 per PC), and so on. If the study adds the annual updates for iLife, then this PC software will also cost a few hundred dollars a year for updates. And we haven't even started with the big differences in user experience and quality with these software apps!

[bobcopus]

Perhaps the most important metric of all has been given short shrift: throughput. How quickly can I do what I want to get done, from the time I sit down at my computer to the time I get up? I have 41 years' experience as a user, power user, applications programmer, and systems programmer, on almost every major category of computer that has existed (with the exception of the Cray-level supercomputer category), and I have found the Mac product line to be the most productive for me in terms of sheer throughput for the money spent:
1. What takes me a couple of mouse clicks on a Mac might take a dozen or more steps on a Windows system, and that's wasted time and effort.
2. I can get a new user up to speed faster on a Mac than on a Windows system, mainly because the Mac OS is so intuitive. The ideal OS is totally transparent, and the Mac OS comes very close to that ideal.
3. When I'm not busy fighting my environment, I can focus more on my mission. As a user, the OS is my "environment," and I shouldn't have to fight my environment to accomplish what I want. I have to do far more fighting on a Windows system than I do on a Mac...and I hate aggravation.
BOTTOM LINE: Money isn't the whole story. I quickly recoup far more in improved throughput (time saved) and fewer aggravations than whatever price differential I might pay when I buy a Mac instead of a comparable Windows system.

[Rhywun]

Whatever the price of cool is, this guy has never paid it.
Wow! How did he get the fonts to be NOT anti-aliased like that??

[alwaystyme]

Wow... I didn't know that Microsoft made computers?
You can NOT compare a manufacturer of computers with a software company. The cost of the computers used in the comparison with Apple were made by Dell and HP, who buy the Windows operating system from Microsoft. I wonder at what price?
All these type of articles/studied do is perpetuate the myth that Windows is a better operating system. Sales of operating systems are in Microsoft's favor, but Apple computers make a superb computer for everyone, not just businesses. Windows operating system is by design a business platform and the Apple system is by far, more user friendly and perfect for home computers as well as the business computer. I think Apple's move to the Intel processor has proven that point. Way back, when I had Apple IIe, you could say that DOS was better because there were more business application, I don't think that can be said of today's Apples.
The last word is Apple wins, Microsoft looses, they don't make computers.

[JDW]

I have been a Mac lover since 1984, and I've been an AAPL investor since 1999 (never sold any of my AAPL stock either). While I am not trying to defend MS by saying this, I don't feel Dan Moren is in any way making a strong defense for Apple pricing. Note that he doesn't put forth any hard number like "here's the Apple tax now, after my cuts." That's because even after his cuts, the price is still very high in comparison.

Dan Moren and Roger Kay aside, where is the $1,500 Mac Pro? If impossible for Apple, then where's the "mid-range tower" for that price? That price point is important to many people. Currently, the iMac fits that price point nicely. But alas, we have Jobs/Ive calling us all fools or "out of the mainstream" if we don't buy into their glossy screen hell marketing.

But let's ignore the glossy, eye-strain-inducing wickedness for a moment (not forever, just for a moment). What if someone wants to buy a Quadcore iMac because they only buy a computer once every 3-5 years? Nope. Only DuoCore CPUs for the iMac. What if I want to have the ability to upgrade the video card in the iMac in the future, say 3 years hence when video offerings at that time will blow away the top end option currently available for the iMac? Nope. I can't because the iMac is not built that way (i.e., not like a mini-tower or even the G4 Cube, for that matter). What if I need only a 20 inch screen but want one with a high-quality LCD? Nope, Apple only offers "junk" for an LCD on the low end iMac. (I use that term "junk" because (1) it is relative to the higher end iMac model screens, and (2) because that the adjective Jobs preferred to use when describing a $500 Apple laptop.) A mini-tower would allow one to use the screen of his or her choice, to eliminate gloss and choose the size important to them.

If there is only a minor savings when going for unattractive PC hardware "made for MS" then why does Psystar still exist? Is it truly a "conspiracy" where big companies are funding Psystar's existence? (I don't think so.) Okay, then why is EFI-X increasing in popularity? Is it really "just the bad economy"? I think not.

There is a problem at Apple with respect to a "somewhat expandable" machine available for a $1,500 price point. All those overpaid MBA's at Apple keeping the status quo the way it is are ignorant of this simple fact. They are turning a blind eye to a market segment that Steve Jobs doesn't care about, and they justify it by calling it "small and irrelevant" even though it isn't (i.e., "Apple reality distortion field"). Perhaps these guys should go back to school to unlearn that MBA and get some common horse sense.

With all this said, Apple could make some minor adjustments to please a lot of folks right away. Just add a non-glossy option for the iMac, along with a quadcore CPU at the high end. Don't make RAM upgrades 300% higher than street prices for the same RAM -- make it 50% higher (Apple still takes a margin, and hardly anyone will complain, and more people will buy their RAM from Apple). Also, add some wiz-bang, nitro-charged options like a velociraptor 300GB internal hard drive option for the high end iMac. Many reports say this drive rivals SSDs! And give the recording and movie industry the finger, and just add a Blue-ray internal drive as an option. Take a big margin on it if you like, just add it to silence the critics. A Blue Ray drive is not interesting to me personally, but it would some Mac buyers. And that's the point. Mac defenders, stop saying "this is good enough for me, so it MUST be good enough for you." Start caring about the needs of your fellow computer users, even if you yourself do not share those same needs. The current cold-shoulder stance taken by many Mac users is unprecedented in its harsh discrimination of those would-be Mac buyers who are not buying Macs simply because there are a few easily fixable problems in the existing line-up. Mac users need to team together an call Apple on it. Change is good, and it in no way makes the Mac like a PC!

