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Microsoft responded by stating they are happy IBM has found someone new, that's just great, and hey by the way MS is engaged to Dell who is hotter than IBM anyway so there.

Don't buy that ring just yet MS.

Someone should tell MS that their fiance hasn't been entirely faithful.

It's okay. Dell asked MS about an "open relationship", and MS was okay with that as long as Dell signed the prenup.

Someone should tell MS that their fiance hasn't been entirely faithful.

because Dell and HP don't have comparable offerings

http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/desktops/desktop-optiplex-160/pd.aspx?refid=desktop-optiplex-160&s=bsd&cs=04

I agree that having options will help the Android market, but when you hit this many options I think you start to scare off a certain amount of the potential customers. One of the things Apple have going for them is the simplification of products. There are four iPod models, five if you count the phone, and they each serve noticeably different roles. Look at the laptops - there are four models, and very few configurable options per model. Compared to Dell who has effectively FIFTEEN starting points when shopping for a laptop for _home_, not to mention the 'business' store http://www.dell.com/home/laptops . Then you have to configure the bugger!

I've helped friends and family pick out computers in the past and they ALL say that the Dell website is overwhelming and there are too many options. You could spend an hour just trying to figure out what type of laptop you want. If you go to the Apple website you pick cheap, expensive, or lightweight, then crank up the memory and enter your credit card number.

Personally I prefer the options, but I don't think that is the case with the general populous.

FWIW ... In my experience SharePoint is a flexible, feature-rich, capable tool. I was skeptical at first, mostly because I just didn't feel like learning it. But as a Project Manager I haven't found a better tool to replace the services you get from SharePoint.

If you're stuck with it because your company bought it and expects you to use it, then my honest advice is to, man-up, take a training course and learn to use it.

Gee, you don't by any chance work for Dell, do you?

FWIW ... In my experience SharePoint is a flexible, feature-rich, capable tool. I was skeptical at first, mostly because I just didn't feel like learning it. But as a Project Manager I haven't found a better tool to replace the services you get from SharePoint.

If you're stuck with it because your company bought it and expects you to use it, then my honest advice is to, man-up, take a training course and learn to use it.

1. Buy a Dell machine with Ubuntu pre-installed
2. Love it.
3. Profit. (Well, not for Microsoft, anyway.)

Not according to this: http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/d/corp-comm/michael_dell_computers_update.aspx

Let's see if I can do what you just did too:

A dell machine eligible for windows 7 upgrade: $399.99
Open office:$0.00

Total: $399.99

Seriously, since when does upgrading an operating system require you to buy a new word processor? Since when do people pay full retail price for components of a new machine?

I don't know how come. but here I can't select the 2.26GHz but it goes automatically to the 2.66GHz one, same specs as you: $5643, then I go and upgrade the Mac Pro to 2.66GHz: $4699. Actually it seems that the price goes up slightly for Education or Business store (where I should shop). It seems like Dell can't get it's pricing straight.

When I click Customize on the Base Model's page here at work, it defaults to the Dual (2) Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processors E5502 1.86GHz,4M L3, 4.8GT/s processors, just like it did when I was at home yesterday.

I've never bought a Dell computer, so I shouldn't have any cookies or other strange things affecting the price.

Again, upon changing the Processor, RAM, HDD, and DVD options to the ones I mentioned earlier, I get $3,241.

I don't know how come. but here I can't select the 2.26GHz but it goes automatically to the 2.66GHz one, same specs as you: $5643, then I go and upgrade the Mac Pro to 2.66GHz: $4699. Actually it seems that the price goes up slightly for Education or Business store (where I should shop). It seems like Dell can't get it's pricing straight.

When I click Customize on the Base Model's page here at work, it defaults to the Dual (2) Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processors E5502 1.86GHz,4M L3, 4.8GT/s processors, just like it did when I was at home yesterday.

I've never bought a Dell computer, so I shouldn't have any cookies or other strange things affecting the price.

Again, upon changing the Processor, RAM, HDD, and DVD options to the ones I mentioned earlier, I get $3,241.

OK, then you compare the 20" iMac to the Dell Studio 19. Compare the 24" iMac to the Dell XPS One. It's all there. I'm sure you'll decide the iMac is a better deal, but the Dells are certainly cheaper than the iMacs for equivalent hardware, which is what the thread was about.

