Maybe you misinterpreted my article a bit. I own lots of Apple products but there is definitely a price premium on them. I’m willing to pay more for things like my Macbook Pro because I think it’s a great computer. I use a PC desktop at work and I would much prefer that to using my MAC for business purposes. I just upgraded the RAM on my MAC too so it’s running faster than ever.

Baloney. Be legit. If you want to play games, you get an x-box. Computers are for computing, and you get one that best suits your computing needs. I have used both win and MacOS, and win BLOWS; MacOS is vastly superior. Most peecee user have never even tried MacOS yet attack and insult it unreasonably. Macs run great and will last forever. Thus the premium. Macs only get tossed when they have become obsolete. Like your netbook. It has been rendered obsolete by tablets. Happens.

Nice. Seems like the majority of people prefer Macs. I just upgraded my MacBook Pro to 8 GB of RAM so now I’m running MAC OS and Windows on Parallels very smoothly. It was a little slow before but like you I like Windows for Quicken and a few other Windows only programs.

I think Macs are still a superior computer but I feel like the price gap is widening. PC’s are getting cheaper while Macs are getting more expensive and it’s all the same technology.

I started out with an Apple (Apple IIgs, not Mac) desktop. Eventually I switched to a Mac. After about 10 years, I began to use Windows, and continued using PC desktops for an additional 10 years.

About 3 years ago, I needed a new desktop, and decided to return to Macs in spite of the extra cost. I couldn’t be happier. I bought a Mac mini, and used my PC peripherals with it. I still need Windows to run Quicken, but Macs can use both the Mac OS and Windows. I use the Mac program called Parallels, and Windows XP, which allows me to switch back and forth without rebooting.

I’ll soon want an additional machine, and I plan to buy another mini or a 27″ iMac. Yes, both will cost much more than a PC, but Ive used both OSs for several years, and I prefer the Mac, in spite of the initial extra cost.

By the way, I still run XP on a laptop, but I only turn it on about once a month to back up my Quicken files. Macs have served me well over the years.

Jeff, I’m glad you could vent to someone haha There’s definitely going to be a big jump from 10.4 to 10.8. Usually though, most of the changes are for the better. I’ve gotten pretty used to the new OS(Mountain Lion) now and I’m not in love with it but like I said, I really only use this computer for surfing the net and blogging. I don’t like doing any excel work or MS office stuff on my Mac, it’s too hard to navigate around and like you said nothing is customizable.

The great thing about Windows is that you can literally change everything and customize it the way you want. I also feel like it’s a lot easier to do real work on a Windows. The Mac screens are nice but way overpriced. You could get a big screen tv for half that price. I just upgraded the RAM(2009 MBP) from 4gb to 8gb and it’s running really well again. Everything is fast and it allows me to split the RAM for when I run windows parallels.

I got fed up with Windows in 2005 and bought a Mac mini. It served me well for 7 years – it’s still running, but since it only has 512M of RAM, it is quite slow. And, since it has a Power PC chip, it doesn’t run much new software since not many developers are writing universal code any longer. So, time to upgrade. What a headache!!! Migration Assistant didn’t work, so I had to manually transfer the files and I found that OSX 10.8.2 is very different from 10.4.11. It is much more Windows-like, with right-click options that didn’t work in 10.4.11. Oh, and there are no arrows in the vertical scroll bar in Firefox or in Safari – you have to use the scroll wheel on the mouse. The biggest beef I have with Apple, though, is their rent-seeking behavior. They’ve got an Apple Universe (iTunes, iPad, iPod, MacApp Store) that they strive to rope everyone into and milk them dry and it just goes against my grain. In addition, you can’t upgrade the memory in the newest iMacs. And have you checked out the price of a 27″ monitor? $1,100???? The TrackPad is Bluetooth only – here I come, Batteries+! I’m not sure that my next box is going to be an Apple – it might just be a Windows or a Linux box – I’m that irritated with Apple’s antics. Whichever software writer decided that all of the icons in Mail were going to be gray should be shot. The icons in Finder can be colorized with third-party software, but not the icons in Mail.

Thanks Matt. That’s a good analysis of Apple’s software hold on the market but I don’t necessarily agree that they are going to continue growing. They do a great job of inter-linking all their products and it was a PITA to switch all my music over when I switched from my iPhone to S3. But that being said, I probably won’t be switching back.

I think Apple is here to stay but I think even their die hards were a little upset with their latest iPhone. If I had to bet one way or the other I would say Apple’s stock price will be going down.

Congrats on the engagement Harry!

The CEO of Greenlight Capital, David Einhorn, who is famous for shorting Allied Capital, Lehman, Green Mountain Coffee, Chipotle, etc., has a big stake in AAPL, though I think he’s been trimming recently. Anyway, he bought in 2010, at around $250 a share. Here’s what he had to say about AAPL in his 2012 Q1 letter to shareholders (found here http://www.scribd.com/doc/95352205/Einhorn-Q1-12-Letter-to-Partners):

“Despite its size, AAPL remains one of themost misunderstood stocks in the market. AAPL is a software company. The value comesfrom iOS, the App store, iTunes and iCloud. A Motorola RAZR phone was a one-time winner because when someone else made a phone that was just a little better, RAZR sales stopped. In contrast, a consumer with one AAPL product tends to want more AAPLproducts. Once the user has a second device, AAPL has captured the customer. At that point,a future competitor has to make a product that isn’t just a little better, but a lot better to get people to switch. The high switching cost makes AAPL’s business much more defensible than that of its predecessors.

Further, AAPL’s ability to consistently offer innovative features (as opposed to marginal improvements on the current features) encourages users to upgrade every couple of years. This provides a recurring revenue stream. And because AAPL embeds its software into its hardware, it doesn’t face Microsoft’s piracy problem. If the Chinese want AAPL, they have to buy AAPL. Rather than view AAPL as a hardware company, we see it as a software company that monetizes its value through the repeated sales of high margin hardware.

We continue to hold AAPL. Not only do we think the skeptics are misguided, we believe the shares remain cheap. AAPL trades at a lower multiple than the average company in the S&P 500. A below-market multiple implies that this is a below-average company. We have a hard time seeing how anyone ranks AAPL as below average.”

Yea I really like the ability to customize everything and I think it’s important to stay up on the latest technology. Maybe it’s because I grew up with computers, but I don’t ever want to be a helpless old person who doesn’t know how to turn on a tv or use a computer. I embrace new technology/change

I used to buy Apple products but switched to Samsung about a year ago. The reason was simple, it was cheaper and offered more functionality.
My wife still uses Apple, but only because she isn’t interested in learning how to use a new operating system.

Hi Ornella, thanks! It’s been about 2 weeks, haha.

I thought it was so funny how all the Apple die-hards tried to explain to me the difference between the 4 and the 5. Dude, it’s the same phone!

Anyways, I like macbooks, I think they’re still a great product for casual/personal use. I would not get one for business use but I prefer doing real business-type work on a desktop anyways. But macs are good for blog work If you decide to go non-apple though I’d either go for a cheap powerful computer or a quality mid level like Lenovo or Dell. I haven’t bought a PC laptop in years so I may not be the best person to ask but I know there are some good ones.

While I don’t know how long you have been engaged, congrats.
Back to your question: well, I’m not an Apply fanatic. I do have an iPhone 5. It’s my first Apple product. Like you, I don’t see the difference between my iPhone 5 and my friend’s iPhone 4s except for the length.

I’m currently going back and forth between a MacBook Air or not. I’m still shopping and comparing. Any suggestions on a non-Apple laptop?