Home Office Recommendations
Hi guys,
I'm saving up for a home office in order to do more freelance work, (photo
restoration, business cards, brochures, logo design, web, & etc.) I've got
three grand saved up & hope to squirrel away another three to four grand by
January/February. Anyway this is my dream setup so far:
HARDWARE:
($2,899)
PowerBook 1.5GHz (17" TFT)
1.5GHz PowerPC G4 with 128MB Graphics Memory 065-4968
80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400rpm 065-4965
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) 065-4966
AirPort Extreme Card 065-4974
512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 SO-DIMM 065-5071
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English 065-4963
($101.99)
512MB RAM - from www.crucial.com
($349)
APP for PowerBook (w/ or w/o display)
Enrollment Kit
($179)
Professional 17 Backpack Case by Brenthaven
($399)
iPod w/Click Wheel (40GB w/Dock)
*For external backup
($199)
AirPort Extreme Base Station (with modem and antenna port)
($149)
iSight Camera
($399)
Fuji FinePix E550 Digital Camera - from www.amazon.com
($399)
Epson Stylus Photo R800 Inkjet Printer
($449)
Epson Perfection 4870 Photo Scanner
SOFTWARE:
($999.95)
Adobe Creative Suite v1.1 - Standard
($899.95)
Macromedia Studio MX 2004
($99.95)
Toast 6.0 Titanium
($69.95)
.Mac Promotional Bundle
GRAND TOTAL: $7592.79
TOTAL without iPod, iSight, .Mac bundle: $6,974.84
Hopefully a new powerbook loaded with Tiger will be out by February.
Is there anything that I may be missing with this setup (cables, software,
& etc.) I was also thinking about getting a wireless optical mouse. I noticed
a bunch at the apple store. Any recommendations? I'd like a two button
version with a scrollwheel (I don't need those 5 or 6 button mice.)
Also, can anyone recommend a good firewire/usb port hub. Do you know
of any all-in-one port hubs that have usb, usb2, firewire 400, firewire 800,
& media slots for the finepix?
I probably won't be playing games on it because I've already got all three
consoles so I don't need any recommendations leading toward that area.
(edit)
The epson printer can print directly to discs. Any recommendations for
some quality cd-r & dvd-recordable media? Also, I'm thinking about
getting a 256 or 512MB card for the camera. Recommendations for that
will be welcome as well.
I was also thinking about getting a color lazer printer for comps. Has
anyone seen one that accepts 11x17" paper & was under a grand? I saw
some color lazer printers at the apple store but I think they only go up
to legal paper size.
I'm saving up for a home office in order to do more freelance work, (photo
restoration, business cards, brochures, logo design, web, & etc.) I've got
three grand saved up & hope to squirrel away another three to four grand by
January/February. Anyway this is my dream setup so far:
HARDWARE:
($2,899)
PowerBook 1.5GHz (17" TFT)
1.5GHz PowerPC G4 with 128MB Graphics Memory 065-4968
80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400rpm 065-4965
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) 065-4966
AirPort Extreme Card 065-4974
512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 SO-DIMM 065-5071
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English 065-4963
($101.99)
512MB RAM - from www.crucial.com
($349)
APP for PowerBook (w/ or w/o display)
Enrollment Kit
($179)
Professional 17 Backpack Case by Brenthaven
($399)
iPod w/Click Wheel (40GB w/Dock)
*For external backup
($199)
AirPort Extreme Base Station (with modem and antenna port)
($149)
iSight Camera
($399)
Fuji FinePix E550 Digital Camera - from www.amazon.com
($399)
Epson Stylus Photo R800 Inkjet Printer
($449)
Epson Perfection 4870 Photo Scanner
SOFTWARE:
($999.95)
Adobe Creative Suite v1.1 - Standard
($899.95)
Macromedia Studio MX 2004
($99.95)
Toast 6.0 Titanium
($69.95)
.Mac Promotional Bundle
GRAND TOTAL: $7592.79
TOTAL without iPod, iSight, .Mac bundle: $6,974.84
Hopefully a new powerbook loaded with Tiger will be out by February.
Is there anything that I may be missing with this setup (cables, software,
& etc.) I was also thinking about getting a wireless optical mouse. I noticed
a bunch at the apple store. Any recommendations? I'd like a two button
version with a scrollwheel (I don't need those 5 or 6 button mice.)
Also, can anyone recommend a good firewire/usb port hub. Do you know
of any all-in-one port hubs that have usb, usb2, firewire 400, firewire 800,
& media slots for the finepix?
I probably won't be playing games on it because I've already got all three
consoles so I don't need any recommendations leading toward that area.
(edit)
The epson printer can print directly to discs. Any recommendations for
some quality cd-r & dvd-recordable media? Also, I'm thinking about
getting a 256 or 512MB card for the camera. Recommendations for that
will be welcome as well.
