Comments on: Microsoft still pushing 'Apple tax' notion

Ahead of Macworld, top Windows marketer says consumers can't afford to go Mac. But with the economy in tatters, will people be buying any PCs other than Netbooks?

[Dan7637]

i rather pay this so called tax than deal with windows

[Hernys]

Wait a minute! You write as if every single consumer's job was on the line, and no one had any disposa ble cash. That's definitely not the case. While many are losing their jobs or at risk of doing so, most people have some work stability, and their incomes are not affected by the current crisis. In fact, with so many things going down, a sizeable chunk of the consumer market will have MORE expendable cash than in previous years. Yes, companies are all adjusting costs, and few are going to be buying PCs, but consumers are buying PCs (and other devices) in numbers about as high as in the past, and will continue to do so for some time. And that includes Apple's luxury devices as well as normal PCs for the more practically inclined.

[Dani210]

Great Discussion! lets keep it going

I like how they say nothing about the CPU and graphics of the iMac, the most expensive parts. I think JuanGuapo is the first to notice. also, buying a new PC every 2 or 3 years versus buying a mac once every 5 years saves you more money in the end. also, there may be more free programs for windows, or even programs in general, but there is also an infinite number more viruses compared to mac cuz there aren't any viruses in mac. also, look at how much nicer macs look. its like phones, there used to be ugly, bad-designed phones, then comes the iPhone. KA-BAM! all of a sudden everyone realizes the truth. the reason why the iPhone is doing better is that although the number percentwise may be the same, in dollarwise its affordable for everyone. $100 dollars for a nicer looking machine is a price im willing to pay for the lil mac.

by the way, they should compare performance and price, not hardware and price. nobody cares if you have more transistors in your CPU if it performs tasks slower. go to here> http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/apple-imac-20-inch/4505-3118_7-32976269.html (a lil above middle of page)
and by the way, who honestly is able to use up more than 80GB for a low end PC/mac? if you are trying to store all you music/videos on there, then you would be getting something with a big screen, something that you wouldn't use for just browsing internet and typing papers. sure you can store plenty of songs, photos, and vids, but when you reach 80GB, then you know you aren't buying the right class of computers. and you need far less ram with a mac than a pc because: 1. the operating system is simpler, fewer processes and less memory per process required (i would assume), less ram needed. 2. virtually no junk running on macs that hog the ram. 3. internet browsers are pretty much the biggest ram users, but compare IE and safari, then you see that you have to close down the whole IE for the memory to stop being used from previous pages/tabs, and safari runs the windows as separate processors, so when you close a window, the ram is empty for use again. as of peripherals, if you need them, then you can buy them separate, but most ppl don't need all the peripherals offered to you, thats why they aren't sold with the mac. and the mouse seems to change based on everyones opinion, different designs, i've never seen a comparison between the mighty mouse and any other types of mouses/mice (never really knew which one was correct plural), but the keyboard, now tell me that apple's keyboard can be worse than any other. it looks sick, and if you want more buttons, then get a remote control. honestly, i wonder if their keyboard works with windows. that would be sick, its still usb and everything, but i've never heard of them going together.

hmm, it seems that MS only can offer ads against Apple on $$, and anything a monopoly would obviously be better at. variety of programs, and hardware are more examples that a monopoly would have the advantage of. however, when you compare microsoft products to apple products, not dell and hp to apple, it seems that MS only really beats them at variety of programs, which is the most obviously related to MS having a monopoly on the market. no questions asked.

[Znatok]

Really glad for you!

Do you have Antivirus installed?
How much it cost cumulative to date?

[D3vildog699]

again AVG and AVIRA are FREE AV... cost nothing..

[pgcrowe]

I'm not sure if this makes a difference; but, Apple does provide American technical support.
Dell on the other hand charges a fee to speak with someone who speaks English as their native language.

A.K.A : I can have problems taken care of sooner with Apple than HP, due to the language barrier.
However, Apple's quality control leaves something to be desired.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Are you racist ? Many Indians speak English very well...even if their name really isn`t "Bob".

[pithenumber]

@pgcrowe
RACIST

[Thomas, David]

Smoke and Mirrors

Everyone who owns both computers knows they paid more for their Windows PC when you add ALL of the resources (Operating System, Productivity Applications, Development Applications, etc).

While on their Macs, if they weren't too stubborn to only use Windows versions of applications, they found they didn't need to spend as much money on the software.

