2X As Much for a Mac?

Are Macs really worth it?

It depends. eWeek has a couple of companion articles implying that Mac market share will plateau (or perhaps even decline) if Apple doesn’t address its pricing. Overall, average retail selling prices for Macs are about twice the price of similarly-configured Wintel computers. And in the isolated examples where the disparity is not so great, it’s still: Macs pricier by a country mile. For exampe,

iMac: $1,199; 2.4GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 20-inch widescreen display (integrated), 1GB DDR memory, 128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics, 250GB hard drive, 8x double-layer DVD burner, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11 g Wi-Fi, Webcam and Mac OS X 10.5.

Inspiron 518: $739… ; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor, 19-inch widescreen monitor, 3GB DDR memory, Intel GMA X3100 graphics, 500GB hard drive, 8x DVD burner and Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1.

OK, so the Mac includes a Webcam and Bluetooth. If you need either of those, tack on about $20 each (street price). Big. Stinking. Deal. OTOH, the Inspiron does come with Vista…

Of course, if one were to not need or want a notebook (I have little need for one, for example) and were just comparing desktop pricing, the “double–or more!” pricing for Macs really kicks in. And that doesn’t even count those, such as myself, who can and do prefer taking a “barebones” or components approach to assembling our own computers. Doesn’t count such folks because bareboning or assembling ones own Mac is a fiendishly difficult thing (or at the very least a hassle) to accomplish, the way Apple has a lock on things.

So, it’s a firm lock: Apple’s back in the arena of high-end premium pricing even for its low-end merch. So, are Macs worth the premium?

For the high-end Macs, they very well may be, since so many graphics and multi-media folks have made the platform their home for many years and the software they use is mature and pretty much industry standardized for media production. There are probably a few other niche applications where the high-end Macs might make a lot of sense, as well. Although… all the apps Macs have captured niche markets with can either be found ported to (or have equivalent replacements on) the Wintel side as well, and similar apps can usually be found for other (free) OSes, so that argument is less valid than in times past.

But mid- and lower end Macs are a different story, IMO. Unless the Mac interface is all someone knows and that someone is too stupid to be able to train to a new GUI, then I see no reason to buy a Mac, other than a desire to waste money. Better GUI? Heck, you can get the same BSD code base and better GUIs by using PC-BSD.

Heck, why even pay the “Microsoft Tax” by buying/using Windows? Sure, I’ve detailed my woes switching off Windows to Ubuntu 8.04, but most of those were caused by idiosyncratic hardware choices I made that wouldn’t affect the average user one whit. I’ve installed and used Ubuntu on a slew of other machines (for temporary or intermittant use, or for others, not the continual use that’s now my norm), and for most folks’ normal computer use, it’s way more than Good Enough.

So, subtract the “Microsoft Tax” and non-Apple Intel (or AMD) computers become even more pocket book attractive. Are Apple computers well made? Yes, but “them’s not that good,” as an old farmer I once knew might say.