Computer
So my current desktop is getting rather tired. It makes a horrible loud whirring noise constantly as the fan works overtime trying to keep everything cool, and is getting slower every day (or at least that’s how it feels). I think it might be time to start thinking about a replacement computer, but it’s a hard decision…
I use it mainly for the interwebs / uni work / watching movies, so I like having a fairly big screen, which makes me think that a desktop might be my best option. I love the idea of a laptop, but realistically I don’t need that portability very often, and from what I can tell you get more ‘bang for buck’ with desktops?
I’m excited by the idea of going Mac, but I’m still very wary of whether various programs would work and if I’d need to install two operating systems etc. Just the words ‘Mac Book Pro’ make me smile though, so I know what my heart is saying.
Then there’s the factor of cost. Although I’m finally earning a wage after quite a long time of being a student etc, I’ve managed to rack up some bills in that time, so I’m currently working hard to pay all of that off. I also want to look at getting a slightly larger car at some stage, so don’t want to go crazynuts on computers when I’m still financially recovering (that sounds slightly ‘GFC’, doesn’t it?).
With those factors in mind, what do people suggest? Where do I shop? Which models should I consider?
I’m still technically a uni student for another 12 months, so will that benefit me in cost at all?
Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.
September 27th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Mac does student discounts. Just by online and tick the “I’m a student” box.
Or go for a refurbished mac from apple, good prices.
And don’t worry about programs, Mac can do everything a PC can do plus more. What I love about Mac is the vast array of geeks and devotees that write little programs to pretty much do anything you could ever dream of doing (most of the time they’re free too!). If your Mac can’t do something… google it, and some dude would’ve written a program to make it happen.
You know where I stand.
September 27th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
I’m with dicker, get yourself a refurbished iMac
September 28th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
If you’re thinking of it in terms of music recording etc, our minister writes & records music on his mac all the time. He writes almost all of the emu kids music so he’s pretty full on about it.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Mac is sounding better every day. I’m a little confused as to why the iMac is either the same price or more expensive than the equivalent MacBook, but I’ve probably just misread the pricing.
There aren’t many refurbished computers on the site at the moment, but I don’t think I’d be purchasing for a little while anyway.
I’m excited about using GarageBand, or even better software, to record some new songs. We’ll just have to wait and see what I can afford down the track.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
get mac
if you want a good free sound recording program audacity is pretty good.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:01 am
When I bought my last one a few months ago I looked at Mac and PC, I ended up going PC, got a lovely 23″ monitor 4GB of RAM blah blah blah… and I’m really happy with it.
What I really wanted though was a Mac, I know it’s a learning curve, heck they don’t even have a right mouse button, anyway, I basically wanted all the extra software that came along with it!
But it was at least an extra $1000 and I just couldn’t get that money together. So PC it is for me.
September 30th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
you know if you plug ina mouse witha right button it works just like a pc right click
October 1st, 2009 at 9:47 am
Are you serious Howie??
How do you get the right click options with a normal Mac mouse?
I was at a friends place the other day, she has a mac (has done for months) and I’ve never really used one, anyway she wanted to save some images off a website and put them into a powerpoint presentation. Dicker tells me it’s all about drag and drop, so I dragged and it just wouldn’t drop, so I searched for save picture as type things and nothing, I even opened it up using the specific URL for the image only but couldn’t work out how to save it.
So, rather than searching Google (which I should have) we just jumped on the PC laptop we had their, got them and emailed them to her…
I blame her by the way…
October 1st, 2009 at 11:04 pm
all our ministers are mac freaks…the other day at church one of their mac books was kinda stuck in the right click button mode when it should have been left clicking and it only has one button on the touchpad…very annoying!
October 4th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
So the other day, my computer finally packed up. It overheated and just stopped. I thought that it was probably d.e.d., but on a friend’s advice, I opened up the case and blew out some of the dust.
While I was in there, I found another fan in the case that wasn’t hooked up to power, so I plugged it in.
By this time the computer had cooled down, and started working again.
Since then, the computer is actually running faster and quieter than it has for months, even with the extra fan working.
Woo hoo!
October 4th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I still want a MacBook Pro though.
October 5th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
right clicking without a dobule buton mouse is control+click
or just hold down the click.
I have never had trouble with drag and drop it always works for me.
i love my MBP
October 6th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Hooray for saving money!