Gosh, Being A Student Makes Things That Much Harder...iMac

[RedSponge]

Hokay, so first off, hello to you mac folk.

I intend to make the jump into your worldafter being nagged by my friend and my graphics teacher, plus getting slowly more pissed off and dissolusioned by Windows and my sh_it computer.

Anyhoo, being a student, and working part-time means my money is exceedingly important to me.

After initially leaning towards a MacBook Pro, I eventually set my heart on a 20" iMac, as it's more machine for less money, looks nicer and whatnot...

The real question is however, do I bite the bullet, give my cash to Apple, and get an iMac now, or wait indeffinately to see whether they upgrade. I know there is all this Universal gubbins about, and I really would like to use Photoshop pretty much ASAP.

if i do get one now, what will I possibly be losing out on in 12 months time, and more importantly, is it likely to matter that much?

Thanks in advance, I hate making decisions,
Graeme

 

[breathein]

Well... since Apple JUST released that iMac last week, you're seven days late of getting apple's best product. I dont know why you are worrying 12months in advance when they JUST came out with a revision of the machines last week... with that attitude you might as well never buy a computer because in twelve months the computers will be much better and faster... its the fate of technology and our economy.

 

[RedSponge]

Cheers dude, you know, I think it's just the affirming quality of other's that you need sometimes!

With regards to Photoshop, things should be just fine on Photoshop yes? If so, i'm sold.

 

[Deepdale]

I hate making decisions

That is a problematic trait at best, but one that can really make your head spin given the whirlwind pace at which things change in the technology field. As you'll hear frequently in this forum, if you need something, buy it. In most situations, the differential will be more negligible than staggering ... doing your research and sampling the models provides the best insights into what you will be most satisfied with.

 

[Eidorian]

The iMac was just updated and it'll be awhile before it gets another one. If you can afford the 20" model I'd strongly suggest it. It's a bit quieter and the extra screen space is worth it.

I bought my iMac last June about a month after it was released. I got $200 off and I was happy with my purchase. Sure it's not the fastest machine anymore but it gets the job done. If I had to get a new iMac today I'd go for it.

 

[breathein]

Cheers dude, you know, I think it's just the affirming quality of other's that you need sometimes!

With regards to Photoshop, things should be just fine on Photoshop yes? If so, i'm sold.

what do you mean things should be just fine on photoshop? are you questioning whether the brand new computer will run photoshop well enough? If I were in your position and photoshop was a program I used a lot, I would go with the 20'' imac. My friend just bought this computer and its beautiful. The advantage is the larger screen area that will allow you to work in photoshop more efficiently. I feel cramped in photoshop on a 15'' and 17'' that i use at work and home.

 

[RedSponge]

Yeah sorry dude, I got double-vision.

What I meant to say was, will Photoshop run just spiffy on Rosetta, until the native version?

 

[BakedBeans]

I'm going to be running a business of of the 20inch iMac - it is about as fast as the dual 2.3 powermac - just get it dude - its awesome

ive seen a 57second photoshop test (thread lying around here somewhere) - thats awesome under emulation. to but that into perspective the same test on the 1.9g5 isight was 1.50 (so about 1.30 ish on the 2.1) its awesome and will be even faster when its universal

 

[wasimyaqoob]

Congrats and welcome to the Mac Community - I would just purchase the new iMac and if your feeling really rich, why not purchase the new MacBook Pro as well

Photoshop will work perfectly on it.

 

[RedSponge]

Trust me mate, the iMac is as far as this goes. Once Apple takes my savings, i'll be skint, and back to asking my mum for a couple of quid for lunch again. But at least i'll have a beautiful, thin white thing in my room. And im not talking about Ms Jolie.

 

[dops7107]

RedSponge - make sure you buy the machine through the education store online, or provide some evidence of student status at an Apple Store. It's worth at least 10%.

 

[RedSponge]

I fully intend to, but the further education link is broken on the apple site. Just have to wait for it to fix itself I guess.

 

[iEdd]

I fully intend to, but the further education link is broken on the apple site. Just have to wait for it to fix itself I guess.

I realised that on the Australian store that it screws up depending which way you try and get there. Try going to http://www.apple.com/education/store

 

[h0e0h]

Not to hammer on you man, but don't use being a student and working part time as an excuse to obtain a mac. I go to school 15 to 18 hours a semester and work 28-35 hours a week and still carry a 3.7 in accounting. Yes, macs are pricey, but they pay off. I bought my first 12" PB off a summer job. I still own it, and with it i created a few wedding videos and thing of that nature and wound up making a little bit of money off of them. I then bought a mac mini out of impulse... i really like it cause i can keep my PB in the case when i get home from work and use a desktop at home. Since 20 months ago when i first bought my PB, i've also bought a Canon Rebel XT, and by this time next year hope to have a MacBook Pro maxed out and a HD Camcorder for a ski trip that we're planning. Welcome to the mac family and keep in mind, the more you save the more you can spend... it will pay off... just don't blow it all on Taco Bell and beer... [/rant]

 

[sixstorm]

I guess you can say I'm in a pickle too. I currently go to school 12 hours or so per week and also work 24-32 hours a week. After owning my 14" iBook for almost a year now (paid off and still lovin it), I want to upgrade a lil bit and get an iMac. I do have a budget going right now and it will help me to be paranoid about my money and also save up in the mean time. With income tax return time coming up, my car detailing and computer repair business starting back up soon and a good amount of work hours from Blockbuster, I want to have enough money to buy my iMac and a few accessories by the end of July, hopefully May when the semester ends.

Here's the kicker, I'm moving to attend another college an hour away in August!!! Obviously, I gotta have some cash backed up for rent, electricity, food and the whole nine yards. Wish me luck; just wanted to share the feeling of being a college kid and short on cash.

 

[ll350]

I'm in a similar situation, here's what I'm gonna do..

I was a full time student, but had to take the sprind semester off, due to personal reasons. Now I've been chomping at the bit to get a Mac-Intel or whatever, but now I just don't have the cash. So I was kinda of discouraged at the prices of the MacBook Pro, but I had an idea.

Since I'm not goning to be back in school until August, I'm gonna wait until then to buy a MacBook Pro. An new intel iMac and iBook would probably come up to about the same price. But with the MacBook Pro, I get about 95% of the iMacs power and 90% of the iBooks portability. Since my school requires me to have a laptop, it'll be nice to have a powerful one with me at all times.

Plus my state has a tax free weekend, just before school starts, so with the edu discount, that'll save me an additional $125. So I'm gonna use the time between now and then to save up $1000, sell my iBook and PC for around $400 each, which will give me exactly the $1800 I need for a MacBook Pro. Plus, Apple usually updates the powerbooks every 7-9 months. Since the G4's were reaching the end of their capabilities, Apple went longer between updates on the last few revisions. Intel's roadmap for releasing CPU's sees a faster one come out almost every quarter, so I think the MacBook Pro's will probably be updated quicker than the powerbooks were. Plus, by August Intel should have their Merom chips out, which are supposedly twice as power efficent at the current chips (Yonah) If I'm really lucky, they'll update the MacBook Pro to use these CPUs, effectively increasing battery life and CPU power at the same time. I'd be one happy guy then.

 

[shadowmoses]

If your a member of the NUS buy through there link to the apple store as the edu discounts are even better than the standard education store i think its a 16-17% discount,

Shadow

 

[Eidorian]

Let's see...

15 credits
20-25 hours of work during the school year
25-26 hours on breaks (I have NO vacations)
2.9 GPA (I had a terrible freshman year)

I bought my iMac with what I made over the summer and had money left over.