Should I buy an Apple laptop?

I was originally thinking laptop because I don't plan on giving up my PC desktop and it might be easier to set up music stuff somewhere else in my place if based around a laptop (plus easier to take with me and work on stuff "on-the-go" if I so desire); however, I started cleaning up my office space this weekend and, if I move my printer, I will have a perfect place to put an iMac that will be totally accessible and make sense as far as building a music space is concerned, plus it's not like trying to toe around an iMac is like toting around a Dell desktop machine so there could be limited portability if necessary.

very tempted to buy this this week actually

btw is there a practical difference between 4x2GB RAM and 2x4GB RAM, like are Macs built suck that it makes more effective/efficient use of larger RAM chips?

the only real difference is that 2x4GB will probably cost more, but would leave you with two empty slots in case you want to add memory in the future.

I'm sure you know this but just in case: if you're upgrading your RAM, do not buy it from apple, they're extortionate

I likely want to go to 16GB at some point but, for what I want to do initially, 4-8GB should be plenty.

wtf is it with me and typos today btw

I absolutely love my 24' iMac and would recommend one to anybody. However if you want to get a 27' I might wait until the next batch/update - there have been some display issues apparently, though like with many Apple hardware problems, it's hard to tell how widespread the problem really is (actually serious or just enough on the internet to make a stink). And you know, first generation of anything Apple... (sorry to be that wet blanket)

Hmmm...

Not being super int tune with the Apple product cycle, where do I look to figure out when the next update will come out?

New MacBooks are expected (and somewhat overdue).

It's always good to check the Mac Buyer's Guide, where they keep track of Apple's release cycles.

So a few things:

1. Super super SUPER pissed that apparently you can't buy the 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 at the store; fuck you and your "baseline configurations", your Boylston St store is fucking massive and should be able to support this kind of thing. The sales guy I talked actually said "we don't have the tools to do that" which made me go "uh this store is somewhere between 20K-25K square feet, what do you MEAN you can't do that type of thing here". This is the type of thing that makes me scream "style over substance" at a lot of Mac products; you can usually find about a bazillion different processor options on various PCs at Best Buy/Micro Center.

2. The screen issues are terrifying. I am imagining the fury I would unleash if I dropped $2500+ on this thing and it's all jacked up and no one really wants to see that.

3. I really only need the 21-inch one as far as screen size goes but the processor I want only comes with the 27-inch one, which after seeing it in person is kind of fuck-off huge, to the point where I was a little like "lol actually I am very satisfied with the size of my penis, no compensation necessary". (see also bullet #1)

Also lolled at inept salesdude's failed Jedi mind trick re: "well some ppl buy a MacBook Pro and a big monitor" right after I told him I was switching focus to an iMac because of processing power and screen size per dollar. It was very funny because I basically kept quoting stuff I read off the website at him and asking "is that correct?" to which he was like "well let me look that up... yes". I was really hoping he could give me a loophole around the processor thing and he couldn't, which you know boo hiss etc.

I am imagining the fury I would unleash if I dropped $2500+ on this thing and it's all jacked up and no one really wants to see that.

it would make an awesome thread, you have to admit

apple store people pretty much blow; buy online imo

yeah i would check dealmac and macmall for, um, deals

apple stores are only useful if you want to get something repaired and don't want to wait at home for the UPS guy, or you need a baseline iBook NOW. geniuses notwithstanding, the employees tend to be morons, and, yes, they maintain a very streamlined stock.

if you drop $2500 on is and the screen is busted then can't you just get a refund? i don't get it. or are you worried about three years down the line? (buy applecare, by the way.)

The only screen issues I've heard of are immediately apparent out of the box, so I don't think it's anything you'd have to worry about in the long term.

I was worried about it cropping up later, yes.

Also, tbh, I'm a little worried about the box being delivered to my house and my wife going "OKAY WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU" when she sees how large it is. I need a large screen but I don't need one that large!

