Something else you can consider is the quality of the hardware. Macs quite simply put do not break as often as PC's do. The reason they're a tad more expensive than comparable beige box hardware is that Apple uses quality parts. If experimenting is your game, the Mac gives you the option of being able to run Windows, Mac, and Linux, and for the most part any combination of them at once (with Parallels, I often have Windows and Ubuntu Linux running from within Mac OS X).EDIT: Mac OS X isn't going away any time soon, either. True, it will never come close to market dominance, and Apple is making a bold move toward consumer electronics, but all that's going to do is bring OS X along with it. Their new iPhone runs the full muscle of OS X (primarily because it's built upon the open source BSD, which is very small and flexible). Even if Apple doesn't put as much emphasis on selling computers, OS X will be along for the ride.

"Macs quite simply put do not break as often as PC's do"I just had purchased a 400Gig sata internal drive in August, and it failed last month. The Mac G5 is like one of those oil filled heat radiators we use to heat a room, as I have my studio window open all winter. They disperse heat for sure, except the hard drive bays. I now leave the side open with a large fan on the drives to avoid this again. The other downside is on the G5, it only supports 2 sata drives. Any additional drives are external and are USB or Firewire. They are very reliable otherwise.Anyway, after switching to a Mac G5 for my video business last year, I do have mixed feelings myself. They are geared for multimedia apps as industry suggests, along with avid etc... I have OSX Tiger installed.To be honest, alot of my partners are still using windows2000 Pro and XP, and I see all kinds of really nice, easy to use, inexpensive software add ons, where as for mac, I am limited, and paying 5x as much in some cases. I Built a dual core AMD system last May, and use it mainly for my simming. I think I am going to alter my system as an addition to the Mac, as I really don't know where the market is going to take us at this point. Dual boot setup... one for simming, one for video editing. I value everyones opinions here very much, and I see mixed feelings as well. I am going to get updates for my exsisting software for my mac, without trying to buy anything new at this time. I am really glad I read this post. It opened up my eyes from the simming side of the fence.

what kind of performance do you get with your system?

Do you mean my current AMD rig I assume? I am not running FSX at this time as mentioned. I had it installed on a 160Gig external sata drive, but when the mac 400gig went out, I had to use it for a while to get work out the door, so I lost the installation. Anyway, I do run FS9 on my PC system and am not totally content, due to the fact I use add-ons only, complex AC, and airports. I can't get more than 15-20fps and stutters on the ground and 18-24 in the air (locked at 26), with modest settings for traffic and scenery density etc... which IMO, really stinks beyond stink gets. (Don't ask me where I got that one from) I got FSX to run, but not too good, so I am looking into an AMD FX single chip, or the Intel Core Duo, with a new MB and ram as this will require ddr2. I strongly believe my problem is my MB and processor. Once I get this sorted, I think FS9 will run alot more smoothly, and FSX will be much better, especially after it is patched. I am looking forward to grow into FSX as I am sure many are here. I hope this answered your question and I do apologize for getting off topic. Have a great night everyone.

I gotta agree.The Vista disaster and Microsoft's embracing of DRM, plus this crappy FSX really have me wanting a change.I installed OpenSuse 10.2 but still can't get it to display on my screen, it craps out when video drivers are loaded. But, I will learn, and maybe go Mac next time.I will not be using Vista, I think Vista is like a vampire, invite it into your home, and it will kill you.....

OK, post them, please!dito

>I refuse to use XP or Vista, so I was kicking around the idea>of a going to a Mac so as to have an OS compatible with>high-speed ISPs like Comcast or AT&T DSL. Just get a router/firewall. It will insulate you from the ISP. Windows 98SE will just see the router as a DHCP server and get an IP from it.And if you're worried about Big Brother, and you're running Windows 98SE directly on broadband, you REALLY need a router/firewall.

well last night i installed bootcamp on my 24in imac, all the specs maxed for the imac. and this morning i installed fsx, cranked all the settings to max and can run at least 20fps, yes fsx is patched so its taking advantage of the dual core.

