Flash.

Get a Mac if Flash is a requirement. Flash is a PITA sometimes on Linux. And if you're opening stuff people are sending you, it will most often Just Work on a Mac, not so on Linux. Yes, you might be able to get it to work by performing extensive configuration on Linux, but it's a lot of work.

Caveat: I'm basing this on Ubuntu's Feisty; I haven't done much with Gutsy yet. Although with Gutsy I'm hitting a nasty "corrupt the libs" bug everytime I use apt-get. Not good.

Edit: why Gutsy isn't ready yet (for me): [link|https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/133786|https://bugs.launchp...buntu/+bug/133786]

I have one remaining Linux machine at home, and three Macs. The Linux machine will more than likely be replaced with a MacPro soon so I can do video editing easily.

I love my MacBook Pro, although I've had a few issues with the hard drive failing. Dunno if it's bad luck, putting it away quickly before it's actually sleeping, or heat problems.

The only reason IMO to use Linux on a desktop any longer is if you're doing heavy software development, and even that is changing: I have a full Python/Postgres dev environment on my Mac. The Mac is also the best for cross-platform testing, since it can run Linux and Windows in a Parallels instance, while it's difficult to run OS X in VMWare.

I've had no problems on the road with the MacBook Pro, and it's been able to connect to every wireless network I've tried.

As far as sysadminning goes, I've discovered that I do *much* less with the Macs than when I had Linux for them to use. That said, there's still some to be done. Also, the Mac personal productivity apps are wonderful, particularly if you're doing video editing.

On cost: make sure you compare similar setups. When I was looking for a desktop-like laptop, the MacBook Pro was price-comparable to equivalent machines (bluetooth, built-in camera, etc) from other vendors. I don't know how it is for a MacBook.

My experiences only, YMMV, etc.

Flash is much smoother and more performant on my Macs than on my Linux machines. Dunno about Windows, because I don't run it. I haven't had any Flash apps that were ridiculously slow, and in fact running something like a 3D Shockwave app was just fine too.

No offense, Greg, but you tend to overlook problems with Linux because to you it's no big deal to dig in and fix it. :-)

Flash... what about Shockwave? You can't run it on Linux unless you want to mess around with WINE. Ditto Authorware. Linux has made great strides, but it's still not all the way there. And again, if you're doing video editing, nothing approaches a Mac. There's also nothing resembling the WAV and MIDI applications on Linux either. You can run some stuff in VMWare, but the performance suffers drastically for that class of application -- I know, because I used to do it.

Looking at T61s on NewEgg... I don't see any with 17" screens, like my MBP -- so I don't consider them to be similar machines. Comparing similar models (newegg's prices) I see that the T61 is a few hundred dollars more than the equivalent MacBook, with a slightly larger screen. I don't think the difference in cost is nearly what people seem to think it is.

I am refuting the insinuation that Linux has problems with WiFi

What insinuation? Another Scott thought Macs might have problems in that area. I haven't had any. Where was Linux mentioned?

Like I said, Linux is great for developers and sysadmins. If you just want a family machine, my experience says Mac is better.