What to get, IMAC or Late '08 Macbook??????

Is portability necessary? If you are just going to be mainly using your computer at home, I would go for the iMac. Unless you want to take your computer with you all the time then I would go for a MacBook.

What an odd question. If you want to take it around with you, get the macbook. If not get the iMac.

Done.

It would be easier for us to help you if you described your situation and defined the "if you were in my shoes" part 😉

get both you know to help the economy😀

It all depends on your work habits (desktop or "on the road").

Back in 2007 I faced the same question. I was a life-long Windows user, and decided to switch... I went with the 24" iMac - I wasn't sure mac would perform well in the mobile scenarios in my line of work, so I decided for the desktop and kept my Toshiba laptop. As I got familiar with OSX and mac, I just couldn't use windows anymore. Two months ago I got myself a MBPro.

I love this setting: I have a huge screen to work at home and a laptop that syncs all my settings and files when I travel, without having to plug/unplug all connections every time I leave (I have prayed that apple someday has a decent docking station for its notebooks). But if I had to choose again, I'd get the MacBook Pro first: I could've ditched the Windows laptop earlier... and could've saved time and money with just one computer: you can always connect a 24" display to the MBP - the new one seems great.

Choosing the Macbook Pro + 24" display may be a more expensive solution in the short term, but saves you money once you realize how great is OSX and that you need to take it with you.

So it's just a matter of your work routine and the advantage of mobility. In terms of performance - it's yet to be seen if the iMac will get any big updates - but considering the different architectures, I would guess there won't be any huge differences you can notice in normal (non-pro) use.

hope this helps. cheers,

EDIT: I realize you're considering a plain MacBook vs. the iMac - the new MB lacks Firewire, and even if it has the new GPU and memory, it doesn't has the same power as a MBPro or 3 Ghz iMac. I guess the GPU and RAM cache on the iMac will be upgraded shortly.

Being this the case, and IF portability is no issue for you, I'd go with the iMac: better performace, ports, etc. You can always bump the RAM to 4GB in both for less than $100.

iMac definitely then. It is more of a bang for your buck too. I would wait a few weeks to see if there are any exciting announcements at macworld before buying anything though.

As an iMac owner, I say you may find the portability appealing- I don't need portability but you kind of get bored of sitting in the same spot all the time BUT the iMac is still a great computer (and the screen is aweseome for movies and pictures) and it is a little more powerful. However, if I had know a year ago about this Macbook Display I probably would've went for the lower-ish end macbook (aluminum) and a display- the bests of both worlds.

In the end, you should be happy with your choice either way

iMac, hands down. But yes, wait a while to see what comes out.

If you plan on getting a display in the future then just get the Macbook plus the display. Best of both worlds. 😉