SHOPPING FOR NEW COMPUTER -- QUESTIONS

[Dianita]

I have lived with ThinkPads and three different Dell laptops ever since I gave up desktops a zillion years ago. My machines get HEAVY use -- I work as an editor, among other things.

I am in the market for a new computer -- have always done PCs, but am wondering if I should jump ship to Applelandia. Any thoughts? I have some WINDOWS/DOS-based proprietary programs that I MUST use for my clients, but I hear that Apple now has some kind of program that lets you work on those seamlessly on a Mac. Is it true? How seamlessly?

That's one Q. Another one is... a friend of mine has a really sexy "all-in-one" Dell desktop. NO CPU, everything is in the 20" monitor that sits atop... also has a HDTV tuner. I am in a small room in a condo now, and was thinking of maybe buying one of those (they cost more, though), ditching my little TV, and using the all-in-one for TV and computer. Anyone have experience with those? And if I got one of those, I probably couldn't afford a laptop, too, so I'd limp along with this one (or buy a really cheapie one just for traveling). Can one do picture-in-picture, like keep the TV window open in a corner or something? We will be wired for Verizon FIOS by the end of this month, too, if that makes any diff. in your replies.

I need: STORAGE, SPEED, STABILITY of OS environment. Please do advise if you're knowledgeable.

[cutesalsadoll]

I am not that much of a techie but I recently got a Mac and I love it, very user friendly. I bought a program that had word and excel and other Microsoft programs especially for the Mac and it is Great. So at least I can answer that part of your question.