[RobA_Oz]

Sorry for hijacking this thread. Was perhaps venting. Logic just ate many hours of work on a surround sound soundtrack. No computer is perfect.

Now, isn't that the truth!

I've been using Mac OS X (and its predecessors) for many years, in parallel with various versions of Windows and MS-DOS (not to mention the now close to moribund Acorn RISC OS, which didn't make it out the Commonwealth countries), and I think I know a fair bit about those systems, after using and fixing them for over 20 years.

To be fair to both Apple and Microsoft, they've both had dogs of operating system versions in their time, but I've never had a great problem with either Mac OS X (of any version) or Windows XP, as far as stability goes. The major problems with both systems have been rogue software applications that haven't conformed with the OS specification.

The newest Windows, Vista, is another matter altogether.

One of my close work colleagues, who recently bought a Sony laptop (it's actually more like a palmtop, it's so small!) with Vista on it, continually curses the day he bought it, and recently vented so vehemently about its problems that he suggested the office buys Macs next time we upgrade! I don't think (like rparmar) he was really serious, but was letting off steam about how it let him down so badly.

When you consider a computer, you really have to think through what you need to do with it, and don't be fooled into thinking there are any real bargains to be had by buying cheaply. "Cheap", in my lexicon, means inexpensive but under-performing. As a general rule, you'll only get a real bargain at someone else's expense, usually by ignorance or adverse circumstance on the part of the seller, who sells below market value.

On that basis, the current range of Macs are as good value as their equivalents in the Windows arena. You can buy cheaper Windows machines, but they won't do the same job. If that's all you need, then anything more expensive is just for the heck of it, or because you think you might need it in the future.

If there's any good advice a new purchaser might be given, it would be to go and try the various offerings and see what they'll do, with what you want them to do. Aside from that, I'd stay right away from Vista because, although I know some users who are happy with it, I know many more who aren't.