Originally Posted by Semi On

OSX on x86 will never happen. Apple is a hardware company first and foremost. Release OSX for x86 and Apple go out of business.

And as for their hardware being overpriced, it depends on how you look at it. In pure bang-for-buck terms, a PC will always be cheaper. And with good reason.

It's all to do with marketshare. Apple have about 3% of the worldwide computer market, so to make a profit with such low volume sales they need to charge more. A PC is a collection of components cobbled together from many different manufacturers, all of whom can sell their components at very low prices due to the sheer number of units they sell.

A Mac is complete product, and while Apple do use other manufacturers parts in their machines, they also design and build many things themselves, such as:

Firewire (which Apple helped create), ethernet, sound, and USB chipsets
Memory and AGP controllers
Bus/switch/hub elements on the motherboard
Airport cards, maybe?
Power management chipsets
Enclosures
PCBs
Drivers
OS
Software

So comparing Macs and PC's isn't that simple. PCââ‚ ¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s will always get the same job done cheaper, but for some people, money isnââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t the only factor when they buy a computer.