Buying my first Mac this weekend - advice?

I'm thinking about buying a Mac this weekend - for the first time!
Some questions:
1. Going for a laptop - which do you recommend?
2. Should I wait a bit for the Leopard OS?

-- probably typical stuff - word processing,
spreadsheets, Internet and blogging, viewing and
editing pics, playing games (like Civ), and the
like.
Go with the MacBook. As someone else said, the only real difference is souped up video and ambient lighting on the keyboard. And the video on the MacBook is already pretty souped up. The MacBook is even closer to the MacBook Pro than the iBook was to the Powerbook.
Just get yourself some additional RAM for it. You want 1 Gig. If the price they charge is too much, buy the RAM yourself and put it in. It will take about 5 minutes.
-- ok, but is Leopard supposed to be a huge leap
forward? Will I be left far behind with Tiger, or
is it a slight upgrade?
You definitely want to stay with Tiger. Let the bleeding edge people install Leopard. As a first-time Mac owner, I want the experience to be very good for you. Leopard will probably have some bugs to be worked out.
On that note, if your new MacBook comes with 10.4.7, you should seriously consider re-installing Tiger and using a combo updater to go up to 10.4.6 only. What I'm hearing about 10.4.7 reminds me a lot of 7.5.2 about 10 years ago. I skipped that one too and saved myself quite a bit of trouble. I think sometimes Apple can get carried away with the latest and greatest update, perhaps succumbing to all the security FUD these days, and release an update they shouldn't have.

Similar Messages

  • Buying my first mac

    Hi,
    I'm going through some exciting times since I'm going to buy my first Mac (took me years of dedicated saving!).
    My main hobby is photo editing and doing complex mixed media projects so of course I want the MacBook Pro WITH retina display.
    A quick look into the specs learns that I have to choose among a version with an SSD of 256 GB or 512.
    With the retina-upgrade and some additional RAM/video card (important since I almost live by the usage of photoshop filters), this is about as far as my budget stretches.
    The upgrade to the 512 GB version would add an additional 300 euros to the bill which I, if I'm a bit sensible, can't afford.
    But since I do a lot of photo projects, I fear that I'll run out of space quite fast.
    My current Sony Vaio has a 512GB HDD and is filled up for 85%.
    I have a NAS hooked up but this is for back-up purposes since I'm on the move a lot.
    Working with an additional thunderbolt-connected external HDD seems impractical to me with the constant risk of damage and theft.
    Has anyone some good advice for me?
    Thanks a lot!

    Hi,
    You are absolutely right!
    As far as the back-up goes, I have it covered with a subscription to backblaze (backs up entire HDD continuously in the cloud) and a NAS, set up to do the same but locally. I daresay this should do the trick (although -knock on a wood- I haven't had any major meltdowns to recover from so far)
    For Photoshop I have a subscription to adobe's creative cloud. As a student, this comes fairly cheap compared to regular pricing.
    One last thing: what do you mean with 'scratch disk for temporary storage'? Up until now, I simply created a temp-folder on my HDD...
    Thanks already for your swift reply!

  • Looking to buy my first Mac computer product. . .

    Hey there Mac support users! I'm looking to buy my first Mac computer product, and I am currently caught indecisive between the 13in and the 15 inch Macbook Pro. I have been over the technical specifications of both, and I do not really want to push out the 1700$ it would cost to buy the 15 inch if getting the 13 would be just as effective for my purposes. And of course, here is some background info on me:
    I am currently a college student (hooray education pricing), and am also a musician who plays guitar, bass, some keys, and does vocals.
    I will be using the Macbook for some light gaming (Diablo III with friends, maybe some other stuff later), but I am specifically wondering about which version to buy as concerns Pro Tools and audio recording -- something I plan on getting into after purchasing the Macbook.
    I am aware that the 15 inch has a more powerful processor able to handle more things at once, which may come in handy while utilizing Pro Tools. In addition, I have noticed that the 15 inch Macbook version comes with two built in 3.5mm jacks on the side -- one for audio in, and the other for audio out (as compared to the standard headphone jack of the 13inch model). I am curious to know whether having the two separate jacks would be ultimately beneficial for music recording, or would it simply be better/cheaper to buy the 13 inch and get an adapter for the headphone jack?
    I guess, in sum, I am just looking for some pointers in the best direction -- which would be best for a musician using Pro Tools: cheaper normal/super version of the 13 inch? Or the more expensive yet powerful 15inch model?
    Any help is greatly appreciated
    Thanks!

