embroidery machine questions

Ok, folks, I need advice. Tell me what kind of embroidery machines you have. What kinds do you covet? Is all the software really as crappy and tedious as I've used in the past? I see folks adding machine embroidery to their clothing and wonder if it really is taking them 45 minutes to an hour for each design or if they have some secret trick.

My embroidery machine is old and I never use it. I only use it for a sewing machine these days and even then I wouldn't mind finding another home for this one and replacing it.

Given their prices, I'm planning for a purchase I convince myself I need and will actually use.