Hi. I'm a Mac....

[Darron65]

wow... a $2000 machine (macbook pro) to surf the web and type email. Sounds about right for Apple.

If that was the case, you should have gotten her one of the numerous netbooks out there for $300 or so and she'd be set. Heck, I've used my eee to do development work in a pinch.

Yep, we bought a sexy little HP Mini with the 10" screen at Christmas. Allegedly the poor thing is unable to run Vista so it came with XP and no bloatware. It is rock solid stable. I'm still planning to bump it to 2 GB of ram but it runs pretty good with 1 even with the 2 of us using fast user switching. If it was just for me I'd have bought the Eeepc too but I had to get onboard with the good looking case and big keyboard.

[bigDstars]

I use Microsoft Millenium edition. It's awesome! More kick ass than all those others!

[Darron65]

Windows ME FTW!

[HudsonHawk]

VMware is a great way to go when you need software running under another OS such as Linux.

Yes, I know. I have the vmware desktop edition. It is nice.

I was actually wanting to run a linux 64 bit OS and run the linux version of vmware workstation so I would have my windows tools when I needed them.

[OZMDD]

I agree that Macs are pricey, but I've become convinced that you get what you pay for in computers, to an extent. The biggest problem with Macs is the consumer has been sold on the idea that you need to buy a "fully loaded" model to get a good one, which is the case with most PC makers. The cheap base models suck. Entry-level Macs are already loaded. They would be like Lexus, which doesn't really offer a "stripped" base model.
PC's are cheaper and have more supported sofware. After 2 years on my $900 Macbook, I have not had a single problem, never frozen-up once, and I have not experienced a decline in performance as I often did with PC's. Whiel they certainly make faster/better versions today than 2 years ago, I don't feel like Macs "show their age" as much as PC's. My iMac is over 4 years old (PowerPC) and still works great and seems quite up-to-date.
The biggest mistake of a non-Mac person is believing that you need the Macbook Pro, or any of the pro-level Macs. If you aren't doing really serious data work, video editing, pro audio mixing/recording or other resource-hog applications, you'd never need a Pro.
Also, its hard to overstate the value of ignoring all the virus threats out there, as they don't affect Mac, by and large. I don't have to buy and run a bunch of "security" software. Love the Mac!

[HudsonHawk]

Also, its hard to overstate the value of ignoring all the virus threats out there, as they don't affect Mac, by and large. I don't have to buy and run a bunch of "security" software. Love the Mac!

Keep believing this. The only reason they don't have the virus/malware problem is market share. Its not worth the hackers time. They are no more secure then any other desktop operating system on the market.

[channelmaniac]

Keep believing this. The only reason they don't have the virus/malware problem is market share. Its not worth the hackers time. They are no more secure then any other desktop operating system on the market.

Actually there is already software out that will infect a Mac and turn it into a "zombie" under some hacker's control. Keep believing that you are safe. Go ahead.

[mk2tmr2]

Whether or not the system itself is more secure is not the point. The point is that the threat of a Mac becoming infected with a virus is miniscule compared to a Windows machine. I have not had a single virus/malware/adware issue on any of my Macs ever (13+ years) nor have I ever used any anti-virus software...ever. There is no practical need.

[HudsonHawk]

I have not had a single virus/malware/adware issue on any of my Macs ever (13+ years)

I can say the same for the Windows based computers I have as well. A little common sense will stop 99% of the threats out there.

[Magma]

I must chime in and say that when I bought my beast of a MacPro, Nex and I priced out building the same hardware in a "Hacintosh" and the price was within 3% I think. For me this will pay for itself with a few side gigs(If the side gigs start showing up again)

[Nexus Flux]

Yes, I agree it was within 3-5%, but in your case, as may be the case with other space hungry power users, the Mac case is the issue.

It has very limited expansion capabilities, in my opinion. It's a full tower case with 1 (one) 5.25" (ie CD/DVD ROM bay) and only 3 (three) 3.5" bays for hard drives. While that might be enough for some people, when I pay nearly $4000 for a workstation class machine, I want options. ( I say workstation since the thing has 2x Intel Xeon quad core CPUs and 10 GB of Ram) Graphic card and memory options are also more limited and come with a much higher price tag than a PC.

[Magma]

Actually the Pro has 2x5.25 slots and 4xHD bays. With the move to Intel the graphics options are the same as PC

[johnwag]

no linux?

[Dudley Dawson]

I can't use a Windows machine for more than 5 minutes without wanting to put my fist through the monitor.

Then again, I'm not particularly computer-savvy. I know how to use the specific applications I need, and goof off online. I don't want a computer I have to be a tech-head to use. I want my computer to work like my TV: turn it on and it does what I expect. My iMac excels at this. No bulging forehead veins, no drama, it just does what I want it to. I also love that it takes maybe 10 seconds between pushing the power button and being able to actually use the thing, unlike most PCs I've used, which take 2 minutes to boot up.

I did some comparison shopping when I bought it, and it cost the same as a PC would've with the same features. For me, it was no contest. I'd have bought the Mac even if the PCs were half the price.