Hmm, read the original article and explain to me where anything I said was wrong? Heck, I wasn’t that complimentary of Apple—I bitched about the poor support of >2TB and I explained why the Dell configuration ended up being overpriced).

Your first beef (AutoCAD/3DSMAX) has been why I recommended a tricked out Opteron Linux/Windows dual boot desktop configuration for scientific and statistical applications. In fact, apparently this (non Apple) configuration I spec’d out for my brother ended up being the desktop computer that is used by the entire economics department at Berkeley.

As for the FCP/Pinnacle/Vegas/Avid whine, the point is taken. But you are talking about an industry that single-handedly keeps the price of the PowerMac 9600 through the roof because of all the old Avid hardware/software systems that run reliably on that. For those people, I’d say, “Stay with your Avid/PowerMac 9600 system if that works for you.” Last I checked, nobody is holding a gun to their head saying they have to upgrade to Intel Mac Pro/Final Cut Pro/Quadro FX.

If you are pissed that a new, younger generation are buying Macintoshes and using Final Cut Pro/Shake/etc. to run circles around you… *shrug*

What the hell do either of these examples have to do with what Michael and I were talking about: web development on either a LAMP or J2EE stack?

Heck, I’ve held off on a purchase of a Intel Macintosh for almost a year now because Photoshop isn’t universal yet and won’t be until next year.

But don’t let these obvious fact keep you from saying that I’m “either convinced aesthetics are king or it just doesn’t mean that much to you that is all be ‘branded’ so well.”

BTW, If we are going to compare penis sizes, I’ve “been using both platforms” for 21 years now. What the fuck does that have to do with anything?

If you purchase a dual CPU Core 2 Xeon system, even with a minimal configuration, you’re in Apple territory in price. When you “similarly equip” you end up going way over price on the Dell because of the overpriced Quadro card is the only option they sell.

Why? Because Dell is the one providing the 300W sound system (the Quadro card in the minimum Xeon configuration) and it is Apple providing the “base model Accord.” Otherwise they’re the same price because their supply chains are identical and Apple has a slight advantage in tooling (because of previous Macs and the iPod).

Most people would, at this point, go purchase a single CPU Core 2 Duo and trick it out with all the options that a good game machine would have, which is certainly the ricer you mention. They’d save a thousand dollars, but it’s a ricer through and through because it’s not a quad core Xeon with the memory bandwidth to match.

That shit happens all the time. I’ve priced and purchased Dell rackmount servers and found the same bullshit tweaks that shows a severe amount of profit taking. Apple found this hole (the Precision 690 is the only Dual-CPU Xeon model, there is a similar problem with their rackmounts) and is exploiting this for a well deserved PR payback. How many times have we heard that Apples are overpriced and Dells are a good value? The reality is that they’re either both overpriced or both a good value.

Apple sells consumer products to the consumer market (iMacs and Mac Minis and Mac Books) and pro products to the pro market (Mac Pros and Mac Book Pros). Dell does both of those, but they also sell ricers (tricked out civics) and camaros (supercharged pieces of shit). It takes someone who is extremely cognoscenti to navigate Dell’s configurations and coupons and deals and find the gems.

As for me, I make my living on my computer so you won’t see me whine about having to pay a little more for an all-in-one notebook with firewire 800 and a dvd burner that just works (and is the only 17″ notebook on the market that fits in my photography bag), or a desktop system that has performed reliably for three years now and still is valuable (not throwaway like my two Shuttles purchased that same time, albeit at a cheaper price than the 2×2Ghz G5).

Other people will want to save a buck. I can understand where they come from. They’re not me so they have their reasons. Many of them end up working procurement for their IT departments and end up buying worthless Dell boxes because that’s all they know that’s “safe” and that their company can write off.

Don’t believe me that a corporate purchase of Dell is a bad idea? Trek down to your IT department sometime and see how many stripped down Precisions and OptiPlexes there are that are dead simply because Dell flipped the parts on an identically configured model not allowing them to cannibalize from one system to restore the computer when a part failed. What’s the advantage in buying desktops from a single source if you can’t interchange parts? What’s the advantage in buying a notebook when the blue channel fails because the cable gets frayed at the hinge?

That’s why all your buddies are buying Mac Books. Heck, they were buying them when they were Powerbooks and had a JVM that ran like dogshit.

While others just say they can’t use a Mac Book because it only has one mouse button and it’s “overpriced.” *shrug* Back in the day, nobody said you need a great pen or typewriter to write a great novel or play, but it sure did help. Some people value their tools more than others. Everyone is right in their own way.