Walt Mossberg put out his twice-yearly computer buying guide this week. (Link is here, but likely to be pay-only because Wall Street Journal.) It’s a solid overview for the consumer, but for the fact that he limits his mention of the virtualization options available for the Mac to one short sentence. Here’s the relevant paragraph:
“Windows vs. Mac: This is the eternal question. In my view, Apple’s Leopard operating system is faster, better and far less prone to malicious software than Microsoft’s Vista operating system. And the Mac laptops also come with better built-in software. The $1,099 MacBook is a solid, fairly priced machine, and the $1,999 MacBook Pro is even better. Both also can run Windows.”
Obviously, Walt faces space constraints, but if I were to write the overview, I’d make clear the point that you should get a Mac unless you find a Windows PC with better hardware specs for the price (somewhat unlikely because Macs are now pretty good values), or a unique hardware profile that you can’t get on a Mac (such as that new small ThinkPad or a super-cheapie machine), AND that hardware advantage and/or difference outweighs the advantages of Mac OS X over Windows Vista (acknowledged by Mossberg in his story, but likely to be a subjective call for many longtime Windows users).
With a Mac, you can have it both ways, so in my view the default purchase position should be: “I’m going to get a Mac. Do I need to install Windows on there as well? Is there a reason I should get a Windows machine instead?” One little sentence from Mossberg doesn’t communicate that very well.