As anyone reading this blog knows, I bought a Macintosh recently. Heck, all I’ve written about during the last couple of weeks has been my MacBook Pro. I am pretty happy with my new computer, but I’m the first to admit that a Macintosh isn’t exactly an economical alternative to a PC.
Or is it? I read an article today that made me stop and think (click the “Continue” button to get past the advertising). The idea put forth by this article is, firstly, that Mac OS X is better than Vista (debatable). And secondly, that Macintoshes are cheaper than more or less comparable PCs…this latter flies in the face of any comparison of shelf price I’ve ever made. It simply can’t be true…or at least that’s what I thought until I read the article.
The basic idea: PCs, whether they be Dells, HPs, or Lenovos, are cheaper than Macintoshes by a significant margin when you buy them. However, when you try to sell them, their resale value is far less than a Macintosh.
Resale value? What the heck- who resells a PC? They are worthless after a couple of years. Not so with a Macintosh, apparently. And that’s exactly the point the article makes. Even two or three years later, the Mac you bought for $1,000 is still worth $700 or so, while the PC is barely worth the effort to drag it to the trash heap.
Hmmm. The author of the article makes an interesting point, I suppose: enough so to make me reconsider some “rules” about how I buy and use computers. But one thing the Macintosh still can’t win on- computer games 🙂