CNBC On The Mac Vs PC Fight

On the flip side, for many PC users I know, who pirate everything, PC's would be cheaper.

(Mac users seem more willing to pay for software from my perspective).

Most Mac users know that they are paying for the overall computing experience to be right for them.

They know they don't want to fool around with IT support people, or have to drug their systems with anti-virus software, anti-adware software, anti-crapware software, etc.

They don't want a computer company blaming a software company blaming them, the users, for it not working.

They just want a computer that works, and that does not treat them like morons when it doesn't.

I've been using Macs AND Windows PCs since the mid-1980s. Both can do good work. But I must add that I use the Mac because I WANT to. I use the PC only when I HAVE to.

It's about the complete experience... I'm willing to pay extra up front for a mostly hassle-free computing environment. I know that I'll almost always pay more, in the end, if I do the same thing with a Windows box.

Apple gives away Photoshop? Been a Mac-head since '95 and never got it for free.

Although Goldman got some of the details a little wrong, the message is clearly 'on target'...

Once you've used a Mac, you'll simply NEVER go back.

OK, I'm a Mac guy too but there was a lot of hyperbole in that video. Perhaps because the interview is so rushed, but I can imagine some PC guys frothing at the bit after seeing that. I think that there is an "Apple Tax" but you know, when I pay taxes, I know that I'm getting certain services and products for my money. The idea that I might simply pay more for a logo is just flame baiting. In the end it comes down to preference, I just wish more folks would give Macs a chance rather than dismissing them outright based upon info like we get from the "Hunters" ads.

Although Goldman got some of the details a little wrong, the message is clearly 'on target'...

Once you've used a Mac, you'll simply NEVER go back.

hmmm.... lets see

AVG anit virus - free

media player classic + divx - free

Mac does not come with photoshop
iphoto

Movie maker is a piece of crap, but lets not compare iMovie with final cut and after effect

itune - free

if you need Geek Squad, you'll break your mac too

Mac laptops are lighter compare to MOST, not all pc laptops

17 Pro gets about 4 hours compare to 1.5 - 2 hours on most PC. 3k - 5k well spent.

faster chip? depends on what you are comparing to, true if it's 3k vs .7k

high res screen? for the same price, its about the same.

I hope JS can rip him a new one.

The closest to iPhoto is Picasa - on either Windows or Mac.

The whole thing smells.

What about Paint.NET or Gimp? Both are free and also pretty great. Just as useful as Photoshop for most things.

What about audacity and KRISTAL? I would rather use those than Garageband.

Apple Care, which you absolutely MUST own is $249. Seriously, you will definitely use this more than once. It really pays for itself. But it kind of makes the geek squad point pretty lame.

Of course OS X is wonderful. A PC can be as well. Apple should get a pat on the back for bundling more straight out of the box but what is so hard about downloading a few bits of software?

THAT does not make up for the significant difference in price.

A terrible comparison at best. Give the guy a break - he doesn't have a clue. He is just spewing what was regurgitated on a blog somewhere.

Mac and what processor? Which WinTel and processor? This guy apparently does not have any clue when it comes to battery life. One cannot accurately predict battery life - its based on the intensity of usage by the application. This is dynamic and at best is a guesstimate.

And please don't talk to me about free and included applications. WinTel has a boatload of free anti-virus, photo processing, and video processing applications available as included or for a mouse click on the net. iLife is no more friendly to the user than any WinTel application. In fact I would say that most WinTel application data are more friendly simply because they are not held to proprietary sharing like Apple does with video and audio.

As a former Apple employee I need to conclude that he did neither platform justice simply because he did not know what he was talking about. Each platform has its benefits but the bottom line is that performance per performance, you can purchase a WinTel box for one half to one third the money that you will spend on a Mac. Everything included on a Mac is available 3x over on a WinTel computer. Is it more friendly? All GUI's are equally friendly at this point. Dummys screw-up Mac's with the same frequency as Windows. Unfortunately, your neighbor may be able to help with your Windows but you will most likely need to call Apple or a service tech to take care of your Mac.

Keep in mind that if you are running Windows, you are less likely to have your applications outdated by an operating system upgrade. Apple is notorious for OS upgrades that render perfectly good applications useless.

If you are looking to simply surf the net, watch videos, do simple word processing, etc., buy a netbook for $300 - it will serve you well.

