What should they get?

Well my Parents have took a shine to my iMac of late and not being very "computer literate" I suppose they found it rather simple and straight forward.

I informed them that if they got one I could tweak it and make it basically like mine but more adaptive to their needs.

We came up with 2 solutions, They get a new Apple iMac or I give them mine and I pick up the 24" iMac or get maybe a MacBookPro.

I've been thinking about getting a Laptop for a while as I tried that Web n Walk crap on my phone and I enjoyed being able to use the Web everywhere, but it was rather crap on a Mobile Screen.

What do you think? Apart from the fact you don't give a flying rat's ***..... What do you think I should do? I'm not very good with the Hardware crap of computers I know the basics and everything but I don't know the best choices I just go on what I have used and know.

Do you think an iMac is too much maybe a MacMini? Cheers

If they're up for getting you a new iMac or MBP then go for it and let them have yours. Both are great machines so the decision is basically whether you "need" the mobility of a notebook...

Saying that, if the machine you already have is serving you well, and you want to save them some cash then maybe the Mini is the way to go for them. What do they want it for?

Its going to be mainly Surfing, E-mails, Storing and Sharing Photos and doing their Music and iPod.

So that's why I was thinking that an iMac is way to much for them but its just that it seemed to appeal to them and they liked the simplicity and the fact it didn't take up space.

However then again there's nothing stopping them from getting a Laptop as that might be even better for them, the only concern for me would be the small screen.

My very computer illiterate mother-in-law has been using an older iMac G5 for a year now for surfing, email and iTunes and is quite comfortable with the machine and the process. I am sure an iMac would do just fine for your parents. If my mother in law can drive one successfully, I am sure they can. BTW, I *like* my mother-in-law; she is a super person. Saying that she is not computer literate is not a "knock", just a statement of reality.

The iMac is a nice package for folks like this; if they chose not to delve deeper, they can be quite productive using just the "surface level" stuff. The great thing about the iMac is that at any time they can start peeling the onion and going deeper.

Probably the best option is to have a chat with them and discuss all the options to decide what they want:

iMac - Great design, small footprint, ability to do more when they get a little "braver".
Mini - Small footprint, matches their needs, cheaper but also needs a keyboard, mouse and monitor.
Macbook - Portable, takes up little space and can do more than they currenly need.

Just discuss the benefits of each and let them make the decision. Also, with some of the iLife apps being so easy to use it is likely that they'll end up doing some more creative stuff in future...

Talk about me taking my time, I got them a MacBook the other week and they are very happy with it....To be honest I was very impressed to be honest. Although I' glad I kept my 20" Mac that 13.3" isn't really my style but they love it.