Both Windows or Mac

Mac is really user friendly, and Windows is more than before.

If you need to go on internet, check mail, and play music, Mac is a good choice.

With Windows, you will find more tools, but a lot of crap, and a lot of good one. On Mac, sometime, you're still searching :-S

What do you want to do ?

Well at least on Windows, there is such much more people using it that you will probably have someone to help you with it. With a Mac or Linux, it won't be the same.

Ask the people you know wich system they are using !

@Sophie: I'm all for Mac... switched 3 years ago and no regrets!

@Maxime: With Mac, you won't search for help as you won't need help ;)

Thanx gentlemen. I basically want to do what Patrick mentions: check emails, play music, and also write documents.

If it is a biginner and he mean to stay a simple user, then MAC is a good solution.

A friend of mine bougt a MAC to his father (who never owned anything multimedia else then his tv), and now he has a facebook account, he mainly communicate by emails...etc.

I bought a PC laptop to my dad 6 months ago, and he gave it to me back after 2 weeks.

I am deifnitly thinking about offering him a MAC.

But I am also really considering the option of Linux since some distributions becoming very user friendly.

I don't agree with Patrick: why paying more to do such basic tasks??? It's so simple to check emails, listen to music and write documents that you barely need to chose an OS - nowadays the browser makes it all:

- Deezer = listen to music
- Gmail, Zimbra = manage emails
- Write documents = Google docs

So typically I would choose the cheaper and faster OS/hardware which is capable of booting rapidly to a browser. Would you buy a Ferrari to go shopping? May be, but this is what we call snobbery.

Asus (PC hardware manufacturer) is shipping Express Gate with some of its hardware. It's really amazing!

http://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-the-eee-box-expressgate-instant-on-os

Needless to say that each time you buy a Mac, a whale dies.

@Pierre : Usually, Mac is more expensive than Windows. But MacMini is not that expensive.

I bought a PC, mainly to do same things as mentioned. I did it because my wife has a Windows at job, and need some Windows tools.

Without this, I would have bought a MacMini. It was 200$ less than my current PC.

@Pierre: I've got a whale phobia, but I don't mean to harm them. Thanks for the info, I hadn't a clue.