All this talk of the free software you can get for your PC (after you delete the craplets, perhaps?) completely misses the point and the Apple value proposition. A lot of users do not want to be PC experts. Or software experts. They want a system that is complete and that works.

If you don't find OSX to be inherently superior, then YES you can construct a PC with the same capabilities. If you choose what you want and don't want carefully, you can often do it for less money (not always... I had an experience trying to go low end with a full blown OS and the Windows system wound up costing MORE than the equivalent Mac--mini would have because of the high cost of upgrading to the version of Vista I needed. Whereas every version of Mac OSX comes with everything including developer tools.) If you're experienced or into this stuff you also may know which choices to make to get quality in your PC.

But most users do not want to construct their computer... they want to do things with it.

One of the posters says "AVG anti-virus free." Okay, maybe it's free and maybe it's all you need. But you have to download it. And you have to "know" that it exists, that it is superior to the others, that it is a better choice than subscribing to the Norton that came bundled. If you know all this--wonderful. But to the average consumer the idea that security is an aftermarket decision they must make is... lame.

Apple's proposition is that it makes a lot more choices for you and assembles a delightful, capable, complete system. To all you on these boards that hate the choices Apple makes and know how to make your own choices... GREAT for you. Understand that you are not typical though. It is not an Apple tax, it isn't a logo it's a value proposition. If it doesn't create value for you... just don't buy one.

Me, I'm a long time professional software developer and even I don't like constructing my own system. I now do my Windows work on a MacBook Pro. I am delighted with my system... and it even runs Windows well. 'Course I surf the web on it from OSX.

And like I said, last time I bought a PC, I wanted cheap and it wound up more expensive than the equivalent mac. And it has a Vista driver conflict (on a system I bought with Vista installed) that I've just learned to live with.

Obviously Arik didn't do his homework.

He said... "The Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) 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."

Did he take a look at these programs? If he had, he would realize that Cyberlink's DVD Suite provides everything that Lauren needs. It's rated higher than Roxio Creator, and it provides all the basic photo editing, movie editing and DVD authoring that she will need also. In fact, there are many functions in this suite that aren't available in iLife. So the next $240 that Arik surmises Lauren will need is redundant, and inferior.

Is Lauren a musician? Will she be recording and editing music? If so, there are numerous choices available to her. Of course, she has MORE choices on the PC platform... right Arik?

Obviously Arik didn't do his homework.

He said... "The Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) 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."

Did he take a look at these programs? If he had, he would realize that Cyberlink's DVD Suite provides everything that Lauren needs. It's rated higher than Roxio Creator, and it provides all the basic photo editing, movie editing and DVD authoring that she will need also. In fact, there are many functions in this suite that aren't available in iLife. So the next $240 that Arik surmises Lauren will need is redundant, and inferior.

Is Lauren a musician? Will she be recording and editing music? If so, there are numerous choices available to her. Of course, she has MORE choices on the PC platform... right Arik?

Microsoft loves talking about the Apple tax but what about the Microsoft tax that even Linux users must pay when buying a new PC even if Linux ix already pre-installed.

Microsoft is trying to get into the digital media market -- it tried emphasizing Windows XP as a digital hub operating system alternative to Apple's Mac OS X for PC users not going to switch but they have always failed.

Microsoft's MSN TV strategy (for those unfamiliar MSN TV was Web TV before Microsoft bought it, converted the Web TV boxes into Wintel based devices and tried to sign up long term subscribers unsuccessfully (while giving the hardware for free) to the service -- instead they got short term subscribers and the service didn't generate the profit they wanted -- worse once the boxes were converted to Wintel (they were basically more Windoze boxes) it was possible to hack the Windows boxes (MSN TV units) to run Linux.

Microsoft eventually abandoned further development on the service and product to work on other delivery methods regarding digital media like XBox games consoles which it still sells at a loss to gain market share (which no other company with a smaller size could do but Microsoft can afford to keep losing money from XBox while selling other products like Windows, Office, MSN subsriptitions etc and seek to gain market share for XBox with the hope one day XBox which has had some hardware problems (most notably the 360's Red Ring of Death -- kind of reminds me of Windows Blue Screen of Death) which raised costs on Microsoft -- it is quite expensive for them to have to fix the problems and extend service and support.

