[Lexinom]

I hate Apple because I grew up and learned to program (my source of income today) on the Apple IIe and Apple IIGS. Apple neglected these product lines in favor of the Mac. I cannot ever forgive them for that. My switch to PC was a reluctant one. My only real "home" today is Linux, which is not tied to any hardware platform (hence it now powers the Macs).

Your point is well-taken, however.

[Swordmaker]

I hate Apple because I grew up and learned to program (my source of income today) on the Apple IIe and Apple IIGS. Apple neglected these product lines in favor of the Mac. I cannot ever forgive them for that. My switch to PC was a reluctant one. My only real "home" today is Linux, which is not tied to any hardware platform (hence it now powers the Macs).

Your piqué at Apple is misplaced. Apple continued to support and even sell the 6502 family of computers all the way until 1994. . . a product life of 17 years before finally discontinuing the line. The makers of the 6502 processor only supported 16 bit and never truly did the true pathway upgrades that would allow movement into a 32 bit addressing. Apple went far beyond any other company in supporting an old archaic system and provided means of shifting both software and users to their new platform.

As to your claim that Linux powers Macs, you are wrong. It does not. Macs are fully certified Unix. . . not that ersatz clean room copy of it called Linux. Macs can run Linux in virtual machines. I do.

For those who are recommending ASUS laptops, most of them are manufactured in the same Foxconn plants that make the Apple MacBooks. ASUS manufactures many of Apple's logic boards under contract. They are among the best.