Thinking about getting a Mac


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As the title says, I'm thinking about getting a Mac. Most likely a laptop. I have about $3000 to spend.

It would be used for normal day to day things, such as e-mail, chat, and web surfing, along with image editing and coding (HTML & PHP).

I was looking at the 15" Powerbook with Super Drive, but I'm also looking at the iBooks. Would be nice to have a little extra cash left over to get, say, an iPod or an iSight.

What do you think?

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I find 1024x768 a little cramped for using dreamweaver. It's almost tollerable on a large (17") screen, but IMO too small on my 12" ibook. The 15" powerbook offers ~1280x850 and it's much more enjoyable. Even when just using a console window and safari it makes editing more enjoyable.

You can get by with a 12" screen if you're only doing one thing at a time (which is when they are great). As soon as you're switching rapidly between windows I think you'd like the extra real-estate. Expos? helps a lot, but it's even better with a bigger screen.

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If you are getting a laptop for portability but will also be using it at a desk and would want to get an external monitor, get a pBook instead because they support monitor spanning whereas iBooks only officially support monitor mirroring so you will get the same 1024X768 resolution on any monitor you attach it to.

The cheapest pbook would be the 12" and it has the Superdrive option for burning DVD's whereas the iBooks don't.

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hmmm

Well I'd go for the 15" PB with SuperDrive, it's going to last a lot longer in terms of supported OS's etc.. and it's just a much better machine & as the evn show said, the screen is much better.

The 15" is $2,599.00 on the AppleStore, you'd still have enough left to get an iPod :)

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Well, I do all my coding in a console anyway, so having Safari and a console open in ideal. As for using it with an external monitor, that won't happen. It will be just my Mac.

Also, in ways of mice, what are some other choices I have? Could I get, say, a Microsoft Explorer and use it, or am I stuck with the Apple Pro mouse? I've seen in numerous desktop shots people using one. It is just a plug and play thing, or are there hacked drivers one would have to use?

Another thing is headphones. Since I will be traveling a lot, odds are I'll be listen to MP3s right off the system. What are some nice headphones you guys can suggest? I don't like the ones that come back behind your head. They tend to annoy my ears more then anything. If I get an iPod along with this, will I need to get a pair of head phones for it? I'm assuming the iPod has a regular audio jack, so I could pick up a pair for them, or does it come with a pair?

Thanks for all your help guys.

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Also, in ways of mice, what are some other choices I have? Could I get, say, a Microsoft Explorer and use it, or am I stuck with the Apple Pro mouse? I've seen in numerous desktop shots people using one. It is just a plug and play thing, or are there hacked drivers one would have to use?
Microsoft fully support all there mice on Mac OS X, you get Intellipoint the same as Windows.

You don't need the drivers but you get added functionality with them.

If I get an iPod along with this, will I need to get a pair of head phones for it? I'm assuming the iPod has a regular audio jack, so I could pick up a pair for them, or does it come with a pair?

You get these headphones with all iPods

ref_03ipod_buds.jpg

It also comes with a standard jack for connecting any pair of headphones, modals that come with the dock also have a line-out port on the dock for connecting to speakers etc..

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Eek, looking at those, I think I'll go pick up my own pair. I don't like those at all.

As for the mouse, if I get an Explorer, does scrolling work right out of the box?

Another thing. What are some nice speakers? Like, if I'm just sitting at my desk, and want to blast some MP3's, what would be a nice set of speakers? Are the Apple Pro speakers nice?

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Eek, looking at those, I think I'll go pick up my own pair. I don't like those at all.

As for the mouse, if I get an Explorer, does scrolling work right out of the box?

Another thing. What are some nice speakers? Like, if I'm just sitting at my desk, and want to blast some MP3's, what would be a nice set of speakers? Are the Apple Pro speakers nice?

The wheel will work yes :)

As for speakers, well I find the Apple Pro ones alright, not much base in them :( I know some people are in love with the iSticks and iSub (google for links) they look fantastic, but cost a lot for what they are IMHO.

Any standard speaker system will work (as long as it uses the standard jack and not 5.1 Optical or anything) so you could get a nice paid and use them.

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Alright, cool. Thanks guys. I'm going to sleep now. Got a nasty flu.

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions when I wake back up. Again, thanks for all your help thus far.

