What do you actually do with your new Intel iMac?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I can go to lots of places and see lots of pictures of people showing off their setups. After a while, it just seems like a bunch of rich, empty kids with more dollars than sense showing off their expensive toys. What I actually want to know is this. What task is your iMac serving? Is it the center of a digital audio workstation (DAW)? If so, what SW/HW are you using with it? Does it power your photo/DTP studio? Is it your video production center? Do you make money with it. Or is it just a cute little, well, toy that gets you from one forum to another so you can brag about what a great machine you have? Is it mostly for gaming and casual use? I am going to be buying a 17" at the end of the month and I will be using it for a Logic Express DAW. I want to know what other iMacs are doing out there. It is enough system to run a small country. Is anyone running a small country out there?



Sound off.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38
    sandausandau Posts: 1,230member
    i bought mine to play partypoker (windows only) through winxp installed under parallels.



    joking..heh, yes, it does that too, but also to convert tv shows to ipod format to play on the TV, which works fantastic. i used to use a mac mini (powerpc) to do this and a single episode would take overnight...now its pretty much converted in the length of time of the episode or less, i can do half or more of a season over night in some cases.



    and for iWeb, iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie of course. Works terrific. and of course web browsing...



    other than that, not much more...
  • Reply 2 of 38
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    To answer your question, I make money from it. I've several websites, and let's just say the Mac is my friend! p.s. I love going to work
  • Reply 3 of 38
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    snip
  • Reply 4 of 38
    >_>>_> Posts: 336member
    World. Of. Warcraft.



    =P



    - Xidius
  • Reply 5 of 38
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    I do all sorts of things like Photo Restoration, Video production, Sound editing, DVD design and replication, Scanning and printing projects, Web Design/Server, Personal video recorder/Home theater PC, data recovery, and computer repair.



    I am the go-to guy for friends and family and my computer setup reflects the expansion and customization necessary to adapt to these tasks.



    EDIT: Oh yea, and I am somewhat poor.



    EDIT2: Woops, I have a G5, not an intel.
  • Reply 6 of 38
    wow ur lucky to love going to work lol. Anyways i use mine for gaming and basic tasks...and keeping organized. Thats a biggy for me. I am thinking about learning some 3d modeling and map making and such which this should be good for.
  • Reply 7 of 38
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aquatic

    snip



    At risk of seeming as ignorant as I really am, what does this mean?



    I like the fact that people are actually doing something useful with their Macs. It is a good reminder that a great computer is not an end unto itself, but a means to an end. It is also a reminder that owning even a low end Mac is a luxury and privilege. We could all do this stuff with cruddy PCs but we are blessed so that we don't have to. I could get along with this low end mini for a while longer but a faster, better computer will make what I do easier and a lot more fun. I have determined to never buy a new computer until I actually need it to do something I can't do well with the machine I have. I have rationalized the need for a 17". I have been trying to rationalize the 20" but I can't, so far.
  • Reply 8 of 38
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    The beginning of your post confuses me, why critize people for owning imacs? Sure those people may show it off on the internet but I doubt they bought it for that.



    What happened to just needing a computer, everyone needs a computer so why can't it be an imac? Why does it need validation?



    Those comments would have made more sense if they were about powermac or more specifically quads. Those are workstations that a lot less people need then own.





    Anyways right now I use a ppc mac mini for home use and will soon move to an intel imac for home video editing, music production(to make the scores), and digital photography. I need a system as strong as the imac to edit native hdv smoothly.
  • Reply 9 of 38
    naknak Posts: 101member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by >_>

    World. Of. Warcraft.





    World of Warcrack*
  • Reply 10 of 38
    netdognetdog Posts: 244member
    Recording and editing music. A little image processing and site creation. The usual stuff...email, browsing, warehousing Grateful Dead SHNs.
  • Reply 11 of 38
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    The beginning of your post confuses me, why critize people for owning imacs? Sure those people may show it off on the internet but I doubt they bought it for that.



    What happened to just needing a computer, everyone needs a computer so why can't it be an imac? Why does it need validation?



    Those comments would have made more sense if they were about powermac or more specifically quads. Those are workstations that a lot less people need then own.




