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"Apple Tax" Report Backfires On Microsoft
Ian Lamont writes "A Microsoft-sponsored report that describes a hidden "Apple tax" has fallen flat among the technology press. Roger Kay's report (PDF) compares various PC and Mac configurations, and claims an all-Apple household's costs would add up to an extra $3,367 over five years. Tech columnists and bloggers have slammed the comparisons and claims made in the report — even Mac-baiter John C. Dvorak calls it propaganda. However, some Mac fans still see a pro-Microsoft press conspiracy. Even if the comparisons are questionable, Kay's report and the accompanying television ads have clearly struck a nerve among the Mac faithful."
Meanwhile, Linux users everywhere are scratching their heads.
If the superiority of Mac OS X was relevant to the majority of home computer users
I love how you say this as if it is implied truth. My experience has shown that Mac users tend to delude themselves into believing OS X is way better than it is. They seem to overlook its many shortcomings because to recognize them would be blasphemous or something. I used OS X as my primary desktop for two years. The one thing going for it is that it's pretty. Other than that, it's unnecessarily slow, has a shitty filesystem, is no more stable than XP and certainly not Vista, always had issues sleeping and waking, ilife was buggy (specifically iPhoto), is only secure through obscurity (as we've seen with the recent pwn2own contest).
If you really want to know why OS X has a small marketshare, it's because it only appeals to people who want to take far more pride in a hardware company than anyone should, and Apple gives them that outlet with trendy, flashy products. Everybody else just wants to go about their day, using whatever is most convenient, easy and accessible.
Similes are like metaphors
That's not a service. We're stuck with the dancing bear of architectures because it may not dance well, but it dances to the Microsoft tune.