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phew i was about to freak out...

ok, adc $100

pbook -

? 1.25GHz PowerPC G4

? 512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 SO-DIMM

? 60GB Ultra ATA drive @ 4200 rpm

? SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)

? Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English

? AirPort Extreme Card

? iPod - 20GB

? iSight

? Rechargeable Battery - 15-inch Aluminum PowerBook G4

? APP for PowerBook with Display - Enrollment Kit

? 15.2-inch TFT Display

Subtotal $2,989.00

a little later, get another 512mb stick of ram.

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For headphones, I would recommend some Sony DJ monitoring headphones. The headphone jack is a standard mini-plug.

Studio Monitor Series DJ Headphones

MDR-V500DJ

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP....ctSKU=MDRV500DJ

For mice, I would recommend a Logitec:

Mini Optical Mouse

Part Number 930732-0403

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm?page=pro...=2&languageid=1

Edited by aristotle-dude
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Alright, came up with a few more questions.

I've obviously used Win32 based OSes for a while, and have my share of *nix knowledge. What are my alternatives to certian programs on Win32?

As an email client, I'm guessing iMail? Browser I would be useing Safari for sure. How about chat programs? I mostly use AIM and MSN.

As for *nix applications, I'm suppose I would need a PPC package, correct? Does OSX deal with *nix applications the way other *nix distros do, where as the user needs to compile, or what?

Also, what is the file system in OSX like? Is it a *nix type file system, where you have your root folder, and then you have /home, /usr, etc. etc. etc.? I've never had a chance to toy with OSX, so I'm curious.

Again, thanks for your answers guys.

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Alright, came up with a few more questions.

I've obviously used Win32 based OSes for a while, and have my share of *nix knowledge. What are my alternatives to certian programs on Win32?

As an email client, I'm guessing iMail? Browser I would be useing Safari for sure. How about chat programs? I mostly use AIM and MSN.

As for *nix applications, I'm suppose I would need a PPC package, correct? Does OSX deal with *nix applications the way other *nix distros do, where as the user needs to compile, or what?

Also, what is the file system in OSX like? Is it a *nix type file system, where you have your root folder, and then you have /home, /usr, etc. etc. etc.? I've never had a chance to toy with OSX, so I'm curious.

Again, thanks for your answers guys.

I won't spend the time to link to most of the programs in this post simply because they all can be found in the Newbie Guide here on Neowin.

I'm not sure what software you use on Windows that you want an alternative for. Most applications either have a nice alternative of a clone. The apps I use, MS Office, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and Illustrator are all made for Mac. For an FTP client I use Transmit, I love it. For music, iTunes (available for windows also). For browser, I use em all; Safari for my normal browsing but also IE and Firebird for testing purposes.

The email client that comes with OS X is known as Mail, not iMail. In my opinion it is a very mature piece of software and does exactly what I need it to do. Some however find it a little lacking and prefer Microsoft Entourage. Entourage is basically Outlook for Mac. If you prefer a whole PIM, Entourage seems to be the way to go. Personally I like having everything separate with iCal, Mail and Address Book. They are all separate pieces of software but work flawlessly within each other.

The file system is pretty simple. It starts with your hard drive, from there it has your system library, users, applications and system. The only thing you have to get used to is there are two libraries, one for the whole system and one for just your user. I find this annoying as I am the only user of my computer. However, for machines with multiple users this is essential.

Any apps that I mentioned are pretty much talked about in the Newbie Guide but you can also do a google search and come up with some good info.

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As an email client, I'm guessing iMail? Browser I would be useing Safari for sure. How about chat programs? I mostly use AIM and MSN.

AIM and MSN (as well as Yahoo) all have Mac versions of their chat programs (and you can also use iChat to talk to people on AIM). I've found that the Mac versions do tend to lag behind the PC versions in features though, which is rather annoying.

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The thought of buying a mac for audio editing has entered my mind lately, band things are getting a bit more serious and I'd like to seperate work / play. I don't want to hijack a thread, but if anyone could give me an indication as to what would be a suitable (but NOT OTT) machine for audio editing (multitracking from pre-amps, midi etc), that'd be appreciated.

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The thought of buying a mac for audio editing has entered my mind lately, band things are getting a bit more serious and I'd like to seperate work / play. I don't want to hijack a thread, but if anyone could give me an indication as to what would be a suitable (but NOT OTT) machine for audio editing (multitracking from pre-amps, midi etc), that'd be appreciated.

you'd prolly be fine with just a bogstandard emac, either that or an older g4 tower.

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