New to Macs

[newcomerphoto]

Hello,
I am new to Macs and really don't know that much about PC's. I own a photography business and my PC just died on me, I have been told that a Mac is what I need to get now. I am just not sure what I would need. The only thing that it would be used for is Picture editing, building photobooks, internet, email and to type up different documents. I am not a gamer so that is not important to me. I would like it to be pretty fast. Right now I am looking at an iMac 24". Would this be suffecient for what I want to do with it? Thanks Scotty

[r.j.s]

Yes, that will do everything you need quite well, with plenty of screen real estate.

[newcomerphoto]

So would you recommend a new one or one thats used, there is one that a gentleman bought this fall, it still has 5 months warranty on it he paid around 1600 for it and is selling it for 1200. This is the discription of it:
It's got an enormous 24-inch display (upgraded ATI Radeon HD2600 Graphics Card) with the new chrome trim. It's fast with an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz processor and lots of storage with a 500 GB hard drive. Also includes a DVD RW Super Drive, built in iSight camera, Leopard (OS X 10.5), etc.--all the goodies that you would expect from a new Mac.

Thanks Scotty

[r.j.s]

I'd go for a new one, but that's just the way I am. I don't want to buy a used computer.

I think the current ones are going to be noticeably faster, but it really just depends on your budget.

[flopticalcube]

For $100 more you could get a factory refurb from Apple with a full 1 year warranty. http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB322LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw

[newcomerphoto]

So this is what I got from Mac:
640GB Serial ATA Drive
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) and User's Guide
Apple Mighty Mouse
COUNTRY KIT,IMAC 24
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

With a free all-in-one printer

It was a hard choice between the 2.66 and the 2.93, do you thing I made the right one? Thanks Scotty

[r.j.s]

It was a hard choice between the 2.66 and the 2.93, do you thing I made the right one? Thanks Scotty

Yes. You probably wouldn't have noticed the difference.

[newcomerphoto]

Thanks that makes me feel alot better. I have been going back and forth about this little decision all morning. Thanks for the help you guys are great.
Is amazon the best place to get microsoft office for mac as far as price goes? Thanks Scotty

[r.j.s]

Is amazon the best place to get microsoft office for mac as far as price goes? Thanks Scotty

Probably, or ebay, but you should try OpenOffice or NeoOffice. They're both free.

[Dunmail]

So this is what I got from Mac:
640GB Serial ATA Drive
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) and User's Guide
Apple Mighty Mouse
COUNTRY KIT,IMAC 24
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

With a free all-in-one printer

It was a hard choice between the 2.66 and the 2.93, do you thing I made the right one? Thanks Scotty

I had pretty much the same requirements as you - mainly photo-editing and the usual web, email, occasional documents, spreadsheets, etc. - and went for the same spec as you (though with a wireless mouse and no printer). Pretty good so far - using Lightroom & Elements for the Photo-editing.

Have a look at OpenOffice v3.0 for the Office stuff.