Wrong, as you'd know if you bothered to educate yourself. Macs run Windows fine, either sandboxed in a VM to contain the effects of malware, or natively via bootcamp.
"Most PC owners don't need to also own a Mac to do "Mac-like" things. So, which side has the bigger set of fools? "
Most PC owners are unaware of the large selection of great Mac-only software. Ignorance is bliss, it seems. ;-)
Most people don't "need" to eat lobster, yet a lot find they enjoy it when they try it.
"Most people can't afford a Porsche, and they also don't have the need for a performance car in everyday driving."
There you go with that "need" thing again. Man does not live by need alone. ;-)
"Macs are unnecessary, since, what they can do, PCs already do, and a lot lower price."
That is not true. Macs can run Mac, Windows and Linux software, all under MacOS if desired. Windows boxes can't.
"Macs are neither materially nor functionally any better than PCs, since, tech-wise, they're basically the same."
Windows doesn't have the functionality of MacOS, nor does it have the same fine selection of bundled apps (there's a reason the bundles that come on Windows machines are generically referred to as "crapware"). You are also ignoring the great engineering and build quality of Apple hardware, which is recognized as top-notch across the industry. You often get exactly what you pay for.
But, don't take my word for it (2011 results from last September):
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) today released its latest results on U.S. consumer satisfaction in the personal computer industry, with Apple topping the charts for the eighth consecutive year and setting a new company high for ratings.Note that the above refers to Macs only, not the iDevices. The comparison ranked Apple against HP, Dell, Acer, Compaq, IBM, Gateway, Packard Bell and "All Others".Apple’s record of customer satisfaction preeminence in the personal computer industry continues unabated in 2011, as the company adds another point to its already exceptional score. At 87 (+1%), Apple outdistances its nearest competitor by 9 points.
“In the eight years that Apple has led the PC industry in customer satisfaction, its stock price has increased by 2,300%,” remarks Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI and author of The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference. “Apple’s winning combination of innovation and product diversification—including spinning off technologies into entirely new directions—has kept the company consistently at the leading edge.”
Apple's score of 87 rose by one point over last year's score of 86 that had been its previous record high in the survey. This marks the third straight year that Apple has held a nine-point lead over its nearest competitor in the industry.
There's a reason why Mac sales continue to grow, while the PC industry as a whole is flat.
Enjoy your Monday! :-)
Customer satisfying surveys? Are you for real???
Do you understand that, for a customer to rate a product, they first have to use it, and mostly, own it?
So, when it comes to satisfaction surveys, would the survey have asked somebody with a Dell or a HP PC or a Lenovo, how they feel about “their” Mac. Doesn’t make sense does it? So, when it comes to a satisfaction survey, people tend to give their particular preferences a better review, and, when it come to Apple anything, since that’s where the biggest fanboy crowd resides, they’re not about to give their gadgets a poor or even average rating. Apple’s gadgets owners are the most fanatical and delusional on the planet, and, there is nothing that Apple could ever do wrong. It’s like asking a Lexus owner how he feels about his car, which was his preference from the beginning, and was fanatical about it all along, and which he was going to own, no matter what. When it comes to a “regular” car, there are not that many people that are fanatical about any particular brand. When it comes to Apple’s fanatics, they would never give Apple a bad review, even if there are some who will have their problems with Apple’s wares.
Macs might run windows “fine”, but, with some middle-ware to handle the OS and applications. Why jump through hoops when you can run Windows directly and with no extra software needed, and which will run “natively”? Anytime you introduce another piece of software in order to run anything, that’s bound to slow down the whole process.
Macs may have a “large” selection of software, but, PCs have many times that selection, so, why limit yourself? Isn’t one of the big “selling” and “bragging” points with the iPhone and iPads the supposedly huge number of apps for iOS devices? If its a big selling point for iOS devices, why wouldn’t the much bigger selection of Windows applications be a much bigger advantage for Windows devices? It’s like having a car, and being able to drive on every imaginable road and highway on the planet, yet, with Macs, you’re being limited to perhaps a tiny number of roads. And then, you don’t really have control of that vehicle since, Apple remains in control of what you do with the device.
And, hey, don’t knock the word “need”. That is a big driver for how people choose to spend their money. Some people might want certain things, but, the “need” is what makes people spend their money. Wanting and needing are not the same. “Wanting” is more appropriate for spending when people have “extra income” or “disposable” income, and that’s where Apple’s purchases are often made from. People need food and clothing and a place to live, and, they don’t “need” to go to see a movie or to Busch Gardens, so, they’ll need to save in order to get those “wanted” or “desired” things. If people need a computer, and they don’t “need” a high-priced item that gets the job done as well as a lower-priced item, then, it’s foolish for them to spend on the higher-priced item. Most people are practical, and they don’t need to “flash” around their higher priced autos or computers. Practical is smarter when there is no need to spend foolishly. There is absolutely no reason for people to purchase a Mac, since, what PCs can do the same job, and a lot less expensively, and with many times the available applications. Super advantage: PCs!!!!
Macs may be able to run other OSes, but, so can PCs, and in fact, I have Linux on another partition of my PC. But, Macs were forced to come up with middle-ware for the many people who felt the need to run Windows and many of the applications which are not available for Macs. Most people don’t have a need to run a MacOS or a Mac application, since, there is every likelihood that, whatever that application is, is already available to run, natively, under Windows, so, the “need” to run any MacOS under Windows, would be “redundant” or unnecessary. Super-advantage: PCs!!!!
There is no functionality that Macs possess that isn’t available to any PC. Macs do have something that PCs don’t equipped with, but, that’s just the more limited OSX, which, for most practical purposes, is much more limited than Windows 7 and now Windows 8. Why go with a limited experience when you can get the best there is? Extra-super-advantage: PCs!!!!
Engineering and build quality? Sure, the hype has gotten to you, and you’re paying a much higher price for it.
There are many different OEMs and many different models of PCs, and many are high-end devices, while others are meant for the budget-minded. Which Mac is meant for the budget-minded? But, the higher-end PCs are, quality-wise, the equivalent of any Mac, but still, at a lower price. I have on my desk, a PC with six cores, and 16 gigabytes RAM and 2 terabytes storage and a 24 inch screen, with a great graphics card and great sound, with Windows 7 Pro, and now Windows 8. All of that cost me $799 last year. When I priced a comparably equipped Mac, the price came close to $3000. I would’ve felt stupid spending $3000, which is more than 3 times the money I did spend. And, I still ended up with the OS which is compatible with most applications ever written. So, I didn’t want to spend $3000 for a more limited experience. Bragging rights about owning a piece of Apple gear, well, I’m not into that kind of silliness, and, being practical is more of what I’m about.
Apple “PC” sales are, lately, including iPads, which are not really full-featured devices and don’t include a full-featured OS. But, many people doing surveys are counting them as PCs. The Macs have been increasing sales too, but, they’re still counting a market-share of around 5-6%. Go ahead, brag about your 5-6%, if it makes you feel better. Yet, even PC sales have been going up, and last report I saw, had them increasing sales by about 3%. That 3% increase, alone, would be equal to all or more of the Mac sales. After all, 3% of a huge number is, another huge number. And, Windows 7 has sold more than 630 million licenses since it was introduced 3 years ago, and that’s just Windows 7. The total Windows market share is more than 90%, and it’s on approximately 1 1/2 to 2 billion computers around the world. Macs? Well, they’re still at a tiny fraction of that. Super-duper advantage: PCs!!!!!
BTW, which platform has the most developers, by far??? Nope! You’re wrong! I’ll give you another guess...