The most obvious piece of kit you're going to need to be a Mac using Internet marketing is of course a Mac itself. You already know that the Mac provides the smoothest, the simplest, the most satisfying, and the most trouble-free computing experience available.

The Mac is designed from the ground up to provide a smooth running and pleasurable computing experience, from the hardware with its microscopically precise engineering tolerances—the Mac Pro for example has a unibody enclosure that is machined from a single block of aluminum—to the OS, which is built on the rock-solid foundation of UNIX.

The Mac comes with software you'll actually use—iMovie to make instructional videos, iWeb to create websites and GarageBand to make your own podcasts. The Mac runs Microsoft office and works with your existing PC files. It is compatible with most of the hardware you may already have, almost any device that connects via Bluetooth wireless, USB or audio cable. It doesn’t get viruses and it can run Windows and Windows applications. And the Mac, of course, sports the world's most advanced operating system.

But if you don’t already have a Mac, you want to upgrade to a newer one or you want a secondary computer, the only question now becomes, which type of Mac should you buy?

The iMac is a great all around desktop computer. It has a great LED backlit display of up to 27 inches as of this writing, and its sports processors from the Intel core series with an advanced architecture, plenty of memory and storage, built-in WiFi and an available ultrafast solid-state internal drive. The advantages of this all-in-one desktop computer are economy and space-savings.

The MacBook is a great all-around entry-level laptop. Access your e-mail and the Web and run Microsoft office. Take advantage of a fast processor to let your applications fly, as well as a built-in iSight camera, Bluetooth wireless technology and other features. The built-in battery powers MacBook for up to 10 hours on a single charge and recharges up to 1000 times—about five years under a typical workload, and, Apple claims, nearly three times longer than the typical notebook battery lifespan. Like other Macs, it guards your files from prying eyes with Apple's built-in FileVault utility.

For power users, there is the MacBook Pro. Carved from a single block of aluminum, it's a true engineering achievement. The rigid aluminum keyboard webbing holds illuminated keys so that you can see what you're typing in low-light settings such as airplanes or conference rooms (or your own office at night). Right below the keyboard is the multi-touch trackpad which doubles as the trackpad button. With inertial scrolling, you can use two fingers to scroll up and down, pinch to zoom in or out, and rotate an image with your fingertips.

Thin is in with the MacBook Air. If you can do without a FireWire port, Ethernet port, line-in, media card slots, or a Kensington Security Slot, and if sleekness and portability are important considerations for you, this may be your MacBook of choice. The MacBook Air sports a precision aluminum unibody enclosure, a speedy solid-state drive and advanced NVIDIA graphics processor.

The Mac Mini was originally promoted as a BYODKM (Bring your own display, keyboard and mouse) option for those who already have a computer that they want to upgrade (as in replace), but it is increasingly used as part of entertainment systems. Shipping as a CPU unit only, the Mac Mini is the most affordable option for making the switch from PC to Mac. Most modern PC displays, keyboards and mice will work with the Mac Mini.

The current Mac Mini, like many of the other Macs in the Apple line, sports a unibody aluminum enclosure—it's seamlessly carved from a single, solid block of aluminum. The Mac Mini is impressively fast for the price. You could easily use this as your primary computer with its speedy DDR3 memory, 48 processing cores and 256MB of shared video memory.

Macs may not be known as the most easily expandable computers, but nothing could be farther from the truth with Apple’s professional desktop (tower) model. The Mac Pro is as beautiful, well-designed and uncluttered on the inside as it is on the outside. You won't find a rat's nest of wires or sharp-edged components here. You don't even need to turn the system on its side to get at it. The side panel removes with a simple lift of a lever (which is lockable, by the way) and the processor slides out like one of those modules in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey." Two drive bays also slide out for storage, and with another sliding motion you could change up to four expansion cards at once.

For years, Apple’s high-end tower was the only choice for many serious professionals. The Mac Pro does provide ample room for expansion, staving off obsolescence a bit longer. However, any Mac can be expanded through the use of external peripherals, and Intel has so leveled the playing field among Macs that the iMac, with its gorgeous built-in LCD display, is a serious contender for any Internet or business professional who doesn’t need a laptop and would like a computer and display all in one neat, compact package.