[Liberty Valance]

I'm thinking about getting a Mac.

[HAL9000]

I'm thinking about getting a Mac.

Good idea. It's great to have a computer that works right out of the box.

[steplock]

If everyone had a mac, then MAC's would be getting destroyed - there is NOTHING better about a mac -- maybe the price is higher? A LOT higher!

[Question_Assumptions]

There are plenty of good-value Macs out there. If price is a concern, take a look at the iBook and eMac. The iBook is a very solid machine. You can sometimes find older models of the iBook for very little (e.g., both MacMall and ClubMac currently have an older 12" iBook listed on their web site for about $700). Warning: the 12" 1024x768 resolution screen might be too small for people with poor eyesight and you'll probably want to add some memory. The eMac starts at under $800.

If price is no object, by all means look at the G5 and PowerBooks. :-)

[7.62 x 51mm]

I've been on computers since '82, with my old IBM PS2/50, and have never had a virus hit any of my machines.

Norton and a few other apps do all the heavy lifting. I just make sure they're properly installed.

Macs have their own set of problems. I worked on them at an evening course learning Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark. They were always crashing and we spent way too much time re-loading software. Never again.

[HAL9000]

By the way, the new G5 iMacs will be announced in 11 days. The case will have a major redesign - with the main circuit board mounted behind the flat-panel screen. It should have a lot of power without taking a lot of desk space.

[Tribune7]

I have no religious view concerning computers but I stick with Macs for that reason among many.

And, yes I can't stand Steve Jobs.

[Tribune7]

A five-year-old Imac will work fine for surfing the net, word processing & fit in easily with any home network.

[Musket]

Sorry HAL, my post #71 was for Liberty. My bad.