[peterg1965]

My son is intent on wanting an iMac to replace his desktop. I have heard only good things about the Mac but have never really paid much attention to them. We went to PC world yesterday and I was blown away by the new 27" iMac.

This is the machine he would probably want to buy.

A few questions to you Mac guru's

- Will all his current peripherals work with it? Printer/scanner, USB webcam, external hard drive etc
- Is it straightforward to transfer all his photos/files/music to the Mac - probably using an external harddrive.
- Assume he will need to buy Mac Microsoft Office if he wants to use his Word/Powerpoint files?

Bottom line, is it worth it?

[SiKkBaSs]

You are going to get a slightly biased view from me so take it as you please.

In your question of is it worth it? IMO it is definitely NOT worth the money unless you do video/picture processing. I'm at uni and many people I know have this waste of cash at home. It is a cool and trendy thing to have YES but when it boils down to it, it's an overpriced product considering what else is on offer for a fraction of the price.

I have no idea why anyone would use a Mac other than for laptop? I'm not a hater I just cant see why I would want OSX on my desktop (which in general people would use for internet, word processing and other low load processes along with gaming) with a near 30' screen?!?! (unless you were loaded) Macbooks have cool ways of making using the touchpad (amongst other things) easier...you don't need that on a desktop, you have a mouse!

Just get a top spec Windows PC for an amazingly low price in respect to the iMac and get a top quality LED screen IMO if you have the cash.

Having said this your son will probably still be adamant he wants the iMac...do any of his friends have one btw? I'd be interested in what he says if you asked him why he wanted one...



Jus my .02

[scooba0010]

I looked at the Apple products at Christmas ,its fantastic quality and i am sure you can justify the extra ,I am sure if you ask on here there is a way of getting some student discount with apple ,I think you may need to come up with some student union card number and from memory it gets you 15% discount ,worth having on them price i-macs.

The more i think it could be 25% they will only sell you one per year with the discount ,

My sister in law has bought three macbooks for her two boys and one for her self ,to date one broken screen and one failed /problematic hard drive ,so they arent indestructable around children ,that said her boys are $ucking animals ,

I would love a 17" mac book pro ,i wouldnt know what to do with it as i only use internet explorer on the lap top at home its 7 yr old and still running fine .

I would be interested what sort of deal you can get on Apple as i would consider buying my wife one for her birthday in March .

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by scooba0010

I looked at the Apple products at Christmas ,its fantastic quality and i am sure you can justify the extra ,I am sure if you ask on here there is a way of getting some student discount with apple ,I think you may need to come up with some student union card number and from memory it gets you 15% discount ,worth having on them price i-macs.

The more i think it could be 25% they will only sell you one per year with the discount ,

My sister in law has bought three macbooks for her two boys and one for her self ,to date one broken screen and one failed /problematic hard drive ,so they arent indestructable around children ,that said her boys are $ucking animals ,

I would love a 17" mac book pro ,i wouldnt know what to do with it as i only use internet explorer on the lap top at home its 7 yr old and still running fine .

I would be interested what sort of deal you can get on Apple as i would consider buying my wife one for her birthday in March .

I'd find it hard to justify the extra even with a student discount

You talk of Macbook's here which are fair enough but having an iMac as a desktop...hmmm...

[scooba0010]

Just googled Apple Student discounts , i think its £1290 i also think you get apple support or free warrenty as well

You cant be doing to bad Sonny if you are running a BMW ,

[ElegantSpoon]

I have three macs so you can tell what I'm going to say

He won't need to use a USB webcam as it has one built in, printers, hard drives will all work! An external hard drive is your best bet for transferring all your media across and will be very straightforward.

You could by Microsoft Office for mac or ask a friend to send you a copy I do have it but use iWork instead I prefer it greatly of Microsoft office.

Macs are expensive and theres no two ways about it. However there is a very good reason for it, they are IMO far better built, work straight out of the box, will last you years, you can say good bye to crashes and constant needs to reinstall the OS.

Its a much better experience and a lot like buying a BMW over a Kia.

