As a creative person, is having a Dell like turning up for work as Fashion Director in the Vogue office wearing Payless shoes?

With the end of my job comes the end of my work sponsored laptop. So a few weeks ago I started the extensive task of researching laptops. It went something like this:

1. My detailed analysis of creative people has led me to the assumption that 99% of them use Macs.
2. I am trying to look like a creative person.
3. Therefore I should get a Mac.
4. Ask girl at work how much she likes her Mac.
5. She loves it.
6. Ask her what price she paid.
7. I don't love that so much - or more specifically, my new I-won't-be-earning-an-income-in-three-weeks budget doesn't love it so much.
8. Look online at Dell laptop.
9. Purchase Dell laptop for $800.
10. Say goodbye to vision of sitting in cafe typing novel on Mac looking like trendy creative person.

Seems I am too sensible on the budget front to be too worried about whether or not I look the creative part. But is this creative suicide? As a creative person, is having a Dell like turning up for work as Fashion Director in the Vogue office wearing Payless shoes?

Get over it, says my back pocket. I just hope my lovely new Dell computer is as full of creative juices as the marketing people at Apple have so easily convinced me a Mac is.

My shiny silver Dell arrived yesterday. My tech savviness is about on par with my athletic ability, it just took me two hours to work out how to connect to the internet. In the end Dad had to work it out for me, which is quite shameful considering he is retired and nearing 60. I don't think he could handle the swearing and whingeing that was going on. And that was before I discovered that apparently CD drives don't come as standard on laptops anymore. My customer satisfaction levels are rapidly nose diving. I am sure they are going to hit rock bottom this weekend when I try to transfer my i-tunes over - a task in my mind that is about equal in effort and difficulty to running a marathon. I wonder if the guys on the IT Help Desk at work are open to bribes.