Need help deciding on which Mac to purchase

i looking advice on machine buy, considering doing 'half-switch' mac platform.

situation in work use windows machines software develope , support (my job) microsoft based. , employer has 'given' me power-full dell xps m1710 laptop @ home workstation (actually perk, need call home workstation tax purposes).

having owned 3 macs within six-eight months period last year (g4 quicksilver 800mhz, ibook 1,42ghz , mac mini 1,42ghz), not @ same time mind you, have experience platform. unfortunately relationship these 3 machines came @ time in life when family's situation wasn't optimal , needed time , money muster - smallest amount of money needed, machine kept leaving house bring them home.

seed had been planted. having tried mac, felt mac , breathed mac short period of time, find myself again , again wanting own , time make 'relationship' work. , luckily 'family situation' has been solved, feel time mac-affair resurface.

after long introduction, let me point of post.

need advice on best mac me. , think guys on macrumors forum suited assist me. let me try , explain need , don't need, , let's take there.

need:

• to manage music collection , family's two-three ipods (itunes, basically)
• websurfing , online text-editing (google docs, google calendar)
• picture handling (the family photos need organized , printed if necessary)
• document scanning (not lot, need arises time time)
• remote access windows pcs
• the machine able run leopard time in future
• the machine usable app. 1-1½ years in future.
• capable of running various range of emulators (old 8-bit computers , mame)
• i not inept things computers, don't mind if possible change hard drive, rams or other such things in machine. not ultimate demand, nice have.

don't need:

• new intel machine. don't need super-powerful intel core 2 duo mac. in fact idea of powerpc-based mac in house. seems more 'mac' me. sorry if sounds silly, it's how feel. given finances available looking buying second-hand. have powerful xps pc processor-heavy jobs such video-editing.

it, really.

looking machine learn way 'round mac side of things.

 

i guess number of questions coming way rest of here :

-how looking spent?
-how many of photos have?
-while understand fact feel ppc more "mac", why against intel machines?

fact intel chips revolutionized mac platform. have dual 2.5 powermac 5 gigs of ram, , second fastst graphics card made model (the x800 xt), , bought macbook pro core2duo chip, , 2 gigs of ram. macbook have runs piece of software coworker , wrote @ 3.5 times faster powermac. it's not digression, it's move forward. machine seem need imac. all-in 1 wonder plug in, , it's supposed to. our lab got our santa rosa 24" imac today, , it stellar. if you're looking go used check out core2duo imac (merom), smoke g5 machine (i've gotten arguments here imac c2d vs. g5 quad, , still think intel leap great). xps have seem slow in comparison imac core2duo , up. allow flexibility of expansive, powerful machine, without breaking bank, , not need use not inept skills anything, other updating software sometimes.

 

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