The problem: They come free with the new iMacs. Apple's new mouse, however, doesn't work with Windows, so no need to go out and pay $69 for one. If you're a Mac person, this may work for you. Magic Mouse: A mouse with a touch sensitive surface. You can buy a cheaper Windows box, but you won't find many for $599 that, like the MacBook, include the graphics power to take advantage of DirectCompute.

Again, however, these have the hardware to make for a good Windows 7 machine. Updated Mac Mini: Apple's cheapo Mac gets updated innards, including a quicker processor. Better still, it comes with a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor, which, when paired with the notebook's DDR3 memory, should crank out good graphics for a $1,000 notebook and take advantage of Microsoft's DirectCompute technology. The seven-hour battery should hold up longer than what you'll find in most $1,000 notebooks. New MacBook: The really interesting stuff lies within the $999 notebook's redesigned polycarbonite shell. Get the optional ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512MB of memory for another $150 and you've got a machine able to handle some pretty serious videogaming. None of these consumer-class Macs come with cheap integrated graphics, out-of-date main memory setup or a pokey processor. The new models with backlit LED displays, in 21.5 and 27-inches, however, offer more than just a pretty aluminum face. So let's look at Apple's refreshed Mac lineup from the perspective of a dedicated Windows user: And why should they? Windows 7 is getting some good reviews. The problem: Many computer users know Windows too well to give it up now. Not that the latest version of Apple's OS X operating system, Snow Leopard, is bad. Then, as Apple Chief Steve Jobs might say-boom-you've got a very nice PC. Apple's Boot Camp utility even makes this easy. Look deeper still, and many lack the ability to take advantage of Microsoft's new DirectCompute technology, which speeds up mundane tasks such as handling digital media files by tapping into the graphics processor (Apple's operating system has its own version of this technology, dubbed OpenCL). Apple's latest machines may pair even better with Windows 7.įor starters, many cheap PCs include pokey processors and miserly amounts of main memory housed in chintzy-looking shells. It has long been an open secret, however, that if you load Windows Vista onto Apple's hardware, you'll get some of the best Windows boxes around. Yet some of the PCs being introduced lately won't actually be able to take advantage of everything Windows 7 can do. That's because Windows 7 really is a decent operating system.

So it probably really is a coincidence that Apple updated its lineup of Macs on Tuesday, just days before the consumer version of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7, launches on Thursday.īut if suggesting Windows users make a Mac their next Windows box is wrong, we don't want to be right.

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