first Mac have a few questions

this would be my first apple computer. after being a pc user for 10 years i am thinking about looking into a imac. i really dont have any good reasons to say with a pc besides all the software i have. meaning i really dont want to buy some of it again.

the most i do now with a pc is internet/email, watch and listen to cd's/dvd's. some gaming but i spend 95% on a console. autocad and photoshop once in a while. the only thing i think i would be with out it seems is autocad but i really dont need to use it with the job i have now.

so do you think i would ok with doing this switch? besides adding more ram what software/hardware would you recommend?
i was woundering if anyone here has one? pro/cons of the imac do i need to get any spyware /anti-virus programs?



im also looking for a tv tuner/dvr. can someone recommend one? i saw this on the apple website what do you think of it? http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...plm=TB992LL/A

i would appreciate all the help i can get. thanks for help.

Spyware and viral issues are nonexistent on Mac OS X for now. There are anti-virus programs, but they slow your computer down unnecessarily, and most of them cost money.

As far as software for the basics:

Internet - Safari or Camino are great browsers; if you want a more Windows-like experience, there's Firefox.

E-mail - Apple Mail is the default program that comes with the computer, and I've never had problems with it. Again, if you want a more Windowsy program, Thunderbird is a solid option. Also, if you get Office, it comes with a mail app called Entourage that a lot of people seem to like (I only tried it for like a day, and didn't think too much of it).

Music - iTunes.

DVD - Built-in DVD player app.

Instant Messaging - iChat's so-so. great for video, but I'd recommend Adium or Proteus for more flexibility.

Couldn't tell you about a TV tuner. Good luck with your purchase, and I hope you enjoy it. Welcome to the world of Apple.

TV Tuner- I got the Alchemy TV-DVR card. It's pretty good, and allows you to record your shows as well. But it's an internal PCI card, so only works if you have a powermac. There are numerous USB solutions that are available also, depending on your computer type. You'll just have to hunt around.

Here's where I bought the Alchemy one:

http://store.yahoo.com/lovemacs/dvrpcisil.html