5 Things That Would Help Me Jump Ship To Mac

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For those of you that read yesterday's posting, you know that Microsoft has got me down to my last nerve.

I'm sick of my browser crashing. I'm sick of my O/S crashing. I'm sick of overwrite just coming on without provocation in a word document and literally eating my words as fast I can write them.

And I will not upgrade to Vista. So where will this leave me in the next year or so, when I'm ready to upgrade to a new notebook?

Mac?

It's tempting. But, I would feel better about it if Apple did the following:

1. Make a tablet version of the Macbook. I just played around with a friend's HP Tablet notebook. It's about 18 months older (and has Windows XP on it). I have to admit, I coveted it. I love the idea of handwriting notes directly into my notebook.

2. Put a right click button on the Apple mouse. Just do it. A mouse without a right click button is like driving on the left side of the road in England. It's just plain weird.

3. Lower the prices. How can I justify spending between $1100 and $1500 on a Macbook to get what I need? The notebook that I'm using now cost me a whopping $400 new and out of the box about two years ago. Memo to Steve Jobs: money is tight. Gas is over four bucks a gallon in Connecticut.

4. Throw in a free iPod Nano or shuffle. Something. Other PC sellers throw in free printers and scanners all the time. It's a nice gesture. Just do that too! P.S. It's smart business. You know it's just going to get me to buy more songs, etc. off iTunes.

5. Bundle in Microsoft Office for Mac. Don't make me pay extra for it. I get it bundled into my el cheapo PC notebooks without feeling the cost. If you really want me to jump ship, then you have to make room for all my old baggage (namely files that end in .doc, .ppt, etc.).

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987. @oricchio