Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Doing the Math On the New MacBook

Posted by kdawson on from the compared-to-what dept.

Technologizer writes "Apple's new MacBook is a significantly different machine than its predecessor — a slicker laptop at a higher price point. But does it carry a large price premium over similar Windows PCs? I did a painstaking spec-by-spec comparison versus three roughly comparably-configured Windows machines, and came to the conclusion that the value it offers for price paid is not out of whack with the Windows world." The article uses the phrase "Mac tax," which one commenter points out is a recent Microsoft marketing canard.

4 of 783 comments (clear)

  1. Re:the big diff by rolfwind · · Score: 5, Interesting

    To add:

    4. Backlit keyboard. Really nice in dim rooms.

    If there are other differentiations, I either don't know about them or not that important to me.

  2. Re:Well, someone paid a tax by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I know you jest, but Every man that I see that touches one of the newest Macbook's has a wet stain on his pants and says in a low tone..."I must have this"

    Honestly, If Dell made a laptop that was near the macbook pro caliber in build they would sell just as well and cost as much.

    I tolerate dell lattitude laptops simply because the parts are dirt cheap. I have had "high end" sony Viao laptops and they are utter crap in build quality and design. Alienware laptops feel cheap and I dont want to carry a cartoon character around, they look incredibly dorky in the boardroom, I might as well have a giant "the TICK" sticker on my laptop and wear a TICK t-shirt.

    Well the hipper part is kind of fun... When you walk in with a laptop that makes the suits stare, and then you use keynote to show them a presentation that makes their best power point look like a childs crayon drawing... well yeah, it's nice to look hipper than the CEO that makes 40X your salary. You end up closing the deal far faster that way.

    it's why all our salespeople have them. That and the sales idiots cant infect a OSX laptop in 20 seconds with all their inane clicking and downloading. They still bitch they cant have windows laptops.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  3. Re:Another big difference: performance. by kklein · · Score: 5, Interesting

    After using half Windows and half Mac for 6 months last year, I switched totally to the Mac about 6 months ago. Here's what I've concluded:

    1) OSX is not very fast. I think it's bloated. I've got a ridiculous amount of processing power on this Mac Pro, but it just doesn't move that fast.

    2) XP is not very fast. I know it's bloated.

    So what's the difference?

    OSX is still as slow on my MacBook as it was the day I bought it. I've already formatted my XP Boot Camp gaming partition once this year to get my speed back.

    The big problem with Windows is that it gets slower as you go. I haven't noticed that at all with the Mac, even as I wantonly install and uninstall programs. I used to be terrified of what new programs would do to my XP machine. I just haven't had that problem with OSX. Plus, I have access to lots of cool things developed for UNIX that don't seem to slow anything down, stay out of my way, and Just Work.

  4. Re:You've been owned by torstenvl · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I agree.

    The marginal utility of the Mac is the amount of thought that goes into the entire system. Everything from MagSafe and freefall harddrive locking to built-in webcams (which you'll notice PCs quickly copied) to POSIXy goodness and Open Group certification. Different volume settings for different audio pipelines. Self-contained applications, system-wide and per-user settings, etc.

    Add to that its greatness as a development environment and I'm pretty much sold.

    If only OS X (specifically HFS+) would support filesystem holes. Grrrr...