trying to pass off a blatant spoof as the real thing
that was a genuine mistake
Also you should listen to KBPsen, and take a more objective view of criticism of Apple stuff. Others have had experiences with it that you haven't had
Anyway,
airship: your IT chap seems to know what he's talking about, more-or-less.
I don't know what country you're in, but it might make sense to buy refurbished machines from the UK via eBay, e.g.
here. These will run 7 just fine.
You won't have warranty support etc. but as they are so cheap, you can just buy a couple extra as spares.