Here is some information Julie Flanigan recently shared in her MTC Yahoo Group regarding the Silhouette machine and some others:
"For under $250, the only cutter I would recommend would be the Silhouette SD. However, it does not cut wider than 7.8", and its cutting pressure is not as high as the Cricut. It is not rated to cut greater than 80# cardstock. If I were looking to purchase another cutter, I would consider saving my money to purchase a larger format cutter. If you primarily do print and cut projects, and don't need to cut wider or heavier projects, then the Silhouette SD may be fine for you. Many people have UPGRADED to the Cricut Expression from their Silhouette, Wishblade, and Craft Robo cutters.
I don't recommend the eCraft because its cutting is unpredictable. If price is your limiting factor, you might want to consider the BossKut Gazelle or Pazzles Inspiration. The Lynx and Cougar are additional possibilities.
Julie,
craftymusician@comcast.net Flanagan Educational Services
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MTC_Tuts/ "
Wanted to add that Julie has a large number of different cutters - she however does not (yet) have a Cougar or Lynx and she typically only provides input on ones she has actually owned or worked with which is why she simply says the Cougar and Lynx are additional possibilities. She will say that everyone in her Yahoo group who has a Cougar or Lynx seems to be happy with theirs. I'm sure Julie won't mind me quoting her here!
So again - anyone needs to determine what their "Needs" are from a cutter and the software they want to use with it. But remember, don't be short sighted in your "needs" - look past what you are or want to do right now and look somewhat into the future and think about what you might want to do later as well and make sure that the cutter you get will allow you that "growth" into other areas when you are ready to get there.
I have two friends I craft with fairly regularly. They both are amazed by my Cougar and what I can do with it. They both have Cricut Expressions, one just recently bought another one within the past 6 months because her other one was acting funny and she was afraid it was going to go, They both also just bought Imagines which means MORE cartridges that will only work with it. But yet then they say, they can't get a Lynx or Cougar because of the cost. I can't get them to see that they have way more invested in Cricut stuff in just the past few months and more $ to go out to PC because of the cartridge limitations then they would have to put out in a Cougar and then not need to keep sending PC money! They even have MTC that WILL work with their Cricuts - have had it for a long time. They just don't sit down and do the math because the cartridges are what they are used to and most comfortable with. I'll keep working on them though! LOL