sooooooooo what your saying then is if you want to be able to work on your own computer (upgrading/ adding other things) you have to dump a mint into buying a mac pro?
wow apple has quite the lil marketing scheme going don't they?average users have to take their imac to the mac shop and pay to have some one else do the work. Either way you loose money in the deal. hehehehe
Here is a real marketing scheme for you DS and Red:
I am finding out, the way of the guinea pig, that there are sooooo many hidden costs when you buy a new computer off of the shelf now..... it is simply ridiculous.
The cost of my computer, tower, keyboard, mouse & speakers was offered for
$559.99They had a package deal on a 19" LCD monitor and all-in-one printer for an additional
$259.98. My Wife talked me into getting it because she likes them screens. LOL, I am the one who will be using it... DOH!
The computer manufacturer Gateway has decided that since they have dropped their price on their computers, the purchaser should pay for all of the support phone calls. No 1-800 numbers offered. I have spent, after getting disconnected at least 5 times in call transfers from the main answering department to the support department, talking with support that had no clue, losing connections again, talking with someone who tells me to contact Microsoft instead of them because they really didn't know what was wrong, repeating my serial number on my computer each and every time I call them to each and every person I talk to during that phone call, about
4 to 5 hours of long distance calls stacking up on my phone bill because Vista isn't playing nice with the other software.
Windows Vista, which ever version you receive with your new computer, Vista Home Basic or Vista Home Premium, are sold to PC manufacturers at a bulk discount price. There for, Microsoft does not give you, the computer buyer, free support for anything. They told me that each phone call for support, regardless of the length of the call, costs
$53.00 per call.
However, if a person UPGRADES their version of Windows Vista, that means that you purchased your upgrade from a retailer meaning you paid full price for the upgrade, Microsoft offers free support. The cost of the upgrade? About the same as the 3 support phone calls you made before you upgraded.
Or, roughly $150.00.There is still the matter of all the software upgrades now. I have used the same version of Office 97 Professional Edition right up until Vista came out. I had to upgrade to a new version because 97 would not work. I bought the "Office Home & Student" version.
Add a minimum cost of $119.00Other "Windows-based" software is the same way and will not work with Vista. My fax/office phone answering software...
Add an additional $53.00I upgraded the graphics card before I even brought the box home because the one that came with this computer wasn't the greatest.
Add $132.00 for the card/software
Add $39.00 for the Geek Squad installing it, because I didn't want to screw it up.
Add a new virus protection software, compatible with Vista. I chose Trend Micro (because it lets me turn it on and off if I want, unlike McAfee and it also takes up 1/50th of the space & memory that McAfee does).
Add $39.99Let's add all of that up now estimating that my phone bill will be around $40.00.
$1,445.95 
...and it all started when I saw that price tag listing $559.99 for a brand new computer.....(this is where I do that yell/scream that sounds a lot like the one that Charlie Brown does when Lucy yanks the football away from his running-kick.)
I am currently keeping track of every stupid little problem that I had to deal with so far, with this computer and the software, and will be writing what some might consider to be a book. I will be sending this letter out to Microsoft and Gateway.... right after I send it out to each and every Online person I know, and tell them to forward it to everyone they know.
The internet is an amazing tool, but you need some type of computer to access it. All of the sudden, Mac isn't looking like such a bad deal.
....and the saga continues....
What Thread heading are we in anyway?
Crap, off topic again
. PM or e-mail me at my address listed in my profile.
