Yes!! You rock, Bob! Well put.
Looks like the SCO-brained analysis and G5-speccing mentalities are
merging; here's one: I have this computer in my closet that has an
*infinitely* better price-performance ratio than ANY computer you can
buy today, it was free.
Ben
PS - for those looking at averatech laptops, see this page:
http://www.buy.com/retail/searchresults.asp?mfgID=10539&loc=101&search_store=1&qu=*&querytype=comp&mp=51
(there is a DVD-RW/CD-RW-happy model for $1300 after $100 rebate;
about one inch thick)
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 19:34:44 -0800
Bob Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
| T. Joseph Carter wrote:
|
| > Let's see what Dell has to say.
| >
| > $2824
|
| This is a fairly silly comparison. Why match every useless feature
| Steve saw fit to bundle into the G5? Instead, let's see what Apple
| would charge for a Mac that matches the box ComputerBase built for me
| in July.
|
| I needed a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM. I chose a P4
| (hyperthreaded, 800 MHz FSB, 2.4GHz), 2 GB of PC3200 RAM, and an Intel
| D865PERL. (Not my first choice of motherboard, but I needed the new
| computer the same day. So for comparison, use the prices charged at
| The Macintosh Store on 8th. (-: ) I didn't need disk drives (already
| had 'em with RedHat and two years' work preinstalled), CD-ROM, DVD,
| video, sound, firewire, NIC, case, power supply, or video editing
| software.
|
| The closest thing, pricewise, in the Apple Store, is a 1.6 GHz G5.
| With 2GB RAM, it's $2945. Never mind that if I'd bought a Mac that
| day, I'd also need a new display and all new software, which is never
| free on Macs. Oh, did The Macintosh Store have G5s in stock in July?
| Might have had to settle for a G4.
|
| I paid $550. Got it in an hour.
|
| There. I've just "proven" a Mac costs 5X as much as a comparable PC.
| (-: Is my comparison any less valid than yours? (Yes, I'm aware that
| my comparison is about as valid as a SCO legal brief. But so is
| yours.)
|
|
| The thing is, the PC ecosystem is broad, deep and complex. There are
| five vendors competing for every niche in it, from CPU to video card
| to case to the little screws that hold the PCI cards in. The Mac
| "ecosystem" is single source from top to bottom, exactly three
| products at any time, cleverly positioned so that only the top product
| has all the useful features. When Apple screws up -- ships a
| faulty/unreliable product, can't meet demand, or misses a development
| schedule, Mac users have no alternative. PC users just buy another
| brand.
|
| One is rain forest, the other is parking lot.
|
| The other thing is, the Mac has a closed, proprietary software
| architecture. Just like Windows. More so, in fact, since Apple owns
| it from the apps to the chips. The PC, especially with Linux or *BSD,
| is infinitely diverse. You always have choices, including the choice
| to rewrite it your way. (That's why we're FOSS zealots, after all.)
|
|
| I'm glad you like your Mac and your iBook. I'm glad they work for you
| and for the other EUGLUGsters who have them. But don't for a minute
| think Apple has the only viable platform.
|
| Disclaimer: I've owned three Macs. I've worked at Apple. I first
| developed for Mac in 1985.
|
| --
| Bob Miller K<bob>
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