Daring Fireball: Microsoft's Long, Slow Decline
There’s no question that retailers sell tens of millions of cheap Windows laptops every year. But no one with a pair of eyes thinks such machines are of comparable quality to Apple MacBooks. Even without turning the machines on, anyone can see the difference in design and build quality. In fact, you don’t even need eyes — just pick them up and see which one squeaks. Apple is selling more MacBooks every quarter. Microsoft thinks it is sitting pretty because Best Buy has a 17-inch Dell for $650.
What Gruber highlights here ( http://daringfireball.net/2009/07/microsofts_long_slow_decline ), which is of course something that Microsoft knows but won't say publicly, is that the majority of the people buying PCs right now are the people who can't afford to buy Macs.
I also get a chuckle out of hearing the "but the screen is bigger" thing from the bargain hunter PC ads. I just moved from a 15" MacBook Pro to the 13-ish-inch MacBook Air. Love it. A 17" screen on a 15lb laptop is a curse, not a blessing.
