• Firefox, Adium, BitTorrent, iTunes, yada yada
• Apache, PHP, Python, Ruby, MySQL and PostgreSql
• Microsoft Office or OpenOffice
• Boot Camp (or VMWare Fusion with another 2GB of RAM) running Windows Server 2003, Visual Studio 2005, and SQL Server 2005

The resulting Mac Book Pro has:

• Mac OS X Leopard
• 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM
• 120GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
• SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• 15-inch Widescreen Display - not the glossy one
• Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
• Accessory Kit
• AppleCare

The damage would be $2,598.00 CAD.

The price seemed a bit too high for my tastes, so I ventured over to Apple.com to configure an identical laptop. $2,348.00 USD would get me a laptop that is exactly like the previous one that I configured on Apple.ca.

Since the Canadian dollar is a juggernaut and the US dollar is in free fall at the moment, purchasing the laptop on Apple's US online store should be a no-brainer, one would think.

$1 CAD = $1.03 USD. Therefore paying $2,348 USD dollars in Canadian dollars would only set me back $2,271.43 CAD. It would be almost $330 CAD cheaper for me to buy the laptop from Apple's US online store in Canadian dollars! Would I? Of course! Can I? Not a chance, since Apple won't allow users to shop at another country's store.

Apple isn't the only one to blame. Hey book publishers, consumer electronics manufacturers, car companies, greeting card companies! www.xe.com - USE IT and adjust accordingly!

According to Apple, Safari is "the world's best browser". Really? It's pretty. It looks good with the rest of Mac OS X. However, compared to Firefox and Opera, Safari isn't in the same league. Try using all of Gmail's features in Safari and you'll see what I mean. It could be a good browser, but it needs much more work to get to that point.

So why are Windows users getting another browser to choose from? It appears that the iPhone might be driving this reasoning. Developers can create applications using nothing more than HTML and JavaScript, which will run on Safari on the iPhone. For Windows developers, they won't need to purchase Mac hardware to create iPhone apps. That makes sense, albeit the apps that can be created via HTML+JavaScript won't be as robust as those created with a native iPhone API.

Is there another reason Safari has been ported to Windows? I sure hope it's not to sway Windows users to the world of Mac, by raising awareness of Apple to PC users. If that's the case, they'd be going about it all wrong. For the past several years I've been saying that if you need a computer and aren't a tech savy person, buy a Mac. Having a Windows version of Safari available won't do much to raise awareness, even if they bundle it with iTunes+Quicktime, because:

• Average PC users generally don't actively look for new and better browsers to download and install. To them, the big blue "e" on their desktop that's been there since they first booted up their computer after buying it is the Internet.
• The upfront cost of Mac hardware scares most people away. A comparable system from Dell or HP that sells for $300 less will make the average computer user's purchasing decision easy, as they rarely are able to determine the total cost of ownership and are unable to realize that it's potentially less expensive to own a Mac in the long-run.
• Average PC users are afraid to switch because they're not certain if they can still run application X or if their files can be opened on a Mac.

For Apple to succeed in swaying PC users to the Mac side, they'll have to put people's concerns to rest regarding the higher initial cost of Mac hardware against the TCO of PC vs Mac hardware. Apple will also have to reassure users, through a closer relationship with VMware (Fusion) and SWsoft (Parallels Desktop) to alleviate PC users compatibility fears with their existing apps and files. And a sexy, but second-rate, web browser isn't the way to go about it.

The Commonwealth Bank has determined that it's very costly to purchase a Nano in Brazil, but it's much more affordable (comparatively) here in Canada than anywhere else in the world. Here's the breakdown from weakest purchasing power to strongest:

1. Brazil $327.71
2. India $222.27
3. Sweden $213.03
4. Denmark $208.25
5. Belgium $205.81
6. France $205.80
7. Finland $205.80
8. Ireland $205.79
9. UK $195.04
10. Austria $192.86
11. Netherlands $192.86
12. Spain $192.86
13. Italy $192.86
14. Germany $192.46
15. China $179.84
16. South Korea $176.17
17. Switzerland $175.59
18. New Zealand $172.53
19. Australia $172.36
20. Taiwan $164.88
21. Singapore $161.25
22. Mexico $154.46
23. U.S. $149.00
24. Japan $147.63
25. Hong Kong $147.35
26. Canada $144.20

So while this might show how one country's currency is undervalued against another country's currency, it probably doesn't take into account any special pricing that Apple may set for each different country. So what should we get out of this? Along with a high quality of life, standard of living and quality beer, does Canada also enjoy the strongest purchasing power in the world? Or does Apple just really love the Great White North? Either way, I hope the same holds true for Samsung and Panasonic's line of LCD and plasma HDTVs?

Apparently The Economist did a similar comparison of buying power using McDonald's Big Macs 20 years ago.

First, Apple announced their long-awaited cell phone at CES today.

