12-14-2006, 12:45 AM

Hi everybody. I've been a Windows user since the beginning of time. My brother and I are going to start a sports/pop culture podcast in January. A friend of mine has a Mac and I played around with Garageband and found it to be a great tool. I don't want to spend a lot of time learning an application. Basically, I want a toaster for putting these podcasts together and Garageband seems to be the way to go. In addition, since my brother is New Jersey and I am in Florida, we can utilize iChat, which allows both of us to be recorded on separate tracks.

The thing is, I don't have the disposable cash to purchase a new Mac, so when I purchase, I will probably go the Ebay route and buy a used one. I just have some questions about which way to go:

1. What kind of Mac is best for using iLife?

2. I see in quite a bit of the EBay auctions that while the OS is loaded on the Mac, it doesn't come with the discs. How would I obtain them if I needed to?

3. How difficult it is to upgrade Macs? (Probably affects question 1)

4. Many of the auctions also state that no keyboard or mouse is included. Can any USB keyboard and mouse be used or do I have to get Mac products?

5. Many of the auctions also do not come with monitors. Can PC monitors be used with Macs?

Thanks for your help!

Jay

12-14-2006, 12:35 PM

Ok, I have answered on my own questions 1 & 3.

But I still need some help on 2, 4 and 5.

Also, here is an Ebay auction. Is a deal like this good:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-eMac-G4-17...QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks!

12-14-2006, 12:42 PM

You can use any keyboard and mouse. Mice are all basically the same, and if you get a Windows keyboard, the 'Windows' key is the same as the 'Option' key so that works too.