The world's commercial industry still relies primarily on non-Apple PCs. They are far, [...], offer (vastly) lower maintenance costs and [...]

I have read many articles in which CEOs were interviewed that said exactly the opposite. While I can't give any links because I really can't remember when or where it was said, I do remember that a particular CEO said that his workers understood the computer better and phoned tech support less often and generally had less problems. of course, this is a 1-in-a-billion example, but it does mean something, I think.

Um... I hope you do realize... Apple's primary income source is the iPad and iPhone. iPad and iPhone income is ~$8 billion U.S. dollars versus ~$4 billion U.S. dollars from Mac sales. Apple software sales is less than $2 billion U.S. dollars. Microsoft does only software and brought in ~$19 billion U.S. dollars in 2009. One should take into account that the Apple Mac is significantly more expensive than a non-Apple PC and thus the Mac sales revenue probably doesn't accurately reflect physical sales quantity comparisons against non-Apple PCs.Apple's primary income is hardware, Microsoft's is software. You really can't compare the two primarily because of that alone. Now... that doesn't mean that you can't compare Apple PC sales versus Windows-based PC sales... just, not directly against Microsoft itself. Microsoft doesn't make computers and phones and such.The world's commercial industry still relies primarily on non-Apple PCs. They are far, far more flexible in archetecture, offer (vastly) lower maintenance costs and offer a significantly larger software base to draw from.

^^^ This.

One last thing: Guys, it's spelled "Mac". No, not "MAC". Sorry to be so nitpicky. I don't care if you like or dislike Mac OS X, but at least spell it correctly... I know, I sound like an &@($* now most probably, but these little things... well. Everybody has a weakness, I guess.

That probably affects your sense of "rightness" as does my peeve with folks writing "M$" (as though making money is always equated with being "evil")... :Thinking:

BUILD YOUR OWN COMPUTER.Don't waste your time or money on a mac.  Dells are trash.  Build your own computer and save a ton of money!If you are worried about building it on your own, look out on youtube for building tips.  Building a computer is as easy as putting legos together.

you will not save a ton of money .. but you will have the exact components that you desire.  Once a upon time, it was cheaper to build your own .. but not at todays pricing for prepackage units.Again, if you are not comfortable with building your own... do your research and buy that PC or Mac.  You really cant lose with either choice.

That probably affects your sense of "rightness" as does my peeve with folks writing "M{:content:}quot; (as though making money is always equated with being "evil")... :Thinking:

Yeah, I guess so. And to be honest, Apple is quite keen on making money itself. I love Apple products, but seriously, they can be quite an A$$ when it comes to the money department... (And still I spend the money on their products. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't complain then, should I?)

you will not save a ton of money .. but you will have the exact components that you desire.  Once a upon time, it was cheaper to build your own .. but not at todays pricing for prepackage units.

That maybe true for just an average multi purpose comupter, but when you look at the prices of top line Alienware or Dell XPS gamming rigs, you can build or have built the same thing for much less. Even though it has been a few years, I remember looking at one of the XPS rigs before I had my computer built and it was over $3500 for basically the same thing I had built for around $1800. Not so long ago I did a price compare for the rig Mitch (Sasquatchtoo) bought from Dell and although it didn't matter to him since he was concerned about the warranty, he could have had a similar rig built for much less, over $1200 less if I remember correctly. On top of it, after he spent all that money, he ended up having to replace either the video card or RAM if I remember correctly.I agree building isn't for everyone. It wasn't for me that's why I had mine built, but if your going to buy a gaming rig, I don't think that any prebuilt system will come close in price to what you can get if you DIY or have it built. I just took a quick look at Dell's site and saw their Alienware rigs start at $2200 and go upto $4000 depending on what parts you choose. The one for $2200 is probably the bare bones rig and will increase rapidly in price once you start picking better components. For $4000 you could almost build two really good gaming rigs that will run FSX well.Just my .02

That maybe true for just an average multi purpose comupter, but when you look at the prices of top line Alienware or Dell XPS gamming rigs, you can build or have built the same thing for much less. Even though it has been a few years, I remember looking at one of the XPS rigs before I had my computer built and it was over $3500 for basically the same thing I had built for around $1800. Not so long ago I did a price compare for the rig Mitch (Sasquatchtoo) bought from Dell and although it didn't matter to him since he was concerned about the warranty, he could have had a similar rig built for much less, over $1200 less if I remember correctly. On top of it, after he spent all that money, he ended up having to replace either the video card or RAM if I remember correctly.I agree building isn't for everyone. It wasn't for me that's why I had mine built, but if your going to buy a gaming rig, I don't think that any prebuilt system will come close in price to what you can get if you DIY or have it built. I just took a quick look at Dell's site and saw their Alienware rigs start at $2200 and go upto $4000 depending on what parts you choose. The one for $2200 is probably the bare bones rig and will increase rapidly in price once you start picking better components. For $4000 you could almost build two really good gaming rigs that will run FSX well.Just my .02

