$1500??? You can get the better Mac Book pro for that price.

 

"better" is a very subjective term.

 

I'll weigh in here - I'm typing on my self-built PC, which is sitting on the same desk as my wife's iMac.

To boil it down - I really like both of 'em. It's not common to hear, but i do.

We have had the iMac for over a year now - bought from a co worker whose mother won it in a church raffle. New in the box for $1400, it was retailing for $1800. 24" screen, 2.8 GHz Core2 Duo. The timing and the deal was what made us take the leap. We'd been looking at getting a Mac laptop, but they were just sooo much $$$. I've used the Mac more extensively than my wife, even, because it's by far the fasted processor in the house, so I use it to video recompression. But I've used it for everything else... photo editing, web browsing, and I even made extensive use of iMovie to make a video slideshow with music and special effects. And I really like it.

While I find it partially true that Mac OS is intuitive, I find that in the end I spend just as much time figuring out how to do what I want to do. Yeah, basic commands are elegant and easy, but I find that just about any computer user is equally capable of figuring things out. Most of the time it's even quicker to do a Google search than it is to use Mac's 'built in' help.

My PC is a self-built machine... and 7 years old at the core. Which is impressive for a PC. I've only reformatted ONCE in the 7 years I've had it. It's still running WinXP Pro. Sure, I've replaced parts on it, upgraded various components, added other components, etc. But even through all that, I've still not spent more than $1000 on it. And it's still my main machine, though I expect to retire it within a year.

So trying to tailor my answer as it applies to Bill: I'd be fine with recommending a Mac - I like it, everyone else likes it. To me, the biggest issue with them is price... and I don't think you're the type to be concerned about spending a couple hundred bucks more for a slick machine and elegant user experience.

My PC has been an unequalled bargain, but I have spent my own time and effort maintaining it (since I built the thing, it's obvious that I don't mind doing it) but it cannot be discounted.

Just know that if you buy an iMac - expect to buy a whole new computer in 3 or 4 years. Unlike a desktop PC, you're not going to be able to carry over some components, swap some drives, upgrade the video card, etc. And on the off chance it breaks, don't expect it to be easy to fix.

But despite being a PC user (and I will continue to be for some time) I have no qualms recommending the Mac to someone who isn't on a tight budget.

 

cheapest way to get into a MAC if you have the other components already .

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

 

does everything plug and play on a mac like a pc

ie cell phones, printers, screens etc etc??

 

YES , no drivers required No install discs

Printer , just plug it in and print

Camera , just plug it in and turn it on and Iphoto will open automatically

Phones can be reconized and different types of devices , storage , music , photo ..

MAC's have always done this as long as I owned one .


Just plug everything in , turn it on and use it

 

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

 

Not in this case. I mean the better of the two Mac Book Pros. The entry version costs $199. The better one costs $1499.

 

Steve, I thought Apple created plug and play. PC/Microsoft had to develop it to keep up.

 

Bill, your not a power user and you have no specific requirements other than your machine works. With that said as much as I prefer a pc over a mac i would recommend you buy the Mac.