Posts Tagged ‘macs’

Macs are overpriced. Simply put, if I want to run Mac OS X, I need to buy a Mac. If I am going to buy a Mac, I don’t want to get ripped off. It is only worth switching if I need a new computer anyways and if said new computer is competitively priced. Macs are not competitively priced.

First, the Macbook. 2.4 GHz processor, 2GB DDR3 memory, 250 GB hard drive. Priced at 9. I found a Dell laptop on BestBuy’s website (Item #9536451) which has a 2.53 GH processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 500 GB hard drive. Surely, a better computer than the Macbook. The price listed was 9. That’s 0 less than the Macbook – and it is better than the Macbook.

This isn’t just with the Macbook though. The Macbook Pro comes in 6 different models. A 13 inch screen with 2.4 GHz 4GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive for 99; same screen size and memory but with a 2.66 GHz processor and 320 GB hard drive for ,499; a 15-inch screen with 2.4 GHz processor, 4GB of memory and a 320 GB hard drive for 99; same screen size and memory but with a 2.53 GHz processor and 500 GB hard drive for 99; same screen size, memory and hard drive but with a 2.66 GHz processor for 99; 17 inch screen, 2.53 GHz processor, 4 GB memory and 500 GB hard drive for 99.

I found an Asus laptop on bestbuy.com (Item# 9556125) for 9 with a 17 inch screen (this matches or beats every single Macbook pro), 6 GB of memory (this beats every Macbook Pro), a 2.53 GHz processor (this ties or beats every Macbook pro except the 99 15 inch screen one) and a 500 GB hard drive (this ties or beats every macbook pro). Every single macbook pro is priced at least 0 more then this one. It matches the 17 inch Macbook pro in everything except memory – which this Asus laptop has 2 GB more of.

So Macbooks and macbook pros are overpriced. Perhaps it is just the laptops? Both versions of the Macbook Air seems to be outclassed by the Dell laptop mentioned earlier (the more expensive Macbook Air is priced 0 more than the dell laptop). The iMac comes in 4 models. I am not going to take a screen into account simply because although the iMac is encased in the monitor, that means that you can’t switch out monitors. The ability to change monitors with most desktops outweighs the extra cost of such a monitor, however I will keep in mind that the cost of a monitor should be included so I will add on 0 to the price of the non-apple desktops I compare.

The iMac comes with either a 3.06 GHz processor with 4 GB of memory and a 500 GB hard drive for 99 or the same thing but with a 1 TB hard drive instead of only 500 GB for 99 (1 TB = 1000 GB), or the same thing as the second one but with a larger screen for 99. The most expensive iMac is like the previous price point but it comes with a 2.66 GHz processor instead of 3.06 GHz. I should note the most expensive one also has a better graphics card which is likely the reason for the increased price.

I found a Dell desktop with a 3.2 GHz processor, 8 GB of memory a 1 TB hard drive and a graphics card better than the highest price point iMac. All of this for only 9. Go ahead and look at item# 9697521 on bestbuy.com. Even if I factor in the cost of a monitor, it is still cheaper than the cheapest iMac and marginally better. The fact of the matter is that Macs are a lot more expensive than other computers. However, some may say that you are paying for the Mac operating system. This would mean that it is more expensive than WINDOWS which I have to pay for if I get a non-Apple computer.

GNU+Linux is itself free in both free beer and free speech meanings of the word. I can give it to my friends, install it on an unlimited number of computers, even modify the source code and compile every part of the system myself to create my own personalized version. Can I do that with Mac OS X? Not according to the license agreement. I can’t distribute Mac OS X if I buy a copy. I can’t modify it except for certain parts which are open source. I can’t redistribute my modifications. Are these things important to most users? Probably not but if I buy something I expect that I can do whatever I want with it. Therein lies the problem. Mac OS X is licensed not sold.

Macs lack in modification of the desktop environment. The dock can be set to auto-hide, be bigger or smaller, be put on any screen edge (except the top), and so on. There’s only so much which you can do to change the dock. GNU+Linux? I don’t even have a dock, I don’t like the dock, however I do know that my panels can be put on any screen edge, I can move around the stuff on the panel (such as the notification area, menus, icons to quickly launch applications, windows list &c.), add new stuff, take stuff off, &c. Not only that but I can use a variety of windows managers or even switch desktop environments.

Installing software. It’s hard to beat the ease of installing new software on GNU+Linux. There are mul

I’m just curious. I use Mac OSX (leopard) and I think it would be nice to have a portable Linux OS that will carry all of my files and settings so I could have those where ever I am (and of course so I could avoid using Windows). I was just wondering if there is any way of doing this. Size isn’t much of an issue since I’m planning to get a new flashdrive for it anyway.