>I have to say, based on experience, this is completely wrong. TCO for Mac >products is top dollar, no matter how you try to rationalize it.
It may not always be right, but it is NOT "completely wrong". I regularly deal with sites that may have a number of full time support people for a network of Windows PCs. Yet I regularly see similar sized networks of Macs that have, if lucky, one full time support person. Usually the Mac support person is doing double duty (they do the Mac when something goes wrong, and the rest of the time they support the PCs). The PURCHASE cost of a Mac is higher. Even if you compare similar systems. But once you factor in the support costs of a network of PCs in the business world, the Mac's TCO rapidly drops compared to a PC. And it can very easily (and often does) drop below the TCO for PCs. Why some people think it fails is when you look at smaller networks. One Windows PC in your home, versus one Mac in your home, the Mac may have the higher TCO (because home users don't factor in their time as part of the cost). But as you scale up the network, the Mac becomes a more attractive option, simply because of the lower incidence of support. More users get more work done, that means less wasted money on users wasting time fighting with the OS or apps. And also fewer people are needed to run the support department, so that means less money wasted on salaries paying people to fight the OS or apps. >It also is >a >reduction of basic choice. Basic choice, no. There is little reduction, actually, you may have MORE choice at the "basic" level. >On the PC side you have choices. Windows or >Linux or Unix. I run all 3 on my Macs. Windows via Virtual PC (or on some a PC Compatibility Card). And *nix directly on the Mac. There are a few mac versions of Linux, as well as other *nix versions (I run NetBSD on 68k macs as my web servers). And most of the "major" applications are available for Mac or PC, many being 100% compatible, or darn near it with each other. Where you do loose on choices with the Mac is when you look beyond the "basic" level. Once you get into software for specific tasks, that is where the Mac starts to lack. Vertical market software is almost always available for Windows, and usually not much else. Alas, in many cases, larger businesses, the ones that would benefit the most from the Mac's TCO, are the ones that need Vertical Market software. And as such, in many cases they have no choice but to run Windows. So it is a bit of a catch 22. The smaller you are, the less relevant the TCO, but the larger you are, the more likely you have a need for something that dictates what platform you can run. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
