What do I need to connect my electric guitar to my iMac?

Question

I've searched and searched, and I can't find a 'clear cut' answer.
I have a new 3.2Ghz iMac and use Garageband 08 and plan on purchasing iLife 09.
I just bought a beginner electric guitar and amp (the amp only has line in and headphone jack).
How do I connect my guitar to the iMac? I have heard that using the mini plug into the 'line in' on the back of the iMac isn't ideal. So what do I need to get? My local Sam Ash musicstore doesn't have helpful people, so I need you all to tell me what to buy?
Oh yeah.. I don't have much money, so I just need to be able to play my guitar using Garageband and all its effects.
Thanks!

Answer 1

I read that it does not boost the sound properly.
The job of that line-in port is not to boost the level, but to convert an analog signal to a digital one, and it does that in a decent manner.
And I've also read that the audio-in on the iMac can cause delays in the sound you hear, along with other strange behavior.
GB always has problems with latency (that's the term for it), and that might indeed be worse when you use the line-in since the computer has to do the conversion and run GB. But the bulk of the CPU load is in GB, especially when you put a lot of effects on the guitar, so don't hope for too much difference when you use an expensive interface.
I can try the headphone out to the audio-in on the back of the iMac, but I guess I'm worried, as I have also read (on here), that you could blow your port if you aren't careful.
You can blow your computer if you use a speaker out, headphones should be fine. Crank them up slowly and watch the signal.