Microsoft: PCs (with Vista) Are Superior to Macs (with OS X)

Signaling yet again that the time for inaction when it comes down to the damage delivered by Apple's Get a Mac ads is over and done with, Microsoft has come out with the proverbial guns blazing. The Redmond giant, through the voice of Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications, is applauding Windows Vista PCs as superior to Mac computers running Mac OS X. Flores is basing his claims on an independent journalistic source.

"Windows Vista PCs win "hands-down" over Macs for things like better software compatibility, better community support, IE and greater user productivity. And his fundamental point on cost should hit home for anyone (not just online investors) in the market for a new computer," he indicated.

The key criterion offered by Flores is a comparison between the price of a Compaq Presario CQ50Z laptop and a MacBook. Sporting a 1.9 GHz dual-core CPU, 1 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce graphics card, and a 120 gigabyte HDD, the Compaq Presario CQ50Z comes with a price tag of just $500.

In contrast, the MacBook machine, featuring the same hardware characteristics, but with a 2.1 GHz processor will cost customers no less than $1,099. That is a difference of $600, weighing in to the disadvantage of Apple.

"For most people, a 156% price mark-up is too steep for admission to the club (and most people don't buy computers to join clubs anyway). Picking a Windows Vista PC over a Mac is no-brainer for business customers in particular - it's a smarter use of resources, offers hardware choice (something sorely lacking with Macs), and flexibility to use whichever applications make the most sense," Flores concluded, indicating yet again that the software giant will no longer sit back and be trashed by Apple, and that it will fire back.