Thanks cx2 for your recommendation.

I've sorta come to the conclusion I'm stuck with Windows one way or another since I'll want access to the games and mud client among other things, plus my current desktop with SoundBlaster Recon 3D and Roccat Cave headphones sounds even better than my MBP did using optical. I suppose I could get a Mac Mini when the time comes and install Windows using boot camp or VMware Fusion but meh. Of course MS also introduced a rule that you can only use Windows in a VM if you own the ultimate edition, and added code to detect this. Boot Camp technically isn't virtualisation, though actual virtualisation just kills your performance so I would suggest not using it for modern software.

When my laptop packs in I'll probably look at an iPad instead, and see if I can't rig something up using the camera connection kit to get a decent USB keyboard connected. I've read articles online where people use a small briefcase as a shell for a self built laptop based around a Raspberry Pi so I might use the same technique just with an iPad, which also removes the need to add a separate screen among other things.

Um, I've owned a MacBook pro for four years going from Snow Leopard through to Mavericks and everything in between. I think that qualifies as giving it a try somehow. My conclusion is I'm still stuck with Windows *if* I want reasonable access to audio games and muds, which simply are only available on Windows. I'm sure there are Mac audio games, in fact I own silver dollar for Mac, but you can't for example get any of the GMA products.

I love my Mac I really do but all I'm generally using it for is general usage, something I could probably do just as well with an iPad connected to a USB keyboard. I'd have less media storage but I can find a work around for that, and an iPad will cost significantly less than a MacBook Air which will still give me media storage issues anyway.

Thus a Mac is more than I need for general usage, and doesn't have the range of audio games available that I desire for leisure purposes. It can be a fantastic system but like many people I am beginning to think a tablet will fill my needs in the portable role better at a lower price and with more flexibility in terms of portability.

@cx2: fair enough, you're game, if you'll pardon the pun.

Even if I were to go back to Windows full-time, it'd probably still be on Mac hardware. I'm not likely to give that any serious thought until Windows 9 or whatever it's called, though. I doubt they'll give me enough of what I need even then. For me, the chief reason is not games, but pro software, in particular VMWare Workstation, but I'd also get Thunderbird and Windows Server as bonuses, which following the iOSification of OS X have become sadly necessary.

I agree, virtualisation is a problem, but it's a lot better than not having XP. You need XP if you want a good part of the value from most audiogames right now IMO. I'm looking into ESXi, to make it go faster.

OK, fair enough. Well, I think virtualisation is a problem for latency no matter what, but yes, it's really very true that one should be realistic if one places demands on hardware. Technically, the only thing stopping me from using Fusion is VMWare, so hopefully they'll listen to my feature requests, but regardless, it seems to me that right now Apple's brand of lobotomisation is preferable to that of Microsoft's on my everyday MBP. I hope the situation changes, either so that legacy peripherals are supported by VMWare, which would allow me to build my testbeds on my Macs, or else Windows gets a keyboard-accessible UI, in which case I'll hop on over, but that isn't yet.

Solution: pay more, get the two SSds and the core I7, which is much more appropriate for that form factor. Mac Minis make excellent servers.

Putting aside Apple's pricing, I think Apple made the right choice, from an engineering standpoint. Sure, if you want power for power's sake, buy from PC Specialist or whoever; they'll build you the biggest, hottest rig imaginable, and you get to choose a silver case to house the thing in. My Mac Minis are excellent for what I need them for, and I'm frankly astounded that they perform as well as they do without putting out much heat at all. I'd sooner use these to some feeble Atom or ARM-based boxes normally sold for the same purpose. And yeah, it's nice that I have enough memory in here to virtualise multiple OSs, which just so happen to include OS X.