Using (and developing apps for) Windows, Macs, Linux, Win Mobile, Palm, Blackberry and the iPhone, I must respectfully disagree with you on your anti-Mac recommendation.
They are not without flaws, as I don't know of any complex systems such as IT as being without any flaws of some sort.
However...that said...I have:
an iMac (G3) still faithfully fully running OS 10.3;
an eMac (G4) still faithfully fully running OS 10.4;
an iMac (G5) still faithfully fully running OS 10.5;
a MacBook Pro (Intel, 2007) still faithfully running OS 10.6;
a 2nd MacBook Pro (Intel, 2009) still faithfully running OS 10.6.
These machines cost me, at point of purchase (including Apple Care Protection Plan on the last three) under $10,000. I've invested maybe $1000 in various hardware or software upgrades for the combined lot. I have never had to reinstall the OS - ever. On the total lot of machines, which represent 12+ years of Apple Innovation, I have had a total of 15 kernel panics.
On the two Mac Book Pros I run virtually, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 of various flavors. The Windows OS runs better on Apple Hardware than it does on my two latest HP Machines (business class).
I also maintain a Win 2003 Enterprise server, and a separate Win 2008 Enterprise server, but I run both virtually from within Linux distros (Fedora and Ubuntu, respectively).
Users can certainly have a simplified UI experience with OS X, but to say that OS X takes a "dumbed down" approach is patently false. OS X, out of the box ships with many more tools, features and uses than Windows does, at a fraction of the cost.
My point is that there are those of us who know that in our experience the Total Cost of Ownership is significantly lower when we invest in Apple Hardware and software, generally, than when we don't.
Next in my purchase que is a custom configured XServe that I fully expect to get at least as long of a life span out of that hardware as I have from my original iMac (1998).
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Using (and developing apps for) Windows, Macs, Linux, Win Mobile, Palm, Blackberry and the iPhone, I must respectfully disagree with you on your anti-Mac recommendation. They are not without flaws, as I don't know of any complex systems such as IT as being without any flaws of some sort. However...that said...I have: an iMac (G3) still faithfully fully running OS 10.3; an eMac (G4) still faithfully fully running OS 10.4; an iMac (G5) still faithfully fully running OS 10.5; a MacBook Pro (Intel, 2007) still faithfully running OS 10.6; a 2nd MacBook Pro (Intel, 2009) still faithfully running OS 10.6. These machines cost me, at point of purchase (including Apple Care Protection Plan on the last three) under $10,000. I've invested maybe $1000 in various hardware or software upgrades for the combined lot. I have never had to reinstall the OS - ever. On the total lot of machines, which represent 12+ years of Apple Innovation, I have had a total of 15 kernel panics. On the two Mac Book Pros I run virtually, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 of various flavors. The Windows OS runs better on Apple Hardware than it does on my two latest HP Machines (business class). I also maintain a Win 2003 Enterprise server, and a separate Win 2008 Enterprise server, but I run both virtually from within Linux distros (Fedora and Ubuntu, respectively). Users can certainly have a simplified UI experience with OS X, but to say that OS X takes a "dumbed down" approach is patently false. OS X, out of the box ships with many more tools, features and uses than Windows does, at a fraction of the cost. My point is that there are those of us who know that in our experience the Total Cost of Ownership is significantly lower when we invest in Apple Hardware and software, generally, than when we don't. Next in my purchase que is a custom configured XServe that I fully expect to get at least as long of a life span out of that hardware as I have from my original iMac (1998).