    Just before posting this thread, I had come from another board with a pictures of iMac setup thread. The thread was filled with images of setups with dual monitors, expensive speakers, docked iPods, and lots and lots of bling. There was no context to any of it. After a certain amount of that, It just seems like showing off. On many boards, it is common for the signature to reflect all the goodies in a person's setup. At some point, it seems that the point is just to have the stuff, not to do anything in particular with it. So many of the Apple sucks complaints come from people who either don't have the product they are complaining about, or don't use their machine for anything in particular. From such people, I just don't want to hear it.



    As far as the Quad owners, you said that you could kind of understand my point if I was talking about them. Well, today's iMac is more powerful than yesterday's high end. By the way, I too use a 1.25 G4 mini for work that is above its pay grade. No, no one has to justify their purchase to me or anyone else. I just like to know these great machines are actually doing something worthy of their station. A Web station for some clueless brat or bored housewife just seems to be beneath these magnificent computers. I am still waiting to hear from someone running a small country with one.
  • Reply 12 of 38
    netdognetdog Posts: 244member
    To me, the iMac seems just about perfect for almost anyone who needs a home computer, but won't be crushing huge TIFSs and videos all day long. Great for the person who just needs a net portal. A lovely place to write. Fantastic recording studio. Really nice for editing images if you aren't working with huge high-res print images all the time. Good for editing the occasional video.



    With a wireless keyboard and mouse and networked drives, I have one wire coming out the back!



    I love the quiet.



    It blends into the room in a nice way.



    It is the perfect all in one.



    Add-ons and peripherals? No thanks!



    Speakers? I am much happier connecting to the AirTunes in the Express adapter attached to my stereo, playing Apple Lossless files off my networked drives.



    Best of all, the price is really not bad.
  • Reply 13 of 38
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mac Voyer

    Just before posting this thread, I had come from another board with a pictures of iMac setup thread. The thread was filled with images of setups with dual monitors, expensive speakers, docked iPods, and lots and lots of bling. There was no context to any of it. After a certain amount of that, It just seems like showing off. On many boards, it is common for the signature to reflect all the goodies in a person's setup. At some point, it seems that the point is just to have the stuff, not to do anything in particular with it. So many of the Apple sucks complaints come from people who either don't have the product they are complaining about, or don't use their machine for anything in particular. From such people, I just don't want to hear it.



    As far as the Quad owners, you said that you could kind of understand my point if I was talking about them. Well, today's iMac is more powerful than yesterday's high end. By the way, I too use a 1.25 G4 mini for work that is above its pay grade. No, no one has to justify their purchase to me or anyone else. I just like to know these great machines are actually doing something worthy of their station. A Web station for some clueless brat or bored housewife just seems to be beneath these magnificent computers. I am still waiting to hear from someone running a small country with one.




    Oh, ok. Now I see your point (mostly because I just stumbled upon that board too ) it makes perfect sense.
  • Reply 14 of 38
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by netdog

    Add-ons and peripherals? No thanks!



    I couldn't live like that if my life depended on it.



    I have a spider web of cables behind my computer the would make the Borg Queen herself hang her head in shame.
  • Reply 15 of 38
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ebby

    I couldn't live like that if my life depended on it.



    I have a spider web of cables behind my computer the would make the Borg Queen herself hang her head in shame.




    Same here. I've got a 7 port powered hub hooked up to my min. I have no free ports and have to unhook something from time to time. I don't even know what all this stuff is anymore. The cleanest computer ever has created the most clutter for me ever. Weird. It's all the external devices, I guess.



    By the way, anyone who is the #1 enemy of the RIAA is a friend of mine... mostly because it takes some of the heat off me.
  • Reply 16 of 38
    netdognetdog Posts: 244member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ebby

    I couldn't live like that if my life depended on it.



    I have a spider web of cables behind my computer the would make the Borg Queen herself hang her head in shame.




    I used to when I used a tower PC, and when I kept my modem/router, external drives and printers physically tethered to my computer. Glad that those days are gone, along with drone of computer fans whirring not so gently in the background.
  • Reply 17 of 38
    zenarcadezenarcade Posts: 126member
    I do all my coding on it

    I do all my media on it. 10 000 pictures, 4000 songs, hours and hours of DV.

    I do my work

    I am interested in american politics, I am a Norwegian, and so I download ca 60-80 documents everyday from New York Times, Washington Post and other websites. And when I need them, they are all there. ( We are talking +5000 documents)



    The bottom-line is: When there are weddings or other celebrations, I make the DVD.



