Excellent if you're a "Mac" that occsionally has to be a "PC"
358874
My job requires that I make heavy usage of a PC and related software.  But personally, I like the design of a Mac more.  Fusion has been a terrific tool for helping me to get the best of both worlds.  In general:

* If you really need windows and don't really need the Mac OS: Then I would stick with a PC.  Only because the Mac has taken a number of shortcuts with their keyboard that will drive you crazy.  Fusion is helpful, but it doesn't replace these shortcomings of a Mac.

* If your primary OS is PC, but you like to use the Mac sometimes.  Then Fusion may be the answer for you.  In general, I would still say you'll be happier with a PC because of the above reasons.

* If your primary OS is a Mac, but you occasionally have to make use of the PC OS.  Then Fusion is definately the answer for you.  Our company supports Microsoft CRM, so our users have to use the PC OS, Internet Explorer 7+ and usually Outlook.  So they can't use just the Mac OS.  But many of our clients use the Mac OS in their environment.  Fusion has given them a great solution for using the Mac OS for most of their work, while providing them with a seamless way to also use Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

The biggest downside: You need to not only purchase Fusion, but you also have to purchase Windows and other related software.

One other aside: One of my co-workers has noticed that the Laptop version of Microsoft CRM for Outlook crashes her Mac when it is running Vista.  Although I did not have this problem, we had to uninstall it for her.
4330655
Last November I decided to buy and try a Mac Mini. I have four Windows systems in the house now...a server, a computer dedicated to a hobby (ham radio), my personal system (which I built) and a system for work. I never purchased a Mac before because they were always so expensive. So the price of the Mac Mini was very attractive.

In a nutshell I love the Mac. Even considering trying to scrape up the money for a Mac Pro, but that's another story. The Mac mini is powerful and very quiet. No noise of fans running like I have on the Windows 7 desktop which are very noisy.

I did upgrade the memory to 8GBs. It's cheap. I used Crucial memory and it works perfectly. I bought the Crucial memory for the Mini Macs right here at Amazon. The extra memory allows me to run Fusion from VMware. Fusion makes it easy to run Windows on the Mac if and when I may need Windows. I have created two virtual systems - one Windows 7 and the other XP Pro. Unlike Apple bootcamp, you do not have to re-boot to run Windows. You can run Windows at the same time as you are running Max OSX operating system. It works great. Installing the memory is VERY easy in this version of the Mac Mini

Apple gives you a load of applications built right into the system and if you need more, the new Apple Mac App Store makes it quick and easy to get additional applications. Plus, there are a huge number of free applications for the Mac available on the Apple website and all across the web at various sites.

Frankly the Mac is easier to manage. Not as noisy and one of the best designed systems around.

In fact, my daughter who is married and lives in another city, when she needed a new system to replace her old Windows XP system, I bought her a Mac Mini from Amazon and had it shipped to her with an Asus 1080p monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. BTW, avoid the Apple wireless mouse. It just does not feel right in your hand. Get someone else's mouse. Also, get the Apple wired keyboard. It has two USB ports built right into the keyboard. In any case, my daughter loves the Mac Mini and her friends cannot believe that small little metal box is the computer.

So if you want something small, quiet, conservative on electrical power, not prone to computer viruses, is easy to set-up and manage and has a ton of built-in applications, then go with the Mac Mini, get some Crucial memory and a nice monitor and have fun with your new Apple. Amazon did an excellent job if getting the system to my daughter quickly. Windows is old news. Mac is where it is happening now.
3414986
Great in features, standard applications, looks, simplicity and mobility! Overrules all you eventually Windows neccessairies. Opens them and writes them back in any (Windows) file format you want.

Easy synchronisation possibility (iSync and .mac) with other Mac (also PC?)

Bye it or keep on dreaming.
2176736
I'm using it on a Mac Mini 2012 version. I needed a way to get a third monitor hooked up, using the monitors I already have (Dell 21" HD monitors with DisplayPort).

The install process took only a few minutes. Plug the adapter in, go to the DisplayLink website to download the Mac OS drivers, install drivers, restart computer, done.

The third monitor works fine for what I need it for (computer programming), but I probably wouldn't recommend it for high-end graphic editing, video editing, or hardcore gaming. There are a few anomalies between the native monitors and the monitor run through the adapter. The refresh is slightly slower, the colors for the monitor on the adapter don't match perfect with the monitor hooked directly to the mini-DP on the Mac Mini, and there are some slowdowns or artifacts when the adapter renders certain transparencies.

