New To Apple (Advice Needed)

Well, by the end of the summer new products should be released. Any mac notebook will be perfect for what you want to do. Plus, with the beta release of Boot Camp, you can have to best of both worlds.

Click here

Article from the BBC. External links are on the right.

by june for certain, appleinsider suggests that we could see them by the end of this month however.

Get the apple macbook, trust me. I have been a PC expert user since windows 95 up to XP. I switched to mac a year ago and felt the same uneasiness as you do. Yes, it does take some time to get use to but once you get use to Apple's OS X, you will never look at Windows XP the same again. The OS is probably the best OS I have ever use. With the exception of gaming, everything is much faster and smoother than Windows XP. Now with the option to run XP on intel mac, the question(s) you should be asking is not should I switch to mac but should I get the 1.83ghz, 2.0ghz, or go balls out with the 2.13ghz. Trust me, OS X and macintel will leave you pondering the question, "why didn't I switch sooner?" However, it will take some time to get use to the new interface and new OS.

Yeah, the OS does take some time, but not very long. I switched to macs almost a year ago and I don't regret it. Mac OS X is superb.

As for whether you should get a notebook or desktop or both it is totally up to you. If you get a notebook it is portable so you can take it around with you especially to class to take notes. If I were to get a desktop, I really do like the iMac's. But with desktops they are obviously not portable. (You could carry around the iMac but I wouldn't suggest it ). If you want both a notebook and desktop, go for it.

I would wait. While the iBook and Powerbook will still be great machines and will be usable, I would transition to an intel mac since that is where apple's future lies. The MacBook Pro is a great machine and the MacBook's, whenever they will be released (June(?)), will too be great machines. As for the processor upgrade, I wouldn't suggest doing so because you won't see that much of a difference between a 2.0 or 2.13 machine. Your money will be better spent upgrading the RAM (apple is overpriced so get it elsewhere).

You can get the 15.4" macbook pro now if you need a notebook. It's only 5.6 lbs
which is extremely light for a 15.4" machine plus the screen is one of the best screen available. Speed shouldn't be a factor since the 1.83 ghz dual core should be able to handle all tasks with great efficiency. 1gb of ram is mandatory and I would recommend the 5400 RPM over the 7200 RPM. The 7200 RPM does get quite hot and the performance gain is not that noticeable. So in summary,
get: 1.83 cd, 1 gb ram, and a 5400 RPM hard drive. I have the 7200 RPM and I'm selling it to get a 5400 RPM because of heating issues.

Well, the rumors are that the new iBook (MacBook) will have a 13.3" widescreen screen. They may make a MacBook Pro with a similar screen. 1GB of Ram should be the minimum. 5400rpm hard drive will be just fine. If you want to game you can always up the graphics card.

get like the macbook or macbook pro and if you want to game on the laptop, you can! I think they both have x1600s which are good and you can put ms if you want on it and play some games, but this is just me i say go for like the ibook (the lightest one) then get a kickass gaming desktop

What would you need a desktop for that couldn't be handled by a laptop?

From what I've seen (in my own experience and that of others), most people with both a laptop and a desktop use one predominantly while the other one mostly sits and collects dust. There are exceptions to this, of course, but from what you've said so far, I don't think you'll have a need for both.

i'd say start saving your bones and make your decision down the road when more products have been rolled out. even so i'll make some suggestions to think about.

it sounds like u want mobility in a laptop, so yes, a 12-13" notebook would be right up your alley. that said don't rule out the 15" MBP, per the thinness and light weight. i say that bc we don't know what the GPU will be in the newer apple notebooks coming out. Assuming something reasonably potent is put in the 13" macbook/iBook u could do well with it. particularly i think about how u could simply buy a few external accessories and save $ on buying another desktop system. if u want a larger screen simply buy a larger LCD to plug into the notebook, along w/ a desktop keyboard and mouse and u r all set. u could easily keep these costs well under what even a mac mini would cost. that way if u need to park in front of a computer for a project you're all set.

however if the new notebooks have an average GPU, and i were to recommend a "desktop" notebook i'd have to say go w/ the 15" MBP. why? if u get the stock 1.83Ghz MBP, u get quite a bit of oomph under the hood which can translate into an ample desktop device. if u get the 15" it's less of an issue to think about whether the screen is large anough for extended desktop use. u can take it with you, and the screen size is reasonable enough where u shouldn't need a larger screen to run off it, tho that is certainly a possibility. but, as is, the 15" MBP would serve u well with simply a desktop stand like the icurve, and an external keyboard and mouse.

hope this helps.

<crossing fingers for a 64MB GPU in the MacBook/iBook>

.................

If I was you Id wait for the macbook or the smaller macbook pro, and yeah if all your gonna be doing is watching movies and stuff wichever should be fine, maybe a nice big screen and a wireless keyboard and mouse or whatever instead of the desktop?

oops just read the first page... this is now useless

I suspect that the MacBook/iBook won't be able to drive the big display, it nees dual link and apple will probably keep that for their high range tech. Just a thought, mind.