George's Profile

Just to add, the impact of Vista Home Basic included on the Dell should not be ignored. You cannot even run Adobe CS4 apps on Home Basic regardless of hardware capabilities. No aero interface. No Windows Media Center. No Windows Mobility Center (on a laptop!) No secondary monitors. And many more... That extra GB of RAM isn't looking very useful.

"The whole Apple computing line is over-priced by at least 33%." Why do writers continually have to make up numbers in articles like this one based on nothing more than a feeling that supports their argument? Apple's gross margins are published (5 yr avg of appox 32%). Dell's gross margins are published (approx 18%). Assuming all else is equal, Apple would have to sell a Mac for 20% more than an equivalent Dell to maintain their margin. Of course, all else isn't equal, so whether or not Apple's industrial design and operating system are worth an extra 20% is up to each consumer. Another point that should be considered is that Macs are usually competitively priced when they are released. The problem is that 6 months or so later, the rest of the industry has come down in price while Macs remain the same price.