Other than that, good to go.
2119967
Works great!  Bit of a pain to set up on a Mac.  Effing drivers...
3762961
I'm what you would call a power user.  I work in the animation biz and use unix workstations and pee cees the whole day.  The only time I had ever used a mac was when I was in middle school.  But when I saw this beauty I just had to have one.  The unit is simply beautiful and is great for video editing on the fly...which is what I mainly use it for. It has become an invaluable tool for quickly putting together comps for dailies at the studio.
The ease of use and design of the OS is wonderful...I don't really understand why so many pc users are against macs.  My suggestion is to go out and take it for a spin at your local electronics store and decide for yourself.  For me,  powering this baby up after spending hours upon hours working on SGI and SUN workstaions is a pleasure in itself.
If you are going to get this unit,  make sure you don't skimp on RAM and buy an extra battery because nothing is worst than having your powerbook low in a middle of a work session.
4562236
No drivers for the Mac, but works pretty well anyway.
309049
Good for Mac w/ Logitech software, so much more functionality than Apple mouse
4491722
Now that Macs can run Windows, I am glad I can buy Macs and get the best of both worlds.  I purchased my Macbook Air for school.  I am a Sophomore at college and I have used a Macbook Pro, an HP Laptop, and most recently an iPad.  The first two were bulky and added a lot of weight to my backpack.  I ended up leaving the laptops at home and using campus computers instead, negating the purpose of even having a laptop.

Next, I tried an iPad.  While it was super easy to carry around and beautiful to use, it wasn't as functional as I'd have liked due to the restrictive software (iOS) and lack of ability to help me with programming in my computer science degree plan.

I took a chance and bought the Macbook Air and was instantly relieved of these problems.  It is incredibly light, thus enabling me to carry it around in my backpack and hardly know it is there at all.  You can hold it between your thumb and finger with no problem, it is so light.  It is VERY quiet.  I rarely hear the fan come on.  The screen has a great resolution, and the newer features brought from the Macbook Pro (back-lit keyboard, for example) are a great addition.  I have a Corsair Voyager GT USB 3.0 flash drive and transferring files is insanely quick thanks to the two USB 3.0 ports.  Having one on each side helps a lot.  I have been getting comments about how nice the laptop is.  Please note, I don't use this for gaming so I can't say how powerful it really is.

I have not encountered any Wifi issues as some have said.  I did have a little bit of a problem getting Bootcamp to install Windows 7 because it didn't like my USB drive for that.  I had to borrow someone else's drive but it worked a charm then.  I enjoy flipping to Windows to do my programming at school, then switching back to OSX to browse the web and watch movies.  This is the best laptop I have ever bought.

-----------------------------------
UPDATE: 3/31/2013

The Air is still running great. I wanted to add that I have played Portal 2 and a couple of other older games on the laptop and they actually run very well. The only thing is, the fans come on and it can be a little loud once the graphics start churning out.
2275965
I bought this to use as PC/Mac monitor, not as TV. Even the 39" (compared to 50") is quite large, but moved back 2 feet and you get used to it very quickly. Took a few days to troubleshoot and get everything working smoothly. Some basic things to realize (some mentioned in earlier reviews):

1. I couldn't get 4k to display with my PC (Geforce 780ti) until it was the ONLY monitor plugged in via HDMI.
2. Mouse lag at 30hz is a little annoying, but manageable. I hear a new firmware update (coming) may help with this.
3. You CAN game in 4k mode with a powerful card (Geforce 780ti), but it is not suitable for FPS game, though possible. I've played Dirt 3 and Two Brothers and it is actually playable at 4k.
4. You will probably have to create custom resolution on your PC to get it to display in 4k. I used Nvidia control panel.
5. 120hz mode is super-smooth and works well in games. You also have to create a custom resolution for this (1920x1080 at 120hz). For some games, it will force back into 60hz, so you have to run in a windowed or borderless-windowed mode.
6. Works well with a Macbook Pro 13" early 2011 with Intel HD3000 graphics in 1080p mode. At 2560x1400, it looks kind of fuzzy, and I have emailed Seikei's engineers about this. Hopefully, a firmware update will fix. To get a 2560x1440 mode, you need to download SwitchResX and set a custom resolution and reboot.
7. I can get 2560x1440 at 30hz to display on my Macbook using the Acell B086B-008B-2 active adapter. Others have been getting 4k on MacBooks, but they have HD4000 graphics or above.
8. Make sure to turn shaprness down to 0 and turn off noise reduction. Then, make sure you mess around with the calibration settings for awhile. If you don't, the picture quality is terrible. Here are some good settings to get started
Contrast: 50
Brightness 45
Color: 35
Sharpness: 0
Temp: Warm
Backlight: 40
Noise reduction: off
9. Use a Mac video calibration tool as well (SuperCal).
10. If your computer powers off the monitor after awhile, moving the mouse will get the monitor back on, but it does take about 20-30 seconds, so be patient. For a time, I kept turning off and on the monitor when I didn't need to.

