As Keinstein says, stay away from Vista if you possibly can. In a couple of years, it'll probably work great, but for now it's a liability.

I've not had huge experience with Macs, but when I've had to use them, I've found it tricky to make them do anything that I wanted them to (down to simple actions like creating a new file, editing it and saving it). The user interface is fundamentally different - not bad, but *different*. I don't believe the Mac interface is particularly "geared to how people work", it's simply that Mac users have learnt how it works, so what's obvious to them will be completely unobvious to someone used to a different interface. For an analogy, a regular stick-shift and an old Citroen-style "umbrella-handle" shift are both perfectly useable, but if you're used to a regular stick-shift then it's going to take you some time to get the hang of the other one.

So if you're used to a PC and you change to using a Mac, you'll need to set aside a chunk of time to learn how to use it. If you're used to a Mac and you change to using a PC, you'll need to set aside a chunk of time to learn how to use it. If you use either and change to using Linux, guess what... :-)

Andrez, that's historical fiction. Your quotes are 8 years old, which make them irrelevant in relation to modern computing. They're also fictional in the claims made.

Macs are always more expensive and deliver less cost/performance than a corresponding PC from a reasonably-priced vendor. This is unavoidable by Macs being more limited in their ability to use new hardware as it appears or as it drops in price. Sure, a Mac might give better cost-performance than some brands like Alienware, but that's like comparing your regular desklamp to a jewelled Tiffany desklamp - if you're going for a brand-name like that then you're not buying it for its cost-performance ratio. For the same price as a Mac, you get more PC, and that's all there is to it. The best PC vendors incidentally are usually local mom-and-pop stores - not only can you get exactly what you want, but you can take it back when it doesn't work.

Which is best for you will depend on the apps you want to use. If you only want to do email and word-processing, either will work fine, and the apps will be virtually identical. If you want to do graphics and video, Macs tend to have an advantage app-wise. If you want to do scientific or engineering work, PCs tend to have the advantage.

I believe Macs are easier to trouble-shoot admin-wise. PCs aren't exactly rocket science, but they can be tricky.

Peripherals-wise, it depends what you want to use. If it's USB or Firewire and it's a recent product then both will usually work. If it's an internal plug-in card, Macs usually won't do it and PCs usually will.

Graham.