Great Mac-buying advice from the guys at Macword. There definitely are still a lot of people out there who seem to think you need a Mac Pro or Macbook Pro for even moderately heavy use, such as that a typical web designer does. In reality, a Macbook or iMac is plenty of computer for 90% of users out there. General rule: unless you’re a hardcore Mac gamer or doing professional-level video editing or 3D modeling, you probably don’t need a pro-level machine.
http://www.macworld.com/article/133150/2008/05/macbuying.html
001 // Matt Robin // 05.14.2008 // 4:40 PM
Over the past 6 months, I’ve come to the same sort of thinking actually. Fantastic as the MBP is - it really would be more than I need and it seems a more fragile (body) piece of kit than the regular Macbook. To me, the Macbooks are about portability anyway (right?), so the more more rugged option makes sense to me in that regards. For desk work - I think the iMac with the 20 or 24 inch screen would be more than capable.
002 // cpawl // 05.15.2008 // 8:54 PM
The problem for me with the the macbook is battery life, using a laptop keyboard exclusively (sure I can plug in an external - as I can an external monitor thus making it a desktop anyway). Laptops just always feel like half computers to me. They are more inconvenient that convenient, I have a 3 year old 15 inch powerbook that is pretty slow, has terrible battery life, is scratched and chipped, has screen ware, the keyboard is going, and I can cook an egg on it.
The reason I went with a MacPro was history, Up until this year I have used my Dual450MHZ (yes MHZ not GHZ) machine. Yes, seven years of getting by on a supposedly subpar machine. As a matter of fact my wife still uses it for everyday things. The best part about it was that it was faster running Tiger than it was OS 9 when I bought it (I am not talking about OS level of opening windows I am talking about system performance.) What I really loved about it was that I was able to update it along the way. At the end I have 1.5GB or memory (the max for this machine) a 512MB video card (came with a 128MB) an audio card, a six port USB 2 card, dual 250 GB hard drive, ..etc. The point is those upgrades kept it going. The imac I bought 4 years later than this machine is basically useless right now. It has become my 2 year old daughter’s DVD player.
I would have however considered an imac if it wasn’t for that god awful glossy screen. There is no way I could work with that thing, and I am just as surprised as I am insulted that this is a new standard on computers. Nothing like seeing the next room and a reflection of yourself on top of that $10,000 important ad your working on. My cousin has a glass screen LCD TV and you have to close every shade in the house or wait until it is night time to watch it otherwise you see more of the view behind you than the show you are watching. This glass idea to me is a usability nightmare.
003 // Jeff Croft // 05.15.2008 // 11:16 PM
Cpawl-
Have you actually used a glossy screen iMac? Because, in my experience, the Apple glossy screens don’t glare like that when they’re on. I’ve seen the glass screen TVs, too — Apple displays are nothing like that.
004 // Cpawl // 05.16.2008 // 5:59 PM
I checked out the imacs at an Apple store soon after they shipped. I was looking to upgrade and originally excited about these systems. I was weary of the glossy thing so I went to check one out in person.
At the Apple store I can see myself, the overhead lights, and the display monitors behind me as I played with the machine. My office at home has a good amount of nature light so I knew this would not work for me.
My wife’s brother got a macbook pro and is in love with it. When I am over the house for “tech support” I can see his TV, the reflection of the living room window, and if the kitchen light is on I see that too. I often have to move it around to avoid glare.
They do look stunning in the dark. Even then the color is a bit too false for me to trust doing print work.
My iphone suffers similar issues. It is crisp and bright as hell in the dark but during a summer day it is a complete wash out. Even in well lit rooms, it is a good tool for spying on those who are behind you.
I still feel like I made the best decision with a desktop computer. Although I do wish they would have given an option with the imacs to not get glass. Glass on a monitor to me just makes absolutely no sense at all.