There's no question that if you're starting a small business, you need a computer. The real dilemma is figuring out what kind of computer you should buy. If you're in that place, here's a little tidbit that may help make your decision: gadget blog Gizmodo recently wrote about a new study that revealed that the price of an Apple computer is on average TWICE as much as a PC. And no, they weren't comparing the MacBook Air to a Dell circa '04. We're talking computers of equal specs. So is the Apple worth the cost for your small business? And if it's not, why would you pay an unnecessary premium?
Here's the reality: as far as the hardware is concerned, there really is no difference. So, that double-cost multiplier is attributed to two things: an operating system and an aesthetic. The cost of the Vista operating system is about $225 for Home Premium (where you can plug your computer into the TV and have it act like a TiVo, and all the rest of it). The cost of Apple's OS, priceless.
Or at least that's what Apple fanboys would have you believe. The fact is that with Apple, you're paying nearly double for a pretty container and an arguably better operating system (arguably being the operative word there). But for a small business owner operating a standard start-up though, none of that really matters. And for a user like that, Vista and OS? It's frankly all the same.
Ubuntu anyone?
| [comments (3)] | 
|
While I don't think everything should be price driven, this is the reason businesses will never adopt an apple platform. Equipment replacement cost is a big deal to large organizations and when the cheapest workstation you can get is double a Dell's equivalent, simple economics dictates decision. There will be those handful of architects, design houses, creative types who will Mac Out their office, but that's it. We aren't far enough into the computer age yet where people don't remember a day where a computer was at work and internet was work only. As we get further along the 2 uses will collide and open source from work to home seamlessly will win the day. I say in 20 years apple is a consumer product and entertainment company only. Their PC's will be niche and quaint.
—bryanh
13:54, August 7th, 2008
That's the interesting thing; most users don't care. The majority of new apps in development are web-apps anyways. So why shouldn't an industry shift occur? Ubuntu, and most (if not all) linux-based OS's have OpenOffice available. If the majority of your work is done with MS Office... why wouldn't you switch? Cheaper, more stable, not Apple. Win-win-win for me.
—matteo
19:42, August 6th, 2008
It's funny that operating systems other than Windows are just recently becoming awesome, as in OS X, or usable, as in Linux, just as the reputation of Windows is at its worst.
I wouldn't set up an office with a bunch of Windows machines unless a mission-critical application required it. When alternative or equivalent or better software is available for free, why would anybody?
A record store near me uses Ubuntu. I got excited and asked the clerk about it. She said "Uh... I don't know. It's Firefox."
—richard
18:03, August 6th, 2008
You must be registered
and signed in to leave comments.