Comparing the cost of Macs and PCs
A recent price comparison of high-end computers found the new Mac Pro cheaper than a comparable Dell. See
http://www.macworld.com/2006/08/features/macproprice/index.php
That article also contains links to price comparisons on Mac laptops versus Dell's. When the machines are comparably configured , the Macs are priced about the same (although it wasn't possible to configure the two machines to be totally identical).
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02/14/pricecomparison2/index.php
Admittedly, if you don't need all the features provided, you can leave out some features and get a cheaper configuration of a Dell.
However that is not the whole story. What is the "total cost of ownership" (TCO) of a Mac versus a PC as you go forward down the road. Here is a quote from an article on the subject by a security expert who uses both Macs and PCs:
"The results of this TCO astounded me. For my small enterprise, owning a WinTel box for three years costs twice as much as owning a MacTel. When I talked with several of our clients, I found that the burdened cost of ownership per PC - just for support - ranged from $1,300 to $4,000 per year."
You can read the rest of the article at this link and also download his spreadsheet and a pdf with suggestions and instructions on using the spreadsheet to calculate your own total cost of ownership.
http://www.networkworld.com/best/2006/022706bestbreaker-schwartau.html?page=1
Turns out that Macs are much cheaper to own when all costs are considered.
Doug
http://www.macworld.com/2006/08/features/macproprice/index.php
That article also contains links to price comparisons on Mac laptops versus Dell's. When the machines are comparably configured , the Macs are priced about the same (although it wasn't possible to configure the two machines to be totally identical).
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02/14/pricecomparison2/index.php
Admittedly, if you don't need all the features provided, you can leave out some features and get a cheaper configuration of a Dell.
However that is not the whole story. What is the "total cost of ownership" (TCO) of a Mac versus a PC as you go forward down the road. Here is a quote from an article on the subject by a security expert who uses both Macs and PCs:
"The results of this TCO astounded me. For my small enterprise, owning a WinTel box for three years costs twice as much as owning a MacTel. When I talked with several of our clients, I found that the burdened cost of ownership per PC - just for support - ranged from $1,300 to $4,000 per year."
You can read the rest of the article at this link and also download his spreadsheet and a pdf with suggestions and instructions on using the spreadsheet to calculate your own total cost of ownership.
http://www.networkworld.com/best/2006/022706bestbreaker-schwartau.html?page=1
Turns out that Macs are much cheaper to own when all costs are considered.
Doug
