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Mac vs. PC laptops: Yeah, right, they’re more than twice as much

A quick post to provide some pricing perspective on Windows vs. Mac PCs, as we look to the upcoming back to school sales.

Last week, Joe Wilcox posted a piece on Microsoft Watch noting that the regarding pricing on Vista PCs “These Prices Are Insane!”…

“Nearly half of retail Windows PCs now pack 3GB of RAM. Manufacturers are bulking up features as average selling prices stabilize. Next trend: 64-bit Vista and 4GB RAM. Editor’s Note: This is a companion to another post at Apple Watch telling a different story from the same NPD data. Please read that piece, too, and read how Mac average selling prices are at least twice those of Windows computers.]

In the article, Joe looks at the technical comparisons between similarly configured Macintosh Windows PCs after seeing a couple of notebooks on sale at a local big box store. He said that a Windows PC offered more memory and hard disc space that that found in a MacBook at nearly twice the street cost, so he did a little research to compare the costs…

“Today I contacted Stephen Baker, NPD’s vice president of industry analysis, about computer average selling prices at retail. That HP notebook is right on mark: ASP for retail Windows notebooks is $700. Mac laptops: $1,515. Yeah, right, they’re more than twice as much. But there’s more: The ASP for Mac desktops is more than $1,000 greater than for Windows PCs, and Mac desktop ASPs were higher in June than they were two years ago.

Joe further said that he found…

“Vista-to-Mac notebook comparisons to be quite surprising. Here’s how the midrange MacBook and HP DV2946NR compare, based on Apple Store and Target pricing:

“MacBook: $1,299; 2.4GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 13.3-inch display, 2GB memory, Intel GMA X3100 graphics with 144MB shared memory, 160GB hard drive, 8x double-layer DVD burner, Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11g Wi-Fi, Webcam and Mac OS X 10.5.

“HP DV2946NR: $699.99, at some Target stores; 2GHz Intel Centrino (Core 2 Duo T5750); 4GB memory (but capped at 3GB by OS); Intel GMA X3100 graphics with 356MB shared memory, 320GB hard drive, 8x double-layer DVD burner (with LightScribe), 802.11g Wi-Fi, Webcam and Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1 64-bit.”

“Which would you choose? The HP has more graphics memory, twice the system memory and twice the hard drive capacity, but the Apple has a faster Intel processor. The Pavilion laptop offers more for less than the MacBook. But that “more” also means Windows Vista, which won’t satisfy some shoppers.

Or will it?

I won’t try to sell anyone on Vista if they are predisposed to buy a Mac for whatever reasons.  If you haven’t made up your mind, I do suggest that you look at both, and buy the one that’s right for you.  You may just find that you get more PC for your money than ever before: of particular interest in our house is the new HP TouchSmart IQ506 which is quite nice, has very good specs and can be found at a broad range of retail and etail stores.  With an Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB of memory, 500 GB, a 22 inch touch screen, TV tuner and more, I found that the configuration is about $400-500 less expensive than a similarly configured iMac 20-inch (SRP online of $1,749.00 with 4GB or memory and 500GB HDD).

Whatever your choice, be sure to also look for the best deals.  We found that by using http://cashback.live.com we were able to save nearly an additional 15 percent via one of the name brand, brick-and-mortar etailers listed on the site on the purchase of a new PC for a member of the family.  This was in addition to the discounted price on the etailer’s site.

Tags: Apple, iMac, Microsoft, Vista, Windows.

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Tilting at windmills? ‘Be brave. Go over the cliff.’

Here’s a quote for the Quixote in you… (apologies for the edit: see the article for more)

“Get big fast. [Damn] the cost. Be brave. Go over the cliff. [The competition] doesn’t have the ____.”

This courtesy of mobile phone operator and a man with a keen eye for opportunity Denis O’Brien, chief of Digicel Group, the company that offers mobile phone service in some of the most challenging parts of the world.  His efforts are covered in a recent article in Forbes, on his penchant for launching mobile businesses in areas that most would bypass for safe fare.