MS's XBox business continues to operate at a loss for Microsoft but they intend to continue aggressively competing there because if they can they intend to own this market.

Then there is Windows Media Center. The Media Center app from Microsoft is only available on new select Windows PCs -- at time of purchase of a new PC need to be sure to buy a Windows PC with Media Center at least that was the case with XP -- for Vista now all editions seem to have Media Center but you still have to buy a new computer.

Why can't they offer the software also to existing PC users. Up till the past 2 years at least Windows Media Center was also unprofitable -- there are articles going back to 2006 where Microsoft talked about Windows MCE's limited market share and profitability but their hopes in the next few years and their strategy of how to turn MCE into a profit while delivering higher market share.

Some things have changed since then -- my sister sometime between 2007-2008 bought a new HP laptop with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (the original MCE software came out in 2001-2002 period) till then no one I knew in my family nor any of my friends I knew had Windows MCE.

Even now since my sister recently got Windows MCE with XP -- this was just around the time before Vista came out -- no one else I know has gotten Windows MCE there are other family members I have running Windows who have software to manage their digital media -- applications like Winamp for music playback and some for video too but no one else has Windows MCE that I know of.

Windows MCE did have some problems before the MCE 2005 edition release that were obviously fixed and some new features added that probably according to my sister made getting Windows MCE worth it.

As for me I got a new computer in 2006 (it was new at the time) also for digital media but unlike my sister's HP Pavilion laptop with Windows MCE I got an Apple Mac Mini (desktop Mac) with Front Row which I use for my digital media setup.

I am more happy with Front Row than Windows MCE. I actually own a Wii which has more market share than XBox 360 that is struggling to turn a profit -- the Wii is listed the #1 console on VGChartz.com

@Anonymous_man, I enjoyed reading your post until the very end when you cited vgcrapz. lololol. You lost all credibility at that point.

@Anonymous_man: you've touched on a hidden gem with your comment about the "Apple Tax". Microsoft has taken a phrase that criticized them and has applied the same to Apple.

Please folks, remember your Business 101: the "Microsoft Tax" was a phrase used in the '90s to describe how everyone who bought a PC was forced to pay for a Microsoft OS, even if they didn't plan on using it.

Besides that point, I liked the video for a 5 minute spot. It got both sides important points across -- cheap (vis a vis, "laptop hunters" and pick what you want) vs. quality (vis a vis, "cool" and it just works). There's plenty of computers for everyone!

wow,,, mac fan club there :)

yea i'm deff a pc guy,, mac's are ok, just not really for me, they do have there place tho

but they came up with some crazy numbers there
50$ a year on anti-virus,,, i've never used one before, windows defender is free and works great
music sofware,, ever hear of windows media player, i mean mac uses itunes, which is available for windows also so i dont know what the guy was thinking

i guess multimedia and photo/video editing software can get pricy, but there are alwyas inexpensive options
and geek squad,, i havent met a single person who has ever used them,,, honest

and like i said before i dont hate mac,, i just dont do any crazy photo/video work so i dont need to spend the money,, plus i make all my pc's myself,, super cheap

anyways thats my 2c :)

Of course once you go Mac, you don't go back. I mean, you're 'cool' when you use a Mac, but once you stop using a Mac, you're no longer 'cool.'

A PC is easier to work with than a Mac. Mac has an irritating User Interface and for productive people it does not cut it. Yes it can keep serving the creative and advertisement/design industry but that it probably only 5 percent of the worldwide market. All those who complain about numerous calls to IT...well I don't remember calling anyone since I have had vista...Everything from connecting to the internet or configuring devices is easy and intuitive. I like a PC and I intend to keep it!

What a MAC fanboy. First off, Microsoft's years of increased security makes WINDOWs the most secured OS yet.

MAC? That unpopular platform will die if it switched position with Windows right now.

PC is cheaper. Macs are overpriced with idiots claiming "you get what you pay for". No! You pay 50-100% premium per hardwares compared to DIY PCs.

Yeah things have improved in recent years with Microsoft antitrust (here in U.S. MS just got a light slap on the wrist unfortunately but in EU and South Korea they have been penalized more for their monopolistic behavior) when I cited VGChartz.com that might not have been the best site out there but was the only 1 I knew which tracks video game sales and lists market share for all consoles.