I have to say that videos in true 4k, downloaded from YouTube, are absolutely amazing. It sounds cheesy, but it actually brought tears to my eyes when I first saw the color and definition.
4835175
I have been using Macs for about 5 years now between school and work.  My primary machine has always been a PC.  Being a graphic designer, Macs are pretty much the industry standard.  That is one of many reasons I bought this iMac.

I must say, I love this computer.  It took me less than 15 minutes from opening the box, unpacking the computer, plugging it in, starting it, and set up.  And 10 minutes of that was taking it out of the box, taking the protective wraps off of things, etc.

The initial setup was a breeze.  It automatically recognized the keyboard and mouse (both Bluetooth), easily connected to my network (after I typed in the password), and bam, we were up and running.  Since I never had a Mac before, I didn't have a backup that would put all my files on the computer, but I keep all of my files on an external hard drive anyways.

There have been a few bumps in getting used to doing certain things on the Mac compared to the PC.  However, Apple Care is very helpful and helped me through alot of issues.  The main thing was getting Time Machine working like I want.  Still don't have it backing up my external hard drive, but that is because it is a MS DOS format, which is a format it doesn't recognize.  Other than that, Time Machine is doing backups on its own drive.  Also, for PC users, Time Machine is NOT System Restore.  It is a file recovery program only.  So if you delete a file, you can open Time Machine, find the file, and restore it.

Once you take the time to learn how certain things work compared to PC's, you will figure out that there are alot of things that are just much easier on the Mac.  Granted, I plan to use both Mac and PC for a while, but so far, I haven't had to turn on my PC in several days (and I have only had the iMac for about 10 days).

Overall, it is a great machine.  Feels like it is built very solid, runs fast, starts up fast, looks great in my room, the keyboard and mouse (Bluetooth) never skips a beat, the Magic Mouse was not difficult at all to start using, and overall it is great.  Probably will always stick to Mac now.  :D
2777656
Highly recommended.  I'm a Mac, but needed to install this on my mac with VMware's Fusion3 to run some windows only software for law school--Aspen Study Desk.  Runs like a charm.  Close to Mac Snow Leopard but no cigar--sorry PCs.  Got this order quick and easy.  Best, LeagleEagle
695267
I am a new MAC user, so this is very helpful to me.  The last time I used a MAC was about 10-15 years ago, so a lot has changed.  This is helping ease my learning curve.  I don't know if a long-time MAC user would rate this as highly, but if you are new in making the transition from the PC-world, this will help a lot.
4080831
(Unlike some of the other reviews here, I actually own this computer.  Also, a review below claimed there are five USB 2.0 ports on the back of the iMac--not true; there are 3 USB 2.0 ports on the computer, and two USB 1.0 ports on the keyboard if you have the regular Apple wired keyboard.)

I create Mac software and needed an Intel Mac right away for testing purposes.  I picked up this iMac in the base $1299 configuration from the Apple Store.

The amazing thing about this Mac is that it is still a Mac.  Old software, such as Word, Excel and others work just fine.  Personally I don't notice a slow down or penalty for running older software, unlike some of the negative reviews here--Everything I've tried just works (including all my applications).  Rosetta is just incredible!

The iMac comes with some interesting features:  A bundled remote control for using with Front Row, Apple's new media center software.  A built-in video camera for video chats or taking casual pictures.  The built-in video camera is not a replacement for a real digital camera, however:  The camera quality is not particularly wonderful, especially in low light settings.  The iMac comes with Apple's new Mighty Mouse with a scroll ball, which is actually about the nicest scrolling mosue I've ever used.  Unfortunately, the standard Apple keyboard is included as well.  The key doesn't fit my tastes in terms of the key response, but there is one very nice feature about the keyboard:  It takes up hardly any desk space at all.