This is a generalization aimed at the average computer user today, and it is dead-on, and why home purchases of Macs have increased. iLife (iPhoto, Garageband, iMovie, iDvD, iTunes [on a mac], iChat), iWork (Numbers, Pages, and Keynote) make the computer extremely desirable for consumers, much more than a Windows computer for home. While iWork is an additional 79 dollars, the rest come with Apple computers. So basically, to get a Windows PC to give you a similar experience, you know you're going to have to spend some money because: a). The free apps are generally terrible - b.) Get the best Version of Vista out their (which also means a system to run it all), and then realize it still only provides a portion of the experience you get from an Apple computer.

Yea, if I were Microsoft I'd keep up the "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt" campaign. After all, don't people realize that they should have no choice at all? It's ironic, the Windows people clamoring for "choice", but the only "choice" they think people should have is Windows. And geez, they lost a market point, it's time for mudslinging ... this kind of paranoid dominance is one of the very reasons Microsoft has issues with consumers, and developers.

[pithenumber]

I own both
Linux is cheapest
Windows is in the middle
Mac is most expensive

free apps are better than most of their nonfree counterparts

[rockandrollreport]

I buy my computers based on what I do with them. I produce a podcast, edit video and run a website called The Rock and Roll Report (www.rockandrollreport.com). I have tried both platforms and for me the mac is just more productive. Period. And MS has to factor in the value of the iLife suite included with the mac as that alone is worth switching in my opinion.
As far as I am concerned, look at what you need to do and then pick your platform accordingly. Pretty straightforward...

[seven7dust]

looks like windows users have nothing good to say about their OS
so they ***** about others
and since they can't make valid points... they talk $$$

thats like openly saying Apple has better OS... but MS is cheaper
you darn right Windows Machines are cheaper cause they r bad

it's like comparing a Ford to a BMW

Wonder how Ms brainwashed them to this extent !

[D3vildog699]

Troll

[loucovey]

The extra money or even the lack of choice is a small price to pay for the higher reliability, consistent and quite good customer service and constant innovation. A PC is a good choice for someone who likes to futz with his tools. I don't have time. I also don't have time to play around with all the different options of tools. I need a word processor that has spell check. That's it. And I like to be able to boot up my computer, click on the icon for that word processor and get to work.

[kinncreek]

I can't really comment on the use of app's or the speed of machines as I have never used a Windows machine except at work ( and they seem to have problems at least monthly ). I do know my son, daughter and 2 sisters all have Windows (because they are cheaper) and all have problems. They have all had to have repairs done or have had to replace them. I have had 3 Macs in over 20 years and had to replace one hard drive. I still have the 2 old ones and they still work. They were replaced simply because they were outdated. Everyone I know has replaced there machines almost 2 to 1 compared to my replacements. I can't speak for anyone else, this is just what I have experienced with my own family.

[disposable001]

As opposed to the "Virus Tax," the "Zombie Tax," the "Blue Screen Tax," the insanely high support fees, etc. Gimme a break. Marketing like this is why Microsoft will be part of history within the next 10 years.

[D3vildog699]

Remember if Zombies ever attack, go to wal*mart...

[Sumatra-Bosch]

MSFT calling any proprietary OS a tax is tantamount to Jeffrey Dahmer accusing someone of bad table manners. The most corrosive tax in the PC world is the boot loader provision of the license contract that MSFT has with the manufacturers. Ask any manufacturer and they'll all say exactly the same thing about Windows and the contracts MSFT has with them: all the profit in the PC goes to MSFT. In dollar terms, it's not a lot of money per PC but in terms of how the margins play out, PC manufacturers are forced to use crappier and crappier hardware to make money. It's pushing users to quality hardware (among that cohort, Apple as Apple laptops are sturdy, much hardier than their desktop boxes) and disposables like the Asus Eee running Linuxes. Walk through an airport and count the devices people are using and compare them to your recollections of 10 years ago. After devastating competing OSes through contract manipulation, the market is responding and delivering quality alternatives, moreso in portable computing offerings than anywhere else but it is substantial if modest in terms of overall share and likely irreversible.

[coshida21]

There's some interesting analysis of the entire Mac via PC thing here:

http://hardgnus.blogspot.com/2009/01/happy-birthday-mac.html

[videofuel]

The Apple Tax is actually a premium for percieved value added. Just like the Microsoft Tax over Linux. Is a Mercedes Benz better than a Lexus even if it ranks lower in customer satisfaction year after year? It seems that customers like to think it is.