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by scooba0010

You cant be doing to bad Sonny if you are running a BMW ,

I meant as in the price is too high considering ultimately what you get surely, sure it's easy to use, nice to look at etc etc but I just think there's better for your money out there when looking to buy a top of the range desktop.

I've been on iMac's so it's not like I'm dissing them without properly using one.

[peterg1965]

Interesting re. student discount - I just spoke to Apple and have a number to call tomorrow to discuss a discounted iMac.

My son is physically disabled, he uses an Apple at school and keeps going on and on about them. His computer is fantastic for him and he is extremely adept at them despite his disabilities. He is a wiz at things like movie maker, powerpoint, photography etc. He has the money so I do not want to stand in his way if that is what he wants.

He would be replacing a not so old (about 3 years) MESH Quad Core Q6600 2.5Ghz, 4GB Ram machine with a 22" TFT monitor - quite a powerful PC and now running Windows 7. Looks like I will have to try and sell that to offset the cost of the Mac.

[peterg1965]

Originally Posted by ElegantSpoon

I have three macs so you can tell what I'm going to say

He won't need to use a USB webcam as it has one built in, printers, hard drives will all work! An external hard drive is your best bet for transferring all your media across and will be very straightforward.

You could by Microsoft Office for mac or ask a friend to send you a copy I do have it but use iWork instead I prefer it greatly of Microsoft office.

Macs are expensive and theres no two ways about it. However there is a very good reason for it, they are IMO far better built, work straight out of the box, will last you years, you can say good bye to crashes and constant needs to reinstall the OS.

Its a much better experience and a lot like buying a BMW over a Kia.

or a Skoda

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by peterg1965

He would be replacing a not so old (about 3 years) MESH Quad Core Q6600 2.5Ghz, 4GB Ram machine with a 22" TFT monitor - quite a powerful PC and now running Windows 7. Looks like I will have to try and sell that to offset the cost of the Mac.

That's a good enough spec even for now mate!!

But if it's what he wants then who is anyone to stop him. I reckon if he's into movie making and the like then he should be able to just about justify the cost. If it were me though I'd buy a sick PC, suppose your son may be looking for something new.

Good luck



BTW MESH FTW...lots of negative on them lately but bottom line is I've had a PC from them for nearly 10 years and it works even to this day. AMD Athlon XP 1800+, 1GB ram, 80GB hard drive, DVD drive and Windows XP home fully patched.

[ElegantSpoon]

Originally Posted by peterg1965

or a Skoda

Exactly

[Carrera RSR]

Try the Apple refurb site as well

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/hom...deals/mac/imac

My father and I have bought several refurb products. They come to you in new condition but not in the retail packaging and have a full Apple warranty which can be extended.

I run a Windows laptop for work and a Macbook Pro for personal use. I prefer the Mac everytime as does my four year old son who is continually playing his games on it. Work stuff and personal stuff can be transferred and work between the two. My Windows laptop required an hour of downloading the printer drivers plus setting up. The Mac worked the printer out of the box with no setting up time.

Can't believe some people who buy quality products on here like BMW's, Rolex's then complain the added cost of Apple products are not worth it.

[SiKkBaSs]

Originally Posted by Carrera RSR

Can't believe some people who buy quality products on here like BMW's, Rolex's then complain the added cost of Apple products are not worth it.

A percentage of people with lots of money tend to know the relation between quality and price, and surely a Mac can be overpriced compared to what you actually get. A Bimmer is good value for money if you're into driving although you DO pay a bit more for the badge. Paying that much for a desktop IMO is not up there in my list for what most people do (internet, word process, general shizz). I'd understand if you wanted to vid edit, photo process etc though...just about.

Isn't it supposed to be the more money you have the tighter you become?

[Boyd1963]

Originally Posted by peterg1965

Bottom line, is it worth it?

I've been working with PCs for over 20 years and have a house full of them. My wife bought a Mac about 18 months ago and after my experience with the Mac I will never buy another PC. I have not had to do anything to the MAC apart from move her stuff from her previous Dell Laptop.

