Apple Mac Mini (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 120GB, Winter 2009)

Pros: An excellent conservation of space while providing all the ports one needs for expansion. Quiet, unobtrusive fully capable desktop computer.

Cons: Its compactness is its worst feature, for it forces the use of a laptop hard drive (hence the smaller storage capacity and rpm). Rarely do I need 100 Gb of storage (let alone the much larger drive in the desktop world), to be fair.

Summary: An excellent replacement for a Windows desktop gone bad. The mini can do double duty by running Parallels or VMWare, and providing a platform for Windows Vista Premium, XP Pro, ME, 98 and Ubuntu, if one desires... all on one hard drive and computer. It runs Microsoft Office 2008 without issue, as well as the free OpenOffice. A fine business machine as well. The only gripe is something that isn't the fault of the Mini, -- for business accounting needs, Quickbooks (and Quicken) for payroll is still vastly superior on Windows... so running Windows in Parallels is the best solution there. Seeing these comparisons with Windows computers, one has to keep in mind that the OS X system is a full-fledge OS. No part of it is watered down as are the versions of Windows Vista below Premium. No compromises on file sharing, VPN, VNC or any other features. Price comparisons need to reflect that. Getting a PC with Vista Home-anything is a suckers bet. To use the machine anywhere outside of the very narrow confines of the 'Home' functions requires that the Windows user buy the upgrade. The Mac doesn't suffer that silliness, or hidden cost.