First time Mac Buyer overwhelm with options!!

[DakotaGuy]

If you have a decent PC right now I would hold out on the switch until the Intel Macs come out. No one really knows the future of the current PowerPC hardware. By this time next year over half the Mac line will be x86 hardware. Apple has deemed the PowerPC to be a dead platform, so it is something to take into consideration.

 

[Ti_Poussin]

my 2 cents, go with the 12' and an external display (a good CRT is cheap). Take a lot of RAM, Tiger is RAM ungry.

For the software part, you can do almost everything a PC do, expect less for gaming, but more more media stuff (video, audio, animation...). The only serious software I miss on Mac is AutoCAD and Catia.

For essential software or freeware (avaible on www.versiontracker.com or www.macupdate.com ):
-Desktop manager (manage many desktop, like the Linux appz)
-Drop Drawer or Dragthing (my favorite launcher)
-Menu meter (know what resource is used)
-Sharepoint (share any folder, bypass Unix limitation of shared folder)
-ThinkerTool (tweak the OS)
-EsperanceDV (making RAM disk)
-sound source (if you use more than 1 audio ouput)
-FFmpegX (video encoder)
-Graphic converter
-VLC (media reader for .avi DiVX, MPEG, ...)
-MPlayer (an another media reader)
-Clix (a database of UNIX command)
-Dockless (remove appz from appearing in the dock)
-iBackup (freeware backup utility)
-Quicksilver (appz laucher and more)
-Video codec 3iVX, DiVX, FlipforMac (the last one .wmv in quicktime)
-If you know a little Linux and Unix X11 and fink with fink commander (only if you feel ready for Unix stuff)

This is a short list of what I always have on my computer. Enjoy.

 

[prp134]

There's an Intel Mac comming out? hm..interesting. what does that mean for the current Powerbook. Because i dont start school till the fall so I could wait and my pc right now is still usefull, but is the wait going to be worth it? dont they say you should buy anything first yr because later models are much better.

 

[eXan]

There's an Intel Mac comming out? hm..interesting. what does that mean for the current Powerbook. Because i dont start school till the fall so I could wait and my pc right now is still usefull, but is the wait going to be worth it? dont they say you should buy anything first yr because later models are much better.

1st Intel Mac will appear in supper 2006 and I guess it will be Mac mini or eMac. So no Intel-PowerBook anytime soon

 

[bodeh6]

Good choice with the 15" PB. I was thinking of getting the 12" PB then realized that if I didn't get AppleCare upfront I would afford the 15" PB. Then a bunch of things came together and the 15" looked a lot more attractive such as

1. The Radeon 9700 is a much better card then the Nvidia 5200 and I want this machine to last a while.

2. The 15" has almost 40% more desktop area and I want this to be my main computer from now on.

3. Gigabit ethernet will be better when connecting to the university network.

4. Larger 80GB harddrive standard.

5. Better RAM expandability

6. Backlit keyboard

7. PC card slot/FW 800 (don't have use for it now but will make the computer more future proof).

These reasons made me forgot the 12" and go with the 15". Just got to wait till September to but this computer as a birthday gift to myself.

 

[DakotaGuy]

1st Intel Mac will appear in supper 2006 and I guess it will be Mac mini or eMac. So no Intel-PowerBook anytime soon

I would not be so sure of that. I think pretty much anything running a G4 right now, including all notebooks, will be the first to get the Intel processor. The iMac and PowerMac will come sometime later since the G5 is still considered to be a modern 64 bit processor. I am very pleased with my iMac G5, but most on here say even a Pentium 4 would be WAY faster then even the fastest G5. The whole change over might come a lot sooner then you expect since the "dead platform" PPC machines will become very hard to sell after the first Intel Macs come out.

I would say if your PC is ok for now, you might want to wait, my guess is you will see Intel Powerbooks with Pentium M's by next spring. When the line starts to change, I think Apple will quickly revise their scheduled introduction and by next year at this time most Apples will be powered by Intel. Even if Intel does not have a new chip ready to go, Apple could still use the current Pentium M for all the mobile notebooks and for the Mac Mini. iMac could use a Pentium 4 even if the replacement is not ready and it would make it a lot faster. I am not sure about the PowerMacs however, they might have to hold off for awhile on those computers.

 

[eXan]

I would not be so sure of that. I think pretty much anything running a G4 right now, including all notebooks, will be the first to get the Intel processor. The iMac and PowerMac will come sometime later since the G5 is still considered to be a modern 64 bit processor. I am very pleased with my iMac G5, but most on here say even a Pentium 4 would be WAY faster then even the fastest G5. The whole change over might come a lot sooner then you expect since the "dead platform" PPC machines will become very hard to sell after the first Intel Macs come out.

I would say if your PC is ok for now, you might want to wait, my guess is you will see Intel Powerbooks with Pentium M's by next spring. When the line starts to change, I think Apple will quickly revise their scheduled introduction and by next year at this time most Apples will be powered by Intel. Even if Intel does not have a new chip ready to go, Apple could still use the current Pentium M for all the mobile notebooks and for the Mac Mini. iMac could use a Pentium 4 even if the replacement is not ready and it would make it a lot faster. I am not sure about the PowerMacs however, they might have to hold off for awhile on those computers.

No, I do not agree with you. Steve Jobs said crealy that they will release 1st Intel-Mac by WWDC 2006, which is summer, not spring. I still think that 1st macs that will go to Intel will be low-end desktops, like Mac mini