So as I pointed out with the netbook article Microsoft’s Brian LeBlanc has been recently been working more as a part of Microsoft’s PR then I remember. This time Brian makes up a fake tax return to compare a Apple Computer purchase to a Mac. Now I personally would not get a Mac but this thing is just horribly setup. I am sorry Brian but I could not allow such a horribly done analogy run its toll.
Now I am not going to completely spec out the computers listed but from what I remember of dells Inspiron line I sincerely doubt that a $700 Inspiron 15 actually comes close to a MacBook. First off a MacBook at least has discrete graphics something the Inspiron 15 surely lacks. Next he compares the Mac Pro to a CONSUMER level product from HP! Not only this but HP doesn’t even list the d5100t on its site anymore there is the newer d5200t though? Could this affect the price? I bet. Now the difference of these not only has to do with we are comparing a Xeon that is comparable to a core i7 processor to a computer most likely running a Core 2 Duo if we are lucky. I am not going to spend more time on this as I could look really in depth but I don’t think I need to as Brian chose not to leave a full model information for the Dell or the HP computer.
Now lets look at software where somehow Apple manages to rack up a bill of $289 without the comparable thing for windows being looked at. First off where is this $70 coming from? I don’t see what its for since there is no comparable part in windows… Now the bigger problem. When did Windows start coming with Office 2007? Cause I would love that copy. I’ll give you a hint it doesn’t. I would at this point also like to point out Quicken does not come fro free normally though you can get it for like $50 on a new Windows computer still that is only a $20 diff not $70 like this makes it sound like. Once again this is way out of whack and most likely you will spend the same for either platform. Also unless you really need an advanced features from Microsoft Office for work or school most Mac users will probably go with the iWork package ($50 cheaper then Office 2008) or go with NeoOffice (a version of OpenOffice for the mac) also I don’t think most consumers actually use software like Quicken. That though is enough about software.
Lets now talk service and support. Here Brian cheats and pulls out $745 in a MobileMe subscription? Seriously Brian I respect you but where did you get this from? I have yet to hear of a single person actually saying someone buying a mac should get MobileMe and you list no comparative service for the pc. Instead you only list a Dell 3-year warranty. What happened to the HP? The Apple side you also miss a second AppleCare subscription if your wanted to compare that but also what is One to One Care? Is that really needed. Once again this is a service I have never seen recommended by Apple fans. So lets recalculate this cost with PC savings at $60 which who knows how comparable AppleCare and Dells 3-year really are.
Now lets look at the upgrades section. First off here I don’t know how many Mac users actually ever update iLife. I think really only hardcore Mac users even bother. As for the AirPort and Wireless Router comparison here is something that is finally fair. Sure the AirPort probably costs a bit more but it actually has some nice features Linksys lacks (thinking guest wpa accounts). Next is the hard drive upgrade which I must say I am kind confused. One is usb and I have no clue what it is. The Western Digital could have been used for either setup and since the price is not different this doesn’t really matter other then it makes it seem more thrown together without actual thought. Now what about Blu-ray? Well for the Apple yes you would need a stand alone player. I don’t know about most users but I would probably want a stand alone player in either case as it allows for direct connection with the TV and most likely the best DVD up-scaling experience. OH and what about the $80 software you MUST purchase to watch a Blu-ray in Windows? What happened to this cost? I guess Brian must have conveniently forgotten this small fact. Wait its not small it raises to the price of an internal Blu-ray drive for a desktop to about the same as a cheap Blu-ray stand-alone (which is ironic since he compares a better quality Sony Blu-ray player to a cheap Lite-On internal drive). Now comes the holy grails of mess-ups for this article. Not only does he give the wrong TYPE of ram but messes up on the graphics card choice. All current Apples run on DDR3 ram. So the upgrade he talks about is not even the right type of ram. Of course Apple computers also most likely would not need the ram upgrade as they really can run with a lower amount of ram so this upgrade is not even needed. The next is the Radeon HD 4870 which if you go to Apple’s site is not sold individually (so future upgrade price who knows) but if you were going to upgrade the HD 4870 when you bought it it would only cost $200. Also whether or not a 4870 is really a needed upgrade is up to question as a whole.
Sorry to rip the article apart so much but I believe I have ripped out at least half of the supposed Apple tax that was supposed to be shown here. I am not even an Apple fan I just really hate the FUD stream that Brian LeBlanc has been throwing at us this week.
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UPDATE:
After writing this I realized the whitepaper link. I have nothing really to say about it as I couldn’t stand reading it without most likely going insane. One thing I did notice in it though was this study was comparing the OLD MacBooks without the nvidia 9400m’s in them. This really skews the price!
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