Ok,
So I have been a hard core IBM user since I was about 10, and was always on the IBM/PC side of the house. I've built and owned a number of machines, all IBMs. My last laptop years ago (sold 2005) was a Dell which was fine.

However, as I am getting older I am getting less patient with messing around PCs and am more into get the job done mentality versus configure, build, try applications.

As my use is real simple - web browsing, pictures, movies, music, Office, and some graphic/video design, I am really thinking of defecting to Apple and getting a Mac Book.

With the whole hassle of Vista versus XP, I really just need a laptop that is going to work, don't hassle about incomptability, drivers, viruses, spam, etc.

Apple struck me as something simple, clean, good looking, that plain old works. I do not have much experience with Mac OS, but as an IT guy I presume that the learning curve would not be too much. As my application list is pretty simple, I also presume it would not be a problem locating same application as I use on IBM for a Mac.

I would be in a need of a lighter laptop. If Mac route, then Macbook or Macbook Air, or if sticking to PC route, then a Lenovo, probably one of the smaller ones. The only odd requirement is that I would like to have HDMI or DVI ouput to output to a 720p flat screen TV when playing movies. I would like the laptop to be light.

As Lenovo is not cheap, Macbook or IBM would run be about $1000-$1200 for what I am looking for. On the PC I play a lot of flight simulator, but I think the best is to build a small desktop just for that instead of spending $2000-$3000 on a large laptop and just keep the laptop for simple purposes, and the desktop for the simulator and games.

I would not consider other PC laptop brands, just Lenovo as I was never impressed with Sony, Toshiba, HP, and Dell has deteriorated in quality since years when I used it.

Any thoughts and feedback would be appreciated.

I've used Macs since the late 80s and my key suggestion is to pinpoint exactly what it is that you don't like about PCs--lots of the problems won't be solved by switching platforms.

Spam--won't be affected by platform
Viruses--if you're sloppy about security, then a Mac would probably help in this regard.
Drivers/Incompatibility--For all the fuss that happens whenever Microsoft releases a service pack, there's no small amount of anxiety whenever Apple releases a .1 update to MacOS X.

If all of your data can be moved to the Mac platform, then I think you'll be happy either way.

I've never been a Mac user, and love the PC. But I will agree that, even these days, there is often some amount of "configuration" required if one wants to go off-road at all. Most of the stuff just works, IME, but some things require intervention.

As an example, my Moto RAZR has a mini-USB for power, so I figured I could charge it from my computer. Well, I could, but it required a special driver to set it in a power-supply mode. I had to go out and find the driver, then install it. For me, no problem. For someone who doesn't want to muck with this, could be a bigger deal. Of course, I don't know what would happen on a Mac if one plugged a RAZR into a USB port and it didn't have the power supply driver.

I like the PC because of the configurability aspect, but I can see how this could be a detriment to some who don't want to do this sort of thing. Again, though, all the basic stuff (such as the thing that the OP mentions) have always just worked for me, at least through XP.

Cheers.

I would suggest before you make the switch and the investment in expensive apple hardware, you wait a couple of months until Windows 7 comes out. I have been playing with the Beta version and it hands down beats anything coming from Apple or Microsoft in the past.

Had they released this instead of Vista, Apple would be in big trouble now.

I think it's great that you want to switch and eventually you may like it, but I've found that IT guys are the ones who can not adjust easily when switching. They have to tinker, configure and tweak, and can't just let everything work.

That's hilarious - I've emailed this line to the ad guys at apple for their next set of commercials.

By the time Win 7 comes out, apple will probably introduce another OS that will make Win 7 obsolete (again)...IMHO

Why is that, it works as well, and is as easy to use as OS-X and runs on computers that are 1/3rd the cost of the cheapest Mac.

I've tried Mac. I really like the Mac software. I wanted to buy a Mac. But if I can get a similarly easy to use operating system on a $500 laptop (or $300 netbook), why am I going to spend more than $1000 (more like $1500 for the same configuration) for the alternative?

Apple got their biggest boost in computer sales due to the absolute failure that was Vista.

Well, there are always differing opinions. I have a co-worker who is a beta tester (and was for XP, Vista and others). He says that Windows 7 is just as bad as Vista. "It's Vista with the warning messages turned off."

This may not be the knight in shining armor that us PC folks are looking for

And it seems like Apple may not have anything to worry about on the OS score.

