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alter Mossberg heartily recommends Apple systems in his Spring Buyeris Guide, the feature in this weekis Personal Technology column for The Wall Street Journal.
“If youire in the market for a desktop PC this spring, thereis good news and bad news. The good news is that you can buy a lot of computer for a surprisingly small sum. The bad news is that you have to take more factors into account than ever,” Mr. Mossberg begins.
Citing their careful construction and lack of viruses and spyware, Mr. Mossberg recommends computer buyers take a look at Appleis offerings, particularly the Mac mini if they are on a budget. If price is less of an object, he recommends the iMac G5 over the Mac mini, citing its more powerful processor and built-in display.
Other general recommendations Mr. Mossberg makes include: getting a system with at least 512MB of RAM, as much hard drive space as you can afford, USB 2.0 and FireWire (if you plan on using a DV camera) connectors, built-in memory card slots (not available on any Mac), and flat-panel displays.
He also suggests Windows users invest in security software, noting that “most of this isnit needed on a Mac, but Mac buyers may want to get an antivirus program because the Mac isnit invulnerable.”
[Ed. note: At press time, the public Personal Technology column was still showing last weekis. WSJ subscribers can read it directly here. The free version should be updated in a matter of hours.]