All-in-one Desktop

BTW, look into the RAM on teh above specs. 128 is too low, 256 is the minimum and 512 is comfy. 1 GB is probably overkill for your needs).

Thing is, RAM is cheap and makes a big difference. I would at least go with 256 making the above $50 more expensive).

Wow!

Isn't Celeron supposed to be extremely sucky?

Everything else looks poifect.

(At least when playing with them at a showroom, I found the Celeron much slower).

Both Linux and Unix are not too compatible.

The most die-hard Linux fans out there, people who are "fathers" of linux, admit to having a windows PC for specific applications (e.g. from Intuit) that are not released for Linux.

Fast fast fast!

Yeah, E.G. has mentioned he can get RAM cheap. I think that's the least of our worries.

We have 256 now, I think that's the minimum, yeah. More would be good.

Craven's right -- you need at least 700 Mhz and 192 Ram to run Windows XP efficiently.

Macs are better for people non-techies and people who just want the damn thing to work. Of course, I am biased, but so what. You should at least go to an Apple store and check them out.

Celerons are not that bad, if you were a gamer I'd avoid them but remember that of all teh things you said you want to do none use the CPU much (with the exception of photo editing).

For net stuff and documents a slower processor would work just fine, and the photo editing you'd be doing probably would not be that intense.

The other caveat is that the video card is onboard. This makes a big difference for graphics (e.g. games, movies etc).

But the celeron itself is fine, it's true that it's a lower end processor on Intel's line but you'd be hard pressed to have anyone name a legitimate downside for you because you aren't pushing any tech boundaries and such. Unless you want a gamer machine you'll be fine.

I recommend getting the RAM elsewhere because I think you can get it cheaper.

But make sure to verify the RAM compatibility etc before buying.

Oh, and remember that you can get a much much better deal with a Frankenstein on ebay or from some sites that make them. I can point you to some if you want.

I agree -- if you're not playing games, watching movies etc., a Celeron may be just fine.

Mac Viruses are coming...

There have been a few of em and a few Mac exploits this year.

But yeah, they work better (mainly because they are not as compatible, when it can do fewer things it will break down less often).

Okay, I give up. Get a PC. Have a ball with it. Just don't come crying to me when you are on here asking about how to get rid of a virus or that strange cryptic error message that you keep getting on startup.

This has all been enormously useful, thanks so much to everyone.

E.G. is very much in agreement with Kicky about Macs as a general concept, but has also already been helped by Craven before and appreciates his advice (as I do.)

Gonna keep following these links (the Dell flat screen monitor is much groovier than I expected) and mull a bit. Then may well be coming back to ask for more specifics.

This is all really encouraging, though! Good stuff out there.

You'll find a great deal less eye strain with the LCD flat monitor.

When did I help E.G.?

Some other computer flap. I asked something on his behalf here, then he read the thread. He has an account and everything but makes me do his dirty work. Men.

This one was my idea. He just read the whole thing and threw up his hands and said "I have no idea." That's after "Mac, Mac, and nothing but a Mac", though, so we'll see.

Here's an examle from this last week of what I was talking about earlier:

http://news.com.com/Mac+OS+fix+fails+to+plug+security+hole/2100-1002_3-5220285.html?tag=nl

Macs are increasingly being threatened and Mac patches are not at the high level that Windows patches are yet.

The whole security thing is usually a perception entirely based on periodicity but Mac OS security is nothing to tout:

http://news.com.com/Apple+criticized+for+security+advisories/2100-7355_3-5205912.html?tag=nl

Thanks, that's good to know.

If you're really concerned about security even with a firewall and virus scan program, I would just refrain from downloading to Outlook Express. I can get my mail online at RoadRunner (who also does a virus scan of the mail) but I do use IncrediMail because of business communication.

All-in-one
What is a Frankenstein? Is it a brand, or is it a very individualized computer put together from various makes of components?