I'm ready to buy an iMac

I am a long time PC user and I am ready to get a Mac. I am a Visual Studio programmer so I would either be running Boot Camp and/or Parallels. I bought a MacBook and few months ago for my son and he loves it. I have decided on an iMac (can't afford the Mac Pro right now) but I have a question.
With all of the issues surrounding the new iMac's I am thinking of getting the older model.
I can get the last gen 24 inch iMac at the local CompUSA right now $1399. It does not come with Leopard or iLife '08 though.
I assume I can still get extended AppleCare also.
Do you long time mac users think I would be better off getting this iMac and just buying iLife and Leopard or would you reccommend going with the current iMac?
I also wonder if anyone has any experience with the 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme version. This is the one I would really love to get if money were no object!

You point out repeatedly that the TN screens in the current 20" iMacs are essentially the same screens that were in the white 17" iMac.
By "essentially the same" I mean that they both use TN panels, thus are prone to the gradient effect that is characteristic of most TN panels. That comment has no other meaning beyond that.
...let's not forget that even the entry level 20" iMac costs hundreds of dollars more than the old 17" iMac costs, and for that kind of money, people expect and deserve higher quality.
Of course they do, but the 20" aluminum iMacs also have more horsepower than the 17" iMacs, so the hardware component costs are going to be higher.
It has been pointed out to me that the previous generation 20" iMac was sold for the same price as the 20" 2.4 GHz iMac, so I can understand people having heartburn over that one. Still, given the newer processor in the aluminum iMac, I'm guessing that Apple switched to a TN panel to offset the component cost increases due to the newer Core 2 Duo processor and other hardware changes.
I entered into this fracas because of all of the assertions that the 20" iMac displays were inherently defective. It was that point specifically that I objected to because I felt it was unfair and misleading. Maintaining that the TN panels are inherently defective because of the gradient effect is simply not true and it causes unnecessary concern among those who already bought them or who are considering buying them.
Beyond that, I don't take issue with anyone who dislikes TN panels or who feels that Apple is being deceptive in the way that they are marketing the new iMacs in relation to their lack of candor over the display change in the 20" model.

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Buying new iMac, which graphics card would be best?

I'm getting ready to buy a new iMac. I already have a 2010 27-in with a Radeon HD 5670 512 MB graphics (card? was built in as I remember). I need an additional iMac for my studio space and am deciding between the 21.5-in. w/ Intel Iris Integrated graphics and the NVIDIA GEForce graphics models. I do photography and art related video projects with music (Final Cut, Photoshop CSS, Logic Pro).
The 2010 iMac has worked fine for me. Which of the new iMacs would you recommend? Do I need extra dedicated graphics card or is the Intel Iris pretty comparable to what I've been getting with the Radeon?
I wouldn't mind saving a couple of hundred dollars to use on other things like a back up drive, but if it's going to be a big difference I could spend the extra $ for the NVIDIA.
I'm not a gamer BTW.
thanks for your input, tech-heads!
Christine

Although the processor speed is slower, the i5 is much more efficient
than the i3. In addition, the memory bus speed is faster than your
2010. The result is you will have a faster computer.
Just for some performance numbers, here are the Geekbench
scores for your current computer and the one you are considering.
(64 bit single core test score/64 bit multi core test score)
2010, i3, 3.2 GHz iMac ---> 2086/4491
late 2013, 21.5", i5, 2.7 GHz ---> 3172/10255

What if I buy an iMac in India?

I am currently living in India but moving back to the US in a month or so. I'm ready for a computer upgrade, and I can buy an iMac here slightly cheaper than I can in the US due to the exchange rate. My question is, are there any differences in an iMac sold here vs. the US, other than the power cord? Is the documentation in English, and will the warranties and support be the same? Is the software bundle the same? The guys in the store couldn't answer this for me, they could only say "you should buy this one" (if you've ever shopped in a retail store in India you know what I mean).
I ask this because of an experience a good friend of mine had when he bought a Nintendo Wii in Tokyo, only to find out that all the documentation and on-screen menus are in Japanese, which he can't read. I've also tried to buy software online (such as Photoshop) only to discover it cannot be downloaded outside the US, which means some Apple software may not be available here either. I would hate to spend this much money and end up with something I can't use in the US, or that I have to spend lots of money upgrading once I get home.

