Thinking about buying a Mac.

Published on June 15, 2005 By Island Dog In Personal Computing

I'm just wondering how many of you actually use a mac, or if you are thinking about buying one. I have been thinking about buying one for quite a while now. I took a trip to the Apple store this past weekend to take a look around and play with what they have. I have been looking at iBooks and the Mac Mini. I played with both at the Apple store and it really didn't change my mind one way or the other. OSX seemed very nice, but it's hard to judge it while just using it for a short time.

I tried out the 1.25Ghz Mac Mini, the "slowest" of the two out. I have to say I was impressed with the speed. I opened all kind of programs and it didn't seem to have too hard of a time handling it. The appeal for a Mac Mini is that I just "add" to my current setup without much trouble.

I next moved to the 12" iBook. Very nice piece of hardware. I currently have a Dell laptop, but I just don't use it that much. It's big and heavy and just not too practical to take with me to work. I could sell it and that would give me enough for an iBook.

At my work and home I take care of websites, run a small eBay business, do several types of graphic work, and just general computer use. While trying to think about buying a Mac I also realized I would have to buy additional software besides iLife. I guess I would have to buy Photoshop, and any other software I would need.

I would like opinions on if I should make the switch, or your experiences with a Mac.

Comments (Page 1)

cactoblasta

on Jun 15, 2005

I've got a 12" iBook and it's fantastic. The battery life is incredible - I get anywhere up to 6 hours, which is definitely better than just about anything out there for the same price.

The RAM is pathetic, and I really recommend upgrading it the moment you get it - 512 is okay, 768 is better and a gig is excellent if you're going to be dealing with anything hefty.

Programs are a little disappointing. iLife is excellent, but if it doesn't come packaged it's not cheap. Office is a must as well - NeoOffice, the open source version is horribly slow. So the price of setting up a Mac is a lot more than other platforms.

But once it's set up it's awesome. I've got it hooked up with bluetooth to my phone. With a few clicks of the mouse I get my whole calender and address book synced and updated.

I guess it's probably okay for graphics work - that is the primary market for macs after all, but I think the graphics card might be a liability cos it's just a 32 meg one.

Zoomba

on Jun 15, 2005

I have a Gaming PC and a 15" Powerbook.

Over the past few months I do less "work" on the PC and more on the laptop. Since the Powerbook can travel with me, it just makes more sense to have my email, calendar, my files and contacts all stored on it. My PC is pretty much used exclusively for gaming and voice chat (damn you TeamSpeak... release a Mac version!) now.

You say you do a lot of web and graphics work? Will the Mac be your new primary computer to do this work on? If it is, you definitely want a desktop machine. The Mini and the iBook are great little computers but they will not handle heavy load from programs like Photoshop (remember the old joke: "So, how much RAM does your system have?" "Almost enough to run Photoshop!"). If you're set on a laptop, get the more powerful Powerbooks. You'll also want a large visual workspace so go with at least the 15" monitor (and maybe a larger external monitor to do dual-screen with at home).

I love my Mac, it's great... but I recognize there are certain uses it's not suited for. Because mine is a laptop, it's not destined to be a high-end graphics workstation. It's a great workhorse for me that allows me to do most of my day-to-day tasks.

foreverserenity

on Jun 15, 2005

I don't use a Mac anymore but I really love them. I find them really as efficient, possibly even more than a PC. I also liked the fact that I could do everything on the Mac that I did on the PC. Infact when I stopped using the Mac it was because the new office I went to only used PCs. Personally I would like to have another one. And while I'm not as versed on computers like some IT people I found it user friendly. Go for it!

MasonM

on Jun 15, 2005

It's pretty much a personal choice thing. I have always used PCs and never really cared for Mac, but it's really a personal preference thing. I'm currently running PC/Linux which is what I like and works for me.

If the Mac will do everything you need it to do, why not?

Woodbridge

on Jun 15, 2005

I use my Mac Mini as my main desktop at home, I've got the keyboard and mouse connected to my PC for when I need a PC only app or to play games (come on Stardock! I need Multiplicity for my Mac!

) I did bump up the RAM to 1Gb and now its nice and fast (the default 256Mb slows the OS down when you open a few programs)

Overall I'm very happy with it.

iTZKooPA

on Jun 15, 2005

I have gotten alot of people here at work to use NeoOffice and haven't had a single complaint about it being slow. I also don't think it is slow, its not the quickest thing to load up but once its there its fine.

Island Dog

on Jun 15, 2005

Thanks everybody. I still have some thinking to do.

Thanks for bringing up the Mac Mini, Woodbridge. May I ask what kind of things you do with it, and does it handle them ok?

mrbiotech

on Jun 15, 2005

I've had a 15" Powerbook for a little over a month now (decked it out to 1gig memory) and have been EXCEPTIONALLY pleased! It's relatively small and light in comparison to other laptops, but still gives me enough power to run Photoshop well, and has ample screen-space.

