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Mac vs. PC: What You Don't Get for $699

Next, let’s say something goes wrong on the computer once the warranty expires and that it requires the intervention of a third party. Geek Squad will charge you $129 just for a diagnosis. A diagnosis from the Genius Bar in Apple’s retail stores? Free.

Then there’s iLife, the suite of multimedia tools that comes standard on the Mac. With iLife you can organize photos and home movies and turn them into watchable DVDs. Garageband helps you create your own music and another iLife element aids in Web site creation.

Extras Cost Extra

It’s hard to replicate that bundle if you’re a Windows user. The Hewlett-Packard machine in Lauren’s case does ship with discs for Muvee Reveal, a video-editing program that usually costs $80, and CyberLink DVD Suite, which runs $104. But if she wants Adobe’s Photoshop Elements, including a membership in Photoshop.com Plus, she’ll need to shell out about $140. Sonic Solutions’ Roxio Creator 2009, which combines video-editing and DVD-creating tools, will cost another $100. And the closest equivalent to Garageband on Windows is Cubase Sequel and it goes for another $100.

Add it all up and it’s not hard to imagine Lauren’s $699 computer costing something closer to $1,500.

But that doesn’t include harder-to-quantify shortcomings. The HP’s battery lasts only 2.5 hours on a charge, compared with eight hours for the 17-in. MacBook Pro, which also happens to be 1.2 lb. lighter and boasts substantially better screen resolution: 1,920 pixels wide by 1,440 high, vs. 1,440 by 900 for the HP.

Even if Lauren doesn’t care about pixels and multimedia software, her machine still doesn’t measure up when it comes to overall consumer satisfaction. No less an authority than Consumer Reports rated Lauren’s computer fourth in a class of six with 17- to 18-in. displays. The MacBook Pro was tops, despite its higher price.

PC Makers Should Focus More on Quality

Usually silent on such things, Apple did give me a comment on the Microsoft ads. “A PC is no bargain when it doesn’t do what you want,” Apple spokesman Bill Evans says. “The one thing that both Apple and Microsoft can agree on is that everyone thinks the Mac is cool. With its great designs and advanced software, nothing matches it at any price.” Microsoft declined to comment.

Microsoft and its hardware partners wouldn’t have to make this case had they focused less in the past decade on driving prices down and more on quality. Forrester Research recently released results of a study of consumer experiences with computer companies, assessing their view of a machine’s usefulness, usability, and enjoyability. Apple ran the table in all three categories, well ahead of Gateway (now a unit of Acer), HP, and Dell.

PC makers in the Windows camp have done everything possible to make their products progressively worse by cutting corners to save pennies per unit and boost sales volume. There’s good reason Apple is seeing healthy profits while grabbing market share. It refuses to budge on quality and so charges a higher price. Rather than running ads that seem clever at first but really aren’t, the Windows guys ought to take the hint and just build better computers.