OK, then you compare the 20" iMac to the Dell Studio 19. Compare the 24" iMac to the Dell XPS One. It's all there. I'm sure you'll decide the iMac is a better deal, but the Dells are certainly cheaper than the iMacs for equivalent hardware, which is what the thread was about.

Sorry, but it's not a monopoly as long as I can buy one of these, one of these, or even one of these.

how much time did you put in to buy the individual parts and assemble them?

Less than two hours, although it did take 3 days for the hardware to show up at my door.

When you know what you want, NewEgg is very fast to navigate...in particular, I just put my entire standard Core i5 wish list into my basket and click "Next" a few times.

After that, putting together well-made components into a "no-tools-required" case isn't even close to the thought required to make a meal from scratch.

what is your hourly pay rate?

I don't get paid for watching football, but that would be cool, wouldn't it? If you can't put together a computer while complaining that the ref is blind, turn in your Slashdot card.

All this, however, doesn't change the fact that your argument is either a red herring or a straw man, but I'm not sure which. If I didn't specifically want a Core i5 machine, I could have ordered up a $700 Core 2 Quad from Dell in the time it takes to read a couple of Slashdot posts.

As has been pointed out (over and over), Mac pricing is quite competitive when you compare (ahem) apples to apples.

You are joking right? A vanila macbook costs A$1580 for an older C2D (T series) 2.13 Ghz 2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB 5400 RPM hard drive.

The top end Dell Vostro 1320 is A$1199 and this has a newer model C2D (P series) 2.4 Ghz with 4 GB of RAM and a 250 GB 7200 RPM hard drive.

Please tell me how the Dell with a faster HDD, newer and faster processor and twice the RAM is inferior to the Mac which is made out of the same off the shelf components as the less expensive Dells?

Maybe you meant if we compare it to another laptop brand that is selling an image rather then hardware, like the Sony Vaio. Maybe then you have a point and while I've found Vaio's to be as drastically overpriced as a mac the hardware is not lacking (also smaller and lighter then the Macbook), also no-one who buys a Vaio pretends that they are cheap.

Just did this using default configs.

The trick is to overshoot the mac as the better deals are on the pre-configured boxes.

A vanila macbook costs A$1580 for an older C2D (T series) 2.13 Ghz 2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB 5400 RPM hard drive.

The top end Dell Vostro 1320 is A$1199 and this has a newer model C2D (P series) 2.4 Ghz with 4 GB of RAM and a 250 GB 7200 RPM hard drive.

Sorry but higher end PC's win and all of this is before we consider warranties. Even with Mac's their working life is at best 3 years as each new version of CS has higher requirements. So if you expect to remain productive you need to upgrade at the same rate as a PC.

Yes this discuassion has happened a million time and it will keep happening so long as people contest the fact that Mac's are more expensive then PC's

A vanilla Macbook is appropriately priced for what you get.

Oh no it isnt.

A vanila macbook costs A$1580 for an older C2D (T series) 2.13 Ghz 2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB 5400 RPM hard drive.

The top end Dell Vostro 1320 is A$1199 and this has a newer model C2D (P series) 2.4 Ghz with 4 GB of RAM and a 250 GB 7200 RPM hard drive.

Other specifications are the same, 9400M graphics card, 13" 1200x800 screen with the exception of the warranty. Dell gives a 1 year NBD onsite warranty with their business line Vostro laptops, Apple does not. Apple does not know the meaning of the phrase Next Business Day (NBD) they have a hard time with Next Business Week on warranty repairs.

Personally I get the 3 year NBD onsite warranty added on, 1 day of downtime is worth the extra A$200. Lack of a decent warranty is why I can never seriously consider a Mac. Apple does make cheap computers, it also sells them for at least 20% more then most other manufacturers. This difference gets even greater if we compare the 15" models.

Google has patents on the built-in battery design, "but I think we'd be willing to license them to vendors," Hoelzle said.

Oh, so it's $FOO, but in a server.

Running computers on batteries? It got a patent?

I think there is a good bit of prior art if only one knows where to look.

