I like the Apple/Audi analogy, I’m a VW diehard myself (and looking for an Audi wagon to complete my stable of VAG products). Onto the topic!
All Intel Based laptops as of 10.4.8 OS released support right-click with a two-finger tap, a one-finger tap is a left click, two finger scrolling up and down and side to side two finger scrolling if you move your fingers into an “o” pattern. So the point about the mouse being behind the times is totally wrong – you didn’t read the ReadMe file.
Regarding price, we buy lots of Dell and Apple hardware where I work. LOTS of it. We’ve begun the process to beef up the Apple relations because with BootCamp we can make an $800 (our price) mid to high end iMac function in Windows XP without any real sacrifice. Not only that, when you factor in that the puny little workstations that dell was shipping to us that did not support many DVI monitors, are known to overheat constantly, etc etc… whereas Apple has similar issues and fixes them much, much faster. Their support systems cant even be compared, really, we make a call to Apple and typically have the product replaced or repaired in a matter of days. It can take days to get Dell to acknowledge we have a problem.
As for the consumer market, why is Best Buy #1 at selling PCs and other electronics? Because people don’t care, much like buying a car it’s all about price and performance. Many people want small, portable and good on gas…er battery life. You cannot compare the Dell in battery life to the life of a MacBook pro, because OS X has far better power management abilities than Windows XP. Furthermore, the Apple systems are of better build quality and Apple does acknowledge and fix its screw ups. To compare Ford and Audi is just like comparing Dell to Apple – they both make entry, mid and high level products. You can get a Ford Focus (aka death trap) for under $9000 financed (on a $1700 wagon) if you’re trading in an old Ford, get the friends and family discount, special limited time 0% APR financing, etc etc. However after the warranty expires and your $345 throttle body goes, two radios, a wiper motor, three hatch seals, a set of tail light assemblies and 40,000 later… the Audi which cost a good $12,000 more with a many many many more features and didn’t develop any major issues until it surpassed 50,000 just seems like the better buy, don’t it? Same thing here – I’ve got many MacBooks and MacBook Pros in my support area and we’re not seeing nearly as many come back faulty as we did with the iBook G3 series or any Dell to to date. It’s a matter of perspective, Apple sells a lifestyle and Dell sells a tool. It’s like buying pamapered chef over the walmart brand, they both work for now but in the longrun your pamapered chef knife will probably still be looking good and functional, where the handle to the walmart branded one broke, cutting your finger off, and medical bills aside the savings didn’t work out in the long run.
My analogies sound too far fetched? Then why not go to a Dell Kiosk (The Apple Stores are another reason you should buy a Mac – localized, real time, people-based support) and ask the salesperson how often people come in asking if they can help them with a problem regarding their existing dell. Compare that response to what an Apple Store employee - sales staff or Genius - has to say. Then tell me you wouldn’t buy into Apple’s “complete package.”
The only thing Dell has going for them is printers. That’s really about it. Apple has their iPod, computers and this new little wireless phone. Apple isn’t a Dell, they’re a Sony – expect Plasma TVs within the next year.
