Moved: I'm stuck-- help me spend money!
Hey guys and gals,
Skip this post if you hate reading long posts. Read on if you like to spread good karma to people in need!
I'm looking to buy a new Apple system and I've narrowed it down to a few options, but I can't seem to decide which is the best way to go. It may just be a case of "there's no right answer," but I figured now would be a good time to bounce things off anyone who cares to listen. As I mentioned in a previuos thread (I know some of this is a repeat, so bear with me, or just spank me), I'm a writer/photographer. My main requirements for writing are that I be MOBILE and have simplicity of life. My main requirements for photography are that I can handle hi-res image editing in photoshop in a comfortable eye-friendly and carpal tunnel friendly setting. Added BONUS stuff: It would be nice to be able to run virtual PC for some of my work stuff that runs under Wincrap NT.
Based upon my budget, I have narrowed things down to either (1) a decked out powerbook or (2) a combination ibook AND imac.
I went to Apple Soho this weekend and played around with everything (except the glass staircase, which I left alone!) I even brought a cd with my own 25 mb hi-res photo and did a memory intensive special effects transform. Mind you, this was not a scientific study, but here's what I discovered:
I did the transform effect on my current Int-Hell pc (Bent-ium III 500 mhz, 128 ram), powerbook 800, ibook 700, imac 800, and dual 1gig'er. What I found was interesting. The transform took about 55 seconds on my current computer. All macs were significantly faster. They all seemed to take about 25 seconds (ibook=25, powerbook=20, imac=20). Yes, imagine me standing there with my wristwatch testing these things. But you have to hand it to the Apple staff! They didn't laugh at me. The only computer with a NOTICEABLE difference was the dual gig, which took about 10 or 15 seconds to render. My feeling is that it doesn't matter to me whether I'm waiting 20 or 25 seconds, they're all fine. The dualie would be nice, but not NECESSARY.
ibook 12 incher was "friendlier" to use for some reason. I think the smaller screen size left less dragging of the finger around on the trackpad. I also realized that I can't use a laptop for my HOME use without a mouse and perhaps without a monitor.
So, as I see it, the pro's of the powerbook option would be (1) portability; (2) single fast computer in compact case, even at home, a nice thing; (3) all documents/files located in one place. The con's: (1) more expensive (if including a monitor and mouse in the cost); (2) Everything in one place to get stolen or lost (personal files, financial, writing, photography); (3) less sturdy (flaking paint problem, finicky slot-loading drive, etc..,); (4) No Superdrive, and the external "superdrives" don't all work properly with iDVD.
The pro's of the ibook/imac option: (1) easy laptop for writing, easy desktop for photography; (2) less expensive equipment to use (or lose)when mobile; (3) Imac has a superdrive. The con's of this option: (1) having files in more than one location is a pain, especially for a writer, who constantly has different versions of different stories; (2) g3 ibook might be out of date pretty quickly and with a 100mhz system bus and 800mhz processor speed, g4 imac isn't exactly a screamer in the speed department either
Can anyone put all of this together into a plan for me? I've clearly gotten too close to this problem and need a drink or two to get some perspective.
???Argh???
<img src="confused.gif" border="0">
[ 08-05-2002: Message edited by: alcimedes ]</p>
Skip this post if you hate reading long posts. Read on if you like to spread good karma to people in need!
I'm looking to buy a new Apple system and I've narrowed it down to a few options, but I can't seem to decide which is the best way to go. It may just be a case of "there's no right answer," but I figured now would be a good time to bounce things off anyone who cares to listen. As I mentioned in a previuos thread (I know some of this is a repeat, so bear with me, or just spank me), I'm a writer/photographer. My main requirements for writing are that I be MOBILE and have simplicity of life. My main requirements for photography are that I can handle hi-res image editing in photoshop in a comfortable eye-friendly and carpal tunnel friendly setting. Added BONUS stuff: It would be nice to be able to run virtual PC for some of my work stuff that runs under Wincrap NT.
Based upon my budget, I have narrowed things down to either (1) a decked out powerbook or (2) a combination ibook AND imac.
I went to Apple Soho this weekend and played around with everything (except the glass staircase, which I left alone!) I even brought a cd with my own 25 mb hi-res photo and did a memory intensive special effects transform. Mind you, this was not a scientific study, but here's what I discovered:
I did the transform effect on my current Int-Hell pc (Bent-ium III 500 mhz, 128 ram), powerbook 800, ibook 700, imac 800, and dual 1gig'er. What I found was interesting. The transform took about 55 seconds on my current computer. All macs were significantly faster. They all seemed to take about 25 seconds (ibook=25, powerbook=20, imac=20). Yes, imagine me standing there with my wristwatch testing these things. But you have to hand it to the Apple staff! They didn't laugh at me. The only computer with a NOTICEABLE difference was the dual gig, which took about 10 or 15 seconds to render. My feeling is that it doesn't matter to me whether I'm waiting 20 or 25 seconds, they're all fine. The dualie would be nice, but not NECESSARY.
ibook 12 incher was "friendlier" to use for some reason. I think the smaller screen size left less dragging of the finger around on the trackpad. I also realized that I can't use a laptop for my HOME use without a mouse and perhaps without a monitor.
So, as I see it, the pro's of the powerbook option would be (1) portability; (2) single fast computer in compact case, even at home, a nice thing; (3) all documents/files located in one place. The con's: (1) more expensive (if including a monitor and mouse in the cost); (2) Everything in one place to get stolen or lost (personal files, financial, writing, photography); (3) less sturdy (flaking paint problem, finicky slot-loading drive, etc..,); (4) No Superdrive, and the external "superdrives" don't all work properly with iDVD.
The pro's of the ibook/imac option: (1) easy laptop for writing, easy desktop for photography; (2) less expensive equipment to use (or lose)when mobile; (3) Imac has a superdrive. The con's of this option: (1) having files in more than one location is a pain, especially for a writer, who constantly has different versions of different stories; (2) g3 ibook might be out of date pretty quickly and with a 100mhz system bus and 800mhz processor speed, g4 imac isn't exactly a screamer in the speed department either
Can anyone put all of this together into a plan for me? I've clearly gotten too close to this problem and need a drink or two to get some perspective.
???Argh???
<img src="confused.gif" border="0">
[ 08-05-2002: Message edited by: alcimedes ]</p>
Comments
our goal isn't to screw people out of good information. so the suggestion was made that threads about buying be moved back into general discussion.
which is where this is going now.