So that's the only benefit? Cost?

I bought a PC last year, from Staples, the OS did not come installed, and the anti-virus protection had to be paid for. I have a hard time believing that free anti-virus protection is the best option.

You also have to look at how cheap you're buying your computer. If it's less than $600 and it's a notebook, you're probably not making a long term investment.

Ha, Staples didn't install any OS? Crikey, that's crap.

Yeah, free anti virus is a lot better. For a start the well known giants like Norton etc are a huge system hog and offer nothing special that a decent free one cannot offer.

Plus, don't PC's crash all the time?
Mac's are glorious, and never have that problem. I've never had a Mac crash on me once in twenty years.

Again, PC=Windows???

I've never had windows crash on me when i used to use it in the past, though i know that is a common prob for some.

Macs do crash, thats a common myth that people believe, though they are prone to crash a hell of a lot less than Vista and XP.

If you're using your computer correctly then it should rarely crash, hence me not having probs and you not having probs.

but you aren't really answering any of my questions.

I know, worst place to buy a computer from. :D They must have the worst technical team in the market.

Now, do these free antiviruses offer spyware and adware protection? Ironically, this was a bigger issue on my Vista PC than on my XP.

But, see, that's the whole point of a Mac. You don't have to deal with any of that stuff. The operating system is stable enough to not allow any viruses through (I mean it, in my years knowing people with macs and owning one myself, not a single threat), the extended warranty or AppleCare is international, the in-store technical team has an estimated turnaround time of about 2 days.

You COULD buy a cheap PC, with the operating system that you want, with hypothetically free antivirus and spyware/adware protection, but why would you WANT to? How long will that computer last you? You have to do so much to make your PC work on the same caliber as a mac; go here to get that, go there to get another thing... it's time consuming and inconvenient.

When you get a Mac you're paying for convenience, ease of use, and service. They just work, and that's why they sell.

I would say the price is what you're buying a PC for.

Yeah which is fair enough. I'm not having a go at Mac users in general, but the ones who get them so they can jump on the bandwagon, because they hear Macs are good, but don't know why or their mates have a Mac, so they must get one also.

There's always going to be pros and cons to using Macs, Windows based PC or any other alternative.

The issue is that people need to know what they need and which option is going to give them that.

I had just answered your question.

well you've really only told me that they are cheaper.

macs offer much more than pc's do.
i think pc's are great if you want to surf the internet or play solitaire.

macs are much better for people such as graphic artists, audio professionals, etc, because they can handle the programs.