On the very high end .. perhaps, you can save money .. I did a quick spot check on the 3,999$ and the CPU and SLI video were are 1,400$ (newegg).  So the case, HD, memory, DVD burner, sound card,  keyboard and mouse, power supply, liquid cooling,  and operating system ... need to come in under 1,600$.  In todays market .. if you dont care about the warranties, the reason to build your own system:You get to chose your own components (make and model)You get to extend the life of your computer (you upgrade components on a as need basis in the future)You like building you system and it provides a small sense of accomplishment.On the very high end .. you might be able to save a few bucks vs. prepackaged units.

Guys, wait a sec. When you did those quick builds of those computers to see what you'd pay, did you count in the screen, mouse, keyboard and speakers? I'm quite sure that a big part of my iMac's price actually comes from the huge, 27", absolutely beautiful screen. These Apple screens are quite unlike stuff I have seen in stores. Perhaps I visited the wrong ones?

I'm quite sure that a big part of my iMac's price actually comes from the huge, 27", absolutely beautiful screen. These Apple screens are quite unlike stuff I have seen in stores.

Well they have LED screens.

Well they have LED screens.

Indeed. They are beautiful and, for as far as I understood, are quite low on power usage. it's a pitty you don't seem them more often in stores.

And if Apple just sold the computer alone (with out the screen or keyboard) the cost would be a good 50% lower (the LED screens cost nearly $500 alone for the 1366x768 res.)

Guys, wait a sec. When you did those quick builds of those computers to see what you'd pay, did you count in the screen, mouse, keyboard and speakers? I'm quite sure that a big part of my iMac's price actually comes from the huge, 27", absolutely beautiful screen. These Apple screens are quite unlike stuff I have seen in stores. Perhaps I visited the wrong ones?

Sure, if you like super high glare...Apples choice for gloss screens is so dumb in an actual user type of way.

you will not save a ton of money ..

Wanna bet!?My thinkpad laptop was nearly 1000 USD cheaper than what a similarly configured macbook pro would have cost me.My desktop was easily 1000 USD cheaper than a similarly configured Dell would have cost me, and about 2000 USD cheaper than a similarly configured mac pro.You DO save HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of dollars by building your own machine. I'm not just making stuff up.

Wanna bet!?My thinkpad laptop was nearly 1000 USD cheaper than what a similarly configured macbook pro would have cost me.My desktop was easily 1000 USD cheaper than a similarly configured Dell would have cost me, and about 2000 USD cheaper than a similarly configured mac pro.You DO save HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of dollars by building your own machine. I'm not just making stuff up.

I agree. I priced everything out when I bought my last laptop and I built my FSX rig - both less than 1 years ago. When I built my current system, I reused my dvd drives, may case, my PSU, many of my fans and of course my mouse and keyboard. I did buy new monitors but I got 2 23" LDC's for less than $500. The point is you shouldn't buy prebuilt stuff - Mac or Windows. Build the system yourself or pick the components and have someone else build it. When the time comes to upgrade, you will have a lot less to replace.I did think about a Mac for the laptop but it didn't make sence. I must note that I am in grad school and I would probably have a lot more friends if I had that little apple on my rig but in the end, it didn't justify the extra expense. I can't think of anyone that has come to my house and used my FSX rig for GIS projects that wasn't shocked at how fast my system is.

Actually, there are any number of folks who're running FSX very successfully on an iMac. After all, these are essentially using the same hardware (processor, motherboard, hard drives, etc.) as any desktop PC...In fact there's one well-known FS developer who simply loves his iMac. Bill (Lionheart Creations) Ortis, the creator of a ton of freeware a/c, as well as some nicely done payware a/c is one of 'em!But, as was stated earlier, the reliability (MTBF) is identical to a PC, since the hardware is essentially the same.

Please note that Bill uses FS2004 as well, ya know, so to add to that comment above, even FS2004 RUNS with iMac. FS2002, dunno. FS2000 however is based on an older system and will probably not work with iMac.Dave.