Sounds good to me also; in particular the silence and sleek design.
On the screen though I would vote for a little less glossy (also, Samsung's PLS is nice too; I've always backed IPS, but it's a good competitor).
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Wait... Why Do I Want an iMac Again?
- Thread starter One Still Sheep
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Sounds good to me also; in particular the silence and sleek design.
On the screen though I would vote for a little less glossy (also, Samsung's PLS is nice too; I've always backed IPS, but it's a good competitor).
That's true, Apple product do integrate well together. However, I would consider that to be part of the problem: it engenders a bit too much customer loyalty for my taste (great for profit margins though).
I find it odd that there are people (on this forum and elsewhere) who proudly claim to be "PC-Free." This is essentially saying that you have made a conscious decision to buy from one specific computer manufacturer regardless of what their competition has on offer. "Um... how... intelligent? ...liberating?" I'm not sure what would be the expected response to such an admission.
While I like Apple's products, I wouldn't want to concede to them primacy over my selection in electronics: I want them to have to compete for my dollar, not be granted it on the virtue of branding.
I want a Mac because iTunes has me suckered in filled with my entire music collection of over 1TB all with ratings, playlists, etc etc 
I will be coming over from a PC should be the right choice though hopefully. I do get scared hearing about them breaking down in one way or another within 3 years or so.
I will be coming over from a PC should be the right choice though hopefully. I do get scared hearing about them breaking down in one way or another within 3 years or so.
Really? This may be true, I don't know. Does your employer insist on your using programs which are only available on OSX?
I proudly keep both an active latest Windows PC in the house and an Android phone, a really nice HTC One X. For the most part, they continue to remind me how well i have it within the Apple system. Still, they have their moments of use pleasure and its good to see what comes out on the other systems.
Hi, I'm an IT consultant and I would say that about 2/3 of my clients are on Macs and the rest are on Windows. So I use both OS's and from time to time I use Linux since both my macs triple boot.
There isn't anything that I do on one OS that I can't do on another but my personal preference goes to OSX. I currently own a late 2009 iMac 27 inches and I will most certainly buy a new one next week or whenever they come out. My iMac works really well but the only thing that bothers me with it is the Video card, back when I bought it the best I could get was a 512MB. So I'm really looking forward what they are going to put in the new iMac VC wise. I'm a casual gamer so a more powerful graphic card would please me. I know that for the same amount of money I could keep my actual iMac and buy a freakingly powerful gaming machine but gaming would be the only thing done on it.
Back when I used only windows machine, I used to change my computer every two years because they were not powerful enough but my iMac will soon turn 3 years old and (beside windows gaming) can run anything I throw at it, so in my case not be able to upgrade it is not that big of a deal.
Macs are not exactly more expensive, if you put the same amount of money on a pc, you'll end up with a windows machine that runs windows as well as OSX runs on a Mac. So you don't buy a Mac or a PC because of the brand, you buy it because of the OS.
And with Macs you can choose to run windows on it, but you can't (legitimately) run OSX on a PC.
So iMac for me. And you can spend as much as you want on a PC, IMO it will never look as good as an iMac ! In my case the WAF is important!
There isn't anything that I do on one OS that I can't do on another but my personal preference goes to OSX. I currently own a late 2009 iMac 27 inches and I will most certainly buy a new one next week or whenever they come out. My iMac works really well but the only thing that bothers me with it is the Video card, back when I bought it the best I could get was a 512MB. So I'm really looking forward what they are going to put in the new iMac VC wise. I'm a casual gamer so a more powerful graphic card would please me. I know that for the same amount of money I could keep my actual iMac and buy a freakingly powerful gaming machine but gaming would be the only thing done on it.
Back when I used only windows machine, I used to change my computer every two years because they were not powerful enough but my iMac will soon turn 3 years old and (beside windows gaming) can run anything I throw at it, so in my case not be able to upgrade it is not that big of a deal.
Macs are not exactly more expensive, if you put the same amount of money on a pc, you'll end up with a windows machine that runs windows as well as OSX runs on a Mac. So you don't buy a Mac or a PC because of the brand, you buy it because of the OS.
And with Macs you can choose to run windows on it, but you can't (legitimately) run OSX on a PC.
So iMac for me. And you can spend as much as you want on a PC, IMO it will never look as good as an iMac ! In my case the WAF is important!
I want a Mac because iTunes has me suckered in filled with my entire music collection of over 1TB all with ratings, playlists, etc etc
iTunes is one feature with which I could do without: never cared for it, either on Mac or PC.
I'm my employer
Macs are the standard in the graphic design industry, all my design contacts and colleagues use Macs so if I used a PC, I would have major compatibility issues.
Anyway, there is a reason why graphic designers use Macs as standard - they are simply much better for the job.
I'm my employer
Macs are the standard in the graphic design industry, all my design contacts and colleagues use Macs so if I used a PC, I would have major compatibility issues.
Anyway, there is a reason why graphic designers use Macs as standard - they are simply much better for the job.
