Do you also complain about the Microsoft tax?
Toshiba Portege Z835-P330
1.3GHz Intel Core i3 2367M Processor
4GB DDR3 RAM
128GB Solid-State Hard Drive
13.3” Screen
Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics
Native Resolution: 1366x768
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
MSRP: $899.99 us.toshiba.com
Price: $949.95 amazon.com
Asus Zenbook UX31E-DH72
1.8 GHz Intel Core™ i7 2677M Processor
4 GB DDR3 RAM
256 GB SATA III SSD
13.3” Screen
Native Resolution: 1,600x900
Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Price: $1384.00 amazon.com
Apple MacBook Air
1.7 GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor
4GB DDR3 RAM
128GB Solid-State Hard Drive
13.3” Screen
Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics
Graphics RAM: 384 MB
Native Resolution: 1440 x 900
Mac OS X Lion
Rated Charge (normal use): 7 hours
Rated Charge (standby): 10 hours
Price: $1209.99 amazon.com
The advantage seems to be to Toshiba given the preceding information. This, unfortunately for Toshiba, is not the entire story however.
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade $109.99
Apple OS X Lion Upgrade $29.99
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 $90.88 (single installation) amazon.com
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 $124.99 (up to three (3) computers) amazon.com
Apple Keynote $19.99 (up to five (5) computers) Mac App Store
Apple Numbers $19.99 (up to five (5) computers) Mac App Store
Apple Pages $19.99 (up to five (5) computers) Mac App Store
Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and Premiere Elements 10 for Windows $107.03 (single installation) amazon.com
Acoustica Mixcraft 5 $74.99 amazon.com
iLife is bundled free with OS X when purchasing Apple Mac computers:
Apple iPhoto ’11 $14.99 (up to five (5) computers) Mac App Store
Apple iMovie ’11 $14.99 (up to five (5) computers) Mac App Store
Apple GarageBand ’11 $14.99 (up to five (5) computers) Mac App Store
Apple professional creative applications don’t have a competitor for a price within reason for the average consumer:
Apple Aperture $79.99 Mac App Store
Apple LogicPro $199.99 Mac App Store
Apple Final Cut Pro X $299.99 Mac App Store
Furthermore, the costs included above do not include the cost of lost productivity due to slow computer performance due to anti-virus programs and memory leaks.








