Windows is dominated by viruses and worms (malware). Anti virus programs are always playing catch up and the best ones only catch about 75 to 90 percent of the malware. You have to keep paying for commercial anti virus programs.
Almost every single malware program relies on flaws in Microsoft Windows - programming errors in the OS itself, to be blunt. There is no shortage of these and the number of new malware increases by a staggering amount each day.
The Washington Post has repeatedly recommend this month that people not use MS-Windows computers to do their online banking. Instead, use something else, they say.
The latest generation of malware for MS-Windows removes money directly from your bank account, without your knowledge - and then hides it from you. This is assuming you use MS-Windows to do your banking. So far high profile victims of this include a high tech company that had $400,000 deleted from its corporate account and a Catholic church that lost a small fortune as well.
Banks are not responsible for your PC problems: you picked the OS, you hooked it to the Internet, you chose what web browser to use - they did not. So, you are the victim, not the bank. Generally, the bank is not going to be successful getting your money back for you, if they even try. It is going to go to a bank account in some obscure city in Europe or Asia that you have probably never heard of and be removed immediately from there.
The new Macs are compatible with Microsoft Windows so if you choose to install that OS someday you will be able to run Windows applications. Most Mac users are Windows expatriates and have no desire to have Windows on their computer. Others, like myself, have bought Windows for their Mac only to discover that they almost never used it.
There is a native version of Microsoft Office (or just Microsoft Word, if you prefer) that you can buy for the Macintosh. Alternatively, you can buy Microsoft Windows + Microsoft Office for Windows on your Macintosh. But it is cheaper to simply buy the Macintosh version.
If you are not required to use Microsoft Windows, Apple's iWork software includes applications like Pages and Numbers that are a very nice word processor and spreadsheet. It is far less expensive than Microsoft Office.
If you are getting Viruses on Microsoft Windows now this will continue to be the case for as long as you have your current and next PC as well. No drastic reductions have taken place for MS-Windows malware. Just the opposite. They increase and number and deadliness every years. Many, many people are in the business of creating and spreading MS-Windows malware.
People who make their money off of MS-Windows articles, protection software have been saying Macs will get theirs soon. But they have been wrong every year for all 5 or 6 years they have been saying that, and to give them proper credit - they have all been ineffective at stopping the malware menace on Microsoft Windows. It is worse now than ever and there is no reason to believe these pundits will be right about Macintosh or good at fixing Windows' ills next year either.
The iMovie application for the Mac is included with the iLife bundle and is often included free with Macs and annual upgrades come out most years for a small price. The nice things about iMovie are: compatibility with a broad amount of camera devices, nice integration with Mac applications, support for industry standard file formats, and availability of extensions for special effects and titling.
Hardware specs in terms of processor speed on an iMac are on par with a very good PC. You can get a faster PC if you want to pay $6,000. Of course, you can get faster Macintosh computers if you need a professional workstation and have a commercial budget. For home or normal office use, you are not going to need that extra bit of speed - nor do most Windows PC owners.
Also, to be blunt, even though it is nowhere near 100% effective, anti virus software for Windows PCs slow them down enormously. This reduces the effective speed of your processor and the effective amount of RAM you have in your computer. If you do not run the anti virus software then the viruses and worms can slow down your computer a good bit too. You cannot win with Windows.
The latest iMac has a beautiful display. The technology and the design is now a cut above what you see on other computers as you look around at stores. It is also true 16:9 (HD) aspect ratio. So, if you want to do a lot of video editing or TV watching (see EyeTV products) then you are probably going to love having a Mac.
Apple has almost two decades of experience with digital video. That is how long the QuickTime video format they invented has been around. Plus, the head of Apple, Steve Jobs, has been running Pixar (recently sold to Disney for billions of dollars) since the mid-1980's - over 20 years.
Apple's and Steve's experience with producing, editing,