I mean, really. This is a good idea, and it's about darn time a large-form-factor motherboard running on low voltage is available, but IMHO this should not be patentable. It's simply designing around a low-voltage input.

Exact same hardware? I'm afraid not. The Dell Precision line uses the high-end nVidia Quadro or ATI Fire graphics cards, not the consumer-level GeForce GT 120 / ATI Radeon HD 4870.

Oh, and comparing the Mac Pro with a Dell depends entirely on how you enter Dell's site. Dell seems to start off with a number of different base prices.

The Single Processor Mac Pro is cheaper than the Dell of the same price. But then again, Dell's prices are sort of wacky, too.

However, when it comes to dual processors...

Dual Processor (Base Model):
Dual Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processors E5520 2.26GHz,8M L3,5.8GT/s,turbo
6GB, 1066MHz, DDR3 SDRAM, ECC (6 DIMMS)
512MB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 580, DUAL MON, 2 DP & 1 DVI
750GB SATA 3Gb/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache(TM)
16X DVD+/-RW w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD(TM) and Roxio Creator(TM) Dell Ed
Vista Business w/ XP downgrade option

Total Price: $3,241
Mac Pro price? $3,299

Oh, and here's the crazy thing. The model of the above that corresponds to the Mac Pro single processor? $3,396. Yes, it's more expensive on Dell's site to get a single processor Xeon 2.66GHz and 3GB of RAM than it is two quad core 2.25GHz processors and 6GB of RAM.

Last time I checked, when you do a comparison down to a component level of a Mac versus a Dell with equivalent specs, you have to go quite high up in Dell's range before you even find the same CPUs available as an option, never mind standard.

Boy, the Apple fanboys are out astroturfing today.

A Mac Mini starts with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM, and 120GB hard drive for $599.

Dell has not one, but three machines that beat that spec and the price:

• Inspiron 537 starting at $458
• Studio Slim desktop starting at $469
• Studio Hybrid starting at $569

In addition, you can really beat the spec with two quad-core machines for less than $530.

Sure, Dell has a few models with hardware that is less than that of the Mac Mini, but it's not like they are that much cheaper, or that the better models are hidden.

Last time I checked, when you do a comparison down to a component level of a Mac versus a Dell with equivalent specs, you have to go quite high up in Dell's range before you even find the same CPUs available as an option, never mind standard.

Boy, the Apple fanboys are out astroturfing today.

A Mac Mini starts with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM, and 120GB hard drive for $599.

Dell has not one, but three machines that beat that spec and the price:

• Inspiron 537 starting at $458
• Studio Slim desktop starting at $469
• Studio Hybrid starting at $569

In addition, you can really beat the spec with two quad-core machines for less than $530.

Sure, Dell has a few models with hardware that is less than that of the Mac Mini, but it's not like they are that much cheaper, or that the better models are hidden.

Last time I checked, when you do a comparison down to a component level of a Mac versus a Dell with equivalent specs, you have to go quite high up in Dell's range before you even find the same CPUs available as an option, never mind standard.

Boy, the Apple fanboys are out astroturfing today.

A Mac Mini starts with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM, and 120GB hard drive for $599.

Dell has not one, but three machines that beat that spec and the price:

• Inspiron 537 starting at $458
• Studio Slim desktop starting at $469
• Studio Hybrid starting at $569

In addition, you can really beat the spec with two quad-core machines for less than $530.

Sure, Dell has a few models with hardware that is less than that of the Mac Mini, but it's not like they are that much cheaper, or that the better models are hidden.

Last time I checked, when you do a comparison down to a component level of a Mac versus a Dell with equivalent specs, you have to go quite high up in Dell's range before you even find the same CPUs available as an option, never mind standard.

Boy, the Apple fanboys are out astroturfing today.

A Mac Mini starts with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM, and 120GB hard drive for $599.

Dell has not one, but three machines that beat that spec and the price:

• Inspiron 537 starting at $458
• Studio Slim desktop starting at $469
• Studio Hybrid starting at $569

In addition, you can really beat the spec with two quad-core machines for less than $530.

Sure, Dell has a few models with hardware that is less than that of the Mac Mini, but it's not like they are that much cheaper, or that the better models are hidden.

Who needs 192GB RAM? It'll cost ya.

