PCnMac.com

[Rick]

http://www.unsanity.org/archives/000377.php

a pretty good read but i take issue with a few points:

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While it is true that even the cheapest upgrade version of Windows XP Home is $99.00 USD and that it is cheaper than even the base version of OS X, I have found that even the most staunch Windows advocate won't often recommend anything but Windows XP Professional for serious users because of how badly they think XP Home is crippled for these users. Windows XP Professional just offers more, especially in the fine-grain security settings area.

i am a windows advocate and i recommend xp home to nearly all home users. ive not met one home user that wanted to run a website or develop software. the few home users that i have recommend xp pro to are those that will want to use remote desktop. xp home is as feature rich as probably 95% of all home users need or want. they can save the money and be perfectly satisfied with xp home.

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The price to upgrade to Windows XP Professional is $199.00 even if you are just upgrading from XP Home. So if you are getting a PC with XP Home preinstalled, I highly suggest you take the offered option to upgrade to XP Pro. Most OEMs offer it as a choice on their CPU customization page and it is only about $70 more that way. But the entire point of this article is not to compare Mac OS X to Windows XP or Apple to Microsoft. I am only trying to show the total cost of Mac OS X to a normal consumer.

those are full retail prices without any mark down or sale. xp home can be found online for $70 and xp pro for $120. shoot, xp mce 2005 with a remote and receiver can be had for $140.

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+$49.00, iLife '04

uh oh. we have inflation. ilife 05 is now $79. so at one time itools and iapps were free, then .mac started selling for a price, then ilife started selling as an add on, and now we have its price going up by about 60%!

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Now, I know there is a rebate for iLife '04 if you purchase it together with Mac OS X version 10.3 "Panther" Version 10.3.0 but that means exactly Dingus Squatford Jr.

it sure does, especially now that apple offers no deal to buy panther and ilife 05 together. the two of them together cost $208 at full retail.

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Americans are a lazy bunch

speak for yourself. last time i checked the usa had a low unemployment rate, some of the highest productivity rates, and one of the longest average work weeks in the world. if you surround yourself with folks like that or you are lazy, i guess you could come to see it as a universal trait.

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+$29.99, QuickTime Pro: Now this just takes the cake of ridicularity.

i agree, but not with the word usage.

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many people only want QT Pro for fullscreen and for them Apple is charging $30 for this ONE function call

that is a lot of money for such a mundane feature that is the norm everywhere else.

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The worst part is that the QuickTime Player/QT Plugin shows a huge banner ad almost every time you open it to upgrade to QT Pro.

its particularly ironic since it seems i can hardly go a week without reading about some mac user gnashing their teeth over simple information balloons on xp....kinda like

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because as soon as you install OS X and open iChat or Mail.app you receive dialog boxes and alerts that basically make you think you have to buy a .Mac membership.

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+$99.95, .Mac (dot Mac)

thats a lot of money when i can get 250mb of email from hotmail, or 1gb from yahoo or google, i can get free websites and blogs all over the net, including from ms via msn spaces and msn groups.

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=$307.94: In order to get rid of all the ads OS X presents you with, to use all the advertised features of OS X, and finally to upgrade to the fast versions of the "demos" Apple includes with OS X you must spend over three hundred dollars.

cept its now $337.94. i can buy a copy of ms xp mce 2005, works suite 2005 (or office basic), and a tv tuner card w/ remote for less.

overall, the piece is pretty dead on the money. macs and apple software are overpriced.