$1000 what to buy

[chefhow]

My wife dropped my laptop(a 5 year old Acer Travelmate) and it is toast. I am now looking for a new system and have widdled it down to either an Averatec all in one unit or an iMac/MBA refurb. I have $1000 budgeted plus shippping/tax to spend and wanted a few opinions. We have a pc that is about 2 years old(1st gen Dell XPS) and is ok but with a new baby and my trying to build a family website the PC is just to cumbersome with XP and Vista is not an option. I like a lot of the features of the iMac and the portability of the MBA but no nothing about the MBA's. Any info about them and the differences in laymens terms between the two would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[brn2ski00]

depends if you want a desktop or laptop really -- if you want portability, then an iMac wouldn't work for you.

this would be perfect though:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB323LL/A?mco=MjE0NjA3MA

 

[techound1]

I agree. Unless you need the ultra-portability of the air, go with the better power and specs of the iMac. Do a quick search on the 1st gen airs (that would be the $999 model in the refurb store right now) on the forum - there is a lot of talk about issues surrounding them and reasons you may want to avoid them.

 

[mgridgaway]

+1 for the iMac. You only really need a MBA if you're doing a lot of traveling and can't deal with the extra pound a macbook carries.

 

[Consultant]

For your price range, MacBook is your best option.
It is much portable than most pcs laptops.

You can get new or look into refurb to save a few bucks

Refurbs, looks like new, has same warranty as new.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac