[Cialug] Buying a new PC

[jason at benalto.com]

Hey, Bill -
Your thoughtful response is appreciated. I've got to admit, I was really
tempted to go Mac again. I'm not 'used' to Macs by any means, spending
most of my life just building PCs and using Linux (I'm more used to Linux
than any OS, actually). I recommend Macs to my not very comp literate
parents and  stuff. Like I said, I have a specific issue with some M-Audio
OSX drivers. I understand all the stuff Macs can do. I had X programs
running on my iMac quite a bit. My biggest issue with Macs is the hardware
and the whole hermetically sealed 'magic boxes' thing. A year and a half
ago I blew 2100 on the last G5 iMac. It now sits in a corner, not able to
boot from drive nor disc. I guarantee if I spent 2100 on a PC at that
time...sure something could of gone wrong, something horrible like the
motherboard or processor, but no doubt MOST of it would be completely
salvagable. (and yes, I didn't get the protection agreement, and that
makes me stupid in this instance - but my point remains. I am currently
using a PC I quickly slapped together from parts in boxes...the 10 gig
hard drive I believe is from 1999! The RAM and video card are from 2001!)
And it's really too bad. I've seen boot camp in action, and I did like
using all my favourite Linux apps on my machine. But I want transparent,
tinkerable hardware...
Anyway, thanks for writing all that. I did appreciate it.

-Jason