Once again, I don't know much about your job specifically, so that may be the case; personally, I mostly use Adobe CS for design work. This does occasionally present some hiccups when moving between OSX and Windows-based systems, but rarely; the biggest determiner by far are the changes between suites (such as the weird issues with CS 5.5). Adobe is almost as bad as Microsoft was, back in the day, when they were switching formats around with Office Word and Microsoft Works... almost, but not quite.
I'm my employer
Macs are the standard in the graphic design industry, all my design contacts and colleagues use Macs so if I used a PC, I would have major compatibility issues.
Anyway, there is a reason why graphic designers use Macs as standard - they are simply much better for the job.
I don't understand why people are still clinging to this (seemingly outdated) notion; I am a graphic designer as well. I work on a PC at work, and a Mac at home, transferring files back and forth all the time. The only compatibility issues I EVER run into is from CS5 (at home) to CS6 (at work), which I completely expect.
When I was in school, professors (and the community as a whole) would harp about getting a Mac, and so I got one as my main machine while in school. But I have noticed at my job that as far is Adobe is concerned, the PC and Mac are coming closer and closer with each iteration of the CS that comes out. I love having a Mac to work on for design as well, and I do not mind that graphic designers cling to Macs just because they are prettier (OS and physical appearance), but to say that you are somehow at any disadvantage if you design on a PC is just silly to me. The one major difference is shortcut keys, and while that is a minor annoyance, it is in no way a deal-breaker.
However, I am not sure about any other programs such as image editing (other than PhotoShop), etc. And please correct me if you have run into any issues yourself, but in MY experience, there is virtually no difference in present day.
Edit: As for the little coding I do, I just use TextWrangler, so I have no problems there.
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I've had very similar thoughts. My current MacBook Pro was my first computer (I'm young) and I sometimes wish that I had just chosen Windows before I got a taste of Apple. If I had, I would have built a super awesome desktop PC by now.
That being said, I really do like Apple products, especially OS X, and switching now means buying a bunch of expensive software over again and using Windows, which I dislike the UI of....I'll still be buying an iMac. I'm really hoping they still support up to 32GB of RAM, because there's talk of them getting thinner resulting in only having 2 RAM slots. I could use more than 16GB.
It's just that kind of thing that you have to worry about with Macs, though. If I saw that a PC that I wanted didn't suit my needs entirely, I would just choose another model or brand...you can't do that with Apple, which is frustrating.
That being said, I really do like Apple products, especially OS X, and switching now means buying a bunch of expensive software over again and using Windows, which I dislike the UI of....I'll still be buying an iMac. I'm really hoping they still support up to 32GB of RAM, because there's talk of them getting thinner resulting in only having 2 RAM slots. I could use more than 16GB.
It's just that kind of thing that you have to worry about with Macs, though. If I saw that a PC that I wanted didn't suit my needs entirely, I would just choose another model or brand...you can't do that with Apple, which is frustrating.
I'm my employer
Macs are the standard in the graphic design industry, all my design contacts and colleagues use Macs so if I used a PC, I would have major compatibility issues.
Anyway, there is a reason why graphic designers use Macs as standard - they are simply much better for the job.
Have to disagree, I think Windows is just as capable when it comes to design, I'm a Web Designer and I haven't had any issues opening Photoshop, Illustrator or Fireworks files on both Windows or Mac..
The real benefits on the Mac side is that you can natively open Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks & PDF files without needing to install or open Adobe applications.. Also Fontbook is a big plus for me..
I can commiserate; Apple is also an expensive company for someone who is young: I don't mean the computers specifically, but the peripherals designed for Mac tend to be expensive (of course, in many cases you can use ones designed for non-Apple systems... but that would ruin the look
).----------
To me, these types of things (which tend to not be mentioned, other than the mantra of needing a Mac for Adobe), are some of the best selling points for OSX.
I've personally always had a good relationship with Apple and iMacs. It started with my parents' first computer, the original OS 8 Bondi Blue iMac, and my friend now has it and it still works to this day! I'm using a late 2009 27" iMac in college right now, and I gotta say that it's nice to take a break from writing cryptic MATLAB code for my engineering class once in a while and play a record and just appreciate the piece of artwork in front of me (yes I like the chin and glossy display ). It's also just very streamlined and easy to use, the display's quality and real estate is amazing, and it still performs like a champ! I would keep it if it weren't for the fact that it's my mom's computer and that I told her I would give it back once the new iMac came out
I guess what I'm saying is that there just hasn't been any other computer that has ever given me the satisfaction for using it than the iMac has. It works extremely well out of the box, looks beautiful, and is just an amazing piece of engineering. Oh and OS X FTW
I could never switch to Windows (I try to use the Windows machines on campus as little as possible haha).
). It's also just very streamlined and easy to use, the display's quality and real estate is amazing, and it still performs like a champ! I would keep it if it weren't for the fact that it's my mom's computer and that I told her I would give it back once the new iMac came out
I guess what I'm saying is that there just hasn't been any other computer that has ever given me the satisfaction for using it than the iMac has. It works extremely well out of the box, looks beautiful, and is just an amazing piece of engineering. Oh and OS X FTW
I could never switch to Windows (I try to use the Windows machines on campus as little as possible haha).
1) Yes.
2) $0.
