Hello fellow forum readers. I'm pretty much brand new here so please be kind. I have decided to replace my 7 year old Dell Dimension 4400 20 gig/512 mg ram with the current 24" iMac 2.66 GHz after visiting the Apple store on repeated occasions. This machine is about 8X faster than what I'm using now. I have never had a laptop and didn't think I needed one. Then while looking at an iMac at the store the other day I run into a friend and her new 15" MBP. She's a recent PC convert as well. She glowed about it and said she loves surfing the internet and working on her computer from her couch, easy chair, out and about all over town, etc. I never thought of using a computer this way because I've never had a laptop.
Scenario 1: Buying just the 24" iMac, I'm looking at the educational discount pricing of $1399+50 (Apple wireless mouse and keyboard)+$41 iWorks+$119 Apple Care+$99 1-1 = $1708 + tax.
Someone at the store suggested sticking to my guns, saving the money over buying a laptop and 24" ACD (Apple Cinema Display), and just get the iMac. I'm on a budget so money is a big consideration. Not so much of a budget that I want to get a cheaper, new Dell, as I've fallen head over heels for a Mac and it's lack of viruses w/ quick start up and shut down. I wait forever now for my machine to turn on, turn off, process stuff, etc. I only email, surf, type up Word docs, download about 300 pictures a year onto my hard-drive, do a few Powerpoint presentations, and type up some Excel spreadsheets now and then. That's it. Other friends said to get a 13" refurb MBP and a 24" ACD ($999 + $599). The Apple care doubles in price at this point to $239 from $119 (w/my educational discount) and then I'd want a wireless keyboard and mouse ($69 and $59 refurb pricing). I'd buy the 1-1 for $99 so they can transfer all the data from my PC to my new Mac and to have some free lessons in the store if I like. It's worth the $99 just to have the data transferred... because I don't have an external HD and I don't know how to do it if I did. I have friends that said they'd try to help me but then I'm at the whim of when or if they're available and I'd want to pay them for their time anyway with a nice meal out, or something else. Guess I eventually need to buy an external HD though but I've gone 12+ years without one so far.
Scenario 2: The total this way would be $999 (13" MBP)+599 (24" ACD) +69 (refurb wireless keyboard) +59 (refurb mighty mouse - wireless) +99 (1-1) +239 (Apple Care) +71 (iWorks) -it's $30 more when you get a refurb vs a new machine) +$50 for a carrying case for the laptop = $2185 + tax. Ouch. I realize I could get a Dell screen for 1/2 the price of a ACD but I LOVE the ACD so that's a non issue.
If my math is correct, getting the 13" MBP and 24" ACD would cost $477 more than just getting the iMac. But, I'd have more versatility I guess if I decided I want to go mobile. But, the computing speed and power is better on an iMac than the little 13 MBP, isn't it? And, knowing me, I might drop and hurt that little MBP one day which would cost me money and not be a great situation. An iMac sitting on my desk all the time would stand less of a chance of getting messed up.
So... I guess I should just get the iMac? I ordered it already but cancelled the order yesterday when I found out through these forums that an update could happen within the next 4 months or so. I could wait as my Dell still works, it's just very slow processing stuff sometimes.
How can one know if they'd really get a kick out of going portable if one has never done this before? Also, if I got the 13" MBP and the ACD 24", would I at some point wish I just got the bigger 15" MBP instead? At the store, I thought the 13" was kind of small as my eyesight isn't the greatest. It's cool that it's more portable, being smaller, and I realize you can make the size of the print on the page bigger by using that command + key (I think that's what they told me), but in the end, the screen is fairly diminutive if I went portable a lot more than expected.
In this last case, scenario #3, I'd be better off just getting 1 machine to begin with: a refurb 15" basic MBP for $1450 (regular price = $1699) from the Apple website. I'm only interested in purchasing directly from Apple, not Craigslist, Ebay, Amazon, etc. I'd pass on the 24" ACD in this case and just use the 15" all the time on my desk and then go portable if need be. I'm used to a 19" display now, a cheap Viewsonic that works great, so 15" will seem small to me. Yes, I could hook up the 15" MBP to the Viewsonic I guess, but I was hoping to just dump this 19" screen and replace it with some Apple product of some sort.
Scenario 3: would cost me: $1450 (refurb 15" MBP current base model+$239 Apple Care+$71 iWorks+$99 1-1 = $1859 + tx. ($151 more than getting a 24" iMac)
EDIT: I edited this now to include the $1299 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen.
