Ed Bott

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than three decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. He has served as editor of the U.S. edition of PC Computing and managing editor of PC World; both publications had monthly paid circulation in excess of 1 million during his tenure. He is the author of more than 25 books, including Windows 10 Inside Out (now in its 4th edition) and Windows 11 Inside Out (2023).

Latest Posts

Adding up the Apple tax

Adding up the Apple tax

Through the graces of an anonymous benefactor, I have a recent-vintage white MacBook to use for the next few months. As a newbie Mac user, I paid special attention to Apple’s announcements of new MacBooks last week. And Microsoft paid special attention, too, as I received multiple e-mails from folks in Redmond, who wanted to make sure I know what a great value the PC platform is compared to Apple’s products. Microsoft is peddling a line about an “Apple tax,” but most of those analyses are based on the hardware cost. I’ve been paying close enough attention to know that the differences in price extend over multiple dimensions, far beyond just the initial outlay. So how much is the Apple tax, all told? In my case, it's around $500. Watch me do the math.

October 21, 2008 by in Enterprise Software

Look who’s buying Vista Home Basic (hint: it’s not home users)

Look who’s buying Vista Home Basic (hint: it’s not home users)

Who’s buying new PCs with Windows Vista Home Basic? Judging by the name, you’d assume those OS editions would be loaded on underpowered machines for starving students and penny-pinching families. But you’d be wrong. Based on my observations of the PC market over the past year or two, I think consumers have rejected Home Basic in favor of Home Premium. But small, budget-conscious businesses have embraced the low-end OS. In one large sample I looked at, nearly three out of every five machines destined for small business included Windows Vista Home Basic. Small-business buyers are apparently able to look past that name, and PC makers are happy to accommodate them. I've got the details on this apparent trend.

October 9, 2008 by in Hardware