Looking at Mac

For personal use, to surf, edit photos, VOIP calls and trying to do something different.


Would it be wise to get a Mac Mini or a Mac Book or back to Win XP Pro machine.....


also where is a good place to buy Mac. Those glossy stores seems to be overpriced for what they do....

In reverse order:

- At least in the US, Macs are never discounted. The price is high on paper but on the other hand your Mac hardware and software is extensively tested to work as a system and tends to work much more reliably than an XP/Vista machine. This is not necessarily Windows' fault. It's just the the Windows spec allows millions of combinations of hardware and software, which Mac OS does not. Macs are worth the high price.

- If you are used to Windows, a transition to Mac can be tricky since you have to relearn a lot. As I see it though, the basic capabilities are similar. The ways of doing things are not.

- For your use, a Mac will work fine.

- Get at least 2GB of memory from the get go if you get a Mini. It's tricky to open up by yourself. I have done it but it's not for the faint of heart.

- Make a list of common tasks, then go to the Mac store and try doing them. That will give you some idea.

- Macs are not better or worse than PCs in a functional sense. They are different. However I would say Mac OS is better at "exposing functionality".

I was trying to find some non-sponsored articles discussing this. Only to hear that MM will be "discontinued" or something.


Why an MM ? I have a 37" LCD tv at home, and a 19" LCD Mon which acts as my 2nd screen for the XP Pro laptop. Thought that having the hook up to this TV and adding a USB/wireless mouse and keyboard, I would have a fun machine.


Don';t play games on my computer. Would rather stick to Wii for this....


Is it worth the HK$8000 or I should get a iMac with 20" at about HK$9200, then I have to upgrade this and that which adds to the total ownership cost. Need a DVD burner for sure.

If you like to upgrade your computer every now and then a Mac is not for you. ;)

Well, my office-use laptop is over 4 yrs now. the replace will have to be Win -something.


Personally, my own PC is in Singapore and would be too old & heavy to move it over here. Just need to have access to my old 3.5" HDD's photos , perhaps using a USB-connection kit


So, i want a personal item . thats why I am looking at the mini. Not a game freak nor an upgrade freak (except for more HDD space).


Still a bad idea on Mac ?

I am also looking at switching to Mac at the moment.. Was considering the mac mini - but my wife vetoed. She wants to watch TV while checking her emails and since our only monitor at home is the TV the mac mini was a no go. So now I am probably going for the Mac Book (- or the MacBook Pro???). Performance wise the MacBook should be plenty - surfing, photos, emails, some documents. Easy stuff - no games.


Anyway - to what I understand the mac mini and the mac book are pretty similar. mac Book has a newer motherboard which enables the onboard graphic to utilise more RAM. Also, the new motherboard can read up to 4 GB ram and the Mac mini, according to Apple), only reads up to 2 GB Ram. However, according to a number of Mac forums, if you put 4 GB Ram in a Mac mini, it reads up to 3.25 GB, which apparently makes a huge difference in performance.


Please do not buy RAM from Apple. Ask the dealer to put in good quality RAM from Kingston etc. Instead of paying thousands of dollars, you end up spending a few hundred.


One Apple store made me an offer of 5% discount (however, wanted to sell me the expensive RAM). I gues other shops can do that as well. Otherwise, the prices seem to be all the same. In addition, they all seem to be happy to give you free (probably unlicensed) software, like MS Office for Mac, VMWare for windows emulation (still need to buy/have windows PX or higher) etc.


If a mac book, try the online shop of Apple under "refurb macs". Cheaper because they are macs that have been returned by customers, than refurbished by Apple. Includes warranties etc. However, the currently available Mac Books seem to be last generation (thus, same hardware as mac mini).


Good luck.. I still haven't decided what to buy......

...seems that the MacBook is a good alternative, for a bit more one has portability....but as the saying goes....keep adding another $100 here and there for better upgrade and you ended up having gold on hand.... white gold with an apple logo...

"Please do not buy RAM from Apple. Ask the dealer to put in good quality RAM from Kingston etc. Instead of paying thousands of dollars, you end up spending a few hundred."


Agreed. "Mac RAM" is like any other RAM except many times more expensive. Except for the Mini, RAM upgrades are very easy.



"However, according to a number of Mac forums, if you put 4 GB Ram in a Mac mini, it reads up to 3.25 GB, which apparently makes a huge difference in performance."


This is a hardware limitation of the 32-bit address space. You get the same effect in 32-bit Windows if you put in 4 gigs.



"VMWare for windows emulation"


VMware fusion is great software. Run Windows apps in Windows on MAC OS. Very nifty. I have also tried the competing Parallels but must say it's not as good. Apple's Boot Camp doesn't come close since it requires a reboot to switch.




"Well, my office-use laptop is over 4 yrs now. the replace will have to be Win -something.


Personally, my own PC is in Singapore and would be too old & heavy to move it over here. Just need to have access to my old 3.5" HDD's photos , perhaps using a USB-connection kit


So, i want a personal item . thats why I am looking at the mini. Not a game freak nor an upgrade freak (except for more HDD space).


Still a bad idea on Mac ?"


Mac sounds good. You might just want to buy a USB hard drive for that extra space.