Alright now, I've heard a lot about Windows vs. Linux... What about Mac? How do they fit in? Is there a linking program for them? Is a Mac a better choice than Windows or Linux? What are the benefits? etc...

Here is the answer to all those questions in 5 words: Macs suck, don't use them.

Before you diss. macs learn more about them they are, from what I've heard, very powerful machines.
I believe at one point that they were the PC of choice for DTP work - like Newspaper companies.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, Apple capitalized on desktop publishing a few years ago. Today they are capitalizing on movie making.

Between Macs and PCs, it depends. Macs are more powerful, due to the fact that Steve has a better monopoly than Bill (Jobs makes the computers AND operating systems, Gates makes the OS and forces the companies to use it). Macs also have a seamless UNIX system integrated - the new OS can be thought of as a similar system to X Window. (Try logging in to OS X (ten, not ex) with user ">console" - you'll get a text console.) But PCs tend to have more hardware and software available, so for a newer user, I (a Mac fan) would recommend they start with PC for all but the most simple tasks.

The guy with the five words has mastered the art of cryptic 8.3 names, as evidenced by his user name. He also forgot that "don't" is technically considered 1.5 or 2 words.

Please explain the 8.3
I know what it is, but don't know the relation to the user name.

8.3 has nothing to do with user names. It was the convention for naming files. Eight character in the name, three in the extension.

Right - I'm daft not plain stupid (like a teacher). I know what the 8.3 is - but read the message I was replying to.

'>console' huh? I'll have to goto Fry's Electronics and try that out.

Yes Apple did and still is capatilzing on the DTP industry, and pretty much every other creative industry, and schools. Apple is still very much alive, not dead like many think. The Only real differences between Macs and PC's are prefrence at this point. I personally think the Mac is 100% easier than windows, and linux. I have used all three extensively, and I have to say XP is the worst windows to date, its hideous GUI (yes i know you can change it, but old windows looks just asbad, okay not as bad) and lack of customer support. Apple, everything just works because Apple controls the Mac community. Besides, what wintel hardware looks as cool as a Mac? Linux is difficult for newbies because the lack of help and lets face it, most ditributions are not made for simplicity.
So every thing now is personal prefrence, Mac vs, Windows vs. Linux. they all are prettuy much the same, the GUI, what you plan to do, and how easily you want to do it are how you choose now.
So No Macs don't suck.
And Apple is not dead. It is very much alive and thriving at the time.
Yes they are powerful too, but the new G4's are quite possibly the ugliest thinks ever to come out of cupertino (where macs are made) The entire Sirius Satelite radio netwrok is run on macs. Most of microsofts web page, and other graphics are done on Macs, cars are designed partly on Macs, and several colleges now use Macs to run their networks.
So go and try a Mac before you bash it, and not just for 5 minutes in the store.
After all its not like I bash windows without experience.
This post will never end
IBM's PowerPC chip, the risc processor that runs every mac and video game console except XBox, is the most powerful type of chip you can buy, a 500Mhz chip is equeal to or more powerful than a 1.2Ghz Intel chip. And yes IBM, a PC manufaturer makes processors for Macs, so does Motorola.
So Buy a Mac.

Yeah Mac's are the industry standard for Creative work. They have ProTools (audio), Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/Pagemaker/Acrobat (Publishing), and alsohas most good DV apps.

Yeah Mac's are the industry standard for Creative work. They have ProTools (audio), Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/Pagemaker/Acrobat (Publishing), and alsohas most good DV apps.

You got your answer wrong. If you have the resources to buy a Mac, buy it. It has Unix Stability, MS functionality, and looks better. Also, since Apple makes the OS and The computer, you are not mixing things together.

Also, since Apple makes the OS and the computer, you don't nearly have as much selection as PCs. There is more hardware and software available for Windows than any Mac fan could ever dream of. Macs are incredibly over-priced as well. I know a friend who spent $3000 on a Mac that is about the same performance as my custom built $1100 PC. So if you value money at all, PCs are the way to go. And as for OS X being more reliable than WinXP, my Mom's Mac (OS X) crashes more than my XP machine, and she doesn't even come close to using her computer as much as I do. I'm not saying it crashes a lot, only once or twice a month, but it's more than my XP machine.

Okay, ignoring prices, There is probabley as much HW out for macs as for PCs, Ok no so many different brands, but if you can find a good quality piece of kit which does what you need, what more do you what - another one that's slightly different.

And as for software, getting it might be a bit more harder, and there wont be that many games for it, but the mac is a working machine not a games platform. And I'm sure that if there is a piece of software for windows, there will be a couple of equivelent pieces for the mac.

You should check which version your mother is using. Sounds like Public Beta or 10.0. 10.2 is *much* more stable!

That is a matter of opinion. The PowerPC chip is far more efficient than an Intel/AMD chip (although AMD is thebest brand for x86 chips right now). The processors are 64-bit, and Apple is finally putting nVidia chips in their computers.

OSX is cool :)

I hope the people that selected "Who's TI" were joking.

No I wasn't....

Who is TI? I know _what_ TI is.

When I were a lad, there were this company that made this computer. It was a Texas Instruments.. - can't remember the model. It had a tape deck and a cartridge port. -We still have it.

LOL! I bought one at a yard sale, but it broke a week later.

doesn't it just suck when that happens.

Oh I believe they also make a lot of IC's - prefix SN... if I remember rightly.