I was also thinking about getting a color lazer printer for comps. Has
anyone seen one that accepts 11x17" paper & was under a grand? I saw
some color lazer printers at the apple store but I think they only go up
to legal paper size.
Comments
Originally posted by mello
Hi guys,
I was also thinking about getting a color lazer printer for comps. Has
anyone seen one that accepts 11x17" paper & was under a grand? I saw
some color lazer printers at the apple store but I think they only go up
to legal paper size.
It's difficult to find tabloid printers under a grand, period. however, you should look at soild-ink printers in addition to color lasers. I think you'll find that the Xerox-Tektronix Solid-ink Phasers are damn good deals.
Originally posted by Splinemodel
It's difficult to find tabloid printers under a grand, period. however, you should look at soild-ink printers in addition to color lasers. I think you'll find that the Xerox-Tektronix Solid-ink Phasers are damn good deals.
Do you know any specific model numbers so I check on the zerox website?
You want tabloid capabilities so why not try the Canon i9900 over the Epson R800? The Canon support Tabloid and has the 8 seperate carts. Plus it might be sharper than the R800. Then you find the best CIS(continuous Ink System)so you don't get gouged on ink prices.
As for laser the Tektronix/Xerox 8400 is the one close to your pricerange 8400 Model comparison . Don't be put off by the solid ink. The technology is inexpensive and works nicely.
I'm curious about that Finepix E550. It's not out until around Oct. Did you read a good review on it somewhere?
If you're paying cash I bet you could find a couple of places that carry a majority of what you want submit them a request for their best deal. I'm sure you'd probably shave a hundred or two off of the total. BHphotovideo.com has almost everything you want need.
for all your home office/office needs I like their remote controlled tanks with cameras on them so you can do battle in cubicles
Originally posted by Scott
Surely you can find cheaper better external storage than an iPod?
If external storage is your goal, I recomend an external FW enclosure. Get a $50 enclosure and a 200gb hdd for like 149 and for $200 you'r in FW storage heaven. (the advantage to this is it can easily be upgraded when bigger drives ship.)
Originally posted by hmurchison
Mello I'm curious about some of your choices.
You want tabloid capabilities so why not try the Canon i9900 over the Epson R800? The Canon support Tabloid and has the 8 seperate carts. Plus it might be sharper than the R800. Then you find the best CIS(continuous Ink System)so you don't get gouged on ink prices.
As for laser the Tektronix/Xerox 8400 is the one close to your pricerange 8400 Model comparison . Don't be put off by the solid ink. The technology is inexpensive and works nicely.
I'm curious about that Finepix E550. It's not out until around Oct. Did you read a good review on it somewhere?
If you're paying cash I bet you could find a couple of places that carry a majority of what you want submit them a request for their best deal. I'm sure you'd probably shave a hundred or two off of the total. BHphotovideo.com has almost everything you want need.
At work I have access to a Epson Stylus Photo 2200 which is a great printer
which is a 4 picoliter printer. I've heard great things of the R800 which is
a 1.5 picoliter printer. I'll mainly be using this for digital photography &
photo restorations. I wanted a 11x17 printer for comps to show the client,
(mainly work in progress brochures, logos, etc.) It doesn't have to be a
top of the line printer.
My choice of the finepix e550 is not set in stone. I heard good reviews of
the previous finepix that I believe is a 6.1 megapixel camera that gets that
resolution from merging the light & dark sensor for the final pic. The e550
is something like 12.3 megapixel. Anyway, I want to spend under $500
for a camera that had a resolution of 7megapixels or higher.
My choice for the iPod as an external backup is dualuse because I want to
listen to my music as well & I may want to transfer photos from the camera
to the iPod. ( I also plan on making cd backups that I'll put in a fireproof
safe.)
The pricing is that I wrote up is just a quick preliminary price. I plan to
shop around to try to find the best deal. I'll probably order the laptop
through the milwaukee apple store though because they're so close &
if there are any problems I could just go there.
Originally posted by xterra48
What type of office is this, ie whats your job with all this equipment!
I'll be doing freelance graphic design from my home. (I mentioned that in
my original post.)
Epson/Canon both nice printers. I'm thinking about getting an i960 but the Tabloid printing of the i9900 is nice.
Finepix E550 specs
All in all a very nice system you're putting together. Hopefully business will be so good you're turning clients away.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Yes the Finepix have the nice Fuji CCDs. I remember liking some of the shots that dcresource.com had from the last years version.
Epson/Canon both nice printers. I'm thinking about getting an i960 but the Tabloid printing of the i9900 is nice.
Finepix E550 specs
All in all a very nice system you're putting together. Hopefully business will be so good you're turning clients away.
hmurchison,
How are the inks on the i9900, (Color shifting, fading, etc)? What I've read
about the epson is that the inks last something like 100 years. Here is the link
for more details from epson's site:
Link