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&categoryId=16155&N=4294966455
Go ahead, touch it.INNOVATION YOU CAN PUT YOUR FINGER ON.
The VAIO® L Series all-in-one touchscreen PC puts technology at your fingertips. Just touch its massive 24" screen1 to access the internet, digital TV, social networks, movies and more. Multi-touch control lets you scroll, zoom and rotate your photos by flicking, pinching and tapping objects directly on the screen.
THE TOUCHSCREEN PC THAT'S ALSO AN HDTV.
Experience hands-on entertainment at its best. Because there's an HDMI™ input and an available built-in TV tuner, the L Series lets you watch HD programming from your cable box, satellite receiver or PS3™ through a single cable. There's even a DVR for recording up to 100 hours of HDTV shows or Blu-ray Disc movies (select models only) to the hard drive.
A MORE PERSONAL TOUCH.
Feel the difference a multi-touch screen can make and experience computing at a more intimate level. Here are just a few of the L Series touch techniques:
Tap & Double-Tap — Touch and release to click and open files and folders. Drag — Touch and slide your finger on screen like dragging with a mouse.
Scroll — Drag content up and down without using a scroll bar. Zoom — Pinch two fingers together to zoom in on images and documents. Rotate — Touch two spots on a photo and twist to rotate it in real time. Flick — Flick left or right to navigate back and forward in a web browser. Press & Tap — Touch with one finger and tap with another to right-click.
$1299 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen
Model Number: VPCL111FX/B Intel® Pentium® E5400 (2.70GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Features: 24" Touch LCD, 4GB RAM, 320GB (7200rpm) HDD, Blu-ray player, NVIDIA graphics (512MB VRAM)
$1499 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen
Model Number: VPCL114FX/B Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7500 (2.93GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Features: 24" Touch LCD, 4GB RAM, 500GB (7200rpm) HDD, Blu-ray player, NVIDIA graphics (512MB VRAM), TV tuner
$1799 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen
Model Number: VPCL116FX/B Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Features: 24" Touch LCD, 6GB RAM, 500GB (7200rpm) HDD, Blu-ray player, NVIDIA graphics (1GB VRAM), TV tuner, HDMI in
$1999 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen
Model Number: VPCL117FX/B Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Features: 24" Touch LCD, 6GB RAM, 1TB (7200rpm) HDD, Blu-ray burner, NVIDIA graphics (1GB VRAM), TV tuner, HDMI in
Thoughts? Have you really read down this far?
Sorry for all the questions. As you can tell, I've been obsessing about this for months!
Regards,
Steve R
Scenario 1: Buying just the 24" iMac, I'm looking at the educational discount pricing of $1399+50 (Apple wireless mouse and keyboard)+$41 iWorks+$119 Apple Care+$99 1-1 = $1708 + tax.
Someone at the store suggested sticking to my guns, saving the money over buying a laptop and 24" ACD (Apple Cinema Display), and just get the iMac. I'm on a budget so money is a big consideration. Not so much of a budget that I want to get a cheaper, new Dell, as I've fallen head over heels for a Mac and it's lack of viruses w/ quick start up and shut down. I wait forever now for my machine to turn on, turn off, process stuff, etc. I only email, surf, type up Word docs, download about 300 pictures a year onto my hard-drive, do a few Powerpoint presentations, and type up some Excel spreadsheets now and then. That's it. Other friends said to get a 13" refurb MBP and a 24" ACD ($999 + $599). The Apple care doubles in price at this point to $239 from $119 (w/my educational discount) and then I'd want a wireless keyboard and mouse ($69 and $59 refurb pricing). I'd buy the 1-1 for $99 so they can transfer all the data from my PC to my new Mac and to have some free lessons in the store if I like. It's worth the $99 just to have the data transferred... because I don't have an external HD and I don't know how to do it if I did. I have friends that said they'd try to help me but then I'm at the whim of when or if they're available and I'd want to pay them for their time anyway with a nice meal out, or something else. Guess I eventually need to buy an external HD though but I've gone 12+ years without one so far.
Scenario 2: The total this way would be $999 (13" MBP)+599 (24" ACD) +69 (refurb wireless keyboard) +59 (refurb mighty mouse - wireless) +99 (1-1) +239 (Apple Care) +71 (iWorks) -it's $30 more when you get a refurb vs a new machine) +$50 for a carrying case for the laptop = $2185 + tax. Ouch. I realize I could get a Dell screen for 1/2 the price of a ACD but I LOVE the ACD so that's a non issue.