So you see, even without a mid-range tower, just a few tweaks to the existing iMac line could help tremendously. But we are not seeing any signs of this intelligence and wisdom coming to Apple. Is it any wonder that recent news reports say most people are now not concerned if Steve Jobs never returns to Apple? The man has done some great things, but the gloss-hell and oversimplified product offerings over the last few years are not going to keep sales strong in the long term, especially when faced with this economy. Spice it up, Apple! Yes, I see my AAPL stock creeping up a little now, but please make it skyrocket with some much more attractive offerings! Again, they can be just minor tweaks. You have the WAY to do it, Apple. You just need the WILL.

[NoteBook]

Just to add some clarification to the software information some folks are posting about Windows... No, there is no need to purchase the software to match up with many of the iLife titles. All of the Windows Live Essentials are free, to anyone with XP, Vista, or Windows 7. This includes Photo Gallery and Movie Maker, among other titles. There is no need to purchase professional-class applications as suggested above. Out of the box the only title that Apple has that can't be duplicated on a PC is GarageBand.

I use both Macs and PCs at work, Macs ranging from 10.3 to 10.5 and PCs ranging from XP SP3 to Vista SP1 and I have Windows 7 Beta running on a Tablet PC as well. We purchase business-class PCs (OptiPlex and Latitude lines from Dell, not consumer class Inspiron or Dimension), and in terms of reliability and stability (and security) I am no more or no less productive on the Macs as the PCs. They are all just tools to complete the tasks that need completing.

[sfriesen]

Can't put a price on HAPPINESS...in the dark ages, when I used a PC with xp, I can't recall the thing making me smile....my mac's and iphone, do it on a near DAILY basis. I'll pay extra for that.

[Brugal]

If you are a professional looking for a reliable no nonsense system the ONLY CHOICE is a MAC. Final Cut, leader in the industry, Logic, leader in the industry. Every significant DJ or music producer will never be caught without a MAC. Most studios for music, TV, Photograph operate on a MAC. All folks making money developing iPhone apps only use Macs to develop the software. Mac is so bad ass that even runs Windows more stable than that other garbage. Yes I need to buy all types of software to protect Windows from a 3 year old hacking the crap out of it but, NO Windows is better, right?

Personally I used to edit videos using Adobe Premiere as hobby a few years ago with one or two jobs here or there. I year ago I made the switch to Final Cut and now, next year I will quit my normal job to edit full time from all the work I'm getting. Videographers, productions houses and movies studios see you have Final Cut credits and they you know you are serious about the craft. Five year of Premiere and nothing. Only one year of FCP and now I making a career out of it. Thank you Mac and the FCP folks.

[fletc3her]

The Apple Box Set they have right now includes Leopard, iLife, and iWork for five machines for $229. For roughly the cost of one upgrade from XP to Vista you can upgrade five household machines to Leopard and either upgrade or install iLife and iWork on each of them. I'd challenge you to find any deal which is even comparable from Microsoft.
The price of accessories has long been a big lie in Mac/PC comparison. At one point it may have cost more to buy an accessory for the Mac, but that certainly hasn't been true since the introduction of USB on the original iMac TEN YEARS AGO.

[rumplestiltskin]

...in addition, Windows 7 couldn't find the Macs in my network (although the old XP machines had no such problem). Windows is just such a cluster-#@&%.

[nyip11]

The funny thing is when people buy cars, they don't use this paradigm at all. If my requirements for a car were A/C and auto transmission, would I buy the cheapest car with these two features? Of course not. Most people would look at color, style, comfort, etc. etc. In fact, these other factors are often more important than the basic requirements. Many people would rather wait for the model style and color they want than accept a color and style they don't like. But when it comes to computers, suddenly price is everything. And people would buy the cheapest computer on the market. Don't forget you have to live with that computer for a few years. And like a car, you want it to take you from point A to point B safely, comfortably, and in style.

[Kees]

Oh, man, this guys site is a mess. Those 'fancy' text buttons to the left all lead to different locations...on his c-drive!

(http://www.ndpta.com/, for example the link tittled 'mucho help wanted' leads to: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Yahoo%20SiteBuilder/sites/Test/JobsJob.html, yup mucho help needed, me thinks, lol)

The hidden cost of Window; utter failure to understand how to update your business' website.

[kitko]

There are few tricks in statistics and opinion surveys that enable the surveying party to support virtually any opinion.
It's question of a correct sum of incorrect numbers in statistics, of the so called negative GDP growth in macroeconomics and politics, and, alas but not least, of JD Power's car reliability surveys. Set the question right, pick up right demographic and you can have Russian Moskvitch topping Lexus in reliability and customer satisfaction studies.
You can proove that a owning a computer running only open source software is more expensive than running any a DTP workstation.

[CodeMonkey]

The study is over five years. I have a couple of Macs (PowerBook and grey and white G4) that are more than six years old and still viable home machines running iLife and MS Office. My dad bought a Dell tower around the same time which is now relegated to the grandkids playing reader rabbit and is off the home network because the computer's OS can't handle the usb wireless adapter. After five years of kids banging on laptops and being hauled on family vacations will the study still be accurate?