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So educate her. Life is filled with all kinds of threats.

Why? She wanted a computer... not an education in computer management. She wanted an APPLIANCE that would get her email, the pictures of the kids... etc. She did not, and does not, need to know about viruses, worms, spyware, etc. She wants to USE her computer... not work on it just to make it work. It shoud work safely right out of the box without having to download all that third party stuff to make it safe to use... just like a Mac works safely right out of the box.

Two years ago we gave my wife's girlfriend an original iBook we no longer used. She just wanted to be able to browse the web and do email and get digital photos of her grandkids. She bought a cheap digital camera and all was well. Her only problems were AOL related as I just couldn't convince her to stay away from it. She wised up and got a DSL account and was doing fine.

Then, her camera broke. She insisted on buying one of those camera/printer packages and unfortunately the one she chose didn't have Mac drivers for OS 9.

She went out and bought herself one of the cheapest Dell desktop packages you can get, and after three months, her computer is all but useless with spyware, virii and who knows what else. I can't help her anymore as I have no PC background.

All SHE wanted was an appliance!

Why? She wanted a computer... not an education in computer management.,

For someone like this, I agree. I recently recommended a Mac to my eighty five year old uncle.

For the vast majority of people, though, including neophytes with no interest in computers, I'd recommend a PC. Simply install continuously running anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, turn on the Windows pop-up blocker, and use a hardware firewall. Total cost, maybe $150., still cheaper than a Mac and you have a faster, more versatile and more compatible machine.

Why? ... She wants to USE her computer... not work on it just to make it work.

It's funny. People don't think twice about taking their car to a mechanic when it needs a new feature or maintenance. Why? Because they can't do it themselves -- or they prefer not to. But, strangely, the same notion applied to a computer is anathema to many of you Mac bigots. There are minimal things that need to be done to a computer prior to plugging it into a router. Like a car, you want to make sure that it has the necessary ingredients -- gas, oil, tires -- before you take it onto the road. If you (or anybody else) is ignorant of what's required, that's fine ... but ignorance won't be much consolation when you try to run your car without oil and find out that the engine melted down...