The built-in speakers sound fine for casual music or games, but anyone with serious audio requirements will want an external set of speakers.

The iMac comes with bundled AirPort (WiFi networking) and Bluetooth.  The Bluetooth connection works fine with my cell phone for iSync and as a modem.  During set-up of the iMac, I had to plug-in a wired Ethernet connection and configure the AirPort later--the set-up wizard didn't support highly secured AirPort base stations (mine is not advertised and uses a WPA password and MAC address filtering).  However, the AirPort feature works exceptionally well that it's set-up:  My iMac can see about 2x more networks than my iBook when they are sitting on the same desk!

Overall the machine is fast, though you'll probably want to upgrade to 1 GB of RAM.  160 GB hard disk sounds large, but beware that the formatted size of the drive is 150 GB and bundled applications take up about 30 GB--leaving about 120 GB free out of the box.  How does the iMac Intel compare to a PowerPC model?  Fairly well is my guess:  Everything feels speedy to me, but I haven't benchmarked the machine.  Sitting next to my Intel iMac is my dual 2 GHz G5.  I don't notice the iMac being slower than the G5.

The impressive hardware (fast CPU and graphics), familiar interface and bundled applications, along with the high quality wide screen display make this computer a bargain at just $1299.  I'm very happy with this purchase.
3768019
I have owned PCs my whole life. I went to school for computer science and work in IT, so I know my way around a computer, but I was getting really fed up with Windows. It's slow, unreliable, and buggy, and I'm not just talking about Vista. Anyway, I decided pretty much on a whim, given the mac mini's low cost, to get a mac. I will say that when I first got it, there was something wrong with the OS install and I needed to reinstall it the second day I had it, which almost prompted me to return the thing. But once I got it reformatted, it worked perfectly and I haven't had one problem with this computer since. I love how tiny it is. I have it on my desktop, and it has cleared up so much leg room from my bulky Dell, which had lower specs. The thing is lightning fast for every day activities. It boots up in about 10-15 seconds? My PC...well, I won't even go there... Anyway, this computer is highly capable of handling anything the average person would want to do, and it's worth every penny, in my opinion. It's so painful for me to use my HP laptop now, but I can't afford to shell out for the macbook yet. I will soon though! I will never buy another PC.
4069539
I use this to flip back and forth between a Windows XP machine, and a Macintosh (actually, I'm half-ashamed to admit, a Mac using OS 9...)  What I find with the Mac, is that when switching to and from using this device, it is best to be in the Finder, not to be within an application.  Some applications freeze if they're frontmost during the switch.  What's more, when I switch to and from any machine, it is wisest to wait a few seconds after hitting the "switch" button before you begin to use the new computer, or else you might crash the computer!  So, I have to think, and be patient, every time I use this to switch between the 2 computers.  Another Mac OS 9 glitch: whenever I start my Mac, in order for it to configure the monitor's resolution properly, I must start with this switch SET to the Mac... in other words, I can't be using the PC during the minute or so that the Mac is starting up, and must devote the entire system to the PC.

So, given all this, I'd say that it's not really a good accompaniment to a Mac in OS 9.  Sorry, I have no idea about OSX, I so rarely boot up in that OS.

Given these constraints, I must admit it's great to have a single monitor, mouse, keyboard (wish there were also a USB port that would switch too!)  I'm almost always on the Mac, but I use the PC for a few long & boring tasks, so it's a useful item to have... if you're careful every time you use it.

By the way, it was very easy to hook up to the two machines.  A very small box, that can be easily positioned on one's desktop.  It has two small buttons on top... one to switch to one machine, the other to switch to the other machine.  Indicator lights tell which is "on", etc. Well thought out, simple device.  There's also a software switching system available, that I never tried.
332320
I have been using this now about 4 months after many, many years of Windows use at home and at work.  It is sleek, very fast, and the display is incredible.  The transition to Mac OS from Windows wasn't too bad, although the first couple of days had me questioning my decision.  I do most of my work now in Mac OS, but I also run VMware Fusion to host Windows 7 (for those apps that just aren't available on Mac) and Ubuntu.  The virtual machines boot and run much faster than they did in native installations on other computers I have used recently.  Only rarely do I miss a built-in CD/DVD drive and wired Ethernet connector, and both issues can be solved by external add-ons for a small additional cost..