There have been no USB devices failing, general slow down in performance or virus problems. It's a full time job keeping the PCs running for the rest of the family but the Mac has been faultless. (unlike my BMW)

At the end of the day I just done need the b*ll ache that comes with PCs and Windows. A friend of mines uses Macs in his lab at UCL and some of them are 15 years old and still useable. Try that with a 15 year old PC!

But the best thing of all is that it starts from cold in 12 seconds! My wife can have written a feature (she's a journalist) in the time that I take to get my 3 month old laptop up and running.

[flyfs6]

Mac's these days support most peripherals and now a lot of the software is compatible with them.

They are often priced above the competition, you're paying extra buying into the brand. Just as you would pay more for a Sony Vaio computer or a Bose sound system. but I think they're work it overall. They're usually more stable than PC's, but some have reported hardware breakdowns. Breakdown's are one of those things that could affect any machine.

The Office software is roughly £45 for some student sites. Apple offer 13% off the iMac and 15% off the Macbook Pro. Buying from the educational store you do get three years warranty, but this isn't the same as the extended Applecare. Applecare for three years is usually circa £270 for iMac's, however as a student, when buying it with the iMac its circa £60.

[Em135eye]

Been seriously considering two i-mac desktops (21" screen). My laptop is just over a year old on XP and a very well reviewed Acer - it died completely around Xmas and had to have Windows re-intalled - a MASSIVE arse as I had to re-install loads of software.

Wife's is 8 months old and a good spec Lenovo running Vista- crashes constanly.

We both run our machines very "lean".

Thinking of two desktop i-macs with i-work (we use Word and Xcel a lot, as do our clients) and then using the laptops just for mobile stuff.

Silly idea or not?

[flyfs6]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

Been seriously considering two i-mac desktops (21" screen)

Thinking of two desktop i-macs with i-work (we use Word and Xcel a lot, as do our clients) and then using the laptops just for mobile stuff.

Silly idea or not?

I think its a good idea. I think some businesses get discount, you should enquire.

[peterg1965]

Can you convert MS Word/Powerpoint files to iWork and vice versa?

[Carrera RSR]

Originally Posted by SiKkBaSs

Paying that much for a desktop IMO is not up there in my list for what most people do (internet, word process, general shizz). I'd understand if you wanted to vid edit, photo process etc though...just about.

Mac is not all about video and photo editing. However I have loaded videos up which my Windows laptop failed to do and edit and it was a piece of piss. I also created various photo slideshows which I know I could do on a windows machine but was a ball ache. I have uploaded these to various websites at the press of one button. I have created a website with the mac, added video, photo slideshows and given my family access. The imovie, iphoto and iweb all work with each other and allow music to be added from itunes. I have done many things with the mac in a small amount of time straight out of the box. Yes a Windows machine does all of this with 5 different programs at circa £50+ each but none work with each other and constantly crash. I have done more with the mac in 3 months than I have done on a PC in 13 years.

My mac prints via my time capsule wirelessly with no set up. Even with bonjour for windows, and even though I can see the printer connected the Dell fails to print with out plugging it in directly.

Apple just works. Its worth the extra ££ just for that.

[Carrera RSR]

Originally Posted by peterg1965

Can you convert MS Word/Powerpoint files to iWork and vice versa?

Yes but you can lose some of the formatting/animations etc. In basic forms no problem. Complex ppt.'s will not look the same in keynote. If you compose and use Keynote it will always look far more professional than with ppt.

Word has less issues with Pages in my experience.

[KadeSdad]

Get the Imac and if you can't live without Windows just run both OS with Dual Boot, then you get the best of both.

[NightVisitant]

I was a loyal user of Windows since the days of 3.11, but that changed in September 2009 when I took the plunge on a 15.4 Macbook Pro, on recommendation from a dear friend. I wouldn't call myself a Mac fan yet, but I'm highly appreciative of the build quality (Aluminum Unibody version) and the overall usage experience with Snow Leopard has been very pleasant and hassle-free.

I've grown away from video games in recent years, so I don't miss Windows at all.

To answer your question, Yes.