I was in the same boat, 1 yr ago, except I had a Dell Pentium M that I dropped. Oops.
I dislike wide-screen, but that is the only screen you'll get now. This means, you're probably losing vertical screen space. I went from 1400x1280 to 1280x800 screen. SUCK!

OTOH, I went from 1.5GB RAM to 4GB, so I was happy. I'm looking to get 8GB RAM, but discovered today that the laptop only supports 4GB. It is running Vista-64, so more RAM would be usable.

VirtualBox for running xubuntu and WinXP. I spend almost all day, every day in an xubuntu VM. The performance is very good, including video editing. There's enough RAM to run Vista, WinXP and xubuntu simultaneously - basically, each gets 1.2GB of RAM which is good enough.

I ended up getting a Dell Studio 1535 for a very good price ($640). In fact, I'm hard pressed to find a similar deal even now. Here's the technical specs link http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/1535/en/index.htm

The only things I'd change are:
  - better graphics card with higher resolution screen
  - support for 8GB RAM

The C2D CPU with VT-M is excellent.
The 320GB disk is fine.
The slot DVD +/- RW is fine.
The ports - USB, Firefire, VGA, HDMI, GigE, 8-in-1 memory card reader - are all nice.

If you can wait, get Windows7 with your laptop. I got a free copy (would never pay for it) of Ultimate from MS (wish I could get those 4 hours back), but I'm unwilling to risk my current setup - $74 and a new 320GB 2.5" drive and I'm ready to install and get tweaking. Anyway, get Win7 with you new laptop.

Anyway, good luck and enjoy your new toy. Be certain to backup, backup, backup.

I think Dell has you covered. Pity they aren't doing any advertising for it.

Dell is selling Atom D520s with Ubuntu. Surprisingly, you don't even have to search for Ubuntu now. Some pages don't show the link, but this one does:

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop-inspiron-10/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-inspiron-10

"Customize with Ubuntu"

Wow, you're clearly misinformed. Most netbooks come with Windows XP OEM preinstalled or Linux. There's no downgrade trick. Here...

Dell
Asus
Acer
Samsung
Toshiba
Sony

"In that situation I think a better analogy would be that you buy a new car, but get the dealer to install an old engine that is out of production, and still expect it to be covered by your warranty.

If the dealer installed it, why wouldn't you expect the warrenty to be valid.?

ANyways, there are a lot of products where XP is the default OS. so your analogy is just plain wrong.
look here:
http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/mini_laptop_deals?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&ST=netbook%20(exact)&dgc=ST&cid=38726&lid=1204655&acd=52183,8,0,68295161,714235004,1253027665,,17387705,3392046651

Netbooks with XP as the default.

Not just netbooks...

Not just netbooks...

Dell still sells them. They've been moved over to the small business website, and rebranded the Dell Vostro A90

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-vostro-a90

$239 for an Ubuntu model.

Dell still sells it's netbooks with Ubuntu. Many users prefer windows I'm sorry to say. People bought the Linux initially and some liked it, but some did not and returned the units. So OEMs were forced to supply Windows. The market controls it, not MS. http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop-inspiron-10/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-inspiron-10&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~laptop-inspiron-10v_anav2~~

Dell Mini9 aka Vostro A90:
$299 with XP

DVD quality video is great, HD is watchable with minor glitches. You can usually get it for a little less on the Dell Outlet site.

Nah. The power consumption would be high, but not that high. You might even be able to get it all on one circuit without blowing a fuse.

According to the specs, a 30" Dell LCD consumes somewhere between 163 and 250W.

This number is surprisingly high, considering a 27" CRT TV only uses approx. 100W, although the same guy measured a 30" Dell LCD to consume approx. 90W, which sounds much more believable. If your LCD is consuming 250W, it's either going to be blindingly bright, or throwing off a serious amount of heat.

On the other hand, Dell also manufacture an "energy efficient" line of monitors, the largest of which is 24", and consumes approx. 23W while in use, which is pretty impressive. You could easily run 12 of these off of a single domestic supply, even on one of North America's puny 120V circuits. In fact, 12 of Dell's 24" 'Green' displays would consume less power than a single 30" display if the spec sheet is to be believed.