Cheers.

Apple has better security but also with better security means you won't be able to use all business programs that some of us need. A PC is of course less secure but has more functions. Overall I like the Mac better for business unless you do things via the web such as coding of websites and programs.

I switched from PC to Mac about 3 years ago, and am not going back to PCs. I like that it's Unix underneath, and consider the "eye candy" aspects to be nice though not essential. However, you ain't gonna get a Macbook Air for $1200. You also have to buy new copies of software like Microsoft Office etc., and this can add to the cost. At the same time, you can also still run Windows programs using Parallels or VMWare Fusion, which actually works pretty well.

I have both a MacBook Pro which I use for travel and at home, and a Macbook that I use in the office where I have less time to work on the computer. The Macbook is really pretty functional if your eyes are happy with the screen size; in my case I use the Macbook with a big, cheap external screen (plus the Macbook by itself which is easy to drag to meetings). But you should visit a Best Buy or an Apple store and play with the three flavors (Macbook, Macbook Pro, and Macbook Air) before you decide.

Excel runs better on a PC, that is fine but I won't be using that except for simple tables and formulas. Work always provides me a PC to use.

The Lenovo SL300s or the X61, when configured run about $1000, which is a little bit less than the Macbook. I do not trust others (HP, Sony, Dell, Lenovo) see them as consumer machines with all nice buttons and crap software that is useless.

I have been an IT guy all my life, I just hate spending time to configure stuff anymore. My brother got an SL400, I added some RAM to it, waited 5 minutes for Vista to load up, then rebooted, loaded XP. It took me 2 days to try to find all the drivers for XP because they are almost non-existen. I am sick of troubleshooting laptops and have reduced my computers to the less applications the better.

This is the complete opposite of what I used to be, a gamer, a developer, a person who would always try the newest version of everything. Right now I need the Web, Office, Adobe for music, pictures, video streaming to TV, Internet and voila. The more web applications, the better.

With XP I still need to reformat every once in a while, clean everything, image, etc.

The last two operating systems from Microsoft that I considered a success were NT 4.0 and XP. I don't remember NT, but I do recall it took a year or two until SP2 came out for the bugs to be weeded out.

If the past is the predictor of the future, I'd wait until at least a year until Win7 release before jumping on the bandwagon. Of course, upgrade all the hardware to support it as well.

Question - MAC OS can support more than 3gig RAM like Vista? Also is it hard to add a solid state disc and ram to a Mac (I hope its not like the iPOD)?

Thanks

I switched to a MAC notebook about 15 months ago mainly because I did not like the other machine our company offered. Like you I was a PC user for years, and if a IBM THinkpad (Lenovo) had been available I would of have acquired this. First the good points, The display is great and the machine is stable. Now for the but, being a IBM user I did not find the switch easy. The way I was thinking did not translate into the way I needed to think to use a Mac. Also, using Office on a Mac works well but does not have all the features that the windows version does. ALso, I do not use Vista in my windows environment only XP Pro. I have run into some things that only work on Internet explorer and not on Safari or Firefox. Also, for email you could use Entourage from Microsoft if you use Microsoft office. For free things you could use Thunderbird for email, and open office instead of MS office.
In summary the Mac is nice but I would have been better served with a Windows machine, since this is what I know. When running XP/Pro and the software you mentioned this is very stable and easy to use. It is also the least expensive solution. If given a choice I would get a Thinkpad with XP/PRO as well as office.

I have been using PCs since the first ones in 1982 or whenever. I have almost entirely switched to Macs now. They are just better in every day use. This past Saturday I decided to hook up a speaker to a Airport Express and stream music to it from my Mac Book for the first time. Less than 10 minutes. It is like magic to a PC user. My wife has more than 20 years experience as a programmer (mostly C++ on Unix/Windows) and said she was shocked as well. She has a very nice Dell notebook that she never uses. She got a Mac Book and that is the only computer she uses at home now. It just works.

Apple machines are definitely not cheap - but my $1600 G3 iBook lasted 6 yrs before my latest upgrade. And thank god i'm an apple shareholder; it's the only stock that has not plummeted in my entire portfolio.

But to credit their success due to failure of Vista is just plain wrong - their hardware sales started their climb way before the Vista debacle.

And keep an eye out for snow leopard.....

Of course, they were at around $180 in August and are now at about $90. So I'm not quite sure how you define plummet

Cheers.