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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. Thinking about a new Mac...

Thinking about a new Mac...

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  • KlausK Offline
    KlausK Offline
    Klaus
    wrote on last edited by
    #17

    @George-K one buys the Air for its portability. But from what you write, it sounds more like you need a desktop computer. Have you considered a Mac Mini or iMac instead?

    1 Reply Last reply
    • RainmanR Offline
      RainmanR Offline
      Rainman
      wrote on last edited by
      #18

      I've got an Apple IIe that I'm not using.
      More than enough power for someone retired.
      Let me know if you're interested. I can throw in some floppies.

      1 Reply Last reply
      • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

        I bought the LG monitor from the apple site. Perfectly fine. They have 24 and 27”. Honestly I forget which I bought.

        The monitor has several USBc and regular USB ports so it acts as something of a hub.

        I have that with the top of the line MacBook Air from last September, and it’s a great setup.

        George KG Offline
        George KG Offline
        George K
        wrote on last edited by
        #19

        @jon-nyc said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

        I bought the LG monitor from the apple site. Perfectly fine. They have 24 and 27”. Honestly I forget which I bought.

        The monitor has several USBc and regular USB ports so it acts as something of a hub.

        I have that with the top of the line MacBook Air from last September, and it’s a great setup.

        alt text

        alt text

        Yeah, I was specifically thinking of what you do when it comes time.

        @Klaus , yeah. Portability is not high on my list of needs. I spend 90% of my time at my desk. If I want to consume content, or travel, my old iPad Air (2) does it pretty well, particularly with a Brydge keyboard attached to it. Mrs. George has an 11" MacBook Air and I have an account on it, so I can access all my stuff should I need to.

        Like I said, I'm just spitballing here.

        The one nice thing about the MacBook Air is the fact that it's a larger screen than my iPad.

        "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

        The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

        1 Reply Last reply
        • KlausK Offline
          KlausK Offline
          Klaus
          wrote on last edited by Klaus
          #20

          If you don't need the portability, I'd not get a notebook. The Mac Mini or iMac give you more bang for the buck: better performance, longer lifetime (upgrades), more repair options, more connectors. The iMac also gives you a very clean look with minimal set of visible cables.

          George KG 1 Reply Last reply
          • KlausK Klaus

            If you don't need the portability, I'd not get a notebook. The Mac Mini or iMac give you more bang for the buck: better performance, longer lifetime (upgrades), more repair options, more connectors. The iMac also gives you a very clean look with minimal set of visible cables.

            George KG Offline
            George KG Offline
            George K
            wrote on last edited by
            #21

            @Klaus I have a 27" iMac (2014) now which I love.

            The reason for the upgrade is that D2 is using a hand-me-down 27" iMac from 2011. It's getting long in the tooth and the internal hard drive (which had a recall that she never took care of and now is out of date) has died. I want to hand mine down to her.

            If it weren't for that issue, I'd stay with what I have.

            "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

            The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

            1 Reply Last reply
            • markM Offline
              markM Offline
              mark
              wrote on last edited by
              #22

              If I ever do buy another Mac, it will be a MacMini. Loaded with memory and SSD and you have a very compact and capable machine.

              George KG 1 Reply Last reply
              • markM mark

                If I ever do buy another Mac, it will be a MacMini. Loaded with memory and SSD and you have a very compact and capable machine.

                George KG Offline
                George KG Offline
                George K
                wrote on last edited by
                #23

                @mark said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                If I ever do buy another Mac, it will be a MacMini. Loaded with memory and SSD and you have a very compact and capable machine.

                If you're going to hook it up to a reasonable monitor (27" or larger) there's no advantage to compactness, is there? And, you have more cables.

                "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                AxtremusA 1 Reply Last reply
                • George KG George K

                  @mark said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                  If I ever do buy another Mac, it will be a MacMini. Loaded with memory and SSD and you have a very compact and capable machine.

                  If you're going to hook it up to a reasonable monitor (27" or larger) there's no advantage to compactness, is there? And, you have more cables.

                  AxtremusA Offline
                  AxtremusA Offline
                  Axtremus
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #24

                  @George-K said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                  @mark said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                  MacMini.

                  And, you have more cables.

                  Hmm ... wonder when Apple will make the MacMini take power input via USB-C too. The power cable is the only "extra cable" required by the MacMini today over a MacBook Air. The MacMini also gives you most of the legacy ports you want.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • George KG Offline
                    George KG Offline
                    George K
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #25

                    Looking at prices for various options here.

                    I'm looking at 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

                    If I go with the Mini or the Air, I'll have to spring for a monitor and a webcam (I'd keep my keyboard and mouse):

                    The price for the iMac is for this year's Intel version with an i5 processor, I assume that when Apple releases a new iMac this year, as is rumored, it'll be priced pretty similarly. Looks like the MacBook Air gives the same features as the iMac for a better price, even after all the add-ons.

                    Screen Shot 2020-12-26 at 7.40.49 AM.png

                    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                    jon-nycJ 1 Reply Last reply
                    • KlausK Offline
                      KlausK Offline
                      Klaus
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #26

                      I may buy a new iMac when it is released with a new ARM chip (not the current one; I want more than 16GB of RAM).

                      George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                      • CopperC Offline
                        CopperC Offline
                        Copper
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #27

                        Why a Dock with the mini?

