James, I'm not going to dis you man, I respect you. But if anyone would have asked me I would have expected you to be from the "it aint the hammer it's the carpenter" crowd. I have serious reservations about stifling someones new-found interest in recording by suggesting that it can only be accomplished in a certain fashion, potentially dissuading somebody from an artistic journey that many of us enjoy immensely.
It's bull. I tried to use humor to illustrate that fact, and obviously it misfired. I suspect you could make a great record with a 4 track cassette recorder and a 57, I suspect you probably have. I also assume that at some point in your life when that little recording bug bit you, you might not have started out with the most esoteric equipment around and had to make due, overcome, improvise and learn to use what you had at hand and make it kick ass.
Now if you were immediately swept away into neve and ssl rooms and never once had to want for something more, or accept something less, then I guess I am wrong<-------(there's the line you can quote me with)
That is the learning curve and it is a path we all have to travel regardless of the medium involved.
I say to the original poster, buy what you can afford and refine your craft, as you improve you will undoubtedly find things that work for you. As soon as we adhere to an idea that there is a right and wrong way to make art then we are no longer artists but a cog in a wheel. I prefer to approach each session with an open mind, I don't always succeed but I think it's a good ethic.
As far as the kernel of the OS I could give a fuck less, I know neither xp or os x crash very much if they are maintained correctly. I fail to see the debate these days as anything more than a personal preference which for some reason mac people seem to be visciously, sometimes obnoxiously adamant about that preference.
respectfully
the smart-alek
I think the iMacs SCREAM "midrange", dont you? 
