carbonates

The Mac vs. PC Debate Was Never Clearer

I happen to be one of those PC users who buys better computers than anything Apple offers. My home PC uses four processors, has 2 terrabytes of hard drive space, and 4 Gb of RAM. The sad truth is Apple can't do the job- yet I never spend less than $5K for a computer. The real story behind that is that PC's have replaced UNIX boxes (Sun, Silicon Graphics) in most applications. Apple was never part of the story. I used to have a $90K UNIX computer under my desk. Now I only need to pay $5K for even more processing power. Apple is nowhere near the "upper end of the market."

The mistake that Apple has made in focusing on a small high-quality market is that computer users don't always just want ONLY a well-working machine. Most high-end users have specific uses, and if the software on the market that does the job will not run on a Mac, they won't buy one. I fall into that category. I have no prejudice against Apple, they just don't have the support of software companies that I need to get the job done. Since most of the software I use costs much more than the computer, the cost of the computer is trivial (and yes, everyone in my industry who is under the age of 30 uses a PC).

The risk that Apple is still running is that they will gradually lose the small part of the business market that they have now as software designers cease to support their platform, due to Apple's small market. It becomes a visious circle. The risk is not the consumer demand, but the software tools that support the use of the product gradually fading from the market. Unless a software company can make money on the small number of Apple users available, they won't even bother creating the software. That's already happened for me.