Now, that being said, you also certainly wouldn't need a 220V 3-phase connector to run this many 30" displays. You'd likely be able to do it off of a single domestic circuit (barely). Most newer North American 120V outlets support a maximum load of 15A, or 1800W. If we can safely assume that the monitors will consume 100W each, and the PC stays under 600W, you'd just be able to squeak by (600 + 12*100 = 1800W)

On the other hand, if you live in one of the civilized nations that use 220-240V as their domestic supply, you'd be able to do this without risking blowing a fuse (oddly enough, fuse boxes are still quite common in certain parts of the world). A European 16A CEEForm plug should be able to safely deliver 16A * 240V = 3840W, which would hypothetically be enough to power 24 monitors, and a PC to drive them. Domestic Schuko, BS1363, and BS546 outlets (most of Europe, the UK, and the commonwealth countries) would also be able to handle this sort of load without a problem, provided that they were wired correctly.

Heat distribution wouldn't be a problem, considering that 12 30" monitors would occupy approximately 32 square feet. Passive cooling should be adequate, provided that you're not cramming all this gear into an unventilated closet.

Nah. The power consumption would be high, but not that high. You might even be able to get it all on one circuit without blowing a fuse.

According to the specs, a 30" Dell LCD consumes somewhere between 163 and 250W.

This number is surprisingly high, considering a 27" CRT TV only uses approx. 100W, although the same guy measured a 30" Dell LCD to consume approx. 90W, which sounds much more believable. If your LCD is consuming 250W, it's either going to be blindingly bright, or throwing off a serious amount of heat.

On the other hand, Dell also manufacture an "energy efficient" line of monitors, the largest of which is 24", and consumes approx. 23W while in use, which is pretty impressive. You could easily run 12 of these off of a single domestic supply, even on one of North America's puny 120V circuits. In fact, 12 of Dell's 24" 'Green' displays would consume less power than a single 30" display if the spec sheet is to be believed.

Now, that being said, you also certainly wouldn't need a 220V 3-phase connector to run this many 30" displays. You'd likely be able to do it off of a single domestic circuit (barely). Most newer North American 120V outlets support a maximum load of 15A, or 1800W. If we can safely assume that the monitors will consume 100W each, and the PC stays under 600W, you'd just be able to squeak by (600 + 12*100 = 1800W)

On the other hand, if you live in one of the civilized nations that use 220-240V as their domestic supply, you'd be able to do this without risking blowing a fuse (oddly enough, fuse boxes are still quite common in certain parts of the world). A European 16A CEEForm plug should be able to safely deliver 16A * 240V = 3840W, which would hypothetically be enough to power 24 monitors, and a PC to drive them. Domestic Schuko, BS1363, and BS546 outlets (most of Europe, the UK, and the commonwealth countries) would also be able to handle this sort of load without a problem, provided that they were wired correctly.

Heat distribution wouldn't be a problem, considering that 12 30" monitors would occupy approximately 32 square feet. Passive cooling should be adequate, provided that you're not cramming all this gear into an unventilated closet.

The Dell ubuntu section is very sparse.

The hardware available is definitely not the same as the massive selection that is available with windows pre-installed.

It may be cheaper.. but you really pay because the hardware is cheaper too...

BS! It was less than $100. No where near your $500.

You didn't look hard enough, then

Ya, Using your own link, I configured the Alienware laptop with similar specs to the 17" MacBook Pro and it came out costing $3,269. Try it yourself configure the Alienware with these specs:

Alienware M17x

• Intel® Core(TM)2 Duo T9800 2.93GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• 17-inch WideUXGA 1920x1200 (1200p)
• 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz - 2 x 2048MB
• 500GB 7,200RPM w/ Free Fall Protection
• Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 2GB - SLI® Enabled

Canadian dollars.

Seeing that ca.dell I thought so. Now let's see what Yahoo! says about the Canadian and US conversion:

Currencies Center, Canadian $3,269 = US $3001. That is more than US$100 more than the 17" MBP So my stance still is valid.

Or are you honestly telling me that you bought a 24" external monitor that cost $800?

I said nothing about an external monitor. Since you brought it up though I've been looking at getting the 24" HP LP2475w. It uses H-IPS panels which are the recommended panel for photographers and other graphic artists. The HP LP2475w itself is recommended by photographers.

