Minimal Needs? Don’t Get a Mac?

There is a widespread conception that PCs are inherently cheaper than Macs. The reason for this line of thought is easily explained: When was the last time you saw a $599 Mac at Wal-Mart? In reality Macs are as cheap as or cheaper than a similarly equipped PC. The comparisons are legion but suffice it to say that when people compare component to component the Mac usually comes out on top.

People, predictably, aren’t persuaded by a direct component-to-component comparison. In fact people will swear up and down that they can build a better-equipped PC by spending four Franklins. That is a prime example of twisted computer logic. You cannot build a Mac equivalent PC for 400 dollars, it simply can’t be done because until the machine runs OS X it really isn’t comparable in any meaningful sense. That is not to say that building a satisfactory PC for a few hundred bucks is impossible, that feat is surely doable but the notion that you can match the Mac feature for feature for less than 500 bucks is like saying you can get a fine meal for 4.95. You can’t, you can get a semi edible meal for 4.95 but you’re not going to get the wine and service that makes dining really enjoyable. Now someone will surely whip out all kinds of prices and specs in attempt to prove me wrong but until the mythical computer can run iLife there’s no comparison.

Since Macs aren’t actually more expensive every clear thinking consumer should buy a Mac right? It seems like a no-brainer, after all price is no longer an issue. Were it such a simple formula�But it isn’t. See when you go Apple you pretty much go with full functionality. That means you’re going to get an actual video card, you’re going to get Firewire and you’re going to get DVI out. These are just examples, the “going to gets” go on for some time, the point being: you lose a little choice when you go Mac. Apple won’t allow you to buy a fully stripped out computer. Which is nice when you’re using iLife or Final Cut but perhaps a bit of overkill for the average computer user.

And the average computer user is where the e-Machine excels and the Mac fails, at least on price (ease of use and other concerns will be saved for another day). Friends I give you the 31 Minitower. Sure it only comes with 128 MB of memory and it sounds as if it were manufactured by a support group for people with a very undesirable medical condition (Cisnet?) but for a lot of folks, if you add in a little memory, it will be more than they need. By that I mean that you could use it to browse the web, check your e-mail and store digital photos. Which, apparently, is all that most people use their computers for. This subset of users also has low expectations of what a computer should be able to do, if runs AOL they’re going to be pretty satisfied. In short they don’t want to do much and they don’t ask for much. Low-end PC makers are happy to oblige.

Justifying the Mac as a legitimate choice to a person who only wants to check e-mail and browse the web is an iffy proposition. You’re not going to be able to sell them on Apple’s slick designs and consumer friendly white plastics, for these folks a computer is something that beeps and crashes. They’re no more interested in the look of the thing than they are the look of their hand mixer because, in the end, they are both simple tools. Sure you could prattle on about the benefits of the velocity engine and a dedicated video card for some eye glazing fun but unless the argument includes the line “Without X you won’t be able to check your e-mail” they are not going to care. And I’ve got to say the low end non geek computer user has a really good point: Why pay for all the greatness that is a Mac when all you want is to jump around the web?