Your GM may differ in this regard, but I'd say that you were not building the character to explore the depths of your magic but rather abusing the cheapness of the quality to get something at a discount.

Now that's a valid point. I missed that on the first read through.

Though technomancers can become more powerful than hackers in the matrix, especially in the long run, hackers are far more versatile - mostly owing to the fact that their abilities are not directly linked to their essence.

In the Matrix, it's definitely qualitative. In RL, Hackers can dabble in street samminess easily, while a TM will have to rely on drones to protect his ass in the valley of darkness. Which isn't a bad situation, just pigeonholey.

Here's a long answer for ya, because I like typing.

A well built technomancer using his sprites to the best of his abilities can roll a hacker. But oh, do they ever pay for it. They're the uber-specialists of SR4. Becoming a skilled technomancer who is also remotely competent in other areas can be a real trial. Also, nothing, and I mean nothing really compares to the pain that is increasing complex forms after chargen. Complex forms are a karma devouring blackhole from which not even light escapes, unless you're using some kind of houserule system. Seriously, if it weren't for machines sprites, they'd have a hard time even dabbling in rigging, and hackers practically do double duty as drone riggers by default now.

Meanwhile, it's pretty easy to make a competent combat hacker or Hacker/Drone Rigger right out of chargen, or, as you've already noticed, a Hacker Adept. Hell, with tailored pheromones I've made a few Face/Hackers. Another thing to keep in mind is that t's easy to squeeze wired reflexes 2 into a hacker. Since hackers can use their meat initiative when using AR now, that means a hacker can gain initiative passes both on the 'trix and in the meat with one stroke. I can tell you from experience that it can drastically increase your survivability, since if nothing else you don't have to use VR and risk biofeedback damage just to net extra initiative passes anymore. So if your Icon crashes, it crashes. Big deal. Meanwhile, TMs don't even get a seperate Matrix Condition modifier; if you crash their living persona, it's like you shut off a chunk of their brain for a while and they fall unconscious. And honestly, a hacker is usually good enough to get the job done... Unless, of course, they run into an opposing technomancer...

No. Quicker. Easier. More seductive.

[Note: original quote edited to make the allusion work.]

So for my first two levels of magic (at character gen) I was thinking of +2 computer skill, +2 Hacking, +2 Electronic warfare and then multitasking.

For magic point three I was planning on putting another point into each of the three skill bonuses and taking an enhanced sense (to fit with the character background)

After that I was intending on pouring magic points into initiative.

How did your game's character do it?

I just looked over the rules. It appears to me that ,with the costs involved, a starting hacker could be a bit meaner in cyber-space than a starting technomancer (at 400 bp)

In the long run technmancers can exceed Hackers because they can eventually get higher ratings, because registered sprites can perform the assist operation task that agents can't and because sprites can do the whole slew of sprite powers that are beond the ability of agents.

On the other hand good programs are going to be much easier to get than complex forms.

Do Hackers have anything comparable, in terms of throwing in a few extra dice at an action, to the assist operation task?

That's the trade-off. In the matrix, most actions are skill + program. Hackers max out both at rating 6. Adepts can increase the skill dice to 9 or so, and TMs can increase the program (complex form) dice into the upper stratosphere.

The trade-off is in specialization. Hackers can get cyberware and get high attributes and other enhancements to become better at non-matrix stuff. Adepts also, but slightly less so because Adept powers are less practical than cyberware. TMs are the aforementioned uberspecialists and have few options for improving their non-matrix abilities, but kick can more and more ass in the Matrix, more so than any other build.

So the choice depends on the team you're planning on running with, and what kind of character you want. If you just want to be unbeatable in the matrix, TMs are the choice. Being a hacker/ Magician, hacker/ street sam or hacker/ Adept will get you into most corporate nodes for most shadowrunning purposes, but you might catch the occasional beating in the matrix.

You're right that hackers have a much easier time of having the right program for any situation, but threading mitigates that a fair amount and the ability to jack up bread 'n' butter CFs like Exploit and stealth up past rating 7 makes up for an awful lot.

Anyway, I feel that I must stress one thing over all else: Sprites don't just go beyond the abilities of an agent; they can potentially go beyond the abilities of a hacker. It's not easy, and certainly a Hacker adept can specialize enough to make it impractical to compile a sprite powerful enough to take him out mano-a-mano, but any way you slice it, sprites are still far, far more versatile and powerful than Agents. Note too that registering a Sprite isn't anywhere near the chore that binding a Spirit is for mages, and having a couple on hand in case of emergencies isn't too hard to manage and can REALLY ruin some poor corp hacker's day.

Anyway, the overriding theme remains the same: Hackers for versatility, Technomancers for sheer Matrix ability. Once online, TMs really have nothing to fear other than other TMs and succumbing to sheer attrition from taking li'l bits of damage and fading here and there.