Apple Packs the Boxes with Treats
I’m surprised at how robust a package Apple supplies out of the box. I’m even more surprised by how little it actually cost me and little extra I had to purchase just to get a full-featured experience.
I used to build computers. Actually, let’s rephrase that… I used to upgrade my computers when I felt like it. For this reason, I never dealt with a PC manufacturer, so I’m not accustomed to what I would’ve received out of the box from a company such as Dell. When it came time to upgrade, I generally had to spend in the neighborhood of $300 to $700, depending on what items needed to be upgraded. Since that’s not a fair assessment in comparison to what Apple provides, I decided to build a comparable Dell laptop at their site.
For this experiment, I went with the Dell XPS M1330. My Macbook set me back by $1110 when all was said and done, because I get a corporate discount thanks to my job place. Don’t worry, the discount didn’t even cover tax in my state. I saved a little over $68 when all was said and done. I went with a Dell that would be in the same price range as the Macbook for this reason, so the $999 version, a good $100 less than a baseline Macbook.
The reason I decided to do this experiment was because I wanted to make certain that what I got from Apple really was a deal considering everything else besides just hardware. The programs provided by Apple are far reaching and I’m using all of them except for the free MSOffice 2004 and iWork 98 trials, Preview, and Safari. Instead, NeoOffice, Photoshop, and Opera have replaced them. However, I’m using all of the other baseline programs, which are fully functioning and fantastic to boot. I want to see how much a similar Windows laptop would be from a company that is known for its fantastic deals.
The first thing I noticed during this experiment was how few features my Dell laptop would have in comparison to the baseline Macbook, which I own. I had to actually spend $100 for an upgrade to a comparable CPU. I also had to get the full version of Windows Vista, though users of Windows will probably argue that I only need the Home Version. Leopard comes in one variety, full-featured from the start. I need a comparable Windows Vista version.
I continued through the purchasing program, making certain to only pick things that were comparable. It was tempting to want to put in more memory or LED for the flat screen, but I refrained as that would ruin the results. There were some areas where the Dell was great for the price, especially considering the 120 GB hard drive. It also came with a DVD-RW, whereas my Macbook only has the CD-RW/DVD-ROM. There are definite pluses in the Dell’s favor.
For software, I opted for Microsoft Works. I’m not well versed in it, but I hope it would be an iLife equivalent. I also grabbed Easy Media Creator 10 Suite. I’m not versed in that either but it seems like it might be a decent replacement for Garageband. I made certain not to grab any programs that seemed like “just filler” or ones that could be had for free via either Mac or PC.
When all was said and done, I balked at the price: $1503 before tax or shipping.
Apple is an amazing company. What they provide in the box is a full set of software that is not only usable, but as good, if not better, than some of the standard software out there today. I once thought that the price of Apple products was astronomical. Perhaps it was during the ’90s. But the ’90s aren’t the ’00s, and this is the Apple of the today.
What was packed on this computer has blown me away. I’ve used every program at least once, some of them just to try out as they aren’t programs that will see daily or even weekly use by me. It’s nice to know that they’re there, however. And for the ones I’ve deleted, it’s nice to know that there are discs provided so I can reinstall them.
The fact that I saved $503 is negligible. I’m certain there are people out there who can get a laptop for much less than I spent during a virtual trip through Dell’s store. There are always deals to be had. But one thing that can not be emphasized enough is how much Apple actually packed into the box for someone like me, who just wanted to buy a computer, load it up, and use it for all of the things I do. At that point, $503 is nothing to scoff at and the time saved with an investment in my Macbook will be a lot less headaches and a lot less support calls for the future. Thanks Apple!
Interesting comparison. Some notes…
MS Works is more comparable to iWorks than iLife. You should give iLife a try…you may like it and the price is reasonable ($79, I believe. Less with corporate discount). Preview is a nearly indispensable program that you should really keep. It is Acrobat Reader and a graphics viewer all in one (with some useful export capabilities). It is also much faster than Acrobat.
If you are looking for a site to assist you in your transition, feel free to visit our forums at forums.macmentor.org, and/or our main site at macmentor.org/switch.
Oops, I mean give iWORKS a try.
bad proofreading this morning!
Glad to hear of your pleasure with the purchase. I hope you’ll get a book on Leopard as you’ll discover even more hidden features. One of the best features of the Apple applications is how integrated they are with each other. It makes for even better productivity. Did you find all of the programming tools on the System disks? I’m not sure if they’re present on the low end systems. I suspect they’re standard, and free! Look into Automator as well for repeated tasks. Apple’s website has instruction videos to introduce their software.
Thanks for the clarification, Intruder. I was thinking of picking up iWorks actually, since it’s such a great suite of programs for such a low standard price. Neo Office is great though. It meets all my needs and is also the magic F word… Free.
I hadn’t thought of Preview as an Acrobat substitute. In fact, I’ve opened PDFs and it never occured to me that Preview was opening them. I haven’t deleted it off my computer but I have substituted Photoshop for everything graphic related, aside from PDFs. You learn something new every day.
Robert B, I actualy plan on buying a Leopard book, one that has been repeatedly suggested: Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual by David Pogue. Hopefully it will outline all of the great little features that aren’t widely known unless you like to fiddle with your OS.
Also take a look at GraphicConverter by Lemke Software. Great piece of shareware. Used to be included on the machines. Not sure if it still is.
How can someone not use Preview? It is probably the most used application on your Mac.
Also, use Safari. It is the best web browser out there, IMHO.
Your comparison, by the way, is unfair. Don’t bring software into it. No amount of Windows software can match the quality of OS X software, but including the price of software skews the comparison. You can keep including software and jacking up the price to as much as you want. That ain’t fair. We’re talking about out of the box experience here.
Enjoy!:)
That’s, unfortunately, the problem. To get a similar “out of the box” experience as comparable to what Apple offers, you have to include software that is equivalent. I took the lowest cost packages offered to me and that’s what I came out with.
In a purely bare-bones, hardware only test, a low-cost WinPC/Laptop will almost always beat out the Apple equivalent. Problem is, Apple includes so much useful software that is part of the Apple “premium” price that using the bare-bones comparison will always skew in Windows favor.
I hold no hate in my heart for Windows but I know that it would cost me a lot more to have an equivalent experience on a Windows machine “out of the box” than it does with my Macbook. That was the comparison.
I did the exact same thing when purchasing my MacBook Pro. I even added Parallels to run some of the “PC Only” software and was still $160 less then the comparable Dell laptop. Also, the MacBook Pro aluminum fit and finish and IR remote with Front Row is just first class. I couldn’t find that on any Dell. The comparable Dell was made of plastic and aluminum and weighed more. The Dell fan was noisy and seem to run a lot. I have yet to hear the fan on this MBP. Since upgrading it to 10.5.2, what a difference it has made in speed. Lastly, the MBP came with 802.11N and blue tooth and was not a option. I do like the Dell finger print detection. Kind of nice security when traveling, although a travel partner says her finger print detector is hit and miss and she rarely uses it.