I'm surprised there is no Apple Store in Vancouver, or one soon to open. We've two in Toronto and they're always packed!

(The OP is up here in Canada, so US mail order outlets are not going to help him. They may not charge the state sales tax, but he'll have to pay both federal and provincial sales taxes when the item clears customs. Ordering from the online Canadian Apple Store solves this problem, though does not eliminate the sales taxes. However the net pricing may be favourable given the Canadian list prices are slightly lower than the current dollar conversion rate. Also, if ordering from the Canadian Apple Store online, use the AIR MILES portal to enter the Apple.ca site. If you order before January 6th, there's a 50 AMs bonus, plus the standard 5 AMs bonus for using their portal, plus 1 AM per $20 spent at the Apple Store. Both FUTURE SHOP and BEST BUY now carry Macs, as does STAPLES. You've surely got some of these in Vancouver...but just make sure FUTURE SHOP or BEST BUY don't try to sell you a Core Duo instead of a Core2 Duo.)

But I do agree with the others, if the person who you plan to give it to is expecting a Mac, you'll be disappointing them more than you can realize. They may never say it to your face, but they will hold it against you for the rest of your life...and you don't want to be known as "that uncle"...

Although I agree in principle here I am now a tad disappointed with my Macs. I just bought a HDD camcorder and sadly now having changed from a firewire based miniDV camcorder I have the USB based HDD camcorder. The problem is that iMovie and Final Cut Express can not import through USB - only firewire. Now I have to run each clip through a converter to take them from MOB files to quicktime files (noting that everytime I press stop thats a new clip) and then edit them in iMovie - I cant edit them at all in Final Cut express.

A trifle disappointing really

Speaking of look back, I "switched" to Apple in 1983. First computer was an Apple IIe and I have used Macs since they became available.

Picture this:

1990 a summer evening - sat down in front of my friend's classic to help him with a song lyric he was working on. Coffee was being served as soon as cup emptied. At some point he said he was going out for a while. Someone popped in to say hello and when the door bell constantly rang just as I finished and realised I was alone - I went to open the door. The guy who walked in asked me how long I had been sat infront of that thing.

Uhm.... I don't know, what time is it?

Turned out I had been working for more than 24 hours straight and not even noticed it. I thought it was morning when the doorbell rang.

Mac rules. I have no idea why I was using PC for so long but Mac rules.

/E