I suggest you find out who does your institutional computer-buying.  For
example, I can get a Mac 7500/100, 1G HD, CD, 16MB RAM for $2416.  A
comparable (ha ha) IBM (or Zenith, with whom we have a contract) configured
with Pentium 133, 16MB RAM, 1.2G HD, no CD (!) costs $2253.  Monitors and
other peripherals cost the same for any computer.  The days of Macs being
considerably more expensive than PCs are over for the general public and
have never even existed for academics at most institutions.  Just wanted to
get in my 2 cents worth before this entire thread is declared a "Mac vs PC
discussion" and is properly shutdown by our list administrator!!  In case
you hadn't guessed, I wholeheartedly agree with all the Mac supporters'
replies.  And, to throw another iron in the fire (under the
FearUncertaintyDoubt category previously mentioned in this thread),
consider this - What are the current Win 95 users going to do when
Microsoft starts to push its true multitasking system (some sort of NT/95
hybrid) within a year?  I guess its just another upgrade (sidegrade?!) like
moving from Win 3.1 to 95 (!!dream on!!).
Rob Palmer
Ctr Env Biotech/Univ Tenn
 
>...>My personal views on the future of the Mac OS aside, I will limit myself to
>>saying that getting an image processing program for the IBM that is
>>equivalent to NIH-Image (Freeware) will cost you easily five figures (well,
>>unless you run NIH-Image in Mac OS emulation mode on the IBM).
>>Charles Thomas
>
>
>I agree NIH-Image is great and has a big user base but has anybody who has
>used both  NIH Image and the Windows 95 based ImageTool feel like comparing
>the two.  I have learned to appreciate Macs and I think they will be around
>for a long time but the bottom line is that even with academic pricing, you
>can get a more powerful PC (RAM/monitor/etc) than Mac for the same bucks.
>
>Thanks.
>
>
>Thomas E. Phillips, Ph.D.
>Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
>Director, Molecular Cytology Core Facility
>3 Tucker Hall
>University of Missouri
>Columbia, MO 65211
>(314)-882-4712 (voice)
>(314)-882-0123 (fax)