The post on hardware reliability triggered my memory on another topic.  Every now and then I consider bringing a Mac into the house.  I’ve played with them before, but never really lived with one.  Usually I think I’ll replace my wife’s system with a Mac, which will give me a lot of experience with it yet get myself off the hook for support ("sorry, I don’t know anything about the Mac…why don’t you take it to the Apple Store the next time you go to the mall").  Then I talk to some Mac users and have a reality check.  Mac’s fail.  Mac’s have hardware compatibility issues.  Mac’s have software compatibility issues.  Mac’s have support issues.  I hear horror stories every bit as bad as any I’ve heard or experienced in the Windows PC ecosystem.  So the thought of bringing a Mac into the house always gets buried.  Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.