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Mac v. Microsoft TCO

Posted by pudge on from the here-we-go-again dept.

NickFitz writes "MacWorld UK has some comments from industry analysts on the question of whether Total Cost of Ownership, Microsoft's favourite metric, is lower for Apple Mac versus Windows. The MS website has no figures to refute the claim that 'An Apple technician may cost twice as much, but he comes to see you half as often.'" Bottom line: neither platform is the clear winner.

2 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Tired... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Comments like yours, which *seem* insightful, have a pretty heavy assumption that everybody completely evaluates every tool available.

    Think about this: if you don't *know* a better tool exists, how can you know you've got the best tool for the job?

    I've opened a lot of people's eyes over the years by showing them mac and linux. Heck, I've even opened my own eyes, when I discovered that OpenOffice actually is *useful* now (bye bye windows).

    Yes it's true, some people actually *do* have the best tool for their job (including functionality, *licensing*, and other intangibles), but some are living in blissfull ignorance.

    Just something to keep in mind when using that tired phrase "best tool for the job".

  2. I fix PC's by day... and use Macs at home. by dbirchall · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Some people might consider me a "PC technician" as various people pay me good money to take care of their beleaguered (Apple in-joke) PC's. I don't have A+ or Network+ certifications, but I've got 15 years of IT experience and familiarity with a good bit of hardware and more OSes than most people would ever want to touch.

    At home, I use primarily Macs running OS X. (There is one PC running Linux.) Why? Well, no one pays me to work on my own computers, so I choose hardware and software that won't require me to fix it all the time.

    Just an anecdotal data-point.