Apple Tax: MacBook

[tongodeon]

When it was announced a month ago I never actually got around to figuring the Apple Tax on the MacBook. The PC market is filled with cheap compact Core Duo laptops, but for some reason I've had a hard time finding 13" widescreen 2Ghz Core Duo laptops with an integrated DVD burner, firewire, and camera. Now that a month has gone by the numbers are

Comments

[arian1]

Steve Jobs hates black people.

[arian1]

No no no. Steve Jobs hates black notebooks.

[arian1]

BTW. That's a joking reference to the whole Kanye West thing for those playing along at home.

[bedpimp]

I haven't tried burning yet, but this will help with the right clicking:

http://www.geocities.com/pronto4u/applemouse.html

[tongodeon]

no right click ability

Plug in any PC-compatible USB mouse and it'll right click, or you can install Apple Mouse Utility.

[tongodeon]

there's a second tax: paying for stuff you don't want and won't use. I could configure my Dell E1405 down to a 40GB hard drive to save a little more money.

That's an entirely valid point. Apple only sells three desktops and two laptops (G5, Mini, iMac / MacBook , MacBook Pro). They can't hit every single configuration and price point, and they don't sell computers they don't think would be worth buying.

To be clear: I'm not claiming that Apple sells the cheapest computers in the world, I'm just claiming that the products Apple *does* sell are price-competitive with similar PC hardware. I'm contradicting "Macs are overpriced", because they're not. If someone wants to say "Apple won't sell computers as underpowered as their competitors" I won't argue the point.

(I actually *can't* find a way to configure a Dell E1405 down to 40GB, but I'll take your word for it.)

[tongodeon]

As long as we're arguing special cases refurbished MacBooks are starting to appear. They're selling 2Ghz/60GB models for $1,099.00 which is not $838, but it's still cheaper than any 2Ghz/60GB core duo laptop I can find.