madamepurl

I love my Mac, but keep an old laptop around to run EQ7. I find the old laptop so annoying. I don't want to mess with Parallels, though I'm slowly reconsidering. A MIT professor recently called Windows 8 "A Christmas Gift for Someone You Hate."

http://www.zdnet.com/mit-professor-w...te-7000008479/

countryone77

I had a high end Toshiba laptop -- it always ran terribly hot and the DVD drive broke. While I liked having a portable computer, that particular machine always irked me. My DH currently has a high end ASUS laptop and hates it -- runs hot; keys stick; highest screen resolution is too low and gives him head aches.

Four years ago, my DH purchased a Mac Pro for me (I did not request it -- he just thought it would be good for me). Yes, there was a bit of culture shock (even though I have extensive UNIX experience), but it turned out for the best in the long run. Previously my Windows PCs would wear out after 2-3 years (the latter if I was very lucky). My Mac Pro is still going strong and it is just as enjoyable to use today as it was 4 years ago. I would have had to purchase 2 Windows PCs in that same time period, so it has turned out to be very cost effective.

I also have a MacBook Pro, which is almost three (3) years old, and I've enjoyed using it every minute. It has an aluminum case, which dissipates heat much more readily than plastic and it's vents are in the back, rather than the bottom. Yes, aluminum costs more than plastic, so that's one of the reasons why a Mac costs more. The keys are a dream to use -- especially for my achy hands. The screen resolution is higher than one can get on an equivalent Windows PC (there's a reason why graphics designers like Macs).

Apple really supports their customers. I've dealt with Dell support (both USA & overseas) and a couple different computer store extended warranties -- they were downright horrible. This is also one of the reasons as to why a Mac costs more -- but to me it is well worth it for the added value.

The only quilting software for Mac, of which I am aware, is Quilt Pro. However, their Mac version is currently lagging a year behind their Windows version, and there is no release date in sight for an equivalent Mac version. I'm using Parallels to run Windows to use Electric Quilt. While Parallels does cost money, you could use Boot Camp, which comes free with OS X, to run Windows in a separate bootable partition.

There are some machine embroidery apps for the Mac. Most of them are stitch editors, but there are some new digitizing apps coming out for the Mac. I use the free StitchBuddy-QL to see my embroidery designs on the Mac in icons, Quick Look and StitchBuddy-MD for Spotlight. It helps me sort files that I download. I just purchased a license for StitchBuddy (it was on sale), so that I can now also edit my files under OS X. Other editors may handle more machine embroidery file types. I also use Parallels to run Embird under Windows on my Mac.

There is a version of Microsoft Office for the Mac, which would cost you some money. Alternatively, you could use the free OpenOffice app, or one of its spinoffs. OpenOffice works fine as long as you don't have to save in a docx format (it can read -- but not write -- docx format). It can save in a doc format. BTW, OpenOffice is also available for Windows and other platforms.

Some games come with both Windows & Mac installations -- check your packages. You could always use Boot Camp/Windows to run your existing games, or purchase new games for Mac. While you could run quite a few games via Parallels/Windows, you would not want to run intensive games in a virtual machine.

As to the amount of memory that you can install on a Mac -- just like on a Windows PC, that depends a lot on which CPU you get.