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MANY PC companies install HUNDREDS of useless, inane or otherwise space-consuming programs that may be linked with your email address or offer ads to your computer BECAUSE THE COMPANY HAS A CONTRACT WITH THEM.
Or just save yourself the time, hassle, grief and frustration and buy a Mac mini for $500.
I'll never understand the Mac mentality. I know a handful of friends who've dealt with Macs and one who actually threw his against a wall! I'm not here to bash Macs, though.
Since 98, I've been building my computers. I switch out hardware for new stuff, put in more disk space, better procs, better memory, etc, and I've never had a problem. It's a great learning experience, and I don't consider any of my knowledge out of the realm of what the average computer user could know with a little savvy and a lot of Googling. Macs are generally not as forgiving, and I've seen people lose their mind with Apple's very ambiguous errors for problems.
To each their own, but I like to have control over my equipment, and a PC gives that to me. Whether it's OS2, Linux, Win 2k3 Server or even DOS, I can MAKE a PC work. Just don't send requests for Mac repair. Call Apple.