Windows é 5 vezes mais caro que Mac OS X

Interessantíssimo artigo publicado no RoughlyDrafted aborda toda a história do Mac OS X em paralelo aos acontecimentos no lado da Microsoft e nas atualizações do Windows. Daniel Eran, autor da matéria, chega à conclusão de que o Windows é 5 vezes mais caro que o Mac OS X:

A Mac user since 2000, upgrading to each new version of Mac OS X:

• US$ 300 in operating system updates, or nearly US$ 400 if purchased at full retail.
• Three major new releases that significantly improved performance of the same hardware and introduced new apps.
• Thirty one regular minor updates with bug fixes and new features, in addition to many security updates.
• No antivirus needed
• No spyware cleaning needed

Total cost of maintaining Mac OS X software: about US$ 50 a year, or around US$ 350 since 2000.

.:.

A Professional Windows user since 2000, upgrading at the one opportunity available:

• US$ 200 upgrade to XP Professional, or US$ 300 for a new retail version.
• One major new release that improved reliability but not the performance of old hardware.
• Two minor service pack updates focused on bugs and security features, and around fifty security patches since SP2.
• Seven years of AntiVirus 2000 US$ 50, plus US$ 30 for six annual updates = US$ 230
• Spyware and security cleaning by Geek Squad: a US$ 200 annual servicing over seven years = US$ 1400

Total cost of maintaining Windows software: over US$ 250 a year, or more than US$ 1800 since 2000.

Se você quer se situar na linha do tempo dos acontecimentos entre Mac OS X e Windows XP ou não acompanhou a evolução destes sistemas operacionais, vale bastante a pena dar uma lida no artigo. Gostaria de ver ele atualizado quando Leopard e Vista forem finalmente lançados.