Cheap Mac
Well, Apple’s finally released a cheap Mac. It’ll be $499 for 1.25 GHz G4 w/ 40 GB, and $599 for 1.43 GHz G4 with 80 GB. That doesn’t include a keyboard, mouse, or monitor.
By comparison, Dell has a $499 P4 40 GB, and HP has a $510 Semperon 3000+ with 80 GB. So, you won’t get very good bang for your buck from this new apple. Hardly surprising, you *never* get good bang for your buck with Apple, with the possible execption of the extreme upper end, where you’d pay a huge premium from the other vendors too.
So, why is this important? This is the first Mac that’s been under $800 since I’ve started watching, probably ever. This is a big deal, because it means Apple is recognizing that they cannot increase market share with their hugely overpiced offerings, and that the market has shifted much lower over the past few years.
Does this mean I’m considering getting one? No, not really. I’m not very interested in a G4. A G5 would be interesting, because I don’t have any 64-bit archs, but I can get a faster Athlon64 for cheaper than this Mini, so that’s not attractive either. Maybe if I *liked* MacOS X, but I don’t…
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