If the portability of a laptop isn't required, I'd STRONGLY recommend getting an iMac. The prices have down a ton, and come with huge hard-drives, iLife '05, Tiger, and Dual-layer DVD burners (great for backups). The G5 processor is also a joy to use in Photoshop- really speeds up filters and actions.

If you do buy a Mac Mini, you MUST UPGRADE THE MEMORY. Take it up to at least 512mb, otherwise it'll slow down running just a couple apps. With 1 gig of memory on the 1.5ghz G4 chip in the Powerbook, I have simultaneously been working in Photoshop 7.0 with Safari open with 6 tabs, while writing a nasty 20-page proposal in Word 2004, with 4 OmniOutliner windows open, Endnote searching, and a DVD playing, all without a glitch. It's even more fun to use Expose when all this junk's on the desktop (dual-monitor display) and watch the DVD still playing as it resizes flawlessly.

That's my endorsement!

Ka806

on Jun 15, 2005

i finally bought an ibook. I really just wanted the development enviornment.

But one thing that apple deserves credit for is their design, creativity and the ability to expand your own creativity. One thing I dont like about is its lack of customizability, which can hamper some of that creativity. The design is purty though and I am please with it. I havent done any programming with the thing yet but Id like to. And it can play world of warcraft so im fine (i will never play counterstrike on a laptop though). I probably would recommend a laptop rather than a desktop though. It seems like a better investment.

Having a PC box with linux openBSD and Windows, and having a ibook opens up alot of options for me. I dont think anything could beat that setup....unless I put more OS's on my pc box.

I hate the 1 button on ibooks and powerbooks though

.
It is in my opinion, the single worse thing for mac laptops

Woodbridge

on Jun 15, 2005

Thanks for bringing up the Mac Mini, Woodbridge. May I ask what kind of things you do with it, and does it handle them ok?

I use it for everyday things things: internet, email, music, cataloging my digital pictures (iPhoto is great) and the occational word processing. I can ahve all these things running at the same time with no apparent slow down (with 1Gb RAM that is). The only let down is when I try to play games - simple, non graphical intensive games like card games, tetris etc are fine, but if I try to play FPS's like Enemy Territory, then I have to drop the setting and resolution down to get the sort of framerate I like.

Its perfect for 'office' use, which is fine for me because I've got my AMD 64 and 6800GT for gaming

Island Dog

on Jun 15, 2005

Thanks again. Yes, gaming isn't something I'm concerned about either, my PC is more than enough for that.

I just still have to decide whether to go desktop or laptop. That seems to be the only thing holding me back.

mrbiotech

on Jun 16, 2005

Your work seems to entail some Photoshopping, so I'd certainly recommend an iMac G5: nice screen and the power to run Photoshop well. The iBook might not handle Photoshop as easily: 1.2 or 1.33 Ghz G4 processors vs. the iMac's 1.8 or 2.0 Ghz G5, iBook's 256mb stock memory vs. the iMac's 512mb, iBook's DDR266 memory vs. iMac's DDR400, iBook's 32mb video memory vs iMac's 128mb (this alone should convince you, and lastly iBooks 30 or 60gb hard-drives vs iMac's 160gb or 250gb.

In summary: you get way more for your money buying the iMac vs. the iBook (at the sacrifice of portability).

If portability is a premier concern for you, then certainly go with the iBook, but I'd recommend the 14" Combo-drive at least.

Good luck!

Doomgaze

on Jun 16, 2005

Why bother?
Wait a little less than a year for the x86 OSX machines.

thedon808

on Jun 16, 2005

I bought an iBook just over a year ago. Its a 1Ghz 14" with 512 ram, it runs like a dream, it isnt the fastest machine out there but its does the job. I use it for Final Cut Pro video editing, Photoshop, and 3D modeling (Art of Illusion). I dont have any office suite on it apart from iLife. The only down side to it is disc size is 40Gb which soon gets used up with video. If you dont want to spend too much and can wait the extra 10 seconds or so to render an image I'd stick with the G4.
Now mini or book is up to you? Depends what you need or can spend?

Island Dog

on Jun 16, 2005

Wait a little less than a year for the x86 OSX machines

That is also a concern. I just don't know if it's worth to wait for these machines. I would probably spend the money on a brand new Mac and then they would announce OSX available for all Intel machines.

If you dont want to spend too much and can wait the extra 10 seconds or so to render an image I'd stick with the G4.
Now mini or book is up to you? Depends what you need or can spend?

I understand if I get a "slower" machine it won't run things like Photoshop as well as a faster machine, but waiting a little longer for something to render isn't that big a deal.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I really appreciate it.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!