Two Directions
When it comes to computers, my wife and I seem to be moving in two different directions.
I’ve got a dual 2.0 GHz G5 PowerMac I’m not using that much. I really like my Intel iMac; but to be honest, the software incompatibilities (primarily with my Adobe software) are driving me nuts. Frankly, I’m also in the mood to work on getting us as debt free as possible. I can’t do that if we’re upgrading computers all the time. The computers I currently own do meet my needs.
My wife wants an iMac with an iSight in it. I don’t think it matters to her whether it’s a G5 or Intel powered iMac, though I do know she feels it doesn’t make any sense to spend any money on a G5. While I do find the internal iSight convenient, it’s not a necessity for me. I’m just as happy with an external iSight on a stand, something I also own.
Also, we’ve been talking about a long term upgrade strategy. My favorite though not inexpensive one is to move me up to a Mac Pro and, at some point, a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display. But I don’t see any sense in going there if I also own an iMac, especially if I owned a 24 inch one. If I own any iMac, I don’t see the sense in buying any kind of a new display since my 20 inch Apple ADC Cinema Display is working great and is still the best LCD I own.
So, where does that leave us?
I proposed to my wife I give her my 20 inch iMac and move all my stuff onto my G5 PowerMac. I would resurrect my homebuilt PC and connect it and the PowerMac up to my Logitech keyboard and mouse via the IOGEAR ADC switch and an Apple ADC to DVI Adapter as I did before. I would lose some computing power since my iMac is actually more powerful than my PC; but for most things, that wouldn’t matter. The advantage to this is that my wife can step up to an Intel iMac running Windows (that would allow her to use her school-issued iPaq, something she’s shown little interest in under OS X); she would get an iMac with an internal iSight; I would get to see if I was really okay with just using a single Mac tower (eventually a Mac Pro) for everything; I would not feel under the gun to upgrade my Adobe software as soon as CS3 is released; and it would cost us no money to do this.
Connie thinks, though, I need the biggest and best of everything (bless her heart!) so she thinks I need to go buy a 24 inch iMac. I like the buggers but don’t want to go spend $2500 or more right now and then another $800 to upgrade Adobe software next year. That doesn’t count what I’d need to spend on a new Universal Version of Office or Final Cut Pro 5, a purchase I’m going to make anyway while Apple’s special deal is still good. (For $200, I can upgrade my copy of Final Cut Pro 4 to a Universal Version of FCP 5 complete with Motion 2 and Soundtrack Pro.)
Anyway, I’m not sure how to resolve this. I know that if I take this step I risk not having as many interesting things to write about in this blog; but I’m not getting paid for this and don’t have a huge readership so I’m not seeing the harm. Even so, I learned a long time ago I have to do what’s best for me and that ultimately works out to be what’s best for everyone. I’ll still find things to write here about, I’m sure. After all, we would still have one Intel iMac in the house and we will, over time, be getting more.
I’m not saying I don’t still love my iMac. I do. In fact, I might well be opting to stand "down" to a 24 inc iMac only if the damn thing could take 4GB of RAM. (And I still might anyway.) But Apple purposely limited it to 3 GB to avoid taking any hits on their Mac Pro sales. That’s a bitch, and a false argument for not giving its customers what they need. An iMac not be expandable, but its ergonomics are arguably better than those of a tower.
I’ve got a dual 2.0 GHz G5 PowerMac I’m not using that much. I really like my Intel iMac; but to be honest, the software incompatibilities (primarily with my Adobe software) are driving me nuts. Frankly, I’m also in the mood to work on getting us as debt free as possible. I can’t do that if we’re upgrading computers all the time. The computers I currently own do meet my needs.
My wife wants an iMac with an iSight in it. I don’t think it matters to her whether it’s a G5 or Intel powered iMac, though I do know she feels it doesn’t make any sense to spend any money on a G5. While I do find the internal iSight convenient, it’s not a necessity for me. I’m just as happy with an external iSight on a stand, something I also own.
Also, we’ve been talking about a long term upgrade strategy. My favorite though not inexpensive one is to move me up to a Mac Pro and, at some point, a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display. But I don’t see any sense in going there if I also own an iMac, especially if I owned a 24 inch one. If I own any iMac, I don’t see the sense in buying any kind of a new display since my 20 inch Apple ADC Cinema Display is working great and is still the best LCD I own.
So, where does that leave us?
I proposed to my wife I give her my 20 inch iMac and move all my stuff onto my G5 PowerMac. I would resurrect my homebuilt PC and connect it and the PowerMac up to my Logitech keyboard and mouse via the IOGEAR ADC switch and an Apple ADC to DVI Adapter as I did before. I would lose some computing power since my iMac is actually more powerful than my PC; but for most things, that wouldn’t matter. The advantage to this is that my wife can step up to an Intel iMac running Windows (that would allow her to use her school-issued iPaq, something she’s shown little interest in under OS X); she would get an iMac with an internal iSight; I would get to see if I was really okay with just using a single Mac tower (eventually a Mac Pro) for everything; I would not feel under the gun to upgrade my Adobe software as soon as CS3 is released; and it would cost us no money to do this.
Connie thinks, though, I need the biggest and best of everything (bless her heart!) so she thinks I need to go buy a 24 inch iMac. I like the buggers but don’t want to go spend $2500 or more right now and then another $800 to upgrade Adobe software next year. That doesn’t count what I’d need to spend on a new Universal Version of Office or Final Cut Pro 5, a purchase I’m going to make anyway while Apple’s special deal is still good. (For $200, I can upgrade my copy of Final Cut Pro 4 to a Universal Version of FCP 5 complete with Motion 2 and Soundtrack Pro.)
Anyway, I’m not sure how to resolve this. I know that if I take this step I risk not having as many interesting things to write about in this blog; but I’m not getting paid for this and don’t have a huge readership so I’m not seeing the harm. Even so, I learned a long time ago I have to do what’s best for me and that ultimately works out to be what’s best for everyone. I’ll still find things to write here about, I’m sure. After all, we would still have one Intel iMac in the house and we will, over time, be getting more.
I’m not saying I don’t still love my iMac. I do. In fact, I might well be opting to stand "down" to a 24 inc iMac only if the damn thing could take 4GB of RAM. (And I still might anyway.) But Apple purposely limited it to 3 GB to avoid taking any hits on their Mac Pro sales. That’s a bitch, and a false argument for not giving its customers what they need. An iMac not be expandable, but its ergonomics are arguably better than those of a tower.
posted by Andy Foster at
9:43 PM
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