Reply #16: IF I could afford a Mac, I would have one.

[dotymed]

My daughter who graduates from college this year has had one for years and it still is much faster, has better graphics and, overall, beats the hell out of the two cheap (Dell and Gateway PC's) that I have owned over the years.
I have never used a Linux. I am a disabled Union Carpenter, with a B.S. degree that I earned in the '80's. Maybe after my youngest child (14 y.o. son) leaves the nest, I will be able to afford a Mac. Currently, as a single, non-working (small pension but health insurance) father, I can only dream.
Last Christmas, I did buy my daughter and Son new i-pods and they have been terrific. For my daughter, this was an upgrade from the i-pod she has had since H.S., but the capabilities and reliability of these i-pods has just made me want a Mac even more.
I am not a very "tech-savvy" person AT ALL, but from what I have seen, the Apple Mac is a superior product. I can not say that I agree with the politics or beliefs of its founder Steve Jobs, on many levels. It seems that once you have been isolated from the "real world", especially the real America, after becoming a member of the uber-wealthy, your goals and recollections change immeasurably. This may not be the case with the very charitable (and, it seems, controlling and profit driven) Steve Jobs because I have no "stick" with which to measure his belief system from "then" to "now."