Interested in buying an iMac

[LillieDesigns]

I'm very interested in buying an iMac, but I ahve a few quick questions.

-Apple is notorious for releasing new things every few months is there an extremely better version of the iMac coming out soon?

-I want this computer for graphic/webdesign and music recording; what are the things I need to do this exceptionally well on a mac?

-Can I use a standard cable modem with Apple computers?

-For what I need the computer for, id the iMac the right option?

Thx in advance =)

 

[GFLPraxis]

Apple releases a new iMac on average every 196 days.

The last time they released a new iMac was 7 days ago.

They JUST came out with a new iMac. They won't be coming out with another one this year, and if we follow the averages, not for another 189 days. Feel free to buy.


The next iMac will probably be with an Intel processor next year.

-I want this computer for graphic/webdesign and music recording; what are the things I need to do this exceptionally well on a mac?

EXCEPTIONALLY well? Graphics = Photoshop, obviously, webdesign probably Dreamweaver. Music recording I'd guess Logic. All these are the expensive professional apps.

-Can I use a standard cable modem with Apple computers?

-For what I need the computer for, id the iMac the right option?

Yes and yes.

 

[skubish]

I'm very interested in buying an iMac, but I ahve a few quick questions.

-Apple is notorious for releasing new things every few months is there an extremely better version of the iMac coming out soon?

The new iMac was just released last week.

-I want this computer for graphic/webdesign and music recording; what are the things I need to do this exceptionally well on a mac?

Max out the memory and you should be fine.

-Can I use a standard cable modem with Apple computers?

Yes. Just plug in the ethernet cable and you are good to go.

-For what I need the computer for, id the iMac the right option?

I think the iMac is a good deal right now.

 

[LillieDesigns]

Thanks for the quick responses, I have a few more questions though:

-What advantages will the Intel based macs have over the current ones?

-is Garage Band good enough to record with, or do I need other programs for recording music?

-does microsoft word come built in with the iMac?

Thx again all =)

 

[dmw007]

Go with one of the current iMac G5s. They are awesome machines that will work very nicely for you!

 

[dmw007]

Thanks for the quick responses, I have a few more questions though:

-What advantages will the Intel based macs have over the current ones?

-is Garage Band good enough to record with, or do I need other programs for recording music?

-does microsoft word come built in with the iMac?

Thx again all =)

Not sure what advantages the intel iMacs will have. Probably just a moderate bump in speed. As it stands today however, the PowerPC G5 smokes the P4. So don't fret about performance.

 

[dmw007]

Word must be bought seperate. Although, a trial of M$ Office is included.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Thanks for the quick responses, I have a few more questions though:

-What advantages will the Intel based macs have over the current ones?

Hmmm...

Well, they'll be a bit faster, but they'll run older programs that are not compiled for the Intel processors slower than the G5 would. You won't have to worry about developers dropping PowerPC support for quite a few years so it's probably better to get the current one.


HOWEVER:

With a bit of effort it will most likely be possible to install Windows on the Intel Macs (because Windows runs on Intel processors). Apple won't support it, but it can be done.

-does microsoft word come built in with the iMac?

No; however, it does come with AppleWorks, which can open Microsoft Word documents (although I'm not sure how it would do with the advanced features, but few use them).

Microsoft Word for Mac is available from Microsoft. A 30-day trial of it comes preloaded with the iMac, but you may find AppleWorks is suitable for your needs.

 

[Danksi]

You could look at openoffice.org, which is a full suite of office type applications and I believe it's available for the Mac and Abiword (http://www.abisource.com) which is a MS Word clone, for free.

 

[broncoball]

go for it!!!!! its a great machine.

 

[this is funah]

i have one of the new iMacs and they are great for all of what you said... it's a beautiful machine and FAST! i have 1 GB RAM and it works great! if youre going to be running major programs such as logic or protools, youll need at least 1GB RAM to keep it fast.

my computer boots up in 15 seconds!

 

[gwuMACaddict]

why wouldn't a regular cable modem work with an iMac?

i think that if you go to apple.com, most of your questions can be answered there