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Help me decide, Mini or iBook

I

iMatt mini

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 1, 2005
316
0
Central New Jersey
I'm a student web developer, only 14, and have two PC's already. Both running windows. :rolleyes:
I'm looking to get a Mac. I've used them before and LOVE Them. I've been saving up and have enough to buy either of these.
I don't know which to buy though. Can someone from Experience help me decide?
I use Photoshop and Dreamweaver a lot. I have a laptop and a desktop right now, will probably get rid of desktop.
I know Dreamweaver gives you two liscenses, can I put one on my Mac?
I don't even know if my Photoshop copy is legal, I bought it from a reseller because I wanted an older version and couldn't find Adobe selling it. I bought it for $99 from Oxzee.com and it came with pretty much everything except a box for shipping costs. It was the exact CD, no labels or anything. I doubt I can install this on a Mac.
Do you recommend 1.25 GHz or 1.42 for graphics and web development like this?
I have 3.0 right now on Windows.

Here are the options, with Education discounts:
Mac Mini
* • 1GB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 DIMM
* • 80GB Ultra ATA drive
* • Combo Drive
* • AirPort Extreme Card
* • Wired Keyboard & Mouse Set - U.S. English
* • 56K v.92 Modem
* • Mac OS X - U.S. English
* • 1.25GHz PowerPC G4
* • ATI Radeon 9200 w/32MB DDR video memory

Estimated Ship:
1-3 business days
Free Shipping
Subtotal $804.00
Anything there I don't need? My house has a wireless network, is that the right option?
or an iBook, I think the 12 inch is too small for my work right?
iBook 12 inch

* • 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (512MB built-in & 512MB SO-DIMM)
* • 60GB Ultra ATA drive
* • Keyboard & Mac OS X - U.S. English
* • 12-inch TFT XGA display
* • 1.33GHz PowerPC G4
* • ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 w/ 32MB DDR video memory
* • Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
* • AirPort Extreme built-in
* • Bluetooth 2.0 built-in

Estimated Ship:
3-5 business days
Free Shipping
Subtotal $1,129.00

iBook 14 inch

* • 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (512MB built-in & 512MB SO-DIMM)
* • 60GB Ultra ATA drive
* • Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
* • Keyboard & Mac OS X - U.S. English
* • 14-inch TFT XGA display
* • 1.42GHz PowerPC G4
* • ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 w/ 32MB DDR video memory
* • AirPort Extreme built-in
* • Bluetooth 2.0 built-in

Estimated Ship:
3-5 business days
Free Shipping
Subtotal $1,244.00

Thanks for any help!
 
I would definitely go for the 12" iBook. A Mac Mini is basically a laptop disguised as a desktop, and I don't think 12" is too small. It has the same res as 14".
 
Thanks for the quick response.
Is the GHz too low though?
And any information about the programs?
This may be a stupid question but does Apple use the same ghz as windows? Because most new desk/laptops come with at LEAST 2.4 now. I have 3 now and this is cut in half. Is there a big difference?
 
Wait A Second

I'm 13 years old and I am not eligable for the student discount because I'm a K-12 student (8th grade). How exactly are you going to get the discount? I don't mean to sound rude but I'm just wondering how?
 
If you are going to keep your monitor then the Mac mini would work out very well. Adobe does allow the installation of Photoshop on a laptop and desktop. Just not allowed to run both at the same time. The 1 GB of RAM will improve performance. I would also highly recommend AppleCare.
 
zflauaus said:
I'm 13 years old and I am not eligable for the student discount because I'm a K-12 student (8th grade). How exactly are you going to get the discount? I don't mean to sound rude but I'm just wondering how?
Click to expand...
Don't students in high schools get it? :eek:
I assumed when it said Student and Teacher discounts, it was for all and not just College. :(
 
wdlove said:
If you are going to keep your monitor then the Mac mini would work out very well. Adobe does allow the installation of Photoshop on a laptop and desktop. Just not allowed to run both at the same time. The 1 GB of RAM will improve performance. I would also high recommend AppleCare.
Click to expand...
I was pretty sure I could install it more than once, but on a Windows and on a Mac?
They make different versions, don't they?
 
wdlove said:
Here is the qualifications for the educational discount. Sorry. You could always approach one of your favorite teachers and see if they would be willing to purchase your Mac. Then just register it in your name.

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/routingpage.html
Click to expand...
My sister is a college student.... :cool:
She just bought a powerbook but my family doesn't listen to me, they didn't get a discount. :mad:
 
iMatt mini said:
I was pretty sure I could install it more than once, but on a Windows and on a Mac?
They make different versions, don't they?
Click to expand...

