Tim Barcz

Torn, Buy an Apple?

I'm at the point where I need a new machine.  I'm so very torn.  Should I get an Apple?  I suppose I've always been a "mac guy" seeing as how my first computer was an iMac and I grew up on Macintosh.

My current machine is becoming slow enough to warrant a change.  I think I'd like a Mac for some of the iLife applications that my wife could use. For me personally, I am really attracted to the dual boot features or Parallels allowing me to run Windows apps on the Apple.  I'm also thinking that an Apple would allow me to be much more well rounded as a developer.  See more, experience a broader range of applications and user experiences.

So the first question is, is it worth getting an Apple?  Would you?  Why or why not?

Assuming I should get an Apple, what computer should I get.  I'm noticing how poorly VS.NET 2005 performs on seemingly "beefy" computers.  I like the all encompassing iMac and the lower price.  But would a dual core 2.16 GHz with 2 GB ram suffice to run VS.NET 2005 when using bootcamp or Parallels?  Or should I be looking at the Mac Pro, which comes with 2 dual core 2.66 Xeon processors, but with a much heftier price tag?

What are you thoughts?  Any one have a similar situation/dilemma?

P.S. Try, please, to use hard facts and not bash mac or windows too much.  I HAVE to use Windows, and I want to use an Apple.  It seems though that these discussions quickly degrade into OS bashing, and that's not what I'm after.