Lots of good advice in this discussion. I'll add this: I support (I know, it's ridiculous)a large 50/50 PC-Mac network. Switching to Macs will eliminate your PC problems...and introduce you to Mac problems. You've got a lot to learn, sir, and I would start with the text "Mac OSX Helpline" (a big yellow book). It's a great text that get you rockin' with Macs. As regards protocols, networking, shares, etc.,OSX is very similar to XP; you'll get the hang of it. Good luck.