Can I do financing via DealMac and MacMall? (willing to look this up, just wondering if anyone knows offhand; I am currently credit card lite by choice and need to know if I should be prepared to shell out $$$ up front, as that will greatly reduce the spree aspect of this purchase)

there was one guy who got in the news trying to submit a class action suit after his imac g5 screen failed after three years or something. apparently the problem with his class action was the class was essentially just him. he tried to include "every owner of an imac in the U.S." without asking them. got thrown out iirc.

dan: apple hardware problems tend to get a lot of attention because they are pretty much the biggest selling brand of home computer these days, with a very high media profile compared to, say dell or lenevo, and expectations are very high. i think the fact that there are only about ten configurations on sale at any time tends to contribute to the echo chamber too; if your lenevo xbt670A-SD fails in some way, you're unlikely to find a community of people with the same machine to figure out the problem and/or convince yourself it is systemic, which is very easy to do with a mac.

anyway, apple hardware always has scored extremely highly on customer satisfaction surveys and independent reliability measures. so, they are far from perfect, but unless you are unlucky, it will likely be more reliable than any pc you have owned.

I need a large screen but I don't need one that large!

to that i respond, where the tittays at?

27" is kind of nuts, but you can never go home again once to step up.

don't want to confuse you, but given you're looking at the very top of the line imac, why don't you get a mac pro and a dell monitor?

does apple in the u.s offer an academic discount? in the uk it's very easy to find someone to make the purchase for you (can just be an undergrad, doesn't need to be a student), and it's quite a substantial discount (15%?).

they do, and often you can just make up whatever university you wish you actually went to on the online apple store and they do not ask for proof. whereas when you go to the b&m apple store, they ask for ID.

but dan went to harvard, in case you were wondering

oh right, mac pros cost a billion dollars at the moment. ignore me.

i knew dan went to a university in boston, not tufts, but i wasn't sure which.

in the u.k. you can get a regular student discount quite easily, it's like 8% (?), but if you can find someone with an academic IP and an academic shipping addresss you can get 15%. apple think i own 6 ibooks/macbooks iirc.

Gotta say, I've had an extraordinary run of good luck with Dell desktop computers; I've owned since 1994 and have never, ever had issues with them aside from one video card glitch last year that was fixed by pulling a jumper (oh, and a USB glitch this past Decemember that was fixed by pulling a jumper). The one time I had a hard drive die, it was one that I'd carried forward from... 2001 I think? that I'd turned into an external storage drive; never had a problem with my boot drive or the operation of my machine in general.

I'm looking at the Mac not as much for "stability" as I am for isolation of function and dedicated processing power; the only real reason I'm going Mac is so that, if I so desire later, I can make a partition that I could use for Mac development and this as a good excuse to ease into that world (kind of undercutting my "isolation of function" idea but I would likely try to rebuild the machine to keep the music env and the software play env separate).

My wife works at a university in Boston. Well, Cambridge; no, not Tufts. I might have it sent to her so I can get the discount (likely going to do the same with Sibelius although I think I actually qualify for that discount since I get paid to sing at a church).

okay lol, students save a whopping $100 ZOMG

Yeah, i'm not sure how much of the screen issue is echo chamber, adimttedly. But as you probably found out it's all over the Mac news sites right now. So the next point is going to sound contradictory...

You probably should go with the 27' over the 21'. I thought 24' was too big when I ordered it - now there's no way I can ever step down again, the real estate is just so DELICIOUS. Being an iMac, you're stuck with this monitor for good when you buy it, so get the better one if you can afford it. Also, the 27' has a video input, which is new to iMacs (took them long enough!) so that might be worth it, assuming something in the future besides an MacBook can actually use the DisplayPort in.

And I agree with the sentiment to just go with the Apple site and ignore the store except for tech support. Had no problems with my refurb ordered direct.

make sure you look at the academic staff or, if possible, institutional buyer discount.

Dell are my go-tos when people ask me what PC to get. They are pretty great ime.