Looks like Mac will run Windows. Therefore possibly FSX. lololhttp://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

Fact: The best operating system is: AIX. The Majority of "big" corporations run AIX. Windows environment is too unstable, but cheap to buy. "Cheap" is great for all the "ma and pa" shops, or the home user.Oh, and for the record, do any of you folks even know who funded and started Microsoft? If you're answer was Bill Gates, then you need a history lesson. Bill Gates started Microsoft, but IBM funded and essentially gave him the break he needed.History lesson: http://www.mackido.com/History/Gates_a_Genius.htmlLee

AIX is just IBM's version of Unix from what I understand... yes most big companies run some form of Unix or Linux.I hope you guys talking about Macs realize that there's absolutely no difference between the current Macs and a Core 2 Duo PC though - you can't get as good a video card on the Macs either, so there's absolutely no reason why FSX would run better on a Mac than a PC.

>If Macs are 'for kids', why are they the only computers>Hollywood or most photo pros will use?Oh really? Who told you that? You meant filmed... not used.. and they are not shot in any Sony related movie anyway. They are filmed because Apple pays for it and they look nice.Why I am seeing Linux workstations all around me? And, somewhere in the building there is a renderfarm with hundreds of linux based machines.Mac are not so often used in VFX production. Linux, windows based workstations, macs, in that order.Lots (not most) photo pros use macs because a) they are computer illiterate and cannot be bothered :( Photoshop was first written for Mac.Anyway, to be back on topic. Why would Microsoft port their game which is supposed to help selling Vista - to competing operating system.. this is just ridiculous idea.

>well last night i installed bootcamp on my 24in imac, all the>specs maxed for the imac. and this morning i installed fsx,>cranked all the settings to max and can run at least 20fps,>yes fsx is patched so its taking advantage of the dual core. If Steve Jobs would put his money where his mouth is and sell the Mac OS then a lot of folks might try Apple. Where would one get the OS if you did indeed want to use it on a PC you build?Craig ASUS A8N- nForce SLI Chipset SATA RAID Dual PCIe MOBOAMD ATHLON64 3500+ CPU w/ HT TechLG GWA-4161 DVD/CDSeagate ST3160811AS 160GB Barracuda 9 7200RPM 8MB SATA II 3Gb/s NCQSeagate ST3160811AS 250GB Barracuda 9 7200RPM 8MB SATA II 3Gb/s NCQEVGA 7950 GT KO PCIe 512mb nvodngov19147-[Guru3D.com] drivers SB Audigy 22G Corsair PC 3200 400MHZ Dual Channel DDR Aspire 500W P/STrack IR3 w/vectorCH Yolk & RuddersFS Genesis Terrain MeshFS Genesis Land ClassActive SkyRC4

>Fact: The best operating system is: AIX. The Majority of>"big" corporations run AIX. Windows environment is too>unstable, but cheap to buy. "Cheap" is great for all the "ma>and pa" shops, or the home user.>>Oh, and for the record, do any of you folks even know who>funded and started Microsoft? >>If you're answer was Bill Gates, then you need a history>lesson. >>Bill Gates started Microsoft, but IBM funded and essentially>gave him the break he needed.>>History lesson:>http://www.mackido.com/History/Gates_a_Genius.html>>LeeTrue, Gates was funded by IBM who contracted with him to supply DOS for their PC. Of course it has to be said that IBM completely mishandled that arrangement and allowed Microsoft to retain rights and essentially freelance DOS to folks like Compaq who kicked IBM's butt. I was there in the '80s when the PS/2 was being marketed with it's proprietary micro-channel architecture (MCA) against EISA and ISA. BTW, who did IBM contract to write it's failed OS/2? When IBM took OS/2 back in house, why didn't it kick Window's butt? It was probably a technically superior OS to the 16 bit Windows 3.x.As far as AIX, you're correct that it's found in many enterprise data centers on RISC systems sold by IBM. However, there are many more Intel servers in the average large data center, and many of them run Windows (some Linux, and a rapidly declining amount of NetWare). if you count absolute numbers of servers, Windows leads the pack.