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Comment by blunte | Hacker News Reader

It's not trying to compete with German PCs (which have some nice options, but yet are Windows PCs, not Macs).

I'm not an Apple fanboy, and I'm still very displeased with many of their decisions (touchbar being #1 on MBPs). But if you consider the packaging (small, light, sturdy, now-decent keyboard), and consider their performance, and then consider macOS, I think they are more than competitive.

Even if you match every spec, including size/weight and durability, it comes down to Windows vs macOS. Ironically, macOS is free while Windows is not, but macOS is worth more (to me and many others).

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I got a new computer from work last year. I spent quite a while carefully studying my options, and what I saw came down to this:

If you're only looking for computers that are comparable according to the usual hardware specs (cpu, ram, etc.), a Mac costs 25-50% more than the cheapest comparable PC.

If you also throw ergonomic factors like weight and battery life into the comparison, there's no price difference.

(This was USA prices.)

Macs are significantly cheaper in the US than in Europe.

> macOS is free while Windows is not

what laptop are you buying where you need to purchase a Windows license?

The manufacturer of your laptop has paid Microsoft for the OS and is passing that cost on to you in the total price (excluding MS hardware such as the Surface).

Or if you buy a bare system or build your own, you need to buy Windows yourself.

Apple gives their OS away, but in theory you can only run it on their hardware.

>Apple gives their OS away, but in theory you can only run it on their hardware.

If you don't understand why this isn't free then I have a bridge to sell you.

If the bridge auto-upgrades itself for free for the next 8 years after the initial capital expenditures, I'm sure you'll easily find buyers.

When you buy a Mac you are subsidizing the development of that free OS. The the price of the OS is baked into the MSRP in both cases. Comparing the prices is apples-to-apples. Also, Microsoft has made it clear that Windows 10 will be around for a long time, so OS upgrades don't work the same way Windows once did.

I have a MacBook Air 2012, and have been waiting to upgrade for... 2 years already. The laptop will probably end up being 10 years old by the time I upgrade...

- crappy webcam,

- no built-in SD card reader (a 1TB SD card is ~200$, and my music does not need to be stored on an expensive SSD)

- magsafe.. if this was the only downgrade, I'd upgrade, but TBH I love magsafe on my mac and I would miss it if I upgrade.

Eliminating MagSafe for power ports was one of the Apple choices I hated. So many times something has happened and ripped my power cable off my 2014 MBP, and MagSafe saved the laptop from damage or a fall. And worse, Apple has now applied new and different meaning to the same name :(.

Just buy a USB magsafe type cable for $20 and be done with it.

can you recommend one? all the ones i've found have horrible reviews

>macOS is free

Oh wow, that's cool, I didn't know that. Do you have a link to where I can download the free edition of macOS? Google doesn't seem to be helping me.

Depends on your country, but here's a US example: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-catalina/id1466841314?ls...

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