What do I need to spend to get a basic small business computer? Any recommendations?

MacBook… $1099 USD new, runs Office great, Quicken, Firefox, etc. and has zero known viruses.

Do you care about portability?

Hi jz1220,

Portability’s low on the priority list. What did you have in mind?

Thanks!

Skeeter, I was going to suggest the iMac thinking that it was cheaper than the MacBook, but I’ve since checked the prices, and nope, MacBook is cheaper :)

The other good thing about Macs is that they can run Windows (through VMWare and similar software). So, if there is some Windows-only program you just can’t do without, you can still do it.

without retraining yourself to use a mac, check out the Dell Vostro line of Laptops, you can usually find them for around $550 for a stacked machine. They still include XP on them, which is a big plus for running your business applications and you can remove anything off of it you don’t want (I suggest removing dell’s network assistant, ms works, and anything else software wise. Also I would point you to vio software to purchase your software, I use them at my business and find them cheap and trustworthy. The Macs are amazing machines with solid hardware, but for a basic business user, the Dell Vostros are great machines. You can usually find any business software you need for free such as:

Open Office (A MS Office alternative, you can open and save documents in MS format)
PDF Creator (Convert any file over to PDF with this great tool)

And many others!

Again the Dells are just cheap great PC’s, if you have the money and the time, buy a Mac, they are great machines.

On the dell note, they have a great tech support department. On the same note though, I know that from contacting them many times.