Carrier, you don't need an Apple ID to download updates.
As for the rest, you're actually sort of right IMHO. Apple are mildly unscrupulous bastards and their first-level customer support is pretty terrible (not the people, but the scripts / things they are told to say).
However, Apple fans seem to be often blind to criticism of the company or products, to the extent of rejecting any point of view that threatens their own, vis.
mixture.
Notwithstanding that, don't make the mistake of thinking that Apple give a toss about you, your wife, your custom, or what you think of them, because they don't.
Originally Posted by piltdown man
Because of the way it is built it is prone to infiltration by "ne're-do-wells",
Windows 7
64-bit has been proven to be more secure than Mac OS X 10.7. It was announced at a security conference by an independent third party. I can't find the exact article but there is some more background here:
Are Macs safer than PCs? | Naked Security When you compare a locked-down corporate Windows machine to the average Mac, the Mac looks even worse.
OS X's kernel is arguably a more secure way of doing things, but Apple have got sloppy recently.
Originally Posted by piltdown man
you'll be back asking about "how to you do this" and "where you get support from".
If OP does decide to go the Linux route, Ubuntu and RedHat are distros with paid support, manuals, etc. available.