If my math is correct, getting the 13" MBP and 24" ACD would cost $477 more than just getting the iMac. But, I'd have more versatility I guess if I decided I want to go mobile. But, the computing speed and power is better on an iMac than the little 13 MBP, isn't it? And, knowing me, I might drop and hurt that little MBP one day which would cost me money and not be a great situation. An iMac sitting on my desk all the time would stand less of a chance of getting messed up.
So... I guess I should just get the iMac? I ordered it already but cancelled the order yesterday when I found out through these forums that an update could happen within the next 4 months or so. I could wait as my Dell still works, it's just very slow processing stuff sometimes.
How can one know if they'd really get a kick out of going portable if one has never done this before? Also, if I got the 13" MBP and the ACD 24", would I at some point wish I just got the bigger 15" MBP instead? At the store, I thought the 13" was kind of small as my eyesight isn't the greatest. It's cool that it's more portable, being smaller, and I realize you can make the size of the print on the page bigger by using that command + key (I think that's what they told me), but in the end, the screen is fairly diminutive if I went portable a lot more than expected.
In this last case, scenario #3, I'd be better off just getting 1 machine to begin with: a refurb 15" basic MBP for $1450 (regular price = $1699) from the Apple website. I'm only interested in purchasing directly from Apple, not Craigslist, Ebay, Amazon, etc. I'd pass on the 24" ACD in this case and just use the 15" all the time on my desk and then go portable if need be. I'm used to a 19" display now, a cheap Viewsonic that works great, so 15" will seem small to me. Yes, I could hook up the 15" MBP to the Viewsonic I guess, but I was hoping to just dump this 19" screen and replace it with some Apple product of some sort.
Scenario 3: would cost me: $1450 (refurb 15" MBP current base model+$239 Apple Care+$71 iWorks+$99 1-1 = $1859 + tx. ($151 more than getting a 24" iMac)
EDIT: I edited this now to include the $1299 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen.
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&categoryId=16155&N=4294966455
Go ahead, touch it.INNOVATION YOU CAN PUT YOUR FINGER ON.
The VAIO® L Series all-in-one touchscreen PC puts technology at your fingertips. Just touch its massive 24" screen1 to access the internet, digital TV, social networks, movies and more. Multi-touch control lets you scroll, zoom and rotate your photos by flicking, pinching and tapping objects directly on the screen.
THE TOUCHSCREEN PC THAT'S ALSO AN HDTV.
Experience hands-on entertainment at its best. Because there's an HDMI™ input and an available built-in TV tuner, the L Series lets you watch HD programming from your cable box, satellite receiver or PS3™ through a single cable. There's even a DVR for recording up to 100 hours of HDTV shows or Blu-ray Disc movies (select models only) to the hard drive.
A MORE PERSONAL TOUCH.
Feel the difference a multi-touch screen can make and experience computing at a more intimate level. Here are just a few of the L Series touch techniques:
Tap & Double-Tap — Touch and release to click and open files and folders. Drag — Touch and slide your finger on screen like dragging with a mouse.
Scroll — Drag content up and down without using a scroll bar. Zoom — Pinch two fingers together to zoom in on images and documents. Rotate — Touch two spots on a photo and twist to rotate it in real time. Flick — Flick left or right to navigate back and forward in a web browser. Press & Tap — Touch with one finger and tap with another to right-click.
$1299 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen
Model Number: VPCL111FX/B Intel® Pentium® E5400 (2.70GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Features: 24" Touch LCD, 4GB RAM, 320GB (7200rpm) HDD, Blu-ray player, NVIDIA graphics (512MB VRAM)
$1499 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen
Model Number: VPCL114FX/B Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7500 (2.93GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Features: 24" Touch LCD, 4GB RAM, 500GB (7200rpm) HDD, Blu-ray player, NVIDIA graphics (512MB VRAM), TV tuner
$1799 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen
Model Number: VPCL116FX/B Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Features: 24" Touch LCD, 6GB RAM, 500GB (7200rpm) HDD, Blu-ray player, NVIDIA graphics (1GB VRAM), TV tuner, HDMI in
$1999 VAIO® L Series All-in-One Touchscreen
Model Number: VPCL117FX/B Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66GHz)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Features: 24" Touch LCD, 6GB RAM, 1TB (7200rpm) HDD, Blu-ray burner, NVIDIA graphics (1GB VRAM), TV tuner, HDMI in
Thoughts? Have you really read down this far?
Sorry for all the questions. As you can tell, I've been obsessing about this for months!
Regards,
Steve R
