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two iMacs, a pc, and macbook air all in one household?

aPple nErd

aPple nErd

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Feb 12, 2012
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Jailbreaks/IOS Hacks
ok so my mom just bought her first mac, the iMac 21.5 inch i5 500 gb hdd running os x lion. i will be getting a computer for graduation soon and really want the macbook and iMac but i get to pick one. my mom says that she doesn't want to have "two of those big expensive computers in this house" and i respect that but do you guys have more than one iMac desktop in your house? or is that a bit overboard? i can't use my moms mac to run game salad and can't one the mail app that cmes with it but i want to be able to use an iMac that i can actually sync my iPods/iphone and use all of the apps so how many mac desktops do you guys have in your household?
 
Why can't you create your own user account on your mom's iMac? Thus you can synch via that account and also use an MBA for lighter work.
 
Here's the problem: I would do that but my mom won't allow me to download any programs from online and in app store and dosnt want additional users as she thinks I'll do bad stuff
 
First off, you could probably use a Mac to learn how to use grammar appropriately.

Secondly, if what your blur of lowercase letters and absences of periods and paragraphs suggests, I see no problem having two Macs in one home.

We have 4 desktop Macs, and three laptops. Your mother is crazy if she is concerned about too many computers in one home.

Also, if you're looking for something in college, it would be dumb not to get a portable computer. So get a MacBook Pro when they get the refresh later this year.
 
So she doesn't want two desktops in the house, but she also won't let anyone else have an account on her iMac. Seems like she has cut off both your alternatives as far as using a desktop are concerned, might have to go with a laptop instead.
 
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TannerH said:
First off, you could probably use a Mac to learn how to use grammar appropriately.

Secondly, if what your blur of lowercase letters and absences of periods and paragraphs suggests, I see no problem having two Macs in one home.

We have 4 desktop Macs, and three laptops. Your mother is crazy if she is concerned about too many computers in one home.

Also, if you're looking for something in college, it would be dumb not to get a portable computer. So get a MacBook Pro when they get the refresh later this year.
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He types no worse than current Mac owners.
 
TannerH said:
First off, you could probably use a Mac to learn how to use grammar appropriately.

Secondly, if what your blur of lowercase letters and absences of periods and paragraphs suggests, I see no problem having two Macs in one home.

We have 4 desktop Macs, and three laptops. Your mother is crazy if she is concerned about too many computers in one home.

Also, if you're looking for something in college, it would be dumb not to get a portable computer. So get a MacBook Pro when they get the refresh later this year.
Click to expand...

I don't agree that his mother is crazy. Have you not heard about being environmentally aware? Consider your own carbon footprint i.e. 4 Desktop Macs and three Laptops, tut tut.
 
There is notthing wrong having more then 1 iMac or Mac's in your house, if you want a iMac yourself go for it.
 
Lankyman said:
I don't agree that his mother is crazy. Have you not heard about being environmentally aware? Consider your own carbon footprint i.e. 4 Desktop Macs and three Laptops, tut tut.
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Do you or anyone in your household have a car? Do you ever travel by airplane?

If your answer is yes to any of the questions, we regret to inform you that you have lost your right to make any argument about carbon footprints ever again under the "Think before you open your mouth"-law passed on April 8, 2012 by Lord Enectrixx, self-proclaimed President of Earth.

OnT: Convince your mother that you need your own iMac.
 
In my house I currently have a 2011 iMac, a 2011 MacBook Pro and a 2011 MacBook Air. They are communicated very nicely to each and I have no problem keeping them all synced. There are many programs to use such as drop box, to name one. I however use iCloud and Air Drop to keep everything synced. I personally think that Air Drop is the best feature of Lion. You literally drag and drop files between computers and they transfer wirelessly. It is very easy to keep them all on the same page. If I were you I would get the MBP, your mother has an iMac which I assume you can use if need be. The MBP are just as powerful as the iMacs, sometimes more depending on configuration and best of all are portable. If you really want the desktop ability and can't or don't want to use your mothers then you can pick up a nice 20" LCD display pretty damn cheap and turn your MBP into a desktop. You can even close the shell and still use it as a computer when its hooked up to an external display. Also get the MBP over the Air, the Air is nice but the pro is better. I hardly use my MBA, and I only bought it because I couldn't decide if I wanted a MBP or MBA so I bought them both. The Air lacks an optical drive and has a small 128 SSD in it so it fills up fast. The MBP is a better bang for your buck. Hoped this helps, and good luck!
 
enectrixx said:
Do you or anyone in your household have a car? Do you ever travel by airplane?

