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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
IMAC Thoughts
Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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Robert Caplin, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:26 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Debra,
I use this computer as my main machine, along with a little macbook for any onsite editing/transmitting. It's great. Before this I'd only ever used a powerbook...seeing my photos at 24'' changed my perception of how I worked. It's fast and an all-around great computer...super compact and looks really slick. I actually use it for 90% of my TV and movie watching through sites like hulu.com and netflix.com. The screen quality is stunning.
Highly recommended.
And yes. It is perfect for PS and PM....though I cant vouch for the flight simulator. I've not used one of those since I was maybe 12. ;-)
Cheers,
Robert |
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David Eulitt, Photographer
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Robert Caplin, Photographer
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:36 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Robert,
is yours also the glossy screen? We are working on an older 20" IMAC which we just love but I am not sure if the screen is glossy. This one will be moved into my studio.
David-thanks for the link. I pretty much have 1 day to buy more equipment and was even thinking of getting the D90 to start playing with video, possibly even Final Cut Pro down the line
Our current G5 (2.1 ghz, 1.5 ram) has served us very well for the past 2-3 years but it is slow in opening images from the D3 and Canon Mark 2N (we have a mixed marriage-and they said it wouldn't last!)
Thanks again guys.
I know Robert personally and do value his opinion on gear. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:37 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> refurbished stuff always scares me....I guess from past experience (never had a refurbished computer, though)
EVERYTHING else I ever bought that was refurbished had issues....has anyone bought a refurbished desktop? |
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Will Powers, Photographer
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Denver | CO | USA | Posted: 12:40 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> A new iMac is coming in Jan. It will be like the new McaBook with a solid aluminum box, reportedly.
http://www.maclife.com/article/news/my_imac_cooler_yours
If you can wait, then I would. I bought the newest available with the Nvidia graphics chip and I'm very happy with it. |
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Will Powers, Photographer
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Denver | CO | USA | Posted: 12:41 PM on 12.30.08 |
| ->> I think ll you can get now is the Glossy screen |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:44 PM on 12.30.08 |
| ->> I don't see any specs on the new models coming out next month-how do they differ from the above one I linked? |
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Robert Caplin, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:47 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Debra,
Mine is a refirb and works great. It comes with the same Apple warranty. I hear you though, sometimes it's scary doing that, but Apple's pretty good about not selling junk. $600 is a nice savings...just sayin'.
Robert |
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George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 12:59 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Debra,
the rumors are not for a hugely faster machine but for boost in graphics processors etc.
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iMac
If you can wait, do. It's worth seeing what it brings, plus once the new ones are introduced, if you are not blown away by the upgrades the current supply of machines is sold at a discount so you can get new and save.
Also if refurbished scares you, now that refurbished Macs can be bought with AppleCare giving you extra service time on them. Pretty much anything made by Apple can get AppleCare extensions.
Also, don't max out your RAM through Apple. A RAM upgrade is very cheap from Crucial or OWC and it takes about 5 minutes and one screwdriver to do yourself. |
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Rich Cruse, Photographer
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Laguna Niguel | CA | USA | Posted: 1:05 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Hi Deb:
While it is likely a new iMac will come out next month, right now it is all speculation. There "may" be a new form factor and they will be somewhat faster to be sure. There is also speculation that a completely new Mac Mini will be announced. This may pair with the new 24" LED display. It is all up in the air. The 24" model has a better screen according to most reports I have read.
Bottom-line is if the current model fits your needs and you need a write off for 2008, buy it now. Get the AppleCare warranty for 3 year coverage. Purchase with a credit card that has price protection. In case Apple introduces a new model early next year and reduces prices on previous models you "may" be able to get reimbursed for the price difference. Apple's price/matching protection is 14 days.
I just checked the Apple Store and the model you are looking at is cheaper there! FYI, if you are a member of NPPA, you can get a 17% discount on new Macs. If you are a teacher or student, you also qualify for a discount.
Remember this- Computers will continue to get faster and less expensive. Buy the computer that best fits your needs and does everything you need it to do now. That way, you won't be wanting something new right away.
Rich |
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Bruce Twitchell, Photographer
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Coeur d'Alene | ID | USA | Posted: 1:12 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Debra,
Every single Mac that I have bought has been a refurb and I have never had issues with them.
I have bought a G3 iBook, G4 iBook, 2 MacBooks, and a 24 inch iMac- all refurbs. I highly recommend it. Each time i buy the extended warranty. The one time I really needed it was with my G3 iBook when at about 2 years and 9 months into the 3 year warranty the HD crashed. I called Apple- they sent a box, I had it there and back in about 3 days.