Hi Tedly, if you're back on home soil in a month or so, just wait and buy it in the US. There will be no added stress or breakages then...simple.
Might cost you extra but by spending more at 'home' you're eliminating potential problems you fear most.
Just my 2p worth (or on your case 2c worth haha
Good luck on your intended purchase.

Help Before I Buy an iMac

I have an HP Desktop and I'm ready to convert to the iMac. I have a question:
I would like to purchase the iMac, partition the hard drive and install windows XP on it, move EVERYTHING over from my HP to the partitioned drive to the windows side of my Mac, so that I won't lose programs I've had for years, etc.
Is that possible ???

Your data files such as you music, photos, MS Office files etc are probably saved in your "My Documents" folder on your PC. My recommendation is to move the contents of that folder onto an external HD, when you get your new iMac and load Windows simply move all those files from the external HD to your iMac. It's just a drag and drop process. When you load Windows on an iMac it runs identically to your HP machine (well it's probably going to be faster than your HP) so it's really no different than buying another HP, Dell, Toshiba, etc Windows box.
Also if you buy your iMac at an Apple store inquire to see if they will provide this service to you.
You might get some useful hints from these links:
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
The application software is products such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop etc if you have a license and want to move it to your new iMac you will have to do an installation just like you did when you bought the software and ran it on your HP. Obviously you need to have valid licenses and need to understand what each application's license allows you to do. Every software manufacturer is a little different. For example Microsoft's basic license allows the use of the software on one machine only, however if you are moving to a new machine you need to ask Microsoft how to do that.
BTW when you ask us to elaborate it would be helpful if you told us what to elaborate on.

Have conflicting views from Apple Specialists; I'm ready to buy my 1st Mac, however work with a PC user with MS Publisher files a lot. Can Pages open, edit and resave them? Or, do I have to buy Publisher software for Macs?

Have conflicting views from apple Specialits; I'm ready to buy my 1st Mac. However, I work with a PC user with MS Publisher files a lot. Can Apple PAGES open .pub files, edit and resave them? OR, do I have to buy Publisher software for Macs? if yes to buy, any recommendations?

If you want to switch from PC to Apple I recommend a programm like Parallels.
It has a tool (believe its called transporter) which runs on your current PC and creates a file (big) which is a "virual machine". It is a 1:1 copy of your PC which will run under parallels on your iMac.
You will be running your "old" PC as it was under MAC OS X while you run MAC applikations etc at the same time.
This is how I made the transition to Apple.

How can I buy an iMac?

Hey,
I know this might seem like a very basic question, but it's sometimes the easiest questions that take the longest to answer, so let me give you some back story to my problem. Currently, I'm using the (Terrible) Lenovo Thinkpad T410, but I need to upgrade, and thought the 21.5" 2.9GHz iMac would be the perfect investment. I'm currently in College learning about various forms of digital design and marketing, and need a computer with an amazing screen. Since I don't have enough money for the Retina Macbook Pro, The new iMac is the best alternative in my books. So, I've been saving up my money and have just arrived at the amount of money I need (1,800$ taxes included), and I want to go buy it. I don't have a credit card, so I need to pay in cash. Anyways, I went to my local Apple store (Carrefour Laval) today, and they said they didn't have any in stock. Great. They said it could take up to 5 days for them to a recieve a shipment, but they can't say for sure. Amazing. Later on, I called them to see if they could give me a date where I could come in and pick one up (as in a guarunteed purchase), but they said they couldn't help me, and I should just call in advance. Beautiful. So, I did some Googling and found out that you can reserve products through the Apple store application. I downloaded it and found out that yes, you can reserve most products, BUT not the iMac. Wonderful. I went onto the Apple Online Store website where they have a chat box to see if that "person" can help me at all. The "person" said she understood why I was angry and just redirected me to the Apple Online Store. Genius. So, here I am, money-in-hand, but no way to buy the iMac. What should I do? I also went to various other electronic dealers in my area and they were also out of stock. Yay. Is there some way I can find out when they'll have it in stock without calling them every day, hoping for a yes?
TLDR: I want to buy a 21.5" 2.9GHz New iMac, but don't have a credit card (Can't buy online). I want to pay with cash, but my local store never has it in stock. Any tips on how I can get one without having to call them everyday?
Thanks,
Ben

The new iMacs are still in short supply, and Apple are quoting 3-4 weeks for delivery.
So you will need to call carrefour every day!

