Law of Comparative Advantage

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Originally uploaded by ryanmshea.

As the desktop computing world moves more toward high-quality virtualization, arguments about OS X versus Linux versus Windows seem to do little more than waste breath. Those in the know can set up systems with all three running at the same time. Each system can do what it does best. The actual operating system is little more than an application you can kick off when you need to perform some task or test some software. Check out my fatty Ubuntu box with VMWare.
Of course, if you'd like to run OS X you'll probably want Apple hardware. I feel that most of the "I can't afford a Mac" arguments are disingenuous. Sure, you can point out specific examples where there are significant price differences (hello macbook pro), but after considering the full price of that Windows white-box (Virus signature subscriptions, software licenses for things that just aren't included in Windows) I'd say just about everyone can afford a Mac. Why don't people just say "I don't like Apple because people that buy them are pretentious" or whatever the real reason is.