fringe_dweller, I can guess why many have misgivings about the Mac, particularly if they worked with them/on them some 15-20 years ago.
The units themselves were expensive; the software was extraordinarily priced - as were ancillary parts; access for service was ridiculously difficult and information virtually non-existent.
Maybe today the Mac is a different beast. I had the displeasure of working on a couple of them when I owned an electronic-cum-computer shop. The owner of one of the machines requested an upgrade of memory together with supply and installation of a particular program. Both were very expensive, even though I managed to source both the memory and software at significant discount. Most suppliers wouldn't budge on their price.
After installation the thing ran like a sick dog (though it did that before the changes, I might add). I ran a similar graphics program on a demonstration model of a 'clone' Intel 286 machine in the shop. It put the Mac to shame. For a machine which was marketed at that time on its graphic capabilities I was most disappointed as I had been looking forward to seeing a magnificent display of computing capability. Alas, it was not to be.
So, ever since that day my opinion of Macs has been somewhat coloured by the experience (I might add that the owner was most pleased with the fruit of my efforts and gladly parted with his small fortune).
I stress again that I have not seen a modern Mac in action. No doubt, just like the Intel boxes, they have improved by many levels of magnitude and (perhaps) are even better than the Intel clone on which I now type this lot of drivel.
Don't get me wrong; I'm no great fan of MS's offerings and sometimes wish that the company would forget the legacy thing and start again from scratch. Then I think 'no, not a good idea' as I've too much tied up in software (e.g. my bookkeeping, word processing and spreadsheet).
*edit*
Sorry. I've gone way off topic here. I'll shut up now.