If your answer is yes to any of the questions, we regret to inform you that you have lost your right to make any argument about carbon footprints ever again under the "Think before you open your mouth"-law passed on April 8, 2012 by Lord Enectrixx, self-proclaimed President of Earth.

OnT: Convince your mother that you need your own iMac.
Click to expand...

NO & NO not any more, public transport or shanks' pony - the right remains with me. :p

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Viking23 said:
In our house we have two PC's, two laptops, two ipads and soon a new iMac. But only one printer!
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The sooner you separate from us green English the better. :D
 
Viking23 said:
In our house we have two PC's, two laptops, two ipads and soon a new iMac. But only one printer!
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All you need is one printer lol. If its not wireless get a wireless one. I got a great deal on an Officejet pro 8600, its does scan, copy, fax, and even has a app store lol although I have never gone threw it. But wireless will solve all your printer problems, all of my devices can send items to be printed and it makes life so much easier.
 
Medic278 said:
All you need is one printer lol. If its not wireless get a wireless one. I got a great deal on an Officejet pro 8600, its does scan, copy, fax, and even has a app store lol although I have never gone threw it. But wireless will solve all your printer problems, all of my devices can send items to be printed and it makes life so much easier.
Click to expand...

I vastly prefer a networked printer (wired). All devices can still wirelessly print to the single printer, but you do not have to deal with the crappy and unstable wireless implementations of most printer companies. My recommendation is a color laser with full duplex.

/Jim
 
To each their own. I have an office jet 8500 pro and I have never had a problem. Installation was easy and flawless and it has worked great for me. I can see your concerns though, cheap printers would probably be a pain to try and use wirelessly.
 
I've got a Canon Pixma MG6150 which works wirelessly to all but my main PC. Even the iPads print wirelessly to it, without any problems.
 
stick with the macbook pro. you're goin to college, you will need it.

for the desktop part, maybe in time, your mom will allow you to make additional user, since by then you'll have your own Macbook Pro, so downloading stuff should be done on your MBP, not her iMac.

besides, im pretty sure the MBP will do the things you want to do on iMac. im a user of MBP myself, but if there's a chance that i could get both MBP n iMac, it would be awesome :)
 
OP:

The reason why your mother does not want to buy you TWO computers is because you're not even in college yet and so far have not contributed a penny to society/your household. It seems you are already enough of a glorified brat without her going all the way and buying you TWO computers. Just get the damn Mac book pro and get your mom to buy you a cheap widescreen and desktop/mouse to use at home or college. This way you won't have to transfer files from one computer to another, have multiple email clients, etc.
 
roanmartigan said:
OP:

The reason why your mother does not want to buy you TWO computers is because you're not even in college yet and so far have not contributed a penny to society/your household. It seems you are already enough of a glorified brat without her going all the way and buying you TWO computers. Just get the damn Mac book pro and get your mom to buy you a cheap widescreen and desktop/mouse to use at home or college. This way you won't have to transfer files from one computer to another, have multiple email clients, etc.
Click to expand...

Roan raises a good point. Since I purchased my MBP I hardly use my iMac anymore it usually just sits in my home office. There isn't really any need to have 2 iMacs in one house. If I could do it again I would have bought my MBP first and skipped the iMac entirely.
 
Medic278 said:
Roan raises a good point. Since I purchased my MBP I hardly use my iMac anymore it usually just sits in my home office. There isn't really any need to have 2 iMacs in one house. If I could do it again I would have bought my MBP first and skipped the iMac entirely.
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My wife and I are entirely the opposite, we love the iMac and end up having constant wrangling as to which one of us is going to end up using the Laptop or iPad. I'll give you a clue, it isn't the wife. :rolleyes:
 
Lankyman said:
My wife and I are entirely the opposite, we love the iMac and end up having constant wrangling as to which one of us is going to end up using the Laptop or iPad. I'll give you a clue, it isn't the wife. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Lol to each their own I suppose. WEll as the OP can see it can go either way, devotion to the MBP or iMac, its really the OP's heroin to choose.
 
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