As I type on my Dell Inspiron refurbished laptop, a Christmas gift from 2003, I feel compelled to consider the purchase of a new computer. This one’s still working okay, if a bit slowly. In 2006, I upgraded the RAM to maximum capacity (1 gigabyte) and put a bigger hard drive in it, and that helped. But it’s old, clunky, and heavy. I envy other people’s slim, lightweight, fast, and attractive laptops. And I think 4+ years is a healthy lifespan for a laptop. It may be time.

Aside from the fact that I’d need a lot more money than I have, I’ve been hesitant to buy a computer, because I’m not sure if I want to switch to a Mac or stick with the PCs. Every Mac user I know is happy with theirs, and if I bought a new PC, it’d have Vista, which drives people to suicide.

My main concern with the Mac is software availability. I own a bunch of games, and even though I never play them, I’d hate to render them all useless. However, the kind of stuff I need it to do, it would do. I’d just need stuff that’s useful for my acting career. And don’t Macs do better with video editing and the like?

Anybody got any advice? Personal experience? Real world testimony?