i would not get vista. I mean… that’s just me. I have an XP box (sadly, wounded…) and my Linux box. If you aren’t considering Linux i would have to say XP is still the best way to go. My parents swear by their macs. they buy nothing but. My brother does the same. They all have a LOT of money invested into their computers, and my home-made piles of crap run rings around them on all counts, except my brother’s newest system.
But i guess it all really just depends on what you have in mind and what sort of computer user you are. if you don’t like to think, get a Mac. If you know a little about computers and want a system that will be compatible with everything under the sun, get an XP box. If you can edit sytem files without breaking into a cold sweat and enjoy thinking up ever more complex automation scripts for various tasks, get Ubuntu or some other Linux variant. If you like pixel art, .mod music and obscure adventure games, get an Amiga. If you want to burn the earth in thermonuclear fire, get a TRS80.
I’ve been working with computers for 25 years now, and I’ve seen an awful lot of things, but one thing that has been constant has been … Unix.
(I’m neutral: I’ve got three Macs and two Linux machines and a Windows machine and yeah, I got equipment to sell… )
Before William Gates III dropped-out of Harvard, the constant has been … Unix.
When Linus Torvalds moved a “Unix” implementation into the mainstream, and as BSD moved Mach and NeXT into another parallel mainstream, and as SCO started to hire lawyers for its spectacularly-expensive downfall … the constant has been … not Microsoft Windows, but … Unix.
Apple understood that. Microsoft did not. Apple abandoned its proprietary platform, MacOS, and embraced an open one … BSD Unix / Darwin. And just look at what they have been able to do since then …
They switched their CPU-type :eek: from PowerPC to Intel and did not miss a beat. - They created the iPhone, which runs OS/X. - They’ve delivered four operating-system releases in the time that Microsoft has been futzing with Longhorn nee Vista.
When you are purchasing a new computer, the “deal-maker” decision should be based on your “killer app.” If there’s a “killer app” that you must run, that runs only on one OS-type or the other, then that should determine your decision. But if you are not, then your choice of careers … computer graphics … probably should.
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