Snowy28 said:
The iMac is futureproofed, it WILL last longer than a mini.
I disagree. Think of it this way:
My girlfriend's parents buy only combo VCR + DVD player units for their house, isntead of a seperate DVD and VCR. Over the past 3 years or so, they've had 3 of these units go out on them. What happens is that, for example, the DVD player will go out while the VCR remains fine. However, instead of just buying a replacement DVD player, they are really attached to the idea of an "all-in-one", so they continue to buy a VCR+DVD player combo setup. Every time the DVD player portion of the unit dies, they end up throwing the whole thing, perfectly-fine VCR included, and replace it with another combo unit. Perhaps the combo unit is cheaper or more convinent in the short-run, but in the long run, it's wasteful.
I prefer to look at computers the same way. What if you buy an iMac now, and 5 years later you're looking to buy another computer because the iMac is too slow. Well, if you are going to get rid of the iMac because it is too slow, you're also going to be replacing an otherwise perfectly good monitor, whereas if you just invest in an external screen to start with, you can continue to use that monitor as you replace the computers.
That's what I see happening here. iMaczealot's folks are replacing their old computer, fine. But in the process they are also going to be throwing out a perfectly good monitor because it is attached to the aging computer.
My advice remains to get a mac mini. Snowy28 claims that the iMac will last long, which strictly speaking may be true. However I believe that by investing in a sturdy external screen, which you can continue to use computer after computer makes my idea more "futureproof" in the long run.
Both the iMac and mac mini have what I consider to be equally limited expandibility options. If "futureproofing" is what you ultimately desire, a single processor Powermac G5 will give you the expandability options you need to keep a computer going for 5+ years.
