Subjective bite of the Apple.

I have been working on Wintel computers for 20 years. However, when the Win98SE box my Mom has been using finally gave up the ghost (hard drive died) I decided, after consultation with many other "tech support children" to advise her to buy a Mac Mini. And so we did, last night, at the Apple Store on University Avenue here in Palo Alto. And I have to say, it was the diametric opposite of the Fry's experience, which I avoid whenever possible! We had a terrific sales guy in a bright green shirt, and within an hour we were out the door with the Mini, a keyboard and mouse (USB), and a nearly free HP 3 in 1 combo printer. Now for the bad news. The initial software used to register and set up the Mini is not very robust. Stepping backwards is tricky, and the network setup is weak -- after inputting all the data requested, the Mini tried to connect through dial up, but then hung. Selecting disconnect didn't work either, so we had to hard reboot. This makes Mom nervous. Sigh. I then had to go into the network setup menu and input all the POP and SMTP addresses manually. This was very similar to the frustrating setup experience with the iPod which required numerous efforts to load iTunes on our home PCs before we could get the software to work. Nevertheless, I remain optimistic that my tech support days will be fewer and farther between once I get the Mini set up to dial into Mom's ISP automatically. The Mini is really remarkable if you are a Wintel user - dead silent, tiny form factor, really attractive design. And the titanium notebooks at the Apple Store made my Vaio feel pretty inferior. Something to consider...