Then, the iPhone's page on the Apple site went live.

Finally, this happened:

It's funny what a sexy PowerPoint presentation can do, isn't it? Later on, Engadget uncovered what the iPhone is really capable of. It turns out that it's not a smart phone, per se. The only way new software can be installed on the iPhone is if Apple puts it there, and there's no connectivity to enterprise messaging like Exchange or Notes. It's a shame that 3rd party developers can't create any apps that could be installed on the iPhone. The iPhone apparently runs Mac OS X (in some form or fashion) and there are plenty of Mac OS X programmers around now. It seems like a very tap-able resource. Also, let's not forge the potential slough of new Mac OS X developers that could arise. So why did RIM's and Palm's stocks take such a hit yesterday? Enterprise customers (you know, the ones with budgets) will have no use for Apple's pricey phone. The iPhone is another geek chic item that will likely find a home on the hips of trendy urbanites with $500 to burn. It sure does demo nicely, though.

Let's not forget, however, that Linksys owns the real iPhone

I know that Apple's profits have been steadily increasing over the past couple of years, but I doubt it was because of those ads. Let's face it, Justin Long's Mac character was just the type of annoying Mac zealot that you'd love to punch in the throat. Some people thought that character in the Get A Mac ads allowed Apple to show that it could take the piss out of itself by poking fun at its own stereotypical user base, but I think it backfired. Apparently it is indeed possible to be too smarmy and ironic...like y'know whatever. Everybody knows that Apple's computers have typically been aimed at consumers who need to use a computer, but aren't very tech savvy. Personally, I think the fact that they finally have the endorsement of many developers and industry leaders, offer a solid operating system and have sold a whole lotta of iPods, are the real reasons for their recent success.

Mac: I'm a Mac.
PC: And I am a PC.
Mac: Straight outta Cupertino, ya'll! Hardcore to the Apple-core, biotches!

[PC has a confused and bewildered look on his face]

Mac: I buy my clothes at a wicked store in the mall. See these jeans and this shirt? It looks like it came from a thrift store but they actually cost like $150! Check me out, honeys!
PC: I purchased this suit at a Moores.
Mac: I run Mac OS X.
PC: I run Windows.
Mac: I can also run Windows, but for best results you should use Mac OS X. It's tight!
PC: I have Microsoft Office.
Mac: I have Microsoft Office too, and it's all sexy lookin'.
PC: I can integrate Microsoft Office with enterprise apps like SharePoint, BizTalk, Exchange, ERP, CRM and much more.
Mac: Dude, I said I have Microsoft Office. Duh. Who cares about enterprise shmenterprise? There's like a trillion kagillion wozillion viruses and spyware out there for you. None for me. Nada. Zip. Zilcho.

[Mac high-fives a barefoot and bearded digital artist named Mordecai]

PC: This is true, but I am working on it.
Mac: Aw, man, you always say that. You're all like "I'm working on it" and I'm all like "yeah whatever, now go get your DirectX on so I can play Prey".
PC: So I'm not as lame as you say I am, or so it would seem.
Mac: Puh-lease, get over yourself, PC. You show up in ugly brown boxes...boxES. That's plural, dude. And they're all cardboard-y and stuff. I arrive in like one box, and it's smooth and white. You look like you're from a dirty factory and I look like I'm from another galaxy...or Finland, or something like that.

[A penguin enters and interrupts the conversation]

Penguin: I'm Linux.

[The penguin exits]

Mac: Who's that guy?
PC: I do not know who that strange-looking fellow was.
Mac: Anyway. I can make movies and music and all sorts of cool stuff that people could post on MySpace.
PC: I also can do that.
Mac: Yeah, but not as cool as me. And your apps don't begin with a lowercase 'i'. The 'i' means "me" which is "you". Deep stuff.
PC: Touché. Well played, my good man. However, I make it easy for developers to create software for me. I provide thorough documentation with plenty of examples in multiple languages, and there are many aficionados out there providing help and communities, too.
Mac: Oh yeah?
PC: That's correct.
Mac: Oh yeah?!?!?
PC: Indeed.
Mac: Yeah...umm...well. I have half-assed documentation for my COM library for QuickTime, none of which resembles structured documentation; it's more like an extremely brief FAQ at best or a conversation between two programming pals at worst. See what I mean? And I claim that said COM control can reuse serialized export settings in XML format, yet I explode and have yet to provide a fix or explanation, as evidenced here, here and here.
PC: I see. It is surely a pity that you do not provide stellar support for 3rd-party developers like I do.
Mac: But dude, I have a Dock that when you mouseover icons, it's all "boop-boop-boop". Rock! Cool! Bling! 'Sup! No fat chicks! Ummm...give peace a chance? Yeah, that works! Wooohooo! Peace out, homeslices!

Apple makes some nice, albeit pricey, hardware. And Mac OS X is a great operating system. But their documentation for developers needs a lot of work.