i have two Vikings, an older 350 and a tribute 140c (which is a red sapphire...). before i bought the 140c, i was pursuing a bernina like crazy. had one on layaway...that dream went south due to the dealer. but i had taken a class at the dealers and while i really like the bernina 440....once i realized i was not getting the layaway, i bought the Viking. to me, the Viking is very easy and intuitive to use. i do think that different machines work for different people.