
I'm getting a Mac. Which Mac do you use? - pashbonk

======
BitGeek
Apple just ordered 500 million 4GB flash chips from Samsung, this is on top of
their long term contract with Samsung. This is far more than can be accounted
for by the iphone or ipod demand (And are expected to be shipped by the end of
this year.)

Intel announced Robson technology awhile ago, which ships in their "Santa
Rosa" platform which is scheduled to ship in May - this month.

Apple has gone a bit longer than usual in releasing laptops... they are
overdue for both MacBooks and MacBook pros.

On June 11th Steve Jobs will be giving the keynote at WWDC.

Last week Apple announced that they would be shipping laptops with LED based
displays "later this year". Such a change will require a design change in the
laptop- eg: a new formfactor. It might be like the aluminum books now, not
really a new looking formfactor compared to the Titanium powerbook-- but
thuroughly new internally.

Thus, I think the odds are very good that new laptops will be announced on
June 11th and that the difference will be significant enough that its worth
waiting a month before buying your mac.

------
reitzensteinm
I don't use a Mac as a primary machine (I test on them), but I do have a piece
of advice - the Dell 24" is possibly the best value monitor ever. If you're on
a budget but still want some decent real estate, they're perfect. I run 2 of
them, 1920x1200 on the left for general stuff and 1200x1920 on the right for
code (I'm considering adding a third for notes). I find it impossible to do
any serious development on a laptop these days.

A 23" Cinema display is the other obvious choice - much sexier, but the specs
are inferior and it costs significantly more.

~~~
reeses
The Dell 24" monitors have quality control issues that the Apple displays
don't seem to have. They're enough less expensive though that it may be worth
it to you to risk the occasional banding or backlight failures.

Or you may just want/need analog inputs that the Apple display can't give you.

~~~
vlad
Series A03 and above of the Dell 24 inch monitor, shipping since September,
have no banding issues. The monitor is absolutely awesome. The best part is
you can probably keep it around for 5 years or more, and it has all the TV
inputs except HDMI that you may need (no tuner, but many devices have a tuner
these days.) I got mine for about $540 after a 25% coupon as part of a new
computer system. You can buy some 17 inch monitors for $200 but you will
definitely get rid of them in two years. Why not buy something you can keep
for a long time? When you're a huge billion-dollar company in a few years from
now, and want to get a 30inch monitor (the only real alternative) instead, you
can simply use this monitor as a TV screen on the wall behind the
receptionist. :) Gotta plan ahead for that...

And, it even has a card reader and USB ports built-in to the side. It also
supports VGA on one button, and DVI on another. You can easily swap what
you're looking at by connecting to two different computers at the same time.
Then, simply get a wireless keyboard and mouse, and plug the USB receiver into
its stand for the main, DVI, computer, or unplug the receiver and plug it into
the monitor, for the VGA connected computer, and click a button on the monitor
to go to the VGA computer. No KVM switch needed. Just connect to the monitor's
USB/card reader cord to the USB port of the VGA computer.

------
PStamatiou
I've got a 24inch iMac. IMO, insane value for what you get. I reviewed it a
while ago: <http://paulstamatiou.com/2006/09/18/first-impressions-24-inch-
imac/>

then I got a very nice VESA arm for it..
<http://paulstamatiou.com/2007/02/26/review-ilift-vesa-arm/>

sorry for the link spam, but i figured it was relevant.

------
richcollins
The white MacBook with 2G of RAM is great for programming unix applications. I
run the webserver, the database, the search engine (Ferret) and all other
desktop apps as well as Windows XP on parallels for IE debugging. I never have
performance issues.

------
AF
I just wanted to say that if you ever plan on running Linux on your machine,
don't get a Mac.

Ubuntu in particular works, but there's a lot of hacking to get it to do so
and little issues abound (at least that's my experience).

~~~
BitGeek
Did you try running under parallels?

Anyway, 5 years ago, getting Linux running on a Powerbook was really easy... I
would think it would be better now, not worse...

~~~
AF
The issue is EFI. The new Intel-based Macs do not use BIOS.

------
sbraford
Just got back from the Apple Store with a fresh 17" Macbook Pro. I'm in heaven
right now.

------
mhidalgo
I got a 12 inch powerbook G4 ...old school, awesome machine hasn't failed on
me yet

------
agoge
I have a 12" PowerBook G4.

~~~
naish
Same here. It is such a great device that, rather than go with a current
model, I purchased a replacement on eBay when my original was stolen back in
January. (Be very careful with hotel selection in Punteranas, Costa Rica--my
machine was stolen out of my backpack in my hotel room while I was out for the
day. Thankfully, the idiots left the external HD, iSight, power supply, etc.)

That said, I still am waiting for Apple to get their act together and release
a 12" MacBook Pro. I'd like to be able to run a variety of operating systems
via Parallels. Interfacing with the corporate/industrial world unfortunately
necessitates the use of Windows-only software. Virtual PC just doesn't cut it.
Rumours suggest that one may be in the works but, for now, they seem to be
just wishful thinking from other like-minded individuals.