                        George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                        • KlausK Klaus

                          I may buy a new iMac when it is released with a new ARM chip (not the current one; I want more than 16GB of RAM).

                          George KG Offline
                          George KG Offline
                          George K
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #28

                          @klaus said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                          I may buy a new iMac when it is released with a new ARM chip (not the current one; I want more than 16GB of RAM).

                          I've seen videos of performance with only 8 gigs of RAM on a MacBook Air. For the stuff that I do, 8 is probably adequate, and 16 is overkill, considering the videos I've watched. But...

                          Link to video

                          The other thing is that rumors say that the new iteration of iMac will be a 24" model. I really, really don't want a smaller screen than I have now. That's a big deal for me with my aging eyes.

                          "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                          The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                          KlausK 1 Reply Last reply
                          • CopperC Copper

                            Why a Dock with the mini?

                            George KG Offline
                            George KG Offline
                            George K
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #29

                            @copper said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                            Why a Dock with the mini?

                            Hooking up external devices: I have a 4 bay enclosure which stores my Time Machine data, media (books, music), and another backup drive.

                            "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                            The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • George KG George K

                              Looking at prices for various options here.

                              I'm looking at 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

                              If I go with the Mini or the Air, I'll have to spring for a monitor and a webcam (I'd keep my keyboard and mouse):

                              The price for the iMac is for this year's Intel version with an i5 processor, I assume that when Apple releases a new iMac this year, as is rumored, it'll be priced pretty similarly. Looks like the MacBook Air gives the same features as the iMac for a better price, even after all the add-ons.

                              Screen Shot 2020-12-26 at 7.40.49 AM.png

                              jon-nycJ Online
                              jon-nycJ Online
                              jon-nyc
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #30

                              @george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                              I'm looking at 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

                              That's what I have.

                              I just bought a webcam this week, delivered xmas eve. It's sitting in the box still by my desk.

                              Up to now I've been using my iPad for zoom calls.

                              Thank you for your attention to this matter.

                              George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                              • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

                                @george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                                I'm looking at 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

                                That's what I have.

                                I just bought a webcam this week, delivered xmas eve. It's sitting in the box still by my desk.

                                Up to now I've been using my iPad for zoom calls.

                                George KG Offline
                                George KG Offline
                                George K
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #31

                                @jon-nyc how big is that monitor you have?

                                "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                                The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                                jon-nycJ 1 Reply Last reply
                                • George KG George K

                                  @klaus said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                                  I may buy a new iMac when it is released with a new ARM chip (not the current one; I want more than 16GB of RAM).

                                  I've seen videos of performance with only 8 gigs of RAM on a MacBook Air. For the stuff that I do, 8 is probably adequate, and 16 is overkill, considering the videos I've watched. But...

                                  Link to video

                                  The other thing is that rumors say that the new iteration of iMac will be a 24" model. I really, really don't want a smaller screen than I have now. That's a big deal for me with my aging eyes.

                                  KlausK Offline
                                  KlausK Offline
                                  Klaus
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #32

                                  @george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                                  The other thing is that rumors say that the new iteration of iMac will be a 24" model. I really, really don't want a smaller screen than I have now.

                                  True, I also want a 27". If they don't sell a 27" iMac anymore, I'll maybe go for a Mac Mini with external display.

                                  George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                                  • KlausK Klaus

                                    @george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                                    The other thing is that rumors say that the new iteration of iMac will be a 24" model. I really, really don't want a smaller screen than I have now.

                                    True, I also want a 27". If they don't sell a 27" iMac anymore, I'll maybe go for a Mac Mini with external display.

                                    George KG Offline
                                    George KG Offline
                                    George K
                                    wrote on last edited by George K
                                    #33

                                    @klaus I have to wonder what the thinking is behind the rumored 24" version. Monitors are getting bigger and bigger.

                                    Why would they do that?

                                    ETA: I assume that all I would have to do is hook it up with an HDMI cable, right?

                                    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                                    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • CopperC Offline
                                      CopperC Offline
                                      Copper
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #34

                                      https://ulxstore.com/collections/leather-desk-mats/products/black-leather-desk-mat?variant=49844519507

                                      You forgot the vegan leather desk mat.

                                      vegan leather

                                      That is a new one on me

                                      ![alt text](e8b221d3-3acb-4d37-a6c9-d2d03e050d3e-image.png image url)

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • George KG George K

                                        @jon-nyc how big is that monitor you have?

                                        jon-nycJ Online
                                        jon-nycJ Online
                                        jon-nyc
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #35

                                        @george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:

                                        @jon-nyc how big is that monitor you have?

                                        24".

                                        https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HMUA2VC/A/lg-ultrafine-4k-display

                                        Thank you for your attention to this matter.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        • jon-nycJ Online
                                          jon-nycJ Online
                                          jon-nyc
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #36

                                          Funny I decry the creeping screen sizes. I remember being disappointed when they phased out the 21" iMac and I had to buy a 24. Equally when they kept making phones bigger.

                                          Yeah its easier to read. But I have to carry my phone.

                                          I guess I could live with a 27" monitor. Just seems so extreme. I'm right here, sitting in front of it.

                                          Thank you for your attention to this matter.

                                          George KG 1 Reply Last reply
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