It shows Nintendo Wii and DS as the top sellers for home console and portable systems. XBox 360 is in second place (yes the Wii does not have high definition graphics like XBox 360 or PS3 but it it still seems to be selling even better than the 360 based on research I've done on Google recently -- I've read articles that they were selling better than 360 -- but when Wii and PS3 came out 360 had the top spot because it was out sooner and had been selling more units longer -- so 360 had a head start or early lead but Wii seems to have erased that gain by the 360 unfortunately for Sony which was #1 with the PS2 its now #3 behind Nintendo and Microsoft -- Microsoft should be happy though that it now has a console selling better than Sony's that's what they wanted all along.

The Microsoft tax may have ended or has weakened -- there was a time when PC manufacturers could not under penalty from Microsoft even sell PCs with Linux (back then if anyone wanted Linux they would have to buy a Windows PC and install Linux on it) but today even Linux PCs are available. I'm sure Microsoft if they could would love to go back to those days and milk profits from Linux users for Windows but of course they can't now. Even without antitrust the market has shifted somewhat against them.

The fact is Mac is more secure than Windows -- sure its had its share of security problems recently but nowhere near as many as Windows does -- and Mac OS X is based on UNIX its more stable and secure.

No operating system is completely immune to security threats but OS X and yes even Linux are better operating systems from a security standpoint than Windows. I have used Wintel based PCs for years and got tired of Blue Screen of Death errors, illegal operations etc.

If you want a computer that works most of the time and you don't have to babysit it or force it work the Mac is way better than a Windows PC.

Sure sometimes even Macs can have problems yesterday an application I was running on my Mac Mini crashed but I was able to get back to work soon after.

If you want a PC that is cheaper than buying a Mac I would recommend getting Linux and if you need to use some Windoze software I suggest software like WINE for emulation -- just be careful not to accept untrusted files.

On any operating system -- there is a difference between an OS or application error when the operating system or software running on it has a problem because the system or app itself has gone bad on its own or user error when someone who doesn't know how to use it and doesn't have good common sense downloads a virus to the system and opens it.

A virus could be installed on Mac or Linux also by a user who doesn't have common sense to not open untrusted files. I never accept files from people I don't know especially application files and archived files in rar or zip that may contain application files like .exe for Windows or .app or .dmg for Mac because their bound to contain viruses.

I only trust files from people I know that I know are safe.

Some people think the reason Macs have less viruses and less security problems is just because of lower market share. Wrong OS X is based on UNIX code which is harder to create and/or execute malicious code for or on.

Also some of OS X's code is open source and open source developers can look at that portion of the code often for bugs and can notify Apple when the software needs fixing.

Apple has been good about making software updates or patches to fix security vulnerabilities often after they are found. Windows has been plagued with security problems for years now Microsoft ios trying to improve security for #2 reasons -- #1 they are entering the anti-virus related market for Windows software because they discovered how profitable it can be and #2 a lot of their users who have gotten viruses are getting fed up and Microsoft doesn't want to risk more of their users switching to Linux or even a Mac to escape the onslaught of Windows viruses.

Also Apple has really good desktop publishing and web publishing/content creation and playback software for digital media like its iLife suite which are bundled with every Mac free.

You can also upgrade an existing Mac's iLife software to a newer version of iLife by purchasing the latest iLife software at retail.

The newest Macs come with the newest version of iLife -- older Mac owners have to buy the newest version if they want it at retail.

PCs may be cheaper (by the way has anyone noticed most of the time when PC is mentioned its a Windows PC) and Apple does make some of their products PC compatible -- they say iTunes is PC compatible but its not Linux PC compatible its only Windows PC compatible.

The Mac has a wonderful user interface and I love the Dock -- it was my guilty pleasure that before I got my first Mac with OS X I wished I could make my PC look more like a Mac so I downloaded Object Dock (www.objectdock.com) to add a visual dock menu to my Windows PC similar to the Mac OS X Dock and it looks great.

Personally as I said earlier I love using Apple Front Row while my sister uses Windows MCE. I think Windows MCE PC sales have improved by the way since 2007 before that MCE was not reaching the type of market share Microsoft really wanted but its starting to improve as Microsoft has in fact also improved the software.

