| Features |
Apple |
Dell |
Inequalities (any worth noting) |
| Processor |
1.5 GHz G4 |
Pentium M 1.86 GHz*
|
  |
| Operating System |
Mac OS X 10.3 |
Windows XP Professional |
  |
| Display |
Built-in 15.2" TFT WXGA |
Built-in 15.4" TFT WXGA |
  |
| Graphics |
ATI Mobility Radeon w/64mb |
ATI Radeon X300 w/64mb |
  |
| Hard Drive |
80GB Ultra ATA, 5400rpm |
80GB Ultra ATA, 5400rpm |
  |
| Optical Drive |
24X CD-RW/DVD Combo |
24X CD-RW/DVD Combo |
  |
| Wireless Options |
802.11 b/g card
Bluetooth |
802.11 b/g card
Bluetooth |
  |
| Ports |
1 Firewire 400 port
1 Firewire 800 port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 PC Card/Cardbus slot
S-Video, DVI, VGA video out |
4 USB 2.0 ports
S-Video/ VGA video out
Optional 40GB 2nd HD |
The Dell has no option for a firewire port, but it has legacy parallel and serial ports. The Apple has a built-in microphone as well as built-in stereo speakers, both of which the Dell lacks |
| Support option |
1-year limited warranty |
3-year extended "economy" warranty |
The Dell system has no option for declining the extended warranty, but you can upgrade to non-"economy" plans. I didn't feel like reading the extended explanation of what you get with each plan, but presumably the 3-year "economy" plan is worth more than Apple's standard 1-year warranty. |
| Software options |
The PowerBook comes with the following free software that doesn't have equivalents in Windows XP: 
- iLife (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand),
- Art Directors Toolkit,
- GraphicConverter,
- OmniGraffle,
- OmniOutliner,
- QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition,
- Setup Assistant--Transfer data and settings,
- Sherlock
|
The following software options Dell provided during checkout were selected to achieve rough parity in software: 
- McAfee Security Center 15-month subscription
- Detto IntelliMover
|
Dell lacks the following software functionality that comes with the Apple
system. The retail cost of this software is not huge, but it's probably
$200-$300. Also, the software cost of the Dell increases because of
the need to purchase antivirus subscription services. 
- Personal finance
- Digital photo management
- Digital video creation and management (Microsoft's MovieMaker
app is not equivalent to iMovie!)
- DVD creation
- Music creation and editing
- Games
- Desktop web services (like Sherlock)
- Software for migrating applications, documents, and personal
settings from your old computer to the new one
- Other useful functions like those with Omnigraffle and OmniOutliner,
which come with the Mac.
|
| Total Cost |
$1,999 |
$2,011 |
  |