If the _only_ reason you're going to Mac is for maybe development in the future then get a mini and a Dell 20/24" screen. Ah, but you also want a machine that has the power/extensibility/upgradability to do music stuff in the meantime? a mac pro is even more powerful and upgradable and, especially if you get into serious music stuff, extensible with PCI. people better qualified than me will be able to tell you in more detail what potential you're sacrificing without PCI. but also bear in mind that macs hold their value very well and if you really to start to be constrained by the imac then you can always sell it. so i would get that.

i think it's a shame they've dropped the 24". 27" is verging on sociopathic in a home environment i think ;)

Just got an Apple 24" screen to replace my old monitor...a Sony Trinitron from 1996. So yeah, an upgrade.

haha, remember to wear sunscreen

Blinded by the light etc. (Had to turn the brightness WAY the hell down.)

Mostly I'm happy just because I now finally have room on my desk to rest my arms.

Comparing and contrasting, it looks like if I go with the processor I want and leave it at 4GB of RAM (which is upgradeable easily enough to 8GB via MacMall prices for like $200 if it turns out to be unlivable) I can et it from Apple for like $5 cheaper than MacMall.

Hmm, must chat with the wife tonight.

I think for music stuff you're okay as long as you've got a Firewire port on there, which I believe all the iMacs have, and 4GB is plenty of RAM for that. Not sure how beefy it needs to be for a programming environment. I wish the Mac Pro was a better option but pricewise it is kinda crazy right now (and much of the time).

Ordered a 27" i7 for my father today.

I'd jump on one (and sell my MBP) in a heartbeat if they offered some kind of matte screen option.

one benefit of buying from apple is that (at least true of their laptops) it's assembled and shipped straight from their factory in china. the 27" problem has been out for long enough that I'm sure they've done some kind of QC check at their factories to check for it by now. if you buy from a third party you may be buying old stock..

lol looks like you should wait a while:

http://www.hardmac.com/news/2010/02/01/production-of-all-imac-27-core-ix-models-stopped-by-apple

Thinking of getting a used iBook offa CL for somewhere between $200-300 bucks. Hopefully will work better than this Acer shit I've got now.

See if you can find an early Intel model instead. Going PPC these days (especially G4) is just going to be painful.

get a 13" macbook pro and a 21"+ Dell monitor. Once you go dual monitor, you never go back, you get the benefit of big screen(s) at home and having a laptop. win-win.

Hmmmm

get a 13" macbook pro and a 21"+ Dell monitor. Once you go dual monitor, you never go back, you get the benefit of big screen(s) at home and having a laptop. win-win.

Agreed with this (only I have 15" MBP and am picking up 24" Apple LCD)

Another for dual monitors here. I've been using my 15" MBP with a 23" Samsung LCD since August, and it's fantastic.

I've got a G4 and my only problem with it is that it can't do web video (it used to, but the codecs everyone's using now are too high bit-rate). If you're not doing anything too heavy duty it's just fine.

On the subject of monitors, Costco have some truly great 24" monitors right now for $140, we just got a bunch of them for the office and I am continually impressed by how good they are.

What brand?

I already have a 20" monitor for my Dell (which I am not giving up btw, this is in addition to my other desktop computer) so if I went that route, I'd get a KVM switch and share the monitor. I use dual monitors at work and love it.

My main concern is machine power per dollar; if I am shelling out more than $2K for a computer, I want the most powerful processor I can get for the money. There is no way in hell I'm paying Mac Pro prices and the performance benchmarks I'm seeing on the quad core iMac vs the dual core MacBook Pro are making me lean very heavily towards the iMac; if I'm getting the same processor either way, that MIGHT push me towards Macbook Pro as long as there aren't also memory issues to contend with. Like I said earlier, portability is not my main concern.

you get more flexibility for upgrades with a pro too, but if you don't care about that for now then yeah, imac.

But what upgrades though? Its not going to be a gaming (LOL its a Mac) rig so graphics card is out. Most audio stuff is USB or firewire nowadays unless you want to pay big bucks. There's extra drive bays but Firewire 800 is plenty fast. Dual monitors, you can have it.

I can't see expandability making much of an argument.

Ed, what brand were the Costco monitors?