weezul
KirksNoseHair
Get ready to plunk down a ton of money replacing all of your windows software. I don't really see the reason to switch now, after using PCs for 15 years, particularly in light of how rock solid Windows 7 is and how much more computer you can get for your dollar buying a Windows system, but if you want a Mac, well, ok, get it. It's your money.
They are very nice computers, extremely well made, very elegant design. I find the operating system extremely annoying though. (I actually own a couple of Macs, but I rarely use them)
So I guess if you're OK with learning an entirely new way of using a computer and don't mind an operating system that is basically wizard-driven at every step, and have the money to replace any and all software applications you currently have windows versions of, and don't mind plunking down an extra $300+ for a copy of Windows to either dual boot or run in a VM (as the Mac folks will point out) in case you want a computer that is useful for playing games and stuff, and if you don't mind spending double what you would for a comparably equipped PC, then it's a no brainer.
you should work in an Apple Store :P
You know, I really like Apple stuff. I do. But it's really really overpriced. And I have a really difficult time suggesting that a person who has been using the Windows OS for such a long time should switch now.
Part of what my company does is we install computer driven environmental control systems in places like hospitals, school systems, banks, and manufacturing facilities.
Each new Operating System from Microsoft is rigorously and extensively tested here in our labs. Windows 7 has been the most impressive thing (Other than server 2008, which is also very solid) that I've seen from Microsoft in years......
I stand by my statement that Win7 is rock solid. It's extremely stable and reliable and a huge step forward for Microsoft in terms of user interface. I don't really care whether or not they stole half of the GUI elements from Apple, my job is to test, deploy and maintain stable systems, and Win7 is stable.
Getting back to the topic at hand, and in an effort to help out the OP:
If you have your heart set on a Mac, by all means, go for it. But I would caution you to carefully consider WHY you are going down that road and keep in mind that there will be a learning curve and you will experience a significant increase in your overall cost of ownership, both in terms of acquisition cost and TCO, as repairs, upgrades, software, maintenance and just about everything related to the Apple platform comes with a fairly significantly higher cost as compared to Windows based equipment.
Let me tell you what my brother did - he's very computer savvy so it was easy for him, he also comes from an engineering background like me. He got the high-end iMac, then got himself a copy of VMWare Fusion and a bunch of copies of Windows XP and he created a Virtual XP machine for each family member to use on the iMac. The upside to this is that he has the best of both worlds, the downsides are it's extremely expensive to do and running XP in a virtual environment, even on a fairly high-end system introduces quite a bit of latency, meaning, it's exactly ideal for gaming.....
But I won't bash Apple products. They make extremely elegant stuff. I just wish is was less expensive and a little less.....(trying to think of a better way of putting it than "wizard driven" ).......I wish it did not try to hold your hand no matter what you do......