A good quote. 

Related: I re-read this article on O’Brien this past weekend and then heard this story on NPR from Howard Berkes this evening… [my bold emphasis]

“China is a freer, better, richer place than it was when it was awarded the games,” Micklethwait says. “But actually at closer examination, what seemed to come through was, firstly, it’s more to do with things like opening up the economy as a whole, and to do with odd things like the spread of mobile telephony, the impact of that type of freedom. By contrast, most of the actual impact of the games themselves have tended to be in the opposite direction.”

Now on to dinner.

Tags: mobile phones, Digicel, Denis O’Brien, whack.

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Advisory: New Daylight Saving Time and Time Zone updates available for Windows

A quick note to let you know that Knowledge Base article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914387 “How to configure daylight saving time for Microsoft Windows operating systems” reflects the manual changes and additions DST and TZ.  KB 914387 should contain all DST changes made since RTM.
 
The cumulative DST packages for Windows have been released to the DLC for supported versions of XP, WS03, Vista and Server 2008.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951072

The next release of the 2008 Cumulative Time Zone Update for Windows (and other products) is scheduled to release in Nov/December. 
 
The above packages will be pushed out via Windows Update next month.

More info to be available soon at Microsoft DST & Time Zone updates

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Post a few more signs

Ok, so we’re taking the family out for the day to Bainbridge Island. On our way to the terminal, we noticed that we encountered not just one or two signs that ensured we stayed on the right route to the terminal, we had more than eleven signs (we lost count) directing us…

signstoferries.jpg 

Of course, due to a glitch in the boarding, we missed our ride and now lunching in the parking lot while we wait for the next departure.

Seeing the signs reminded me that you can’t have enough signs pointing out the right direction to help reassure you that you’re on the right path and ultimately find what you’re looking for.

I had heard from customers in the past that it was difficult to find out how to get support and more information n our products and services. yesterday a customer mentioned to me that the Windows Vista page and our customer support site (as mentioned previously here) have made it easier to get their questions answered. all we had to do was leave enough breadcrumbs in various places to make the resources more discoverable, and simplify our support portals.

But we probably have to put up a few more signs to help everyone find their way to the port, er, web portal.

[edits: fixed all the typos, as this was one of the first long posts sent from my Windows Mobile phone.]

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Randy Pausch, “last lecture” prof passes away

As I previously posted here — with link to the lecture — about Randy Pausch’s piece in the usually less than cutting edge weekly Parade, The Lessons I’m Leaving Behind, adapted from his book The Last Lecture, written with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow.

     

This from today’s article, included in our local Times…

Randy Pausch said obstacles serve a purpose: They “give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” Confronted with incurable cancer, he devised a last lecture that became an Internet sensation, a best-selling book and a celebration of a life spent achieving his dreams.

Ten months after giving the lecture, Dr. Pausch died Friday at his home in Chesapeake, Va., said Jeffrey Zaslow, The Wall Street Journal writer who co-wrote Pausch’s book “The Last Lecture.” Dr. Pausch was 47.

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2006. A year later, he gave the popular 76-minute speech, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”

Click here to e-mail this article.

Here are the seven things that mattered most to Pausch:

  • Always Have Fun
  • Dream Big — Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids’ dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes.
  • Ask for What You Want — More often than you’d suspect, the answer you’ll get is, “Sure.”
  • Dare To Take a Risk — Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted. And it can be the most valuable thing you have to offer.
  • Look for the Best In Everybody
  • Make Time for What Matters — Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.
  • Let Kids Be Themselves

Pausch said “We don’t beat the reaper by living longer, we beat the reaper by living well and living fully.”

So re-read the list above and have fun this weekend and as long as you can get away with it.

Of interest: Randy Pausch’s Home Page – The computer science professor’s site at CMU. Includes profile, CV, and publications, as well as personal information, including an account of his experience with pancreatic cancer.

Tags: misc, articles, Randy Pausch.