    When my workdocuments are in many differents formats, placed everywhere on my harddrive, my iMac Intel is the only dang computer that seems to handle it well.



    I work for a small finance company, all mac, and we are developing dozens of small applications for differents projects.



    I am a very happy macuser. Mostly because I feel empowered to do things with my computer. And Everything just seems to work, and with spotlight, my stuff is there when I need it.
  • Reply 18 of 38
    trendannoyertrendannoyer Posts: 776member
    no imac for me YET, but im running a 1.2 mac mini for iTunes, the odd iPhoto storage (no-where near what i thought i would be doing with it!) and net surfing, i also run Melodyne (music) software, and the mini JUST copes with this on the half meg.



    i have a 7 way hub a caddy drive off this and an AKAI sampler (music) as well as a firwire audio interface.



    the mini is my first mac, and i had to buy the airport and extra 256 RAM as extras, it was both a treat and a test of MAcs. the treat part was that i was SICK of windows, had tried linux for 18months and thought id give it a go (the mini's seemed cheap)

    im HOPING the imac will run the music software i want (cubase) and Melodyne with ease.. i'll be going for the 20" fully loaded with EVERYTHING option and likely running an extra screen.



    i have a hardware music recorder so will be using the recorder and imac in tandam for a while with the hope to move over FULLY to imac at some point.



    sorry if this has rambled but ive tried to be detailed



    Rod
  • Reply 19 of 38
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    Well, actually I have the last G5 iMac, but will share what I do with it. (Also have a PM at home that does even more of the same stuff even faster.)



    - Edit staff training videos and recordings in iMovie, Keynote, Garageband and iDVD, complete with subtitles and other effects thanks to GeeThree's awesome plugins (also use DVD Studio Pro at times)

    - produce various videos of things at work and edit in iMovie, iDVD

    - duplicate said DVDs on a Bravo DVD duplicator

    - produce training manuals in Adobe inDesign or lately, Apple Pages

    - create artwork for said manuals using Illustrator, FlySketch, Omnigraffle, ConceptDraw

    - plan everything using Concept Draw MindMap Pro and Curio

    - maintain a database of files, products, info, links and what have you that used to require a part-time secretary (she was cute, though, so I miss her)

    - maintain 3D images of various facilities we provide services for for inclusion in manuals, info packs or just for remodelling (created with SketchUp; too bad they were bought out by Google)

    - record and edit listening materials for my students using GarageBand

    - use above recordings sometimes to narrate videos, animations or Keynote presentations

    - maintain a photo library of the goings-on at work with an input of 100 photos daily

    - edit and post to the office network a staff news program

    - produce staff newsletters each month (Pages)

    - maintain a homepage (iWeb)

    - create courseware for my students including textbooks, interactive QT movies illustrating points (eZedia QTI), animated storylines, DVDs and mp3 files available online

    - make and print out wacky photos of anyone who walks past my desk (PhotoBooth)... this was a request, actually, from my former boss!

    - make presentations for various sections in our company and school (Keynote and sometimes, ugh, PowerPoint)

    - scan and touch-up old photos in iPhoto and Photoshop

    -provide all of the tech support during meetings using Kenote and Front Row



    Oh, and occasionally sneak in a game of "igo" (GOBAN which is freeware) in the 15 minutes I manage of freedom during a day at the office (no compaints, as many of my projects are self-induced and fun)



    One thing I have never had to do on my iMac was resolve a viral issue or system crash, but I have had a few hardware issues...



    Not bad for a basic computer!
  • Reply 20 of 38
    macnycemacnyce Posts: 18member
    I am an Emmy winning video editor for the Daily Show. All day i use a windows based Avid. My choice has always been macs. I use a powerbook 1.5 g4 to do everything from editing videos, to photoshop, to creating music in logic and motion graphics. I have a lifetime of work that I have done using older machines. I just purchased an intel imac 20" to work on a cartoon that I created using motion. It's not the speed of the computer but how much you can push a slower machine to make miracles. I hate when people bitch amd moan about needing the next best machine that isn't even out yet. Stop complaing and push your brain a little harder. These new Imac's are capable of doing anything as long as you are up for it, including running a small country.
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