~~~
rjb
PowerBook 15" 1.25 512. I too am anticipating a 12/13" MacBook Pro. I've had
it since 2003 and it still runs like a champ, but I am on the road so often
that I need something more portable. Maybe the iPhone will offer a decent,
albeit basic, workspace.

------
cwilbur
My personal computers are a 12" Powerbook and a Mac mini G4, and I have a 15"
MacBook Pro for work.

If I didn't have the MBP I'd probably have replaced the PB by now; it's a
great computer, but even a great computer can take only so much physical
abuse, and it's over four years old now. I looked hard at the MacBooks, but
the glossy screen is a dealbreaker, and the keyboard isn't so hot either, so
I'm holding out for a 12" MBP.

------
Tichy
Just make sure you buy it at a place where you can return it without problems
if you are not satisfied.

I have returned two Macs to the Apple Online store, a MBP and a Mac Pro. Both
were too noisy.

A friend of mine returned his iMac 24'' three times until Apple delivered one
that was acceptable (even there I think it had flaws from manufacturing, but
they settled for a price reduction).

------
comatose_kid
I use a 15" macbook pro - the entry level model (2.16GHz), but upgraded it to
2 gigs of ram. The 17" was too large for me.

I also have a Dell 2407FPW which I highly recommend - it's cheaper than the
Apple equivalent, has a great picture and also has a built in flash memory
reader. And unlike most Dell products, the industrial design is pretty nice.

------
randallsquared
A PPC 17" iMac. My wife has a dual-G5 PowerMac. Of course, you can't buy these
models any more, but they've both been reliable.

An important thing is that you should probably buy directly from Apple. Every
experience I've had buying from third parties resulted in Macs arriving with
hardware problems. Could have been a coincidence, I suppose.

------
martin
15" MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo. 2.33GHz / 2GB RAM. Nice machine, although perhaps
not the most durable (I handle it fairly carefully, but it's already pretty
scratched up after ~6 months). Thinking about upgrading to 3GB RAM (the max),
as I run 2 WinXP VMs under Parallels (for IE 6 and 7) and that slows me down
pretty bad currently.

------
brett
15in mpb 2.0Ghz / 2gb ram. a lot of the time w/ 20in monitor plugged in. I've
been ecstatic with it. The 17in seems to big to move around with (though I did
not have that option when I bought mine).

If I was buying it again today I would take a really hard look at the
MacBooks; especially since they are now as fast as my mbp.

------
busy_beaver
MacBook (non-pro). I'm poor/cheap, plus I actually prefer a smaller form-
factor for notebooks; I have full-sized external monitors at both home and
work, so the smaller display is a non-issue where I spend most of my time, and
a postive advantage when I'm mobile.

------
xmilestegx
I had a 12" PB for a couple years then sold it to a friend who still uses it
daily and it a very mobile environment. Myself, I work fulltime and go to
school fulltime and I'm never at home and the only laptop for me was a 15"
Macbook Pro.

------
martijnengler
MacBook Pro, entry level.

I've had a MacBook for a few weeks (while my MBP was in repair :() and I was
so happy to get the MBP back.

I use it with a big CRT in our office and a Samsung 205BW (20" widescreen) in
my home-office.

------
jaf656s
I went from a 12" ibook g4 to a 15" macbook pro. (The student price knocked
off a couple hundred dollars)

I really liked the 12", but the 15" widescreen real estate is very handy. I'll
never get another PC for personal use.

------
sergiutruta
I'm using a 24" iMac and it's great for development. A MacBook whould come in
handy if you want mobility and it has a nice price also. I don't think you'll
have performance issues with any laptop you might choose.

------
sri
I'm on a WindowsXP desktop right now. I'm planning to get the 15" 2.33GHz
MacBook Pro, w/ 160GB hard drive. I don't know why they don't offer the
7200rpm hard drives. Won't the 5400 be noticeable slow?

------
dfranke
I don't use a Mac any more (decided to go back to Linux), but my base-model
15" powerbook served me wonderfully for two years. Just pop in an extra gig of
RAM.

------
brianmckenzie
I have the 20in. iMac, maxed out on RAM and HD. It's absolutely killer - the
best machine I've ever owned. Next purchase will be a MacBook Pro.

------
danielha
Recently replaced my XP desktop with a 13" Macbook as my main machine. I'm
eying the Mac Pro w/ a 30incher when the time is right...

------
Leonidas
What a great forum. I'm deciding b/w a Mac or a the Z. Looks like everyone
really loves their MAC.

My T40 is dying.

------
kogus
Mac Mini, 1.67Ghz dual core. It's their lowest end model right now, but with
2G of RAM, performance is quite good.

------
rbc
I have a 12" Powerbook and a Mac Mini with the core duo. I'll be getting a
Macbook sometime in the future.

------
russ
MBP 15.4 2.16 2GB and the sexy Axio Hardsleeve (axio-usa.com) for lugging it
around.

------
abstractbill
A 13" MacBook. Without a doubt, it's the best computer I've ever owned.

------
dazzawazza
I've got a Quad Core 3Ghz MacPro... and yes it is REALLY fast!

------
chwolfe
17 inch PowerBook G4...No problems the past two years.

------
inklesspen
17" MacBook