MacBook?

HI 1st post so am sorry if it is in the wrong place

Anyway. I'm stumped what to get. I want a Mac definatly (managed to convince the mrs) but I'm torn between the Mac Mini and the standard Macbook.

I know the Macbook has a slighter faster cpu (2.1ghz instead of 1.83) but other than that they are pretty much identical.

Thing is, I want the mac mini but I dont have spare mouse/keyboard/monitor to use it with so if I buy all that stuff I might as well get a Macbook. But the only thing taking me away from it is the high price and the fact I wont take it anywhere apart from my living room so it feels like a bit of a waste.

Ideas and suggestions welcome, I've exhausted my brain about this.

Thank everyone;D

I have to admit I'm a bit biased but I love my MacBook! (I did buy a wireless mighty mouse for it, though...)

What about an iMac then? Refurb store has a 2.0ghz with 1gb ram, 250gb hdd for $999. You pretty much cant get a mini + everything else for under that.

First one down:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...e.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=44BD9AA1&nclm=CertifiedMac

Edit - just to add, I just bought one of these last week and got it saturday. I LOVED my mini but the iMac has more horsepower, bigger screen than I had, and newer. My mini was going on 2yr old. This was a comparison shot I took. The Samsung monitor was 19", but not widescreen. WS 20" looks SOOO much bigger.

Spyroviper said:

But the only thing taking me away from it is the high price and the fact I wont take it anywhere apart from my living room so it feels like a bit of a waste.

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You don't think you will now, but eventually you will.

I entered the Mac world with a G4 Mini two years ago, and very quickly wished that I could take it with me everywhere, even if it was only to the office and back.

So when the opportunity arose, I bought a couple of Macbooks (one for me, one for my wife) and I take it all kinds of places I wouldn't have thought of even though I am familiar with notebook computers from the Windows/Linux world (albeit larger, clunkier notebooks.) More and more places have wifi and I've taken my Macbook to a bunch of places where the standard thing to do is wait: doctors offices, dentists, the DMV, visiting my brother in law, and yes the occasional Starbucks. Places where in the past you would fidget about or try to dredge up interest in the tabloid magazine resides in the waiting room. Instead I can use that time to touch up photos, edit some tunes, listen to some music, or if there is a wireless network in range, get online. A lot of waiting rooms even have an outlet or two that you can plug in so you aren't limited to the battery, which is no slouch either in terms of time providing power.

Our local chic grocery store has free wifi, so when I take my wife there to do the shopping I hang out in the café while she searches for her specific brand of whatever it is she eats. I surf the internet, keep up on email, and generally do whatever I would do at my desk at home during this time, which would otherwise be spent wandering around reading labels as my wife shops with the occasional 'are you done yet?'

A Macbook is small and light enough that given the correct case for it, it's not a big deal to slip it in the case, wind up the power cord and if you prefer toss in your bluetooth wireless mouse. Or just use the trackpad, which is such a great trackpad the other day while out and about I forgot my mouse pad so I just used it instead of dragging out the mouse.

I was recently on a domestic flight on which I whiled away some of that time using my Macbook to watch an episode of a BBC TV show I had downloaded.

All Mac notebooks go to sleep and wake up about as close to instantly as you can get, so when it's time to go you close that lid and you're on your way. When you get to the next place, open that lid and it's ready to be at your beck and call (well, okay I put a password on that, but as soon as I type that we're ready to rock.)

These are just a few pointers toward why having a portable computer (that is also a Mac) might have some immense advantages that you may have not considered. Also Macbooks are about the fastest, most responsive, and elegant computers out there.

Good luck with your choice, and welcome to the world of Apple.

walkerj said:

You don't think you will now, but eventually you will.

.

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Im on the computer ALOT but once I leave the house I do not want to take it with me. Not everyone wants/needs a portable computer. Thats what the iPhone is for.

biffyiffy said:

Im on the computer ALOT but once I leave the house I do not want to take it with me. Not everyone wants/needs a portable computer. Thats what the iPhone is for.

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If you're not gonna take your laptop anywhere why not just go for the i-Mac? The MB and the i-Mac are comparable in price. Plus the i-Mac has a little bit more "oomph" (with the capability to have more memory and a bigger hard drive) than the Mini. Not to mention it looks kinda cool. ;D

wcarr3 said:

If you're not gonna take your laptop anywhere why not just go for the i-Mac? The MB and the i-Mac are comparable in price. Plus the i-Mac has a little bit more "oomph" (with the capability to have more memory and a bigger hard drive) than the Mini. Not to mention it looks kinda cool. ;D

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*confused*

See my post about 3 above??

biffyiffy said:

*confused*

See my post about 3 above??

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My apologies. That post was meant for the original poster.

wcarr3 said:

My apologies. That post was meant for the original poster.

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I gotcha. Yes, I think the iMac is the best solution for the OP instead of the mini since he said he needs the other peripherals to go along with it. All of those combined could well be more than the iMac (well a refurb anyway).

Thanks Guys for your help

I'm going to go with the macbook 2.1ghz and upgrade the RAM etc as I go along as my current room at home doesn't allow for the space of another desk for the imac.

Thanks alot for your help.

You won't be disappointed - the MacBook is a fantastic little machine. Just get the minimum RAM direct and upgrade it yourself afterwards. It will save you some $ and doesn't violate the warranty. Takes all of ten minutes to do from start to finish.

Oh yeah - same with the hard drive.

Spyroviper,

I just bought a 2.2 Macbook a week or so ago and I absolutely love it!! I've been using PCs for almost 20 years and I found the Mac so easy to transition to... Like Dalison said, "You won't be disappointed." And like you are planning to do, I upgraded my RAM. I bought 4GB from Newegg for $90 with a $10 MIR. So $80 for 4GB is very resonable. That really makes it sing...

Noel