Ballmer on the $500 "Apple tax": The man was right

Paying for "cool"

How many of you buy the cheapest shoes available at Wal-Mart? How many of you who can comfortably afford a $27,000 vehicle opt for one that sells for $12,000? How many of you prefer sirloin to SteakUmms? How many of you buy the shitty flavorless offbrand sandwich cookies instead of Oreos?

You pay for what makes you comfortable and what makes you happy and what makes life a little more convenient.

For me, avoiding crashes and bypassing the nuisance of viruses while getting an elegant OS with a downright beautiful computer (the iMac dome with swivel monitor) was why I went Mac with my last computer. This 5-year-old computer has handled every OS upgrade (having a steady stream of upgrades instead of waiting half a decade also is a "cool" bonus, in my book) flawlessly in that time.

I figure I've run my Mac about 4,420 hours over the past five years. I've had no problem paying an extra 11 cents an hour (according to Ballmer's comments) for a computing experience that has been reliable, intuitive, headache-free and rewarding. I consider all four of those adjectives to be cool and I have no problem paying extra for them. Based on my previous Windows experience, I'm convinced those extra 11 cents an hour have saved me 50-100 hours of frustration that I would have endured with PCs during that span. My free time IS worth it.

If Windows machines work well for you, great. For me, the problems and inconveniences of the past pushed me to a Mac, and I've rewarded Apple (a laptop for the missus) with my loyalty because I've never once had a problem with its hardware or software. That's a far cry from my PC experience, and I wasn't using discount-bin PCs, either.

It's crazy. I know. But then again, I'm a guy who buys Snyder's of Berlin BBQ chips instead of generic. So go ahead and label me a snob.

Taxes are not voluntary

The last time I checked, it was not an option for me to not pay my taxes. However, nobody is holding a gun to my head to buy an Apple product. People who don't want to buy Macs... don't. Is it really that hard to understand?

Is it a tax?, Or is it a market?

Are the value/price issues for different brands in the personal computer market really any different from in any other market.

Presumably, some Ford and GM owners believe that Saab, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche owners have been duped into paying a "tax" for their badges too. One can argue that it is fashion, but the discussion gets interesting when extended to commercial trucks.

Have wearers of Levi jeans been "taxed"? Personally, I prefer Wrangler!

Oh, and don't even start on ladies perfume pricing ... !

HELLO, I'M AN ANGRY MAC FAN!

HELLO, I'M AN ANGRY MAC FAN! MACS ARE ALWAYS SUPERIOR AND NEVER CRASH OR HAVE BUGS!

PC'S ARE SHIT, THATS WHY 90% OF THE WORLD USE THEM, BUT WE, TRENDY MAC HIPSTERS KNOW THE TRUTH!

$500.00 Tax, Not

I have this co-worker who purchased a Windows OS (VISTA) based Notebook, he paid about $2,000.00. I tried to get him to get a Macbook, for about the same price. He said he wanted it for the specific use (video direct from cable). He has not been able to use it for the stated purpose.

He has also paid to have it restored at least twice at about $300.00 each time. I keep telling him, "you should have gotten a Mac". He has trouble with the machine (Read OS) every time I turn around. On a weekly basis he asks me to look at it, I tell him again "you should have gotten a Mac".

He is now looking into getting a netbook.

No, he really wasn't right.

I'll have to agree, though I don't own a Mac, with Jorge Chao and others, it's not just the logo. It's the whole user experience. For example, my brother was going through his annual Windows wipe and re-install routine while talking to his son on the phone. You know, the "take a day off to clean up Windows because it's running slow again" routine. During their conversation, my nephew said something like "Well, Dad, I haven't rebooted my macbook in a year now. I haven't needed to, and it still runs just as fast as it did when I bought it." Guess what. My brother bought a Mac, and he won't be buying a Windows based PC again. You see, all he wants to do is get his work done. He doesn't want to spend hours every week maintaining his PC, or fighting viruses and other malware. And for him, and many others, if the initial cost of the computer is a little more, no matter. Because he knows the real cost of a Windows PC after purchasing antivirus software, and regularly spending hours working on your PC instead of working on your work, makes a Windows PC much more costly over time than a Mac.

I'm different. I work on computers for a living, so working on my PC is my work. At my job, we sell Windows based systems, so I'm stuck with it. But at home, were it not for some legacy software I still like, I'd be 100% GNU/Linux, because yes, the hardware is the same. I don't mind at this point spending some extra time figuring out how to do something on Linux, because I do have the time, and once I've done the initial set up, it is thereafter just as trouble free for me as a Mac. And in less than 3 years I expect, Linux will be fully comparable to a Mac in ease of use. If Microsoft is trying to make Windows easier and more trouble free, so far they just haven't been able to deliver, and I don't trust Windows 7 is going to do the trick.

There is though, one exception to the "hardware's the same" argument. Why is it that a macbook has so much better battery life than a comparably equipped Windows notebook?

Preston, Preston...

The only reason a man would smack a nest full of hornets is because he enjoys annoying them despite their stinging reaction.

Have fun with the Mac fans...