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Been a while since I bought mine. I found my 21.5" for $1000 and looks like they are now at $1299. The 27" starts at $1799 and Apple has done a super job of fixing prices in the market so you won't find much difference in pricing. (Good for Apple, sucks for us). Your best bet is the Apple store. Keep on mind that a large portion of what you pay for in the iMac is the display. Apple is a little proud of thier displays. If you want to save some considerable cash, look at a MAC mini and add your own display. $599 - $799 for a mini with 1TB drive and 8 GB RAM and same processors. Software is about the same price regardless of pc vs. MAC OS. (Unless you are a pirate).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an Apple fan boy. Its just the better tool for me and I'll gladly pay the premium for the experience and that is really what Apple is all about, user experience. For those same reasons, I will never own an iPhone. Apple thinks they know what you want better than you do so they have done some things on the iPhone that tick me off. Everyone has been begging for a bigger screen but Apple said no sorry your thumb only has a limited range of motion so you only can have a screen this big. No thanks...keeping my android. I also hate the fact that the phone forces a lock code if I set up my work email. Granted that is an admin restriction driven by my company but I can get around it on Android. Android locks just my mail app instead of the whole phone. There is no right answer, just preference but you will quickly become a convert if you try an iMac or MAC mini and you won't regret the $ you spent.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:I have noticed that a lot of folks say a Mac is okay because it can be set up to boot as either a PC or a Mac? So a Mac is okay because it can act like a PC and it only costs three times as much to be able to get around to being a PC.

Hmmmmmm

I think I'll keep the PC for 1/3 the price and not have to go through the transformation from Mac to PC.

Bye again!

Chas.

Some folks accept change better than others. For those of you that hate Mac, stop using products that have done everything possible to copy the Mac platform. (Windows, Android, tablets) Mac offers the ability to run a windows environment to allow those who are forced to use legacy programs or interface with their work environments on the PC platform. Nobody in thier right mind would buy a Mac to willingly run an inferior platform. The fact of the matter is that Mac has influenced and pioneered everything from the PC market, music industry, tablets, and telephones. Everyone is in a race to be just like Mac and most have failed miserably like Windows. Amazing how every new version attempts to keep up with Mac but just can't. I will gladly pay the extra money to reward those who are responsible for inovation and creativity rather than those that just copy. A decked out PC with a 27" monitor of the quality you find in an iMac is not going to cost you $500 bucks. 27" iMac is $1500 to $1700 depending on options not $3000. That price tag is not that far off of a similarly equiped PC. Let's stop the silly arguments over cost. Go ahead and buy your $500 emachines every 2 years, at least we all agree they are disposable. I just happen to think they belong in the trash sooner than you do. (2 years sooner to be exact)

I also find it interesting to see how many people comment negatively on Mac and have absolutly no experience with one other than what they have heard. Probably the same bunch that hate Glocks because those plastic guns can get through security at airports. I better be careful about what I say...I like Mac and Glock, that makes me a double threat on this forum.

In that case you should be fine and .doc, .xls, .mdb, etc. is compatible across platforms. Files will open from a jump drive and save just fine from platform to platform. The MS document specifications are not dependent on OS, they are MS Office specific. Someone else mentioned OpenOffice which works well too. Most of my MS office docs open fine in OpenOffice and will save as MS Office files for use on other machines. That software is free.

Take the plunge....I promise you won't regret it. Heck, if you hate it you probably can sell it on Ebay or Craigslist for more than you paid for it anyway.

You will get a lot of emotional back and forth over who is better, who is more secure blah blah blah. MAC is secure and you should take the same precautions you would with your PC. The issue is that the majority of malware, virus, hack attempt target the PC market and thus don't impact us MAC users as much.

I do have experience with the MS products on both platforms. It really depends on what you are doing with the software. I can't think of any issues I have encountered with Word. Excel has limitations if you are more than a basic formula user. Many macros written in the PC version are not supported in the MAC version. My work depends on some very complex workbooks that simply will not run in the MAC environment and any Access databases that tie to Excel worksheets are problematic in the transition between the two platforms. I don't remember all of the specifics because I just don't attempt to run that stuff on in the MAC version of the MS suite. I have had more success running that stuff in the windows environment using an emulator than in the MAC environment. I look at it this way, get a iMAC and enjoy all the niceties of MAC and the ability to run your PC environment too! Otherwise, you are stuck with just the same old PC on the latest version of windows that is full of bugs. I am not a self proclaimed expert on either platform so knowledge here is limited to my experience. In my opinion, you won't ever regret a MAC purchase. I have plenty of PCs I regret including the laptop I am using right this minute.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:A Mac is a toy, a PC is a tool.

Bye now . . .

Chas.

Toy = Fun, Enjoyable, Amusing

Tool= Required for fixing which PC users should be proficient

Might as well just start a Glock vs. 1911 thread.

I am one of the few that uses both platforms on a regular basis and like them both. Converting to MAC can be very frustrating learning a new OS but it is generally intuitive. The biggest differences in my opinion are that my MAC machines ALWAYS work and I spend time doing what I set out to do. My PCs are generally stable but much more at risk of viruses, malware or hacking. If you want a powerful machine that works, integrates flawlessly with other devices, and intelligently handles your music, photos, videos, etc. then MAC is outstanding. You can run Windows 7 on a Mac using various emulators but Parallels works best for me. Can't think of anything you can do on a PC that I can't do on my MAC. I have a 21.5" iMac and my only regret is that I didn't get the 27". Join the revolution and come to the dark side.

The forum actually runs better for me on Safari too.