I am planning to buy an iMac 21.5 inch with Fusion drive and 16 GB RAM while i visit USA for a conference. My country of origin is India. Once i am back to India, will my iMac be covered by the Apple's Protection Plan?

I am planning to buy an iMac 21.5 inch with Fusion drive and 16 GB RAM while i visit USA for a conference. My country of origin is India and the option of configuring to my need is not avaialble here in India. My concern is once i am back to India, will my iMac be covered by the Apple's Protection Plan if something goes wrong here in India?
I recently came across some posts regarding International warranty related issues for iPhone and iPad....hence this crossed my mind...
Waiting for response from the support group members...

Thanks Ralph
This essentially means that if my iMac develops some problem (both software and hardware) in my country (India), it will be completeley attended (even the whole system requires replacement) by the AASP in India...is that what you say?

How can I forward an SMS as an email , i have doing this daily on 9900, surprised to miss this on Q10, i am ready to buy an 3rd party app also, if required, it is must for me.

1. when i read an sms, there is option to forward as email in 9900.
Since i am using Q10, i can not do this.
I need this immediately.
Anybody can help??
I am ready to buy any 3rd party app also, if it can provide this without slowing down the performance.
2. Further, i can not sms from contacts screen. There is no option to sms , when i select a contact. I have to go to SMS and there type contact name , how can i enable this?
3. If i receive a call and i want to send sms to the person, i can not tap on called no and choose and option to sms him. I have to copy that number, go to SMS app and use that no to sms. If i am in a meeting , it is long process and kill focus in meeting. In android, there is one swipe to reject call and send an sms that i am in meeting. Can we achieve this basic features in Q10..

I can forward a SMS as an email on my Q10.
open the SMS and hold down on the text, this opens a side menu with the "share" icon on it (like a Y),
Then you can select how you want to share, eg SMS, Email BBM etc.
Hope this helps?

I have prepared a book on iPhoto, ready to buy book. There is amessage above about half the pages that says "drag photo to place in background" as if it doesn't see the picture there. Its a MAC 08X 10.6.8 and iPhoto '08 7.1.5. I have made iBooks before b

I have prepared an 82 page book on iPhoto, ready to buy. There is a message over about half the photos saying "drag photo to place in background" as if it doesn't see the photo already there. I have spent over 20 hours getting to this point and can't bear to start over! Its a Mac 08X 10.6.8 and iPhoto 08 7.1.5. I have made other iBooks on this software and computer with no problems. Help please!

Look for a page that has a similar layout:
The one photo per page layout is the easiest to miss. Just click on a background color to remove the problem.
OT

I'm going to be buying an iMac and need advice

HI Everyone, I'm going to be buying an iMac. I'm trying to figure out the specs and such that I want.
Background:
I've had a MacPro 1,1 for 8 years and it was more than enough for my needs. I liked having several different hard drives to back-up data but found that 1 tb seemed to be the most I would use (ended up backing-up data onto the other drives). Unfortunately it died and now I'm shopping for a new mac.
What I'll be using my mac for:
1) Managing content (iTunes data)
2) Photos
3) Programming (working with Xcode)
4) Photoshop
5) Photoshop Lightroom
6) Illustrator
7) Microsoft apps
8) Diablo
9) Starcraft
10) WoW (very rarely because of time constraints)
So I pretty much figure I want an 1 TB Fusion drive. And I want 8 - 16 gb of RAM. What processor should I get and video card. There might be some point that I'm playing games so I'm curious if I should shoot for an i7 processor or just an i5. As well, a 1 gb video card, intel HD, or 2gb card. I think with the video card and and processor it is a matter of longevity rather than performance at this moment (since non of the games I'll ever play are processor intensive). Any thoughts on this are greatly appreciated. I'm buying in Dec and am going to see what comes out in Oct. I definitely need a new computer. Been running an 128 gb hard drive Macbook Air all summer and going to pull my hair out if I can't get access to all my data soon.
Message was edited by: Belleatrix

