Need Opinions on First Mac for my mother.

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I and my family have been using PC's since we got rid of our Apple IIe. That was my first and only experience with Apple and it has been a long time since those days. I am an avid PC user with several computers, and am pretty able as far as technology goes. My mother on the other hand knows how to use AOL and type on a computer but it pretty much stops there. She retired last year and with her spare time would like to start scanning all of our family photos, and converting old VHS home movies to DVD. We have an Aunt who does this with her PC and thousands of dollars worth of software, which equals nothing but problems and a lot of wasted time. Enter Apple. I myself am 23, close to graduating, and will be purchasing my own Apple by March to learn OSX for myself. My current challenge is helping my mother to find the MOST user friendly software out there to do what is required. I don't have a lot of time to babysit and teach an OS, especially one I have never used. Because of what she wants to do, from the research I have done I think an Imac would be perfect for her. We went to Compusa this evening and played for a little bit. She really like the 20" Imac and how nice it looked. Another big selling feature was that it basically comes with all the software needed right out of the box. The Apple guy also recommended the Eskape myTV to do her video capturing. My question to all of you: Is this the right setup for a person's first Apple that wants to do nothing but Video and Picture editing, email, internet and typing? I don't really care if its overkill, as it gives her (and me) room to expand. I believe a Mac Mini would limit her, and the Powermac is not needed. Remember, this will be a learning curve for her and I, but something we are looking forward to. And if any of you are pro's at the video/photo thing, is the bundled software and Eskape box the way to go, or do other routes work better. My biggest emphasis is ease of use and quality of finished product. I look forward to your guys help, and if anyone is going to ask, yes I know how to use a search button and am quite capable of it. :black:
 
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do you guys have a buget?
Can you post what currency you want to deal with?

My post (down there) is in usd!
 
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I found this, looks good! Mixed reviews ,(good/bad): Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV ($199 from apple)

First off, i would not go with less than 1 gb ram for any video related stuff,
The mac mini would limit you, look at the price totals, (you need a screen for mac mini)


(If you went with a mini, i would only reccomend getting the 1.42 for your needs/wants)
1.42GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
80GB Ultra ATA hard drive
SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
Optional 56k Internal Modem
Apple Credit Account
Payments as low as $17 per month


699 USD

Monitor,

20" from apple 799
(you could also get one for compusa)
(here is their cheepest one)

17 " 179.99

699+179=878 usd (including cheepest monitor from compusa) (that does not even have 1 gb upgrade)(
699 +799=1498 (including apple 20") (that does not even have the i gb upgrade)

a new iMac is $1,299.99
 
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I think the new iMac would fit the bill for what you want to do just great. It not only looks great on the desk, but it is easy to use and comes with pretty much what you want. Don't worry about the learning curve with OS X, it is quite easy to use, especailly if you already have knowledge of windows. Email is taken care of with MAIL and browsing is done by SAFARI, iTUNES takes care of your music and iPHOTO will handle your pictures.

There are quite a few 3rd party programs very reasonable priced that you can add to your system such as Slide Show Magic for making your photos into nice slide shows with action and music

I don't know about the particular program you asked about, but i certainly agree with the other guy about getting a gig of ram. Don't pay apples price however, get the ram from other places like NewEgg, they have much better prices and the install on an iMac is very easy.
 
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To answer some questions, the currency we are going to deal with is US dollars. Budget I would put around $2000 but it is flexible to achieve what she needs to do. After talking to my father last night, I believe they are going to purchase the 20" Imac from Compusa. They have a nice deal currently at 24 months no interest, plus a free wireless router and some other stuff. This beats the $100 I would get discounted by going through Apple. As far as RAM goes, I will not be going through Apple. Usually I buy parts off the forums or through Newegg or Crucial. I run a gig of ddr in my PC and would do the same for her computer, due to the encoding she will be doing. After doing some research last night, it looks like the Eskape myTV is a piece of junk. I have never used one but the reviews were pretty bad on it. I have been looking at the Elgato pieces but would love input from others. I have used Pinnacle products with PC, and had some problems, but that might have been because of Windows. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
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Depends on budget, and room, id do the all in one eMac. Love the design, u can get them with everything and wireless too if you need it for $699 w/ 17'' monitor, 512 ram, 80+ gig hdd, you can order bigger, and 1.42 ghz G4 processor. Not bad for the price. IT depends on whats shes using it for too. I bought a Mini cause i was limited to space and a 15'' lcd...love it, Very easy to use and switch to. Much better then a PC and Windows.

just my .02
 
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Nah, I can't stand the emac, I think they are a waste of money. Pretty much made up her mind that she wants the 20" Imac. Now I just need feedback on what video capture equipment to use.
 

dtravis7


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Yeah I actually have been looking at the Elgato website and was going to read up on those. I have used nothing but Plextor burners in my pc's but didn't know they made that piece. I am going to take a look now that you mentioned it. If anyone else has any other recommendations please keep them coming.
 

dtravis7


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That is how I first found about it. I love Plextor Burners and one day I was at their homepage and found the capture devices. Did some testing with my friends and it looks better overall than my ATI All in Wonder Radeon card in my P4 when doing captures from a VCR.
 
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that is good to hear because it would be used only for transferring old VHS home movies on to the computer to use in DVD format. Is newegg the cheapest you have found for it?
 

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