Well, so the new Apple hardware was released today.  As always, it sparks up the Mac vs PC (Windows and/or Linux) debate.  And today, it is as busy as ever... so, I am going to do my own Mac vs PC post...

<strong>Apple Hardware</strong>
Is there an "Apple Tax" as Microsoft's Steve Ballmer would assert?  No.  The price of the hardware of comparable PC's is a tad bit higher or in some cases, equivelant.  That is what I found when I bought my iMac.  I compared with the Gateway One and the Dell XPS One.  And as of today's refresh, this is still the case except that the Dell has a much better CPU, the iMac is better in the other respects (video card, FSB speed, larger HDD).

<a href="http://www.apple.com/imac/ " target="_blank">iMac </a>
24" Screen
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
640GB Serial ATA Drive
Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
Built-in iSight camera; Mini DisplayPort output with support for DVI, dual-link DVI, and VGA video connections via adapter
Built-in stereo speakers with 24-watt digital amplifier, built-in microphone, optical digital audio output/headphone out, optical digital audio input/audio line in
1 Firewire 800 port
6 USB 2.0 ports
Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless Draft-N Network
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (extended data rate)
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Keyboard (English) and User's Guide
Apple MacOS X 10.6 ("Leopard")

$1499.99

<a href="http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-xps-a2420?c=us&amp;cs=19&amp;l=en&amp;s=dhs&amp;~ck=mn" target="_blank">Dell XPS One</a>
XPS One™ with 24-inch widescreen display and Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q8200 processor
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1
XPS One® Wireless Keyboard including trackpad and media controls
XPS One ® Wireless Mouse
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800Mhz - 2 DIMMs
Integrated Intel® GMA X4500HD Graphics
320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
8X Slot load CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW)
SoundBlaster® Audigy™ Software and Premium JBL speakers with integrated subwoofer (25W total)
Internal Bluetooth 2.0 included
Internal 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless network card included
Integrated Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 Base-T)

$1599
<a href="http://www.gateway.com/programs/one/index.php?cmpid=topnav_computers" target="_blank">
Gateway One </a>
19" Screen
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor1 T5250 (1.50GHz, 667MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024MB modules)
400GB 7200rpm Serial ATA II hard drive w/ 8MB cache
ATI® Mobility Radeon® HD 2600XT Graphics Media Accelerator with 256MB of Discrete Video Memory
Gateway® 104+ Key Wireless Keyboard &amp; Mouse
2 USB 2.0
1 FireWire port
Gigabit Ethernet
8x Multi-Format Dual Layer Slot Load DVD-RW with DVD-RAM
NXT SoundVu stereo Audio
1.3 Megapixel Web Cam
Integrated Intel® 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N Wireless Networking

$1309.99

I have compared the Mac Mini with the Dell Studio Hybrid and found that (after today's refresh) that the Mini is very comparable in price.  Check these to see for yourself...

What people tend to do is compare the iMac with a tower PC.  This is not a fair comparison.  It isn't a tower Mac.  Comparing with other all-in-one design machines is the only way to compare.

<strong>Apple Software</strong>
Max OSX is a very well-written OS and is very secure.  While no OS or software that connects to the internet is 100% secure, Mac OSX is far more secure than the OSes on the market.  Linux is very close.  As both are based on UNIX operating systems.   This virtually elimiates the need for anti-virus and/or spyware applications that Windows PC's tend to need due to the Operating System, itself.  That being said, Microsoft has improved Windows security from XP to Vista (despite the Vista complaints).  Windows 7 is shaping up to be a very nice version of Windows and may give OS X some real competetion.

Apple systems also come with the iLife suite of software (iPhoto for photo management, iMovie for video editing, iWeb for webpage creation and publishing, iDVD for authoring DVDs, and GarageBand for music compostion and editing).  There is no eqivelant suite of software on the PC (though, by mixing and matching products from various companies).

<strong>The Apple "cult"</strong>
It is true that Apple users tend to be very loyal to their brand.  However, to say that Apple users feel that Apple can do no wrong, is just well... wrong.   Think about with PC's, there are multiple brands of PC's.  People tend to be loyal to the Windows PC, not necessarily to a particular brand.  I was a big fan of Dell while I had one and a big fan of Gateway when I had one.  Is that being part of a Gateway "cult" or a Dell "cult."  Of course not.
<strong>
Apple and Gaming</strong>
There isn't a huge gaming market with the Macs... and that's pretty much a fact.  If gaming is a major part of using a computer, then Macs may not be for you... though using Apple's Boot Camp that came with OS X 10.6, you can install Windows on any Intel-based Mac and dual-boot it with Windows and have the best of both worlds.

<strong>Conclusion</strong>
I guess so as long as Apple exists, there will be this debate.  People who "hate" Macs or iPods or "hate" Windows... well, really need to get it together.  I don't care much for Windows any more.  That's from years of having to always seem to fix it or always seems to not work the way I want it to work.  OSX does.  That's why I prefer it.  People are always free to choose whatever hardware/software fits their needs.  Be it Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, or even something lesser known like AmigaOS or plain ole Unix.