for a case, if you are planning for rough treatment, dust, water...
Look at the Pelican line.
http://www.pelican-case.com/1095.html
This is ne of many they offer, this is brand most TV crews use. You can call them they have a ton of cases to offer, it depends on how it is going to used.
Something like this for power, this is a grey area to recommend as it depends on what the voltage supply is doig, the heavier duty, the more $$$
The solar charger you will have to do some research, I could,nt find anything that looked promising.
Have a safe trip

Advice on buying first imac?

Hello all,
I would like a little help with the following?
I am looking at trading up from my old 10" netbook running windows xp, 143GB of hard drive of which I have only used 26GB, 1.60Ghz, 2GB of RAM, I upgraded that myself from one to two. I also have a 500GB back up external hard drive.
I want some advise on when to buy (is the not so far away upgrade going to affect me?)and what model I should be looking at.
Money is not to much of an issue neither is desk size.
I dont want a model that is more powerfull than I need, I do the following on my current pc:
Lots of web surfing
Lots eBay and Amazon buying
Lots of emailing
Little bit on excel and word
Adding and sorting family photos
itunes, twitter and facebook etc
I do not need it for work, this is for home use only.
Also is there an easy way to get all my emails off my old pc to the imac.
I know how to get all my files and music of the pc to the mac with my back up drive.
I also want to transfer all my contact from microsoft outlook 2007?
I have an iphone 3gs with the same contacts on if that is of any help?
Any other advice would be more than welcome, I understand it is going to be a bit of a learning curve going from pc to imac..... bring it on hey
Thanks in advance guys
Ade.

+...But I would seriously think about buying an imac again...+
(Re-printed from a previous post)
Of the 21 or so Apple products I have bought since 1999, only one failed. My 17" iMac G4/700 (2002) was the only casualty with a bad motherboard and graphics card. My wife still uses her G3/600 iBook from 2002. Our original iMac G3/333 from 1999 still works although we do not use it much. My original 10GB scroll wheel iPod (2002) I use daily. I only have replaced the battery twice. I have three other iPods and two iPhones. We have two 17" MacBook Pros which are very good. My first generation iPhone was sold with no issues during ownership. None of the Apple products required warranty issues. None have had software update problems. I ordered my new i7 iMac built for the next eight years. My recent additions are an iPad and MacBook Air. I hope this gives you some encouragement in your choice.
zoz

I just buy a imac 27inch when after intalling everthing for windows 7 and all the drivers i need and goes to the restard part my imac just goes to a black screen with a blinking cursel and it just wont proceed anyone can help me with this?

i just buy a imac 27inch when after intalling everthing for windows 7 and all the drivers i need and goes to the restard part my imac just goes to a black screen with a blinking cursel and it just wont proceed anyone can help me with this?

Support articles for things like this would be here:
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp

Can I buy an Imac on usa and can apple send it to Colombia?

i wanna buy an imac but its too expensive in my own country, co i `d like to know if i can buy it in a usa mac store n bring it to COlombia...
can i do it ?

You could fly to the US, buy it, pay extra to bring it back with you on the airplane and pay duty on it. I doubt that will be less expensive. You cannot buy it in a store and have them ship it to Columbia.

Can I buy an iMac and pay in dollars and send it to Belguim?

I will buy an iMac and pay in dollars.
Can i send this imac (paid in dollars) to belguim with the apple store?
Please answer ;)

…not to mention VAT at 19% which will be charged on the final price, including customs duties.
Cheaper overall to buy in Belgium.
If you want a US keyboard, you can order it from the online Apple store in Europe.
Message was edited by: noondaywitch

Can I buy an imac at the applestore and have it personalized (for example have it with the non wireless keyboard)?

Can I buy an imac directly at the applestore (milan) and have it with a cables keyboard instead of the wireless one?

Give them a call > http://www.apple.com/it/retail/storelist/

I'm ready to buy an iMac

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