    Hi Ziatheral, and welcome to the forums!
    You've asked a lot of really good questions, and I'll do my best to be helpful.
    For starters, you'll need to know that Pro Tools requires a 7200 RPM hard drive. Your standard off the shelf Mac ships with a 5200 RPM drive, so you will need to custom order a machine to meet specs.
    Pro Tools is not yet officially qualified to run on Mountain Lion, although some users report it runs ok for them. It will take Avid a while to release an up-to-date version of Pro Tools.
    You can NEVER have too much screen real estate. I've run Pro Tools on a 27" monitor, and even the 15" screen seems tiny by comparison. You get better graphics on the 15" monitor, too.
    When recording, most artists use some kind of breakout box for mic preamping and monitoring. It's cool to think that the built in inputs and outputs will work, and in some cases they will, but that method is far from how pro recording is done. Many people like the Apogee Duet 2 for this:
    http://apogeedigital.com/products/duet2.php
    Personally, I'm kind of cheap, and if you're not going to be using MIDI, I like the Mackie Blackjack. I can at least afford one of those more easily:
    http://www.mackie.com/products/onyxblackjack/
    You have some time. It'll probably be a month or two before Pro Tools is ready to run on Mountain Lion. Keep looking. Do your homework. Don't just take somebody's word for it (including mine). And write if you have any more questions. The community is here for you.

  • I have CC for work and my PC to do work at home. At home I switched from PC to Mac this weekend. I want to redownload my apps for the iMac but it's telling my I'm using a 30 day free trial. I need to discontinue the PC apps and download to the new compute

    I have CC for work and my PC to do work at home. At home I switched from PC to Mac this weekend. I want to redownload my apps for the iMac but it's telling my I'm using a 30 day free trial. I need to discontinue the PC apps and download to the new computer.

    YOu need to sign out of the PC thru the CC manager and then sign in on the Mac.

  • Buying my first Mac, Air or Pro with retina?

    I am buying my first Mac. Undecided between new Mac Air or Mac Pro with retina? Any help?

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  • About to buy my first Mac Pro

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    I had a small engineering / product development company that started out with a handmade 8080 computer and Dr. DOS. From there it was Win 3.1 and a 286 computer and so on. I was locked into the WinTel environment since I used several specialized programs and hardware cards that were only available with that platform. I promised myself that, when I closed the company and retired, I'd buy a Mac... and I did. I've purchased a pair of iMac's, a MacMini and a MacBook and am now shopping for my first Mac Pro. I've never regretted that decision and am sure I'll be among the Mac faithful for the duration.
    My results have been somewhat different that yours. Yes, the Mac is more expensive than a comparable Windows machine, but now, with the Intel Macs capable of running both Mac and Windows software, its like getting two computers for not much more than a Windows only computer and you gain the ability to run both Windows only and Mac only applications. As far as reliability goes... I used mainly Enterprise versions of IBM and Dell computers in my company and they were far less reliable than my current Mac gear. I'd like to add AppleCare to the list of benefits, but since they started shipping the calls overseas, it hasn't been much better than what I was getting from Dell.

  • Im about to buy my first mac. i need help tho!!

    i am ready to buy my first macbook pro. Should i go ahead and buy one now before lion is out? or wait untill lion is out? please help!!
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    eww wrote:
    The problem with this idea is that the batteries in current MBPs are not considered by Apple to be user-replaceable, and removing them voids the warranty. There are external batteries on the market, but they're quite expensive:
    http://www.batterygeek.net/Batterygeeknet_MacBook_MacBook_Pro_Battery_Packss/78.htm
    http://www.hypershop.com/HyperMac-External-MacBook-Battery-and-Car-Charger-s/91. htm
    http://www.quickertek.com/products/macbookprocharger.php
    Well, Apple REALLY dropped the ball on this one by omitting user replacement of battery and thereby reducing the user friendliness of current MBPs.
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  • Buying My First Mac...Please Your Advice is Needed

    Dear Members ,
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    so my first issue is im really worried in purchasing imac and getting a flickering issue
    the rest i didnt see any problems with them, but still im new here so tell me guys what you think ?
    thank you appreciate your reply.

    You really should not worry about any hardware issues too much. Most people do not have such issues. You read problem posts here, because usually, only the customers who have a problem will post; the vast majority of customers with no problems are not going to login in just to post that everything is fine and they are happy with their new iMacs. If Apple sells a million new iMacs in three months, even if only 1 in 1000 customers has a hardware problem, that's hundreds (eventually thousands) of customers who are potentially affected. And even if you happen to have such a problem that requires repair or replacement, that's precisely the purpose of the one-year warranty (and optional three-year AppleCare), protection from manufacturing defects.
    the plan is to purchase...
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  • Am planning on buying my FIRST Mac...