Okay so tbh I think I am one of the "ex-Apple converts" you speak of but not entirely.
My Apple product timeline: iPod Nano 1 -> iPod Touch 1 -> iPhone 4 -> 13" MBP
I was impressed by the iPod touch but what really made me an "Apple Fanboy" was the iPhone 4. I was so impressed by it that I decided to get a $1,500 MacBook Pro laptop from them despite the weak internals and I am very happy with it. That's the back story, now on to the relevant stuff.
About 6 months ago I decided it was time to get a desktop... I primarily wanted it for my college programming classes (studying to be a software engineer) and to game on. I immediately decided to check out the iMac's because I figured they would be exceptional, just like all of my previous Apple products so I started researching and looking on forums. 6 months later... I have a much different opinion on desktop computers.
I think you pretty much got it right. The only thing that makes the iMac worth it is if you
1) cant go without OS X
2) wanna pay $$$ for looks and Apple's name
For me, OS X is great but it's not a necessity for me. I can get just as much done on Windows (if not more) than I can on OS X.
As for the price premium for a "sleek" (ie terribad) design; I laugh at this one. The whole AIO concept is just ridiculous to begin with IMO. Why put really hot computer components behind a screen instead of in a box designed to properly cool them? I don't get it, other than maybe it looks cool? How is that worth sacrificing power and proper cooling... But whatever, to each their own.
And one other thing that tipped me in the other direction (a custom built desktop) was the weak mobile GPU's Apple puts in their "desktops"... Shouldn't desktops have desktop gpu's?
If the 21.5" base model had the GTX680m in it then I might consider it but to get the GTX680m your looking at close to 3 grand which is absolutely absurd for a desktop IMO especially considering it has a mobile GPU In conclusion, I originally wanted an iMac because I expected it to be exceptional because Apple made it but after doing some research I realized that it was definitely not the desktop for me... I was hoping the 2012 iMac would change everything but from what it sounds like, its only getting worse.
I still love the iPhone though and plan on getting an iPhone 5 ASAP and my next laptop (if I ever need another one) will most likely be another MBP.
Sorry for the really long post but I wanted to tell my story because it seems pretty relevant here.
The more relevant question at this juncture -- particularly with regards to the explosion in viable mobile computing options since iMacs were last updated -- is not whether to buy an iMac, but whether it still makes sense to purchase an all-in-one of *any* manufacturer. It has nothing to do with being a loyal Apple consumer or the imminent release of an Apple product.
If I didn't love your user name, I'd tell you to go f--- yourself
Damn, Mad Sativa, defensive much? What's the issue? Can't stop yourself from responding to a potential troll?
I was waiting well over a year for an iMac upgrade, which never came, and I think the OP is asking a legitimate question -- the same one that had me rethink what I really wanted and pushed me toward a cMBP rather than waiting for this new release. I may still have buyer's remorse when the new iMac is released, but even the past two months of joy using my new MacBook Pro, and the additional benefit of portability, will be my personal trade off.
I came back to Apple in 2005 when I opened a recording studio and had to have a Mac so all the music fanboys would feel at home. Before then, I was a reformed Apple maniac/PC guy and felt the flexibility of that platform was better than Apple, and certainly cheaper. But you get what you pay for. OSX is a far superior operating system, both in usability and stability. Apple design is 100x better. And that iMac I bought in 2005 is still running, and until August, it was the computer I used to compose and produce music. My PC tower that I bought around the same time died from bloatware and viruses three years earlier. I share other people's feelings that Apple, the company, is a bit scumbaggish given their huge margins, but if we're all willing to take it AND pay for it, then kudos to them for being there to make the buck.
Damn, Mad Sativa, defensive much? What's the issue? Can't stop yourself from responding to a potential troll?
I was waiting well over a year for an iMac upgrade, which never came, and I think the OP is asking a legitimate question -- the same one that had me rethink what I really wanted and pushed me toward a cMBP rather than waiting for this new release. I may still have buyer's remorse when the new iMac is released, but even the past two months of joy using my new MacBook Pro, and the additional benefit of portability, will be my personal trade off.
I came back to Apple in 2005 when I opened a recording studio and had to have a Mac so all the music fanboys would feel at home. Before then, I was a reformed Apple maniac/PC guy and felt the flexibility of that platform was better than Apple, and certainly cheaper. But you get what you pay for. OSX is a far superior operating system, both in usability and stability. Apple design is 100x better. And that iMac I bought in 2005 is still running, and until August, it was the computer I used to compose and produce music. My PC tower that I bought around the same time died from bloatware and viruses three years earlier. I share other people's feelings that Apple, the company, is a bit scumbaggish given their huge margins, but if we're all willing to take it AND pay for it, then kudos to them for being there to make the buck.
Sorry for your loss.
Pardon me, but from what virus did it die? I just want to be careful...
There is a ground swell of backlash against Apple at least in the iOS developer community. Apple could really care less about smaller developers. They give us no heads up on anything and dont listen to our feedback (maps, new app store, etc..). Without the small developers the iphone/ipad/ianything would be nothing come to think of it Apple would be nothing.
It is a love/hate relationship. =/
