Apple responds to new MS ads

[scottie]

I believe the 'world class hardware' comment was to make two points

Obviously, the cheapest windows PC's are much cheaper than the cheapest Apple computers, and this is because Apple does not really offer a low end model, not because of some sort of Apple tax. that is why the test to find a 17 inch laptop for less than $1000 came up in the favour of windows.

The second point is build quality. Obviously, if you buy a brand such as Acer, and match specs with a Mac, you will pay less, but this is again not a 'Mac tax' issue, but simply if you want high build quality, you have to pay for it, whether windows or mac.

As for your software point, you are right to a certain extent, the main reason Mac OSX is more secure than XP is more to do with a lack of internet explorer and most virus's targeting windows. Vista is less secure obviously due to the whole windows defender thing. Stability arguably could be due to simple bug testing of Apple programs, but I don't really know enough to comment.

And no, I dispute that there is any noticeable Mac tax, when you take into the following.
1) Match specs, and only consider people who want a reasonably powerful computer
2) Match Build quality - I don't want you to compare a PC that will break after a year or two with a Mac, which has been shown in various studies to last longer than most PC's
3) PC's must be bought through regular retail channels, and must not be assembled from components. Obviously it is cheapest to build your own computer and run xubuntu. Whilst that is good for some, not many people are actually capable of this, and even then, there are issues such as a lack of customer service if you cock it up, potential compatability issues between hardware, the amount of time it takes to do everything.