imac or macbook?

[nzacl0]

Folks

I've been holding back on buying an imac waiting for the new machines to be released. I'm moving to mac because I want a stable development environment that works ( mainly I'll be using objective C with OpenGL ). Having a unix background helps too.

Anyhow I was somewhat disappointed to see that the imac upgrade was more of an incremental upgrade than a major revision, So now I'm thinking that maybe i should buy a macbook (because i will buy one of these at somepoint anyway), and wait for the next upgrade of imacs, which may be a major revision with far more grunt. Unfortunately the macpro is out of my price range. It seems a bit early to speculate on where the imac is going, but perhaps some mac oldtimers may be able to speculate - based on their experience of previous releases of hardware - what the next revision might hold.

Any advice or comments appreciated!

al

 

[Scepticalscribe]

It depends on what you want it for - you have not really said - and whether you prize power or portability more, because the two computers you are considering are rather different in conception and function.

Personally, I'd choose the MB, but then I like the option of portability, and notebooks these days are pretty powerful. However, it is not simply a question of power, but of far superior screens, and a greater capacity for "heavy lifting" that one has with the desktops.

So, it's your call, power versus portability; if you feel that strongly, I'd recommend the MB for now, and wait for further revisions in the iMac range. Predictions as to what the future holds tend to be imprecise, and I claim no such expertise, but I will point out that if finance is an issue, then the refurb - older model - MBs offer stunning value just now, although the new unibody MB is a very attractive computer.

Cheers and good luck

 

[blueicedj]

I'd say a macbook-pro, that should be around the same price range as an iMac. Portability is a very useful thing, especially if you're in college and need to bring it to classes *I'm still lugging around my HP laptop (it's a POS).* But I get to come home to my iMac. Looking back, I probably should have spent the money on a macbook-pro though.

 

[mlts22]

With a MB/MBP, you can attach a decent LCD monitor, grab a USB keyboard and mouse, and have a decent desktop setup.

iMacs are great desktop machines, but (and this is IMHO of course), if you need portability, I'd just spring for a MB. Yes, it's not as fast as an iMac, but for most things, it is pretty decent. You can use a MB as a desktop replacement for most things, but you can't use an iMac for portability (other than perhaps a weekend LAN party or whatnot.)

 

[hack a mac]

If you want to get a MAcbook, I would suggest that you wait for a revision because it is almost time for one. Of course, it wouldn't be a major revision, but it will have improved things.