Quote from: walkerpActually, does anyone know a good freeware word processor for the Mac that is quick and light but has a few more formatting options than some of the good text editors?

I think they once made a version of Abiword for OS X, though I don't know if it's still maintained. I thought it was okay, not great. I always just ended up using TextEdit or DevonThink (the best piece of writing / organizational software I ever paid for).

Quote from: Elliot WilenI'm not sure you really need MS Office unless you'll be collaborating extensively with others who use it. Personally I do use Office, but another option is Apple's own suite, iWork, which includes word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation, and can read/write Office formats. You might also consider Open Office or NeoOffice, both free. I have experience with Open Office under Windows and it works very well there as an Office substitute; Mac development is probably a bit behind but may still be adequate for your needs.

MS Office is a moot point anyway, as the Mac OS version has been roundly praised even in PC circles as better than the Win version for some time.  Even that crotchety dickhead John Dvorak managed to find time to admit it's superiority.

I think ultimately, the only reason to go with XP is gaming, or specialized application software.  For general usage, Ubuntu or Mac are much more foolproof and secure avenues to go with.  

Main thing about a Mac is, you will pay out the fucking nose for one.  It'll be worth it, but it won't be cheap by any means.  Even in the post Jobs reunion, post iMac rev. A, Apple world, the machines are still pretty rock solid, even if they are just glorified PCs in fancy clothes these days.  And Apple has the best interface design team in the computing world.  Only guys who come close are the GNOME team, and they crib liberally from Apple.

To clear up a couple points:

Again, MS Office is really only needed for extensive collaboration where you'll be exchanging files back and forth and need them to look exactly the same, or if you're using some whizbang office feature that 99% of users aren't even aware exists. I haven't used their grammar checker in years--it used to be worse than useless, but maybe it's gotten better.

If you just need to read a word processing file that somebody sent you, Open Office is quite adequate in Windows. On the Mac it's true that they used to make you use the X11 environment and Linux interface, but there's a development version available that uses the native Mac interface--as does NeoOffice, apparently. The Powerpoint analog in Open Office hasn't been as good at translating documents in my experience. iWork's Pages will also open Word documents, Keynote opens Powerpoint docs, and Numbers opens Excel--again, how well, I can't say, but I see there's a free trial.

The price John quotes for the current version of Office is indeed very reasonable but iWork is cheaper, and the other alternatives are free, so if you have the time and patience to investigate them, you might give them a go.

For a cheap Photoshop alternative, you might have a look at GraphicConverter. It was bundled with Macs for a while, not sure if it still is. Not quite a paint program, but still pretty powerful for 35 bucks.

Quote from: J ArcaneMain thing about a Mac is, you will pay out the fucking nose for one.  It'll be worth it, but it won't be cheap by any means.

You can easily get the low-end Mac Mini, third-part flat panel and keyboard, and even MS Office for the Mac for under the $1000 budget that Malleus Arianorum mentioned.  

One benefit of the iMac is that it comes with iLife ’08 (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand).  Check with the Apple store whether iPhoto comes with the Mini.  It may not.  If it doesn't, you can get iLife for about $70.

Thanks for the help everyone. :bow:

We didn't make it to the Mac store yet, but we'll probably go today. Coincidentaly it's widely rumored to be the day that minor upgrades will be officialy announced for iMac and MacMini hardware -- the two systems I've got my eye on. It's particularly interesting for the Mini since they're rumored to be upgrading to a non-integrated graphics card. Sure I'm already plenty busy with the kids, but I can still daydream about playing StarCraft ][.

My old system is thrashed so we'll get a new keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer etc... That makes the iMac a better deal pricewise unless we upgrade to non-Mac accessories.

Software: iPhoto is included and probably sufficient. She doesn't get any word docs but I might get her iWorks ($79) or something for layouts. The only other programs I forsee getting are Sims2 and StarCraft2, both of which would benefit from the Gfx card in the iMac.

Upgrading to 2Gb Ram might be a possibility, but since it's upgradable I'll put extra money into the processor for now. (Although realisticaly this is already gonna be a few hundred over $1000.)

On the PC side of things, I'm starting to remember why I hated Vista. The DRM, screens of death, "annoyance as a feature" and so forth. I haven't been able to find or custom design a compelling XP system seems like downgrading to XP is more expensive?

Quote from: Malleus ArianorumMy old system is thrashed so we'll get a new keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer etc... That makes the iMac a better deal pricewise unless we upgrade to non-Mac accessories.

One other benefit of the iMac is that you get the built-in camera on the monitor for video chats, if that's of any interest to you.

Quote from: Malleus ArianorumUpgrading to 2Gb Ram might be a possibility, but since it's upgradable I'll put extra money into the processor for now. (Although realisticaly this is already gonna be a few hundred over $1000.)

Memory is almost always cheaper online through a dedicated memory shop.  One other thing to consider is AppleCare.  It's not cheap and Macs are pretty solid, but if something does go wrong, it can be good to have.

Well I have to say that I am quite surprised by these poll results.  (also just posting so that when this thread gets bumped again because someone added to the poll at least there will be something new to read).

John Morrow, you too are breaking the demographic. Aren't whiny trust-fun neo-hippies like myself supposed to be the only mac users?

Quote from: walkerpJohn Morrow, you too are breaking the demographic. Aren't whiny trust-fun neo-hippies like myself supposed to be the only mac users?

Rush Limbaugh uses Macs and you'll see them on the table in front of the talking heads on Fox News, too.

QuoteIt's particularly interesting for the Mini since they're rumored to be upgrading to a non-integrated graphics card.

If this is true, it would make me very happy in my pants.

Quote from: John MorrowRush Limbaugh uses Macs and you'll see them on the table in front of the talking heads on Fox News, too.

Now I know you're making this up, because Rush Limbaugh is on the radio.

Mind-blowing.

Quote from: walkerpNow I know you're making this up, because Rush Limbaugh is on the radio.

He's talked and written about the computer he uses.  As for the Fox News, people, that I saw.  In fact, they switched from silver MacBook Pros to black MacBooks over time.

Well that settles it: No referbs!