Still dont agree...
If u cnt put up with windows-DONT...
In the sense that dont use the os for anything that u can do on macs...like for example,internet browsing etc....
u can get hold of a decent size LCD screen....put away ur cpu in a differnt room altogether and jst keep the screen before ur eyes in ur office.....
or if u think that u dnt wanna go ahead with a pc for the fact that u have to maintain it,i dnt disagree considering that u are working and in ur late twenties

But jst cz u have had a bad experience wth some part of a pc dsnt really give u a reason to try it again cz i knw a lot of htpc users-lots-including me who have no issues wth their pcs at all....
Also i really dnt knw what games u tried on a pc,if any u tried at all...cz the games nowadays that u get to play are nothing less than breathtaking.....consider this-year 2008 is considered widely to be the best year in the history of pc gaming...nd m not ven considering the fact that u played any on a controller let alone a controller wth vibration...
But the flexibility that an HTPC offers is satisfying.....
Now that i have done a lot on my htpc at home m planning on a multiplayer over LAN inside my house itself in 2 different rooms...
Also for more casual users i am contemplating a terminal or a couple of terminals on different floors with multitouch capabilities-all server resting on my htpc CPU and terminals offering hosts of facilities like quick internet,gaming,movies etc,add connectivity to cellphones,gamepads, and much more...
M working on more things on the same lines.....
Now thats what i think technology can do...and if u think this is nt good enough i dnt knw what is.....seriously...
as far as xbox and ps3 are concerned,the controller issue has a lot of history with xinput and directinput which seriously is too big for me to write ....but xbox controllers are very heavy and standardized while ps3 controllers aare light,offers more flexibilty....xbox controllers are more popular cz microsoft has tried to make some clever (read:discriminating) moves to capture pc gaming....i still love my logitech gamepad....
And that is y people believe that xbox ones are BETTER...
Not a big difference between few titles specifically designed for ps3...
U gotta try them...seriously..i did and there not nt a handful there are lots of dem whch are only for ps3...and its cz there is an ample market for dem..
most of the games are developed first keepin in mind pc users,they are then ported to xbox and ps3....
so in the end i believe that there is lots technology can still offer that u hvnt tried but should.....
Having said that i finally convinced my gf to buy an iphone and now she cnt wait to get a 3gs...waiting for it to launch like crazy...
But there are lots beyond itouches and iphones,so till then have asked her to enjoy those....!!!:)
Cheers
Shashwat