IP Convergence: Beyond VoIP, Beyond Cost Savings

Right or wrong I look for the path of least resistance when it comes to supporting my obligatory home machine one that also takes into consideration the balance needed to achieve economic affordability. A comparative analysis predicated on the fact that as a consumer I too am concerned about near term impact on the bottom line - my pocket book; leads me to believe that while MS devices are satisfactory in functionality and design for my home needs there is always that desire to say "what if" and converted completely to MAC. In the end at a cost sometimes more than 2.5 times what I could purchase a basic machine from Dell for I find myself falling back to the cheaper model. That doesn't mean i don't see value in MACs or in LINUX offers rather they don't meet my personal choice for my home requirements coupled with the balance and needs of limited economics being worked into the equation. While I agree with my peers that MACs are superior in design and useability simple as they are designed to address some of the cognitively ambiguities that exist with other modalities such as MS devices there does still exist a hurdle of cost along can be difficult to justify and overcome. Perhaps if Apple threw in an iPod, iPhone and iTV along with the purchase of the MAC I might be swayed to purchase and be a convert. BTW, I often times find myself consulting to family and friends telling them MACs but invariably I am faced with the challenge of answering "are they worth the extra price?" This posture doesn't make me a MS-o-phile rather I guess a stingy guy similar to VoIp LoSeR.