lol.. actually for $699 more they do a dual quad core 3.0 GHz one too.. by the same math that works out at 8 processors and 24 GHz! I can confirm though that even the most basic, single dual-core processor, coupled with 2gig of ram, is more than capable of running two full instances of java virtual machine, running two IB accounts, with live charts and data, plus mail, browser, AND streaming radio, without any noticable drop in system response, performance, or stability.. So even the most basic Mac, with a memory upgrade, would suffice.
I knew it wouldn't be long before the Mac crowd jumped into the thread. Macs are overpriced Mickey Mouse machines built for computer illiterate graphic designers and advertising executives. The only benefit seems to be that so few people own them that no one bothers writing viruses for them. In reality any new PC you buy will be powerful enough for your needs. The most cost-effective option would be to build your own PC (much easier than it sounds) and you wouldn't have to spend much more to build a cutting edge system that will run any piece of software as fast as lightning and will last for years.
wow.. a crowd of er... one! How dare I post on a "windows only" message board! So even though being the first hacker ever to crack OSX and write a working, self replicating virus for a Mac would be such a huge accolade... nobody's bothering right?.. er OK.. LOL you don't make a living in windows IT support do you by any chance? Sure, you could build a cheaper computer, but personally I'd prefer 'reliable' and 'secure' thanks.
No I don't work in Windows IT support but I do have a reliable and secure PC that runs all the software I want not just the minority of software that developers can be bothered to port over to the Mac.
Well prior to OSX, Mac's weren't all that great for business. The OS was odd, you couldn't get "under the hood" that easily, it was hard to network them with other computers... so really it's only had 5 years. Corporate inertia is a big factor, but more and more are switching. There's not much point saving a couple of hundred dollars on the hardware, only to have to spend thousands more on support staff, maintainance, development tools, etc.. It's a similar scenario as the introduction of PCs in the early eighties. to start with it was only small business that took them seriously. Corporate IT departments "knew" that PCs were just toys. Everyone knew that if you wanted to do serious work you needed a mini computer or mainframe. DEC, VAX, NCR etc.. Times are changing. When the CEO has a mac at home, that just works, he's going start to wonder if his company REALLY needs the many hours of lost productivity while IT fixes yet another dead/virused/registry mangled PC..
You make the mistake of thinking everyone's experience of Windows is as bad of yours which obviously isn't the case but any business that did want to turn away from Windows would be more likely to turn to Linux which dominates the server market anyway and means they wouldn't have to rely on an MP3 player company for all their hardware and software needs.
Good for you. If you know your stuff it's certainly possible to make a PC secure, and reasonably reliable. That question is what do you have to do to achieve that? It most likely involves weekly, or even daily virus checking, occasional defragging, ad/spyware cleaning, email scanning, registry cleaning. How long does all that take? 1 hour a week? 2? I guess it depends how much you value your time, but at say $30 an hour, that's at LEAST 52weeks x$30x a ruthlessly efficient 1 hour per week = $1560 a year in maintainance.. and that's assuming nothing actually goes wrong! .. and god help you if you've made the mistake of installing Vista!.. yikes! Mac maintainance consists of hitting "software update" maybe once every few weeks, then waiting 5 mins for the updater to do it's thing. That's it. I've used PCs for over 20 years. I didn't switch just because of the pretty box!
I'm never going to buy a mac until they get with the program, and make a mouse that has two click buttons, like ever other mouse on the market.
you make the mistake of thinking you have a handle on my PC experience. Hey it's ok. I'm not trying to push macs on you. You obviously happy with your system and that's great, but you know, it's like choosing a car. I enjoy my kit car. it's fun, fast, cheap, and good for tinkering with, but if someone was looking for a good quality reliable vehicle and didn't want to spend time under the hood, I'd probably recommend a bmw or toyota.