Now I'm REALLY confursed. Just spent most of the evening in Best Buy trying to decide what would be my "best buy". Until recently, I have always used a company-issued Dell 610 (yeah I know its old)but now that I have left the fold and must purchase one myself, I am am having panic attacks. The gentleman at Best Buy all but SOLD me on the MacBook for $1299 tonight. I call another store and they havehad just received an "open box" computer which they will sell for 15% off. THEN, I was told that they would give me an additional 5% off if I get the $399 "high-end" protection package which covers the screen and accidents.So for around $1600 I can walk out of the store tomorrow morning with one. I only REALLY use the computer for internet surfing (I also have an iPhone) and occassionally I make video presentations (typically from scanned photos). what should I do?

"If you want a computer that works most of the time and you don't have to babysit it or force it work the Mac is way better than a Windows PC."

My PC works EVERY time, not just MOST of the time and I don't need to force it or babysit it.

If Apple products "just work" then why shell out hundreds of dollars for Apple Care? Seems pointless no?

A lot of people use PC because they WANT to and PCs "just work" for them. There are "tons" of stories online about people that bought defective Apple products and have sworn to never again purchase Apple. So if you are a dedicated Apple fan good for you but no need to drag PC through the mud. If PCs didn't work, they wouldn't sell, consumers and companies are concerned about productivity you know.

And why is Apple trashing netbooks? Just tell the truth, that you don't want to undercut sales of your high end models. I'm guessing if most casual users interested in Apple could buy into a "laptop" Apple for $500 to $800 they wouldn't bother shelling out over $1000 for a MacBook. And no, an iPhone or iPod Touch is not a netbook replacement.

Oh and Macs are "safe" from viruses, worms, etc primarily because they have such a small market share.

I am not a fanboy of either brand, just a sensible business minded guy who believes in facts and truth and knows he will need exposure to both platforms. Apple absolutely makes great products for sure but no need to shovel nonsense.

One thing never mentioned is apple's pathetic excuse for home networking. Let's say you have 3 computers in your home network. Add a NAS box, put all your pics in a folder there and point picasa to that folder on each computer. ANY pics added to the monitored folder automatically add to the picasa program oneach windows PC. This CANNOT be done on a Mac. You will have to add your pics manually to EACH Mac no matter what photo program you use (including iPhoto). If you share a library to get around this you can only have one Mac viewing pics at a time. For me and I'm sure most home network users this will be unacceptable and will result in users having to have each Mac keeping it's own library on it's own hard drive. Pretty poor considering "it just works"

Ok admitedly I haven't read all your comments but I read a bunch and noticed one EXTREMELY improtant thing. Most of you are actually comparing mac to a WINDOWS pc. The article is about the mac vs PC "fight". Windows is not the only operating system available for pcs. Linux comes in an infinite (you can recompile the kernel youself to make it fit you even) variety of builds designed for different people and uses and linux builds are inherently free. Combined with this free OS is an endless supply of free and open source software that frequently rivals the capabilities and efficiency of commercial software. Besides a large proportion of mac users load windows up anyway. There's a reason why PCs have crapware and spyware and stuff. people can actually develop software on windows and think of new software innovations. Apple has to make all the innovations for macs themselves because they wont let anyone else contribute. I can't even write software for my iphone on my pc cuz apple wont share the sdk (yes i know there is actually a way but i shouldnt need that kind of work around).

oh and to Christian I know you said you were maybe going back to the store the next day but I hope you didnt. My advice is don't go for the macbook. if you're only going to surf the web and make the occasional slideshow then why pay $1600? A pc netbook would handle that no problem for like $500 or less. Most macbooks are way overpowered for the average user. Im not arguing (this time) that macs have crappy price/performance ratio, the performance you're paying for in your situation is simply not required. That's like going to macdonalds and buying a big mac combo just because you want a few fries.

It's interesting that people who seem to know nothing about actually using a computer love Macs while people who need to get work done love Window's PC... Can't tell you how many times I've seen people spend HOURS trying to figure out why a Mac won't do something - yet they will still proudly state that it is easier ot use... easier than what? You'd pretty much have to be brain dead to no know how to use a Windows based PC... but then again you'd pretty much have to be brain dead to pay $2,700 for what you can get for less than $1,500...

I've had computers since before there were PC's. I remember when Apple started selling their idea of what became a useful business machine when IBM taught the world how to make a PC. In other words, I'm older than dirt.

