Just looking out for other devs, but couldn't you just get a cheap/used iMac if you're that low on funding? Or you just grab for a lower-hanging, non-Apple fruit, such as Flash or Steam or Android. It'd help you build credibility without a huge initial investment, even if it isn't your long-term goal. According to more successful developers than I, the App Store and Android Market don't really make a whole lot unless you get featured due to their poor organization and their interest in only showing the most popular, most profitable stuff. You get featured by having a fan base to help promote it in the beginning.

Let's compare:
Apple:
- You make it big, you become rich
- You won't make it big unless you have support beforehand
- Costs $1000+ for their computer (unless you want to make a dual-boot hackintosh or have OS X in a virtual machine) plus a continuous developer kit fee
- OBJECTIVE EFFING C OR GO HOME
Flash:
- Plenty of sites will pay you
- You won't get rich, you won't be ignored
- Costs nothing, since you don't need Adobe's stupid expensive IDE when FlashDevelop works better (minus vector graphics) and the compiler is free
- Language looks like Java, is a dialect of JavaScript
- Can be compiled as AIR and then pushed to Android and the App Store
Android:
- Like for Apple, but doesn't need a $1000 white computer and allows Java, C, C++, and Flash/AIR
Steam:
- High quality standards, need a polished product to get in
- Will promote you to the death, guaranteed lotsomoney
- Whatever language you want to use

bluh and it's almost midnight and I need sleep, sorry if any of that didn't make sense or if links are broekn. I'm pretty tired, and holy hell that got long
Summary: Spending $2300 to develop for a saturated platform without a name to stand on will probably be a loss. There are better approaches.
Anyway, good luck on whatever you choose to do!

You do bring up a large number of good points, quite a few alternative/temporary routes I didn't take into consideration. (Flash for example)
However, (This may just be ignorance speaking) I've always seen flash as a childlike language doing it's damnedest to pass as an adult language by compensating for quality with quantity. (kind of like how Family Guy still holds a good time slot because too many stoners still get off on the same recycled "humor") That opinion is mostly due to the sheer number of "cheezy", "cliche indie" looking games produced through it eg. Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers, anything crapped out by Zynga etc., I'm not saying they are bad, but they don't impress me in the least.
On the flip-side, that also translates to >LOWERED EXPECTATIONS< when it comes to a flash game, so less effort a.k.a. less time can be put into crapping one out after another leading to higher numbers of supporters for when I would move into other languages or platforms.

In the long run however I would prefer to focus on the iOS with token acknowledgement to other similar systems that seem like they'll last. (or turn a quick-enough buck to be worth it, lol) and while I doubt my first few games would be akin to Oblivion, Fable, Infinity Blade and others in that line of grand beauty (or even genre), I would like to be able to build towards that level of "refined effort on display" in a straight line, as opposed to changing lanes midway and having to build momentum anew.

I have heard wonderful things about Unity3D, (how you can program once and export for almost all platforms) but after looking into it, the costs are just as obscene (if not more-so than) as getting an iMac. Admittedly, though, the utility far surpasses the Mac for money spent. Luckily though Unity3D will also run on Mac computers, so if I win the lottery I can be covered on all fronts, lol.

I really do appreciate what you said and right off the bat you racked up some serious respect points with me for laying it out as you have.
I hope nothing of what I've said came across as off-colored to you and if you disagree I'd enjoy to hear your opinion on the subject.

Also, thanks for having taken the time to reply to my journal.
I tend to refer to any "HALP ME!" journals as "the silence of the fans" journals for obvious reasons, lol.

Yes, Flash kind of does have a bad reputation of low quality lingering from its past. Alien Hominid was born nine years ago, back when there was Actionscript 1 (a plastic knife among cutlery) as the Flash programming language and there was nothing to compete against. Flash wasn't really the same thing, either, seeing as it was owned by Macromedia and had a completely different and slower virtual machine. Getting any Flash game to run without lag was an extremely difficult challenge back before 2007. The only thing that hasn't changed much since then for Flash is Newgrounds, the portal Alien Hominid came through. As for Castle Crashers, I've never heard of it before, but as far as I can tell it didn't come from from Flash (then again I just spent 10 seconds looking at the wikipedia article so I'm probably wrong). Zynga is completely commercial with their games and not actually trying to make something good, just something that sells... their games are meant for the most casual audiences anyway, and not going to appeal to hardcore gamers.

You're not allowed to throw the childlike-cliche-indie-cheesy card from the platform from which Angry Birds and Doodle Jump made their fortunes. :P Flash, too, has long and pretty and deep games, all that have became very successful. No great ventures into 3D yet, because Flash won't support hardware-accelerated 3D until the Molehill release which is hopefully very soon (you can get Molehill builds of the compiler already). The reason for the quantity-over-quality in Flash is that for most Flash portals, there's no barrier to entry whatsoever--no fee, no age requirement, no validation, nothing. It's up as soon as you hit the publish button. If you make a good game, it'll still get out there, and every Flash portal does a good job of publicizing games that don't suck in the eyes of the audience. My first game, made in 8 days after only even having the Flash compiler for 2 months, has almost 250,000 plays and a 4/5 rating on the one site that I posted it on. Not trying to brag (god my game sucked in hindsight, now I can do better, and I can make art that doesn't literally get confused with shit now that I have more than 8 days) but just a good idea of how much sites will promote games, even from developers who are just starting out, if they're decent.

The Android Market has all the distribution of the App Store but would require a $200 phone rather than a $1000 white box, so there's no reason to turn away from it just because you're a supporter of the iOS.

Unity reaches the same platforms as Adobe AIR, but isn't bad. It's definitely an option, and really is what you have to go through to get high-quality 3D done for browser games right now. It's just randomly expensive, yeah, and not known as much as Flash. Kongregate allows Unity games, otherwise I wouldn't have known about it at all. When Flash gets Molehill, I expect Unity to basically be crushed by the cheaper and bigger alternative.

Anyway, nothing wrong with iOS, and iOS makes a great final target, but a poor first mark right now. The number of good games sliding off the App Store's newest games section is disgusting and disappointing, as social and casual games reign on the platform. Besides, the cheaper options will make the money you need for the iMac. I, too, will port to the iOS when I'm ready, but I'll probably keep developing for iOS, Android, and Flash all at the same time, because you don't need to stay in one lane.

Advice is the most reasonable thing I can give, and if it saves you $2300 in the end, it works the same as money I guess. :)