Should I switch to an iMac?

[medichi]

I need a new pooter. I only REALLY need it for music, photos, videos, Office (word, powerpoint etc) and the interweb. No interest in games for it (thats what I have a PS3 for). I've always had a PC, but with all the Vista horror stories, plus what I need it for, I was thinking of switching sides and getting one of these:

New Apple iMac 2.0GHz SuperDrive Desktop Computer with 20 Inch Monitor - John Lewis

Opinions? Good/bad?

[Spoonie]

Q: whats the hardest things about buying a mac?
A: telling your parents you're gay.

[The Kernel Loaf]

It depends on how flexible you want your computer to be. Macs are good for development suites - if you are a developer/composer, but for home use, I don't see much practical use for one over a PC. The amount of software available to you is extremely limited in comparison aswell, and I couldn't be fucked with having iTunes by default.

Vista may be shit at the moment but this has happened with pretty much all of Microsoft's operating systems since NT - once the Service Pack comes out, it should be relatively up to scratch. And if you really don't like Vista, there are plenty Linux/Unix variants for free you could use.

Then again, if you buy an iMac and get sick of MacOS, you can always just install Vista now that Macs use Intel CPUs.

[Old Gold]

I like my mac for it's simplicity. I shifted from pc to mac a few month ago and the only problem I've experienced is it's slightly rubbish (but still very much useable) compatibility with msn messenger. It's really easy to hunt down decent free open source stuff in place of Word etc.

Best idea is to go into a shop, see what's available and try everything out I suppose. However, I would suggest trying a Macbook if you're not going to bother with pooter games.

[Neutral]

Or you could just install OsX86 on your pc and see how you like it first.......

[Neil]

Originally Posted by medichi

I need a new pooter. I only REALLY need it for music, photos, videos, Office (word, powerpoint etc) and the interweb. No interest in games for it (thats what I have a PS3 for). I've always had a PC, but with all the Vista horror stories, plus what I need it for, I was thinking of switching sides and getting one of these:

New Apple iMac 2.0GHz SuperDrive Desktop Computer with 20 Inch Monitor - John Lewis

Opinions? Good/bad?

If you aren't interested in playing the latest games and you plan to use it as a home computer (as opposed to a computer in an office/business environment) then yeah, I would recommend you switch to a Mac. Some people don't appear to be aware that Microsoft make software for Macs as well. Microsoft Office 2008 has just been released for the Mac (no, that's not a typo - it's 2008 - newer than MS Office for the PC!) and you can download MSN Messenger for the Mac from Microsoft's web site (although Adium is much better IMO).

Aside from games, the old argument of there not being the same selection of software for the Mac as there is for the PC doesn't really hold true any more. The popularity of the Mac these days means there is more software than ever before and lots of it is in fact Mac only (e.g. Adium). If you really do need to run a Windows application then you can use something like Parallels to run it virtually on the Mac or simply install Windows XP / Vista as a dual-boot on the Mac using Bootcamp. I could list a million reasons of why OS X is better than Windows XP and Windows Vista but you can find information about that elsewhere. The best idea is to play with a Mac in the shop or have a shot on a mates machine and see the difference for yourself.

The only two negatives I can think of are the usual disadvantages. Namely that there is still a price premium on Macs and Macbooks over PCs (you can always find a similarly spec'd PC for less cash). Although the difference is not as big as it once was. And aside from upgrading the RAM or the hard disk the upgrade options on an iMac or Macbook are non-existent. PCs can be upgraded much more easily.

Hope that helps.

[Tam o' Shantie]

Ask yourself if you really need to spend 800 quid on a computer of any sort, if all you are going to be doing is using the internet, word processing and multimedia? You could get any modern standard desktop for about 300 quid that would be more than adequate for this sort of thing. If you don't want Vista, just buy a PC with XP instead, most reputable retailers should offer you the choice.

[Le Stu]

I've owned two Macs, and they are very nice computers. I really disliked all the added costs in running one, however. Apple product cycles are a lot tighter than Microsoft's, so you may be forced to buy an OS X upgrade within the lifespan of the machine. Apple care is also expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as getting your machine repaired without it. Replacement components are pricey... I don't know if they still charge extra for Quicktime Pro, but that was another sneaky one!

[Hogisbald]

Medichi.......

Im posting this post on an £800 desktop. It has a 1 tb hardrive and the Ram destroys everything.

Yes Macs have advantages but if you are after value then IMHO... Imacs are not the solution.

[Neutral]

If you are getting a new PC get one without windows(Use your own copy of windows, like the
one that came with your old pc) or a PC with Vista Basic(the cheapest one)

After installing software remember to switch off all auto loading items and auto updates(they run in
the background which can slow it down)

Below are free and small memory footprint programs for common tasks.

-------------------------------------------------------
Office Suite, Microsoft Office, PDF Creator

OPENOFFICE

www: OpenOffice.org - The Free and Open Productivity Suite
-------------------------------------------------------
DVD Player and all Video format player

VLC Media Player

VideoLAN - Free Software and Open Source video streaming solution for every OS!
-------------------------------------------------------
CD and DVD Burning

IMGBURN

The Official ImgBurn Website
-------------------------------------------------------
PDF Viewer

Foxit PDF Viewer

Foxit Software
-------------------------------------------------------
Photo Editing Software

I prefer Paint.net

Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing

or

The Gimp

GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program
-------------------------------------------------------
Audio Editing with VST Support

Audacity

Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder
-------------------------------------------------------
Media Player

Windows Media Player

Comes with Windows
-------------------------------------------------------
Firewall

Windows Firewall

Comes with Windows
-------------------------------------------------------
Antivirus

I used to use Avira

Free antivirus - Avira AntiVir

I have heard AVG is good

AVG Free Advisor - Free antivirus and anti-spyware downloads
-------------------------------------------------------
Bit Torrent

uTorrent

Torrent - The Lightweight and Efficient BitTorrent Client
-------------------------------------------------------

I really hope this is useful to you and everyone else