Let's face it, these are not the best economic times and buying a new computer may not be in the cards for you right now. But, if you do find yourself in the position to get a new Mac, now is a particularly good time to do so. Here are a couple of reasons why.
The new Macs are here.
Apple recently released new versions of the iMac, MacBook and Mac mini models. The new iMacs, starting at $1199, are particularly stunning and, most likely, my next Mac purchase. The new MacBook has been greatly upgraded and is a solid buy at $999. Or, if your budget is even tighter, but you have access to a monitor, keyboard and mouse, the Mac mini starts at $599.
New Macs also mean new Apple refurbished products. Apple refurbs have the same warranty as the new ones and you can sometime save quite a bit on the price. New, previous generation Mac are also sometimes available. Check out what is available here.
In any case, getting a new Mac will insure a long computing life with a machine capable of handling anything that you can throw at it. Plus, you get the latest operating system and all of the newest iLife software (iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand and iTunes).
As far as you PowerBook users are concerned, you may want to wait on your purchase of a MacBook Pro. There are strong rumors that new models with much faster processors, including a possibility of a quad-core (four processors on one chip) will be coming out very soon. As always, my advice is to get what you need when you need it. It's your call.
If you still can't see yourself affording a new or refurbished Mac, there are still more options. Try checking Craigslist for a fairly recent used Mac. Just be sure that the machine that you are interested in has at least a an "Intel Core 2 Duo" processor. If you're not sure what kind of chip the computer has, go to the Apple Menu and choose "About this Mac". It will say what kind of processor the machine uses. If you can, have someone check it out for you.
Also, a great source for the lowest Mac prices is dealmac.com. They scour the web for the best Mac deals around.
The G4/G5 is dead
If you have a Mac with a G4 or G5 processor, the good news is that, if you are using Mac OS 10.5 "Leopard", you will never have to upgrade your system software again…because you can't.
Apple's newest operating system, 10.6 "Snow Leopard", will only run on computers with an Intel processor, as opposed to the earlier PowerPC processors. If you're not sure what kind of chip your Mac has, see "About This Mac" above.
This is not to say that "Leopard" isn't a good operating system. It's perfectly fine and will be for years to come. So, if your PowerPC Mac is doing everything you need it to do, you should be in pretty good shape. However, there will still be issues that you won't be able to fix without upgrading your computer. Most of them involve the internet.
The G4 PowerPC processors and the video cards used in the MacBook, PowerBook and some iMac models don't handle Flash video well. Flash is used for many video sites, including YouTube. As computers get faster, web developers raise the bar as to what hardware is required to display video well. In this case, the G4 Mac is no longer enough. Have you noticed videos playback getting choppy to unwatchable on some websites? This maybe the reason.
Another example is Skype. Although you can use Skype with a 800 MHz G4 processor or better, in order to use the video feature, you need an Intel processor. As time goes by, more and more internet-related issues will arise for the PowerPC Macs.
The turnaround begins with you
So, if you can swing it, go ahead and pull the trigger on that shiny new iMac. As scary as that might be, I can almost guarantee that you will have a big smile on your face the first time you fire it up. You will enjoy the computer more, so you will use the computer more. You will become more productive and you might find that, in a year or so, the computer has paid for itself.
And, if you need help choosing a new Mac, setting it up, transferring/backing up your data or anything else, feel free to contact me.
Thanks for the read.
Your Genius.
So, if you can swing it, go ahead and pull the trigger on that shiny new iMac. As scary as that might be, I can almost guarantee that you will have a big smile on your face the first time you fire it up. You will enjoy the computer more, so you will use the computer more. You will become more productive and you might find that, in a year or so, the computer has paid for itself.
And, if you need help choosing a new Mac, setting it up, transferring/backing up your data or anything else, feel free to contact me.
Thanks for the read.
Your Genius.
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