Bailey - the Mac is a very easy way to go. Reason being that iTunes does a really nice job integrating the ripping with the library management functions. And while a few very expert people may argue the point, you get this ease of use with absolutely no loss of quality. It is vastly to get great results from the Mac then from EAC, Foobar and all the rest...
The Mac is also very open - you have all the standard ways to get the data out of the Mac - USB, Squeezebox via Ethernet or WiFi and Airport Express to name the three most common. And iTunes will also support your iPod.
FWIW Apple sold 14 million iPods in Q4 2005. iTunes is a robust format that is well supported with continuous development (albeit mostly to drive sales for the iTunes store). IMHO a lot of people are going to be targeting this market with software and hardware offerings that extend the usefulness of the base product.
If you don't want to mess with it, this is the way to go
The Mac is also very open - you have all the standard ways to get the data out of the Mac - USB, Squeezebox via Ethernet or WiFi and Airport Express to name the three most common. And iTunes will also support your iPod.
FWIW Apple sold 14 million iPods in Q4 2005. iTunes is a robust format that is well supported with continuous development (albeit mostly to drive sales for the iTunes store). IMHO a lot of people are going to be targeting this market with software and hardware offerings that extend the usefulness of the base product.
If you don't want to mess with it, this is the way to go