Quote:
Originally Posted by Murtasma
I say get whatever fits your budget macs cost a decent amount more then PCs of comparable specs.
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Actually no. There are plenty of comparisons on the net that spec up Macs next to PC's with equivalent software, and due to the bundled software that comes on a Mac - they often end up being more economical than PC's. Sure PC's have a cheaper entry price, but you end up having to purchase more software for them. There was also a comparison a few months ago to find (at the time) the fastest PC laptop and it turned out to be a MacBook Pro with Windows installed on it...
I say this as a user that has machines on Windows, Mac and Linux, and manages all three types at my business so I am probably a bit more impartial than most and regularly use all three. My primary work laptop and home desktop are now Macs by choice.
So, Macs might have been more expensive in the past, but that is generally not the case now. The only point on which you might get stung is Apple's memory upgrades. You can often get these far cheaper from a local Apple retailer that has sourced quality RAM but is not the same as Apple's. I've had no problem with this approach and it has saved our business possibly over USD$500.
I do agree that switching apps can be expensive - but this can also be a good time to investigate new apps (either open source or commercial). Also, some vendors do provide apps for both Windows and Mac and often you can download the Mac version and use the same serial number (not all vendors of course). Make sure to check before you decide to move to a different platform. Many of the big-name software packages are available on both platforms.
And whilst you may pay more by the time you include a Windows licence, with the Intel Macs you can always install Windows on your mac and continue using your existing applications - even at the same time on the one machine. I haven't personally had to do this yet.
And other than some of the teething pains with Leopard - the reliability aspect of the Macs have far outshone Windows, and it is difficult to put a price on that.