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    You should know that OpenOffice and NeoOffice will not run on the Intel-Macs. Many Java applications use the JNI libraries. This results in a compiled application containing both Java and PowerPC code. Rosetta is unable to work with this kind of application, so they will not run on Intel-Macs. Read my tip on migrating to Intel-Macs. Although not entirely germane to someone switching from Windows, it should provide some insights on the fundamental differences between PPC and Intel-Macs.
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    Screensavers written for the PowerPC
    System Preference add-ons
    All Unsanity Haxies
    Browser and other plug-ins
    Contextual Menu Items
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    Kernel extensions
    Java applications with JNI (PowerPC) libraries
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    Intel In Macs
    Apple Guide to Universal Applications
    MacInTouch List of Compatible Universal Binaries
    MacInTouch List of Rosetta Compatible Applications
    MacUpdate List of Intel-Compatible Software
    Written by Kappy with additional contributions from a brody.

  • I am about to buy my first Mac and I need advise.

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    ds store wrote:
    <SNIP>
    If you get the non-Retina MacBook Pro, later on you can upgrade to a large SSD once the prices have come down a lot more.
    The Retina MBP's you cannot later upgrade.
    That was true when the rMBPs were initially introduced. It is no longer the case though and one can most certainly upgrade the SSD in a rMBP:
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  • Need some help before buying my first Mac... please

    Hi
    Before I start I have searched for the answers via Google but I'm still getting maybe type results.
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    Many thanks

    Can OSX automatically map drives to a Windows server/NAS when the user logs in?
    We have cifs file servers at work, I have no problem connecting to them. To make an automatic connection at login, first time you connect, check the "remember password" checkbox and then drag the mounted server icon into your login items in System Preferences > Accounts > your account. Personally, I like dragging the connected share icon onto the dock, then I have a single-click user/password-less dynamic mount as needed, when needed, rather than always autoconnecting at login whether I need it or not.
    Can OSX maintain the shares when users fast switch between accounts on the same iMac?
    does for me
    Will OSX reconnect to the mapped drive when coming out of sleep/suspend mode?
    seems to -- I slept my computer when I had a cifs drive mounted -- upon awakening, it was like my cifs mount never left.
    I'm not talking AD (Active Directory) just Windows Work Group authentication.
    I don't know much about that, my work is a Windoze World and I don't even know if I have to worry about that -- they haven't been by to integrate me into AD, yet, though, although they keep threatening to do so, if they ever get all their other Windows network problems fixed. http://ifelix.net/tech might have some info that might be helpful to you insofar as file sharing between other Windows clients and printing to Windows print servers. Not for the latest OSs of each though, but some of the older OS-pairings are pretty well documented there.

  • Buying my first Mac/ Worried about Office 2008!

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    There has been an update to Office 2008 that addresses the major issues with it. I would not be overly concerned. However, I use Office 2004 on all my Macs and even though it opens a little slowly as it is not Intel native it work just fine.

  • Planning to buy my first Mac

    Long time PC user (Since the IBM PC (8088) :gasp: ), pretty comfortable with command line/UNIX/Linux flavors.
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    2) Can I have only my calendar (husband) and family categories sync to the blackberry?
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    1) Currently we have 3 PCs dedicated to synching each of the iPods.. Can I just copy my entire library to the iMac, and then selectively sync based on playlists to the individual iPods? Reminder, I plan to only have one logged in account forever (familymac).
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    3) On the .Mac Web Gallery, how do the permissions work? If I wanted lets say only 30 people to be able to view my stuff, do I set them up individually, is it just a single password?
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    nyc2socal wrote:
    Long time PC user (Since the IBM PC (8088) :gasp: ), pretty comfortable with command line/UNIX/Linux flavors.
    You never need to use the Unix command line, but it is nice to have around and X11 is an optional install.
    So I think I'm gonna make the plunge into the WWoA (Wonderful World of Apple), but need to clarify a couple of points.
    I plan to have 2 accounts on the box: root, and a generic family pc account, lets say familymac. The familymac account will be logged on 24/7
    iPod Sync Station
    1) Currently we have 3 PCs dedicated to synching each of the iPods.. Can I just copy my entire library to the iMac, and then selectively sync based on playlists to the individual iPods? Reminder, I plan to only have one logged in account forever (familymac).
    I do not have an iPod.
    You can logon as many users as you want at the same time. Mac OS has fast user switching. At worst case, you can have an ipod account for each user.
    Misc.
    1) I currently have a Seagate 500GB Firewire 400 drive, that has all my music and photos. The drive is formatted as NTFS, can Tiger read the drive if I connect it up?
    Tiger can read the drive, but not write to the drive.
    1a) Since the iMac only has 1 Firewire 400, would there be any problems daisy chaining my miniDV to the External HD?
    One FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800 port; 7 watts each
    The firewire 800 will work as firewire 400 too.
    2) My wireless network at home uses WPA (63 ascii character key). I assume this would not be a problem.
    Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n)2;
    All this stuff is supposed to be compatible, but who knows. I'd post this question speparately in another forum.
    Robert

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