[KellyHarper]

I strongly encourage picking up a Mac and I echo whoever said to pick up a slightly newer model if possible. You definitely don't want to be left stranded if they upgrade the iTunes producer to require a more recent OS.

If you check Craigslist and perhaps Ebay you'll be able to find really great deals on Mac Minis, and that's going to be your most cost efficient way of getting the Mac OSx with the least amount of hassles. I'm currently using a Macbook and running a Hackintosh (shh, don't tell) (google it if you're at all curious - I just lucked out that my PC could run it "out of box" as they say).

Good luck!

 

[KellyHarper]

Agreed on the point that once I started switching to Apple products I began enjoying them more and more. I've had an iPhone since 2008 and have loved it. In 2012 I got a 2010 Macbook and have slowly transitioned to the Mac being my full time system. I even went so far as to install Mac on my PC (so now it runs Mac AND Windows, though I'll honestly say I have booted Windows a single time since I got Mac up and running).

You said you have an iPad; if you have an iPhone as well you're going to be amazed at some of the features that just play nice with each other. It's so nice to have a one-stop-shop for all media (iTunes) and be able to sync everything between all of you Apple products (iCloud). If I add a contact via my Macbook, it'll appear on my phone before I can even open the phone to find it. Same with the calendar. Mountain Lion integrates facebook & Twitter along with a nice Notification center so it feels as though you can have Safari closed and still be connected via Social Media (you can also turn off these alerts if you need to). The Reading List in Safari is becoming one of my most used features as well. If there's something I want to read but should be doing something else (i.e. writing) I just save it to the reading list. Then one day in the future when I'm sitting in a line somewhere I pull out my phone and pop the reading list open and there's the article!

Sigh, I'll stop ranting on and on. I just wish I had a shiny new 27" iMac to play with in the office. Maybe one day this year