Yes, Adobe makes a Mac and Windows version of Photoshop. I wasn't sure, but since you mentioned having a Mac before thought you might have both versions. If not you would have to purchase the Mac version. You should contact Adobe, they might sell you the Mac version at an upgrade price. That is because of owning the Windows version.
 
iMatt mini said:
My sister is a college student.... :cool:
She just bought a powerbook but my family doesn't listen to me, they didn't get a discount. :mad:
Click to expand...

They your are in luck, no reason to be angry. That means that your sister could use her discount for your Mac. Would make it easier when it comes to registering your Mac.
 
wdlove said:
Yes, Adobe makes a Mac and Windows version of Photoshop. I wasn't sure, but since you mentioned having a Mac before thought you might have both versions. If not you would have to purchase the Mac version. You should contact Adobe, they might sell you the Mac version at an upgrade price. That is because of owning the Windows version.
Click to expand...
I've never owned a Mac, my sister has one going to college.
I would contact them but as I said, I paid for it but I'm still not sure if it is legal. :eek:
I wouldn't want anything to come of it. ;)
 
iMatt mini said:
I've never owned a Mac, my sister has one going to college.
I would contact them but as I said, I paid for it but I'm still not sure if it is legal. :eek:
I wouldn't want anything to come of it. ;)
Click to expand...

There is nothing illegal about having your sister purchasing a Mac for you. She is allowed one Mac purchase per year. Your should not worry. There have been members posting that a friend has made a purchases for them. In one instance it was and Apple employee doing it for a friend.

I really hope that this will work out successfully.
;)
 
wdlove said:
There is nothing illegal about having your sister purchasing a Mac for you. She is allowed one Mac purchase per year. Your should not worry. There have been members posting that a friend has made a purchases for them. In one instance it was and Apple employee doing it for a friend.

I really hope that this will work out successfully.
;)
Click to expand...
No, I meant with Adobe. :D
I legally PURCHASED it, but not from them.

OffTopic: ITASOR, are you a member of AF? I know someone with that same handle.
 
I forgot to ask, how much Hard Drive space do you guys suggest for working like this?
Also, if I need to do school work on here, it comes with AppleWorks or something like Word right?
Or do I need to buy that?
 
iMatt mini said:
I'll PM you. Nobody else wants to read this. ;)
Click to expand...

Then I'll post something they want to read.

If you don't need portability, I would recommend the Mac Mini. This way you can get a nice external DELL LCD or something and have a much higher resolution than the iBook. If you are working in multiple windows, you'll want a higher resolution than the iBooks 1024x768. The mini can drive a pretty high res. monitor. I would recommend the 20" widescreen from dell.

Another good thing about the Mini is that if you need to replace it, you don't need a new monitor. Say when they start shipping with intel...you can just buy another Mini and sell yours. The monitor/keyboard/mouse could be saved for the new one. I think the Mini is a better long term solution to your question.
 
Yeah that's what I was thinking. I have a crappy 15 inch right now I think, it'll do fine until I need to buy another one though. :)
I think I'm going to need a USB hub though, right?
 
iMatt mini said:
Don't students in high schools get it? :eek:
I assumed when it said Student and Teacher discounts, it was for all and not just College. :(
Click to expand...

Anybody with a slightly devious nature can get a student discount.

Do you know the city a university is in? Entering that information, and making a couple extra clicks is all it takes to be a higher ed "student."

If you're not comfortable with that then enjoy spending at least $100 extra.

BTW: I get my edu discount legitimately, :D
 
iMatt mini said:
Yeah that's what I was thinking. I have a crappy 15 inch right now I think, it'll do fine until I need to buy another one though. :)
I think I'm going to need a USB hub though, right?
Click to expand...

I would recommend the Samsung SyncMaster 715v. I have it. It's ~ $238 from MacConnection and it's GREAT at 1280x1024, which is really nice for working with multiple windows. I would recommend holding out for a 2005FPW from DELL if you can though, those are really great for web dev. (widescreen).

As for the USB hub, you won't necessarily need one. If you get the Apple Pro keyboard, it has 2 USB ports on it. So, they essentially take up no ports, because it takes one, then there's 2 on the KB, 1 of which the mouse uses, and then you have the other 1 plus the other one on the Mini. So you still have 2. Printer in Mini and something small in KB. If you have more, the hub in the Mini, and digital camera cable in the KB or something like that.
 
chucknorris said:
Anybody with a slightly devious nature can get a student discount.

Do you know the city a university is in? Entering that information, and making a couple extra clicks is all it takes to be a higher ed "student."

If you're not comfortable with that then enjoy spending at least $100 extra.

BTW: I get my edu discount legitimately, :D
Click to expand...
Don't you have to fax them a student ID or something?
 
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