You can argue that MACs don't get virus, but that's because you don't get attacked when you're number 2 or 3. Why waste time writing a virus for a MAC that will never make you famous because no one will notice?

I wasted my time and money on a MAC once. I'll never make that mistake again. I absolutely refuse to buy anything with a proprietary fist squeezing my privates the way Apple does.

well the end all argument is here....i have a mac with windows on it....can u run MAC OSX on a Dell? no...there ya go

I have a PC, and have had it for 9 years (I hate it!!!)(by the way It hasen't been just one its been 5) I want a mac soooo bad PC just sucks my motto is
"Piss on PC's"

"Once you've used a Mac, you'll simply NEVER go back."

Weird, I did.

All the virus talk makes me scared my computer is going to get a virus. This is why I tried the free Cyberdefender scanner. I liked it so much I bought the upgrade. It has kept my computer free of viruses since getting it.

All the virus talk makes me scared my computer is going to get a virus. This is why I tried the free Cyberdefender scanner. I liked it so much I bought the upgrade. It has kept my computer free of viruses since getting it.

Mike... you can run Windows on a Mac and I can run OSX on a Dell... whats your point?

Mac uses a bios emulator to run Windows...

My Dell Vostro uses an EFI emulator to run OSX, I also have Os X on my Netbook... It's quite nice, And much more affordable then buying a Mac.

Andrew, try Linux... it's rather nice.. not exactly easy to use like a mac, but runs great, I always go back to windows to try something out, but other then that I have used Linux on a constant basis with no issues for years.

I think the Mac is not overpriced.. when you buy a PC you get the crapware. You can download freeware stuff, but it is usually difficult to use, or not very intuitive. So you pay for iLife (it's not free). an all in one machine is a good thing, excellent customer support is also good.

Im my eyes I think Apple needs to lower the price of the mini by around 150$ and then Introduce a Mac desktop for about 700-750$ with 2 SuperDrives and the same specs as the current baseline iMac, this allows the user to use their current monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, ect.... on the machine. If they did this i deffinatly think that would bring an even crossing for them and it would get PC useres to venture to the other side, they get the chance to buy a "normal consumer" device and they should have the option to buy a copy of windows preinstalled with their Mac. This would allow Mac to be on a more even ground and everyone can shutup about the unfairness of the cost of an apple PC when they see something in between that is a more logical type of invesment with out getting that retarded step brother apple calls a Mac Mini.

and one more thing, If apple designed a bootstrap that would emulate bios... the user would have the option to completly rid their mac of OSX and install windows by itself.

I've been working with windows for over 20+ years and I just switched over to a Mac. Why? I guess because I'm tired of the never-ending malware scans, virus scans, etc. Sure I know Macs can get virus just as PC's can, but like a lot of people on here say, they only share a tiny portion of the market share. Now, where does this leave us? We are all going to witness a "polar-shift" in the foreseeable future. Meaning, apple will lead in market share being that people, businesses, all schools will switch over to the apple platform based on the fact they "currently" are more secure. Viruses will be created for apples machines and Windows machines will be ones that will be left behind, then the cycle will again change. There is no one better machine then another, sure they both have their problems and their great points, but the bottom line is they only do what we tell them to do, other than that, they are still stuck inside the cardboard box they shipped in.

I am a 20 years PC veteran, my HP SLIM desktop died (after only 2 yrs) and for the first time I am considering a MAC (to lower the $$$ pain I am looking on the MAC Mini)
MAC is likely twice as expensice and I wonder if I should get $35o desktop with windows 7 or the Mac Mini for $600 - then adopter to the monitor, software essnetials??? I can see the price going to the $999...

I am a 20 years PC veteran, my HP SLIM desktop died (after only 2 yrs) and for the first time I am considering a MAC (to lower the $$$ pain I am looking on the MAC Mini)
MAC is likely twice as expensice and I wonder if I should get $35o desktop with windows 7 or the Mac Mini for $600 - then adopter to the monitor, software essnetials??? I can see the price going to the $999...

I am a 20 years PC veteran, my HP SLIM desktop died (after only 2 yrs) and for the first time I am considering a MAC (to lower the $$$ pain I am looking on the MAC Mini)
MAC is likely twice as expensice and I wonder if I should get $35o desktop with windows 7 or the Mac Mini for $600 - then adopter to the monitor, software essnetials??? I can see the price going to the $999...