Even if you had to wait 6 months to see a cheque (Dell usually issues credits/cheques within 3-6 weeks, btw), you're still coming out ahead.

From the numbers above I come out behind not ahead.

Unless you actually *want* to spend a boatload more cash than you need to in order to get a pretty apple logo on the back of your LCD.

Now you're trolling.

Falcon

BS! It was less than $100. No where near your $500.

You didn't look hard enough, then. Start price $1999. Customize it to upgrade the screen to your desired resolution and bump the hard drive to 500GB, and you're at $2279. Canadian dollars. At the current exchange rate, that's just a shade under $2100. Not even close to the $3000 USD that you're talking about having spent on a Mac. You got taken.

Or are you honestly telling me that you bought a 24" external monitor that cost $800?

But I have to pay the Microsoft tax. Sure I could demand a refund from Alienware, but what's the likelihood I would get it, in a reasonable tyme period?

And? Even if you had to wait 6 months to see a cheque (Dell usually issues credits/cheques within 3-6 weeks, btw), you're still coming out ahead. Unless you actually *want* to spend a boatload more cash than you need to in order to get a pretty apple logo on the back of your LCD.

Uh

"IBM PC DOS is a freeware DOS system for the IBM Personal Computer and compatibles, manufactured and sold by IBM from the 1980s to the 2000s."

It was not freeware, I remember having to pay for it. It also is still for sale here called PC-DOS and definitely not Freeware.

Also:

"This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)"

The Wikipedia article does not cite any sources.

Only the Chinese version of PC-DOS 2000 seems available for download from IBM, no doubt for a deal struck with the Chinese government. Otherwise it is commercial software.

Do a comparison yourself if you don't think the Mac Tax exists. It does.

The Mac Tax does not exist.

MacBook Pro "17

• 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X2GB
• NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
• MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution Glossy Widescreen Display with a high-resolution 1920x1200 pixel LED-backlit display
• 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm

Total: $2,849.00

Alienware M17x

• Intel® Core(TM)2 Duo T9800 2.93GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
• Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 2GB - SLI® Enabled
• 17-inch WideUXGA 1920x1200 (1200p)
• 500GB 7,200RPM w/ Free Fall Protection

Total: $2,774

Dell Precision Workstation M6400

• Intel® Core(TM) 2 Duo T9900 (3.06GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• 4.0GB, DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM, 4 DIMMS
• ATI FirePro M7740, 1.0GB
• 17" UltraSharp(TM) Wide Screen WUXGA (1920x1200)RGB LED Edge 2 Edge Disply
• 500GB Hard Drive, 7200 RPM

Total: $3,414

HP EliteBook 8730w Mobile Workstation

• Intel® Core(TM) 2 Duo T9900 (3.06GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• 4096MB (800-MHz, DDR2, 2DIMM)
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M 48-core CUDA parallel computing processor 512MB (dedicated)
• 17-inch diagonal WUXGA (1920x1200)
• 500-GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

Total: $3,203.00

I'd rather pay my Microsoft tax and get an OS that is compatible with the majority of hardware out there then pay a similar amount of money on the Mac Tax and get a computer plagued with incompatibilities for much of the software that exists.

Not only can I install Mac software on my Mac, I can also install Linux and Windows software on it. Try installing Mac software in Linux or Windows.

Of course, I am reliant on very little Windows-only products. I only use 2, but I do know those two can be royal pain in the ass to use on a Mac.

Before switching from Windows to both Linux and OS X I made a list of what I wanted to do, not specific software but tasks. I then looked at what was available for each task on each platform and I didn't find anything I needed Windows for, everything I wanted and needed to do I could use a Mac for, and most could be done with Linux as well.

Falcon

Do a comparison yourself if you don't think the Mac Tax exists. It does.

The Mac Tax does not exist.

MacBook Pro "17

• 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X2GB
• NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
• MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution Glossy Widescreen Display with a high-resolution 1920x1200 pixel LED-backlit display
• 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm

Total: $2,849.00

Alienware M17x

• Intel® Core(TM)2 Duo T9800 2.93GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
• Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 2GB - SLI® Enabled
• 17-inch WideUXGA 1920x1200 (1200p)
• 500GB 7,200RPM w/ Free Fall Protection

Total: $2,774

Dell Precision Workstation M6400

• Intel® Core(TM) 2 Duo T9900 (3.06GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• 4.0GB, DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM, 4 DIMMS
• ATI FirePro M7740, 1.0GB
• 17" UltraSharp(TM) Wide Screen WUXGA (1920x1200)RGB LED Edge 2 Edge Disply
• 500GB Hard Drive, 7200 RPM

Total: $3,414

HP EliteBook 8730w Mobile Workstation

• Intel® Core(TM) 2 Duo T9900 (3.06GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• 4096MB (800-MHz, DDR2, 2DIMM)
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M 48-core CUDA parallel computing processor 512MB (dedicated)
• 17-inch diagonal WUXGA (1920x1200)
• 500-GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

Total: $3,203.00

I'd rather pay my Microsoft tax and get an OS that is compatible with the majority of hardware out there then pay a similar amount of money on the Mac Tax and get a computer plagued with incompatibilities for much of the software that exists.

Not only can I install Mac software on my Mac, I can also install Linux and Windows software on it. Try installing Mac software in Linux or Windows.

Of course, I am reliant on very little Windows-only products. I only use 2, but I do know those two can be royal pain in the ass to use on a Mac.

Before switching from Windows to both Linux and OS X I made a list of what I wanted to do, not specific software but tasks. I then looked at what was available for each task on each platform and I didn't find anything I needed Windows for, everything I wanted and needed to do I could use a Mac for, and most could be done with Linux as well.

Falcon

Must be where you live, here in Canada I just compared to comparable laptops, one from Apple Canada, and one from Dell (Alienware).
    The Mac was a Macbook Pro 17-inch.
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

4GB memory

500GB 5400-rpm hard drive

NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor with 512MB GDDR3 memory

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor

$2899
The link is here: http://www.apple.com/ca/mac/whichmacbook/compare.html

The dell was an alienware, also 17-inch.

SYSTEM COLOR Space Black â" Anodized Aluminum

PROCESSOR Intel® Coreâ2 Duo T9600 2.8GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows Vista Home Premium (64 bit) + Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Coupon

WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis

LCD PANEL 17-inch WideUXGA 1920x1200 (1200p)

MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz â" 2 x 2048MB

HARD DRIVE 500GB 7,200RPM w/ Free Fall Protection

VIDEO CARD Single NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 1GB

COST $2,549
The link is here: http://configure.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=ca&cs=CADHS1&L=EN&oc=NXM17X_R_1E&~lt=alienware

Comes with personalized nameplate, bluetooth, a/g/n wireless @ 300 Mbps

So same processor, same memory, but the alienware has a faster HDD, a better video card, and not to sound shallow but those alienware computers look way better than Mac's

Dell XPS One 24" all in one system, $2499!!!!!!! It costs $1000 more than the iMac costs. And for that, you get a Q8200 CPU, which is about $40 more expensive than the E7300. More cores, but lower clock speeds. The Dell has a crappier chipset, as evidenced by the DDR2 instead of DDR3 RAM. The Dell has a crappy video chipset. The Dell has a smaller hard drive.

Dell Computers

Nope, but let me help you out with perspective. The Inspiron 537 slim is entry-level at $269 including a DVD+/-RW, 2GB RAM, etc.

But if you spec it with similar processor to the Mac mini the price starts at $664. (As stated at the same link.)

Nope, but let me help you out with perspective. The Inspiron 537 slim is entry-level at $269 including a DVD+/-RW, 2GB RAM, etc. Like the Mini, it doesn't include a monitor, but with the recommended 18.5" flat panel, it becomes just $499, still $100 cheaper than the Mini (and comes in multiple colours).

Apple's cheapest offerings are still a lot more expensive than the cheapest PCs out there.

Actually, he's 100% right. On this page you linked: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/laptop-mini2?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

It lists the operating system as Windows or Linux. Then go ahead and click on one, and you're presented with four choices. All Windows XP. Even when customizing, you can't change from Windows to Linux. It even took me a while to realize how to buy a Ubuntu netbook. One of the four choices has a button "Customize with Ubuntu", then and only then you can buy it with Linux.