need advice on buying new imac

[bryantm3]

i will have 1280$ at the end of the school year, and i will have extra money in my savings account. what i need is this:
a computer for doing daily tasks, ie: firefox, soulseek, mail, word, etc.
but when needed, it can do more performance-heavy tasks like: Flash MX, Graphic designing/editing, etc.
i need a good plan that will get me an iMac, microsoft office (actually all i need is word, and maybe picture it photo), a good amount of ram, and virus protection.
does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Phobophobia]

i will have 1280$ at the end of the school year, and i will have extra money in my savings account. what i need is this:
a computer for doing daily tasks, ie: firefox, soulseek, mail, word, etc.
but when needed, it can do more performance-heavy tasks like: Flash MX, Graphic designing/editing, etc.
i need a good plan that will get me an iMac, microsoft office (actually all i need is word, and maybe picture it photo), a good amount of ram, and virus protection.
does anyone have any suggestions?

I really do hope you aren't planning on illegally downloading those software titles. While it is indeed tempting to pirate copyrighted material, (and I used to), you end up hurting yourself and the people who made the products. Why do you think criminals confess to crimes? Doing bad things eats away at you--and you know when what you are doing is wrong. Do not take this rant personally, it is a message to all the potential pirates out there.

The iMac G5 should be able to tackle all the programs you need--make sure to get enough ram. Almost all of the software you need comes with the iMac. Plus, you don't need to buy Word to read its filetype. Surprisingly, the new iMac has exceptional value.

Some notes:

1. Macs don't have viruses. I rarely have to worry about security, and OS X is very safe on its own. (Especially when compared to Windows).
2. iPhoto could definitely replace Picture It to a degree.

I am not sure what to tell you. It sounds to me like the best thing for you might be an eMac. It can handle everything you listed, and is much cheaper. I hate having to recommend it to you, however. The iMac is so ****ing pretty... That's money for ya.

 

[yoda13]

The iMac does sound like overkill for you. Max out an eMac instead.

 

[Macmaniac]

I think I would agree with the eMac as well, get the max RAM possible, and you could also get Microsoft Office Student Edition, its only $150.
Are you a college student or a HS student? If your in college you can get a great edu discount on the eMac or iMac.

 

[tech4all]

but when needed, it can do more performance-heavy tasks like: Flash MX, Graphic designing/editing, etc.

I dunno, an eMac is OK, but if your going to be doing graphic design and editing and what not, the G5 might be useful for that. But if your not going to be doing graphics often, then eMac should suffice.

 

[QCassidy352]

I really do hope you aren't planning on illegally downloading those software titles. While it is indeed tempting to pirate copyrighted material, (and I used to), you end up hurting yourself and the people who made the products. Why do you think criminals confess to crimes? Doing bad things eats away at you--and you know when what you are doing is wrong. Do not take this rant personally, it is a message to all the potential pirates out there.

dude, why are you going on a software piracy rant? he said nothing at all to indicate he was thinking of anything like that. waaaay off topic....

I would try to stretch for the imac if i were u. Will last you much longer.

 

[Chappers]

I really do hope you aren't planning on illegally downloading those software titles. While it is indeed tempting to pirate copyrighted material, (and I used to), you end up hurting yourself and the people who made the products. Why do you think criminals confess to crimes? Doing bad things eats away at you--and you know when what you are doing is wrong. Do not take this rant personally, it is a message to all the potential pirates out there.

So does student = pirate now?

A really great welcome from the Mac community - a Mother Phobophobia lecture.

 

[Mord]

geyarr, pirate and proud.


get an imac get minimum ram and a 512MB stick from crucial.

your campus probably requires virus protection you can use virex to make them happy, but there is little point to it, as some guy said in his sig, it's like masturbating with a condom on, it just gets in the way.