Defecting to the Other Side

I was trying to get some work done last night on my NBPTS portfolio...I had about an hour to work with, and I really wanted to get some major writing done. However, I spent 10 minutes waiting for the computer to start up and get to the desktop. Then I spent another 30 minutes waiting for it to load Outlook and then Word, which took forever, and then it wasn't keeping up with my typing, and I was making all kinds of mistakes. After only 5 minutes the computer rebooted itself without warning, and I had to start all over. I wasted the whole hour on the stupid computer. We got it right after Jeff and I got married, only 2 1/2 years ago, but apparently that is a lifetime in technology terms. I have had numerous people look at it to see if it can be improved or sped up, but alas! No one has been able to help...it is obvious if I am going to get this portfolio done I need a new computer.

I have been toying with the idea of getting an Apple today. I have always stayed away from them in the past, but I it would be SOOOO nice to take my work home from school and vice versa. The formats are a lot more compatible from PC to Mac these days, but it doesn't work the other way around. I could also get a pretty good educators discount, which would be nice.

Actually though, anything that moves faster than a snail and doesn't make me want to smash it against the wall would be nice.