<p>boot-time plus startup time is faster on a Mac, pro or not, unless you have an extensively tweaked PC. i’ve done lots of registry tweaks to my computer and went through my startup services and programs, and it’s still slower, and it’s not some cheap good-for-nothing laptop either. the main issue for me is startup time, and i theoretically could make it as fast, but i’d have to eliminate my firewall, power management, and one or two other apps to make it that way. i’m also convinced that tweakXP is slowing it down…but there’re certain things i can’t do easily without it. the hard drive speeds are the same between my computer and the Macs i’ve compared it to (5400 rpm).</p>
<p>MBPs are $2000-2800 not including discounts, btw. you can throw the warranty on top and get the $2300-3100 figure, but it’s not as if you’re not paying extra for PC warranties.</p>
<p>a white Macbook is difficult to beat for the price, and an MBP isn’t that extravagant a purchase as some make it if you buy a 15". sure, you can buy a similar Windows laptop…but it won’t have OSX, one of the best keyboards, the best monitor, and well above average build quality, among other things.</p>
<p>Apple’s small market share is not the sole reason for why Macs do not have viruses.</p>
<p>however, i don’t understand why Apple is so unwilling to put more USB ports in.</p>
<p>and just to make this post more balanced, you can justify just about any non-Dell Inspiron PC that’s the same price or cheaper than a Mac as long as it comes with XP, or you have a copy of XP to put on it.</p>