The service pack ruined my laptop. Every other day I have to go through the blue screen of death ritual. I just bought an Apple ibook which is very entry level. I pay attention to these threads even with the flame wars so I can learn. Sure is entertaining though
;-)
The only reason I don't own a Mac is because it requires proprietary hardware. I can run Windows or Linux on pretty much any hardware I want.
Mine used to get slow also at times so I made a custom restore disc and just wipe the drive every once in a while as part of my up keep. I've too much into my laptops and desktop system to just drop dimes and switch to a MAC right now.