I too recommend the 24inch iMac. Beautiful machine. I have the older matte screen iMac and love it. breezes through all the programs that I have. |
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Nik Habicht, Photographer
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Levittown | PA | USA | Posted: 1:21 PM on 12.30.08 |
| ->> My last two laptops have been refurbs, purchased with an extended warranty --- no issues. (O.K. I'll fess up, they're not MACs, but Dells ---but I'd have no worries picking up a refurbed MAC with apple care....) |
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Rich Cruse, Photographer
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Laguna Niguel | CA | USA | Posted: 1:28 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Hey Debra!
I must concur with Nik and Bruce! Refurbs with AppleCare are a great deal! The Mac you want is available at the Apple Store for $1899 refurbished.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB398LL/A?mco=MjE0NjA3MA
It comes with 2 Gigs ram and wired keyboard and mouse, so you will have to switch those out.
4 Gigs of ram can be had for $60 at OtherWorldComputing.com.
You might get a further discount with NPPA or in the Education store if you qualify. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 1:38 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> THANKS everyone for all your help/guidance
will be ordering later today with Applecare for 3 years
Have a great 2009
Debbie |
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Jesse Beals, Photographer
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Silverdale | WA | USA | Posted: 2:05 PM on 12.30.08 |
| ->> We used Imacs at my work for a couple of years and had lots of problems so we switched to a better model. These machines had a hard time when you had Photoshop CS, indesign, and Bridge opened at the same time. It was if these machines couldn't handle the larger programs running. |
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Kirby Yau, Photographer, Assistant
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 2:06 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Hi Debra I've had the same iMac 3.06 that Ric has pointed out for 8 months now and I couldn't be any happier. It's a great workhorse for Aperture and the Adobe Creative Suite.
You won't be disappointed.
Also don't forget to get a Mini DVI -> DVI connector if you want to connect another monitor. |
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Al Goldis, Photographer
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East Lansing | MI | USA | Posted: 2:10 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Personally, I don't think the 3.06GHz CPU is worth the extra cost over the 2.8GHz, although you also get a larger hard drive and better graphics card. I don't think you will notice a speed difference between the two, but if you are trying to maximize your tax deduction I guess that doesn't matter. :-)
You might want to take a look at one in a store before you order. The "glossy" screen isn't like PCs or the previous generation MacBooks with glossy screens. Those machines have an anti-reflective coating on the surface of the LCD.
With the iMac (and the new MacBook and MacBook Pro), Apple put a piece of untreated glass over the top of the LCD screen, which is MUCH more reflective. |
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Rich Cruse, Photographer
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Laguna Niguel | CA | USA | Posted: 2:44 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> One last thought Deb. Be sure to get yourself an external drive the same size or larger to use exclusively for Time Machine back-ups. I would get a slightly larger drive like a 640 gig. If you are new to Leopard 10.5, you will see that when you hook-up a new external drive, your Mac will ask you if you want to use it for Time Machine Back-ups. It will walk you through the set-up process, then proceed to back-up everything on your internal hard drive. After the first back-up is complete (which could take several hours), Time Machine will create incremental back-ups every hour. It will only copy items that have changed since the last back-up and gives you the opportunity to go "Back in Time" to find files that you may have accidentally erased. This can be invaluable. It also allows you to Restore the contents of your drive should the internal fail.
It is important to know that a Time Machine Back-up is not Bootable, so you would have to replace the failed drive, then Restore from Time Machine. You could use a program like Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper to create Bootable back-up disks, but then you loose the ability to easily go "Back in Time" to find deleted files using Time Machine.
Learn more about Time Machine here!
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/timemachine.html
This feature has saved my tail on multiple occasions.
Rich |
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David Manning, Photographer
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Athens | GA | | Posted: 3:22 PM on 12.30.08 |
| ->> If you are still an NPPA member, you can get a discount through them. Well last i checked anyways. |
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Bastian Ehl, Photographer
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Magdeburg | _ | Germany | Posted: 3:40 PM on 12.30.08 |
| ->> Do not order. On January 6th, Apple will most likely present new Imacs with more power under the hood. My guess is a Quad processor, which will be a huge step forward comparing to todays 2 cores in the Imac. One week to go... |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 7:23 PM on 12.30.08 |
->> Deb,
I just bought a refurb 17" ( yeah, I know guys.. old tech) but @ $699 I couldn't go wrong. I'm typing this message on it.
Every refurb I've bought from APPLE has been fine. The stuff you want to stay away are the refurbs APPLE sells to others.
Apple refurbs are the best deal on the market if you can live with last year's models.
I was planning on waiting, but $699 was too good a deal to pass up. Evidently there were others that thought so.. I don't think they lasted 12 hours...
Michael |
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David Meyer, Photographer
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Orlando | FL | USA | Posted: 10:03 AM on 01.01.09 |
| ->> On purchasing Macs -- I've found the purchasing from Amazon is actually cheaper than purchasing direct from Apple -- new or refurb. You do not pay sales tax and there are often rebates up to $150 available. Amazon also has a good return policy and you can still purchase Applecare at any point during the first year of ownership. |
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