You Do The Math - Mac vs. PC

You do the math.

On a MacBook Pro, 15-inch:
- Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 - 2.80GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1066MHz front-side bus
- 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
- 500GB 5400rpm HDD
- nVidia GeForce 9400M + 256MB shared video memory
- 15-in widescreen display
- slot-load DVD/RW 8x
- backlit keyboard
- Mac OS X 10.5

Price total for the configuration comes to a whopping $2100*. That's before tax and shipping - which are not trivial.

On a Toshiba A500, 16-inch:
- Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 - 2.80GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1066MHz front-side bus
- 6GB DDR2 SDRAM
- 500GB 5400rpm HDD
- ATI Mobility Radeon H4650 + 1GB DDR3 dedicated video memory
- 16-in antiglare widescreen display
- slot-load DVD/RW 8x
- backlit keyboard
- high-capacity 12-cell lithium-ion battery
- Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit

The price for this config? $1800**. Including tax and shipping. Oh and did I mention you get a free upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate if you buy it before 7 comes out on October 22nd?

Again, you do the math. If Mac was so much better than Windows (as they claim), I think more people would be willing to shell out for a Mac. As it is, Mac fails...miserably...in the war of prices. Not to mention that Windows 7 is a better minimalist operating system than OS X. I mean, look at it - minimum specs for running 7 are 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM, and 4GB of hard drive space? That's better than XP Pro, people - and with more features.

Of course, the machines up top aren't what I want. I want these specs:

- Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 - 2.80GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1066MHz front-side bus
- 3GB DDR2 SDRAM
- 320GB 5400rpm HDD
- ATI Mobility Radeon H4650 + 1GB DDR3 dedicated video memory
- backlit keyboard
- slot-load DVD/RW drive
- Vista Ultimate 64-bit (with free upgrade to 7, of course)

Comes to about $1300** on an A500. Plus, the bigger the screen, the better - I'm used to a 15.6" widescreen, so 16" is about right.

Y'know, I really wouldn't mind using a Mac all that much if they weren't so freakin' expensive. Really. If someone gave me one - a GOOD one - I'd use it. It's not financially feasible otherwise. C'mon - I'm a college student with limited funds. REALLY limited funds. This is for Apple: either make what you've got less expensive, or make your stuff a lot better than it is. 'Cause the way it is right now, the only people who want to buy Macs are the fanboys(and girls) and the people who want to do the geeky, cool 'in-thing'.

*insert roll of eyes here*

Here's another YouTube vid - by me - for all y'all who like MercyMe.



-JAce (the double caps is intentional)

*Price after student discount.
**Price after standard 'savings' (not student discount). Theoretically, I could get more off with a student discount, but I haven't tried.