The husband is a long-time Linux man. And has, unsurprisingly, always had PCs. So when he got his folks a computer many years ago, he bought them a Dell. If the computer had been for his own personal use, he would have just built it himself. But buying them a machine from Dell ensured they would have a support number to call in times of need. And that worked. For a while. The warranty has long since expired and the old box seems to be causing far too many problems these days (some of which are operator errors). So the husband decided it was high time for a switch. And surprised me by buying my in-laws…a Mac mini. Goodbye crappy Windows ME. Goodbye Internet Explorer (we’d tried to get my father-in-law to use Firefox exclusively, but I don’t think that was happening). Goodbye bi-weekly tech support calls to our house. See, the husband also purchased the three-year Apple protection plan. Yes, it was $150. But that boils down to less than a dollar a week. Well worth the money, I’d say. We delivered the new little box last night and I have to say, I was sad to see it go. But I’m sure it will work out as intended, and hopefully the Tiger we’ve unleashed on my unsuspecting in-laws will play nice.