Complete newbie lookin for a Mac

[Stridder44]

Yeah, since you are gonna deal with graphics, go with the G4...you'll be happy you did:-D

[Stridder44]

Oh, and Mac OS X will NEVER fail you...

[JetwingX]

Ok. your best bet is to go with the 17" G4 because it is going to last you a while. also the wide screen is great for photo/movie editing

For movie editing you have 3 choices:

1) iMovie - simple, free with a few cool litle features (low end)

2) Final Cut Pro - this is one of the industry standards for video editing (such as Star Wars episode II) it's expensive but worth every penny with all the options. You may also need some traning (high end)

3) Final Cut Express - I don't know too much about it but it is said to be Final Cut Pro on a diet. it has all the essentials of FCP but for A LOT less ($300) (middle range)

jsut thought i would help you there

[ApeintheShell]

I'd say it has to do with the macintosh adopting and inventing more standards in hardware and software.

Hardware:
Airport was the first WiFi
Bluetooth built into their new powerbooks
USB and Firewire used consistently in the product line instead of as additions.
Gigabit Ethernet
Product Balance- iBook,iMac, eMac are for consumers, while the powerbook, PowerMac, and Xserve are for the professionals.
Software:
iLife - a music player(iTunes), dvd maker(iDVD), movie maker(iMovie) and picture album(iPhoto)
Wide Variety of Apps - whether there from Apple or from other websites. You get a sense of community when you use mac os x.
No fatal error messages telling you to send bugs to microsoft.(you know what i'm talkin about)
--end of message--

[fryke]

This thread is rather in the wrong forum... I'm moving it with a redirect to Hardware.

[KrinkleCut]

Originally posted by Jet
Ok. your best bet is to go with the 17" G4 because it is going to last you a while. also the wide screen is great for photo/movie editing

I can't be the only one who thinks the 17" PBs are just kinda dumb, (and the 12" PB - see above) can I? I mean, sure the screen is big, but isn't it kinda large. And I'm not talking about weight or mass, but area. A panel of sheet rock isn't thick, but it's still a pain in the ass to carry. I have a 15" TiBook, so I'm used to carrying that, but I couldn't imagine wanting it to be larger.

As far as the 17" lasting longer, I have to disagree. IF airport and on-board bluetooth are mission critical, then maybe the 17" is the way to go - go ahead and sell a kidney for it. But, honestly, how many really NEED these features? I don't. I can't afford to implement new standards as quickly as they implement them. Even old 802.11b airport seems kind of indulgent to me.

[gnubie]

Hmmmm....interesting.....
I belong to another forum 4 M$ Windblows and I don't get responses back like this! I don't want to bash people, but the people over in that forum don't seem to know squat. You people seem to be well versed in the Mac world which is cool =).

I havta agree that the 17" is a little too big 4 my tastes. I think Ill go 4 the 15" PB but it seems Ill havta wait several weeks when they come out =(. The 17" screen is nice when watching DVDs, but if I want the full effect of movie watching I might as well stay home and watch it on my home theater with my Sony Trinitron 36".

[KrinkleCut]

OK, I'm not up on the rumours and such for upgraded 15" PBs, but here's my take on the situation. The 15" was updated in November or so. New 12" and 17" came out in January. Apple has traditionally waited 6-9 months between revs. What are the 15" PBs missing? Aluminum (or Aluminium for you british folks) enclosure, built in bluetooth and airport extreme. How important are these?

Enclosure: Titanium sounds cooler. Aluminum sounds like a pop can.

Bluetooth: I dunno, you have any other bluetooth enabled devices?

Airport Extreme: sounds great, but you'll still move stuff quicker with a cable. And the money for a base station and card doesn't sound worth it to me if I only have one portable.

I don't see Apple updating the 15" PBs until the next rev. If they were going to, why didn't they do it in January? The PBs they announced in January were functionally no 'better' than the 15" PBs other than the above features. So, basically, I'm saying "why wait?" If you think you'll see a speed bump in the next 5 months, I seriously doubt it. The only possible update is to start punching the cases out of pop cans, adding 802.11g and bluetooth. That's how I see it anyway.