1280x1024.

Windows XP. :eek::eek::eek:

I'll have a look.

+ YouTube Video

THE HORROR...

Oh yeah and I'm on 1024x768 right now. :P

I just love huge screens and small icons :P

Well, at least they have some hardware sense, I suppose.

Not really...

Now you're just being bitter. Regardless of prices, when you buy a Mac, you're buying an extremely nice computer. You can't possibly argue with that.

And I'm doing just that tomorrow. :P

[/MAC DISCUSSION]

Well, I can, and I have extensively. But we've covered this territory before and neither of us is going to concede to the other, so I'm not going to go on about it.

One day one of us will probably go, "Oh, maybe Danny/RV was right."

How can you possible argue that the hardware is bad? That's just asinine. But I'll leave you alone and let you grasp at straws to use against Macs.

FYI, most of your arguments make really good sense. Price, hardware lock-in, etc. But nowhere in this realm of reality can you possibly argue that you're not buying a really good computer, because you are. Please go fight a battle you can win.

I run at 1440x900.

I'm not really sure what resolution I'm on right now. :P

You're in good company -- that's what I run at. ;)

You're running at 1680x1050. :P

I'm not disputing the quality of Apple's parts, as the parts they source are usually of a high standard.

Additionally, Mac hardware's uniformity is advantageous as the hardware is all seamlessly compatible (in most cases) with the Mac OS, hardware incompatibility is often the major cause of Windows' instability.

However purchasing a Mac with no intention of using Mac OS isn't the brightest idea, as you lose a lot if not most of the advantages of owning a Mac in the first place. In this case, it is better to source your own hardware and build your own computer, as you'll be able to build a computer with higher specs for a better price than Apple's equivalent*.

In my school's case, I believe they must have been gifted the computers and decided to use Windows on them instead for some strange reason.

*I just did a little research and found something interesting; My younger brothers' new computer has a Core 2 quad clocked at 2.6ghz, 8600GS, 4gb of DDR2 RAM. It cost $1400 AUD. The closest equivalent Quad-core Mac Pro costs (quoted directly from their site after using the configuration options) A$ 5,168.00, with only a single 7300GT. There was no option for a better graphics card (for example, a 7600GT like I have which is a mid range last-gen card. However you could double up on graphics cards, which I did not do. If I did, the price would be even higher.)

Previously I had taken your word on that research you did on comparing Mac parts to PC parts, where you said that the end result was remarkably similar. Unless Australia is being charged 4 times more for their Macs, however, I think you either need to recalculate or we must be getting hardware from completely different planets.

Agreed x 3.

Holy crap, RV has a younger brother. :eek:

Your mistake was in the customization. Apple rips you off big time if you do any of the build-to-order options -- I don't deny that. ($750 to upgrade from 2 GB of memory to 4 GB?) I was comparing their base model iMac and Mac Pro to a PC outfitted with the same parts (or as close as I could find).

So how would I ever find a Mac computer equivalent to my brother's? The base model still costs $3999.00 AUD without the customization! Plus, I can't find an iMac that has similar specs to those I outlined above, and in buying an iMac I would additionally lose the ability to upgrade anything other than RAM and the HDD.

Edit: Let's not make this into another argument. Instead:

Say I have $1500AU and want to buy a new computer, convince me why I should get an Mac instead of a PC with vastly higher specs.

Depends on your needs. You pick the model that's right for you based on what you need it to do. If you want to upgrade it, buy the base Mac Pro and stick your own video card in there.

Here it costs $2499.

That's because you're not the intended audience for the iMac.

Why would you want a Mac if you can build a computer leagues better than their $5000+ model for $3500 less?

You wouldn't.

Why do others? Good hardware, good support, and a stellar operating system.

And FYI, Hackintoshes (for the most part) are about as stable as Windows Me Beta 1. If you really want the OS, buy the computer. Or find a torrent for Windows Me Beta 1.

Man. now i remember the days when 800X600 was actually considered big :P