I have been in the computer field as my career for 22 years. I have worked with networks, servers, backup systems, going through all the upgrades and security fixes and crashes... you name it. If I could have the time back that I have waited for pc's to reboot over and over again while I think of one more thing that may fix them and then have to reboot it again, I think I would be able to add at least a decade onto my life!I have always heard how Macs don't crash and are so much more dependable, but I never really had one to use or experience until this last year when my daughter was going to start her first year of college. One of the big reasons so many people don't buy Macs is because of their price. That has improved a bit in the last couple of years, but they still are expensive. I checked them out as I heard the price had come down. We ended up buying the lowest priced model you can buy, the base Macbook. We were able to get a student discount, so the price with Apple's extra warranty for 3 years came to a total of about $1,300.It came in the mail to our house in about 2 days. Even the box it came in was unique. Everything about it's appearance looked like nothing I had ever had. We turned it on and it just seemed to know what to do. It found my wireless network in the house immediately and started asking us to fill in things like our names, etc... I was so amazed that I actually don't even remember all the things it did when we turned it on... I was that excited!It was a couple of weeks until she was going to start college, so anytime she wasn't using it, I used it. This base model was performing better than any computer I had ever owned or used. I have been involved in the security of networks and computers for so long that I first thought, OK, where's the anti-virus and security software on this thing? I had heard that Macs do not to be concerned about anti-virus software or virus attacks, but I didn't believe it. I was sure that I needed to find out more. I researched the Internet and then asked several others who were experienced with Macs and what it comes down to is that viruses are not written to attack Macs. The operating system is written is such a way that it is really not an issue. I didn't need to buy any anti-virus software!!! It is sold, but you do not need it. Many Macs users have told me this and my daughter has had no issues at all.I can not imagine how powerful some of the very expensive Macs must be as this little macbook with the 13 inch screen was perfect in every way as far as I was concerned. I am going to be buying one for myself very soon to help me with some of my new career ventures that involve making DVD production movies and record my own music at home. I have researched and asked Apple tech sources and this macbook will do the job very well. I still really can't justify spending $2,000 for a computer right now. Perhaps, if things work out and my income improves, I will upgrade to a larger Mac.What I did find out was you can get some really good discounts on Macs at Apple's refurbished site. ( Apple's Refurbished Macs ) You can find 13% to even 50% discounts on Macs and accessories. These are really just machines that may have been returned by customers and then entirely repaired and rebuilt and tested and all software reinstalled and tested again. They have all normal warranties also.[Image] Sweet Machine !!!Refurbished MacBook 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - WhiteWatch for my continued posts for tips and help for new Mac users.