I see that we have no fewer than 20 Apple Stores in the UK, including the brand-new offering in the Westfield Mall, only a mile or two from my home in West London. But it was the venerable Regent's Street store I was entering on Sat
urday when I heard an Apple geek talking to a puzzled middle-aged woman about the joys of switching from her PC. I hope he was successful in his persuasion because I cannot now imagine not having my Macs and my iPhone.
The whole experience from Apple is so smooth and trouble-free. It does come at a premium, though, and Microsoft's new US ads highlight the fact that you can get a 17-in laptop from XYZ for under $1,000 but all you can get from Apple is a 13-in MacBook. So be it. But the difference is not that huge when you bear in mind that Macs have a strong resale value and move quickly on eBay. Not long ago I sold a MacBook after two years' ownership for a staggering 60% of what I paid for it. Try doing that with a PC, however big the screen and however many gadgets are tacked on. The overall cost of ownership is therefore far less than the retail price differences would suggest.