Well my two pennies worth. I can concur on the Compaq=dirt evaluation. It was my wife's Compaq Presario laptop that finally solidified that opinion. It cost around $2000.00 in 1999/2000? I cant remember when she bought it exactly. It popped keys, crashed repeatedly and simply couldn't do much of anything except run AOL. And it didn't do that too good either. I got so sick of having to reinstall her software with recovery disks that I switched it to Windows 2000. It became stable after that, but it never really let her do what she wanted to, when she wanted to, and how she wanted to. When the keyboard finally went totally bonkers on it she decided to go out and buy a new one.
In spite of the fact that I ran several Windows 2000 custom desktops and laptops, I suggested she buy an Apple because I had always found them to be the most bang for the buck, if you could afford the initial cost. She decided on a G3 iBook an also snagged one of the 10 gig iPods early 2003. She has ever again had to ask me a computer related question and the iPod is still functioning flawlessly long after the predicted end of life for the battery.
The only issue she ever had was the logic board went out. But it was part of a manufacturing defect. Apple provided DHL shipping to and from our front door with a three day turn around. The repair and shipping were completely free.
I returned to the Apple fold tepidly with a purchase of a 1 gig iPod Shuffle. I had forgotten just how well designed Apple products were. Then over the past few months I began relegating my Windows systems to the trash heap. The final straw was when a mirrored drive set completely crashed without any warning, taking with it both the original and backups of all my personal correspondence going back to 1998. Let us just say having not one but three drives burn out at the exact same time left a bad taste in my mouth. Having worked on Windows systems for years I was sill amazed at how total the crash was.
Anyway my wife told me she would buy me a computer on one condition. I had to get rid of all my white-box systems and my laptops. They currently sit in huge pile in the corner of my office.
I could have gotten a G5 Dual Processor tower system. But I thought it was a bit foolish since I really will only be using a computer for the next few years for personal use instead of work. So I came down to earth and decided to go for something simple. I decided on a Mac Mini and was leaning towards an Intel Duo system. But a few things held me back. One was the cost is pretty steep considering it is Apple's first venture into the world of Intel. Second was the price differential between the old Mac Mini, the Intel Solo, and the Intel Duo systems. Its hard for me to admit it, but at this point in my life I am definitely unable to justify being a power geek computer user.
So I decided I'd just get a Mac Mini G4 system. Luck would have it that Costo has a huge consignment of Mac Mini G4 systems in bundle packages that include the computer and Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, as well as a three year Applecare extended warranty. I bought a really nice flat panel monitor to go with it as well. All told, the bill was just south of $700 tax included. I have to say getting used to using a Apple computer took all of 30 seconds after having not used one on a regular basis in years. Its also so darn cool sitting on my desk. What once was a wall of Windows computers and a nest of cables is now a vast open space where I can put a footstool and stretch my legs out. Plus I can type from anywhere in my office, or even in an entirely different room.
Considering that the rest of our family has been on the "buy a system every three years because the last one simply becomes too overwhelmed with viruses or incapable of upgrade" plan and spends an average of $1200 a pop on each one, our costs associated with the iBook and now the Mac Mini have been a bargain. I miss having a secondary context button on my mouse, but seeing as I don't have to spend half my time inspecting property pages of programs anymore, it really isn't a major complaint on my part.
As to Dells, "you get what you pay for" has never been a more valid statement. If you are a corporation buying high end Dell custom built systems, you seem to do OK. But if I was smart and had charged a fee for every single Dell system I have had to repair, instead of just normal on site charges, I would be a rich man. And as for HP's the blade servers and Proliant systems seem to be fine. But as you drop down into the more consumer grade systems they kinda turn out to be slightly more expensive Dells.
If it were me, I'd get a Mac mini. If that was too costly, Id check out a local independent computer builder and see what he could build as a custom system based on your budget. I'd go with a Dell or HP as a last resort.
Then again there is always Ebay. I just saw a G3 iBook with OS X Panther installed going for $39 bucks. It comes with everything it is supposed to except the power cable/recharger pack. Having more than a few dogs around, I have had to buy more than a few Apple iBook power cables. They were running for $109.00 at CompUSA a year ago. So it is possible that you could equip yourself with a very nice system for under $200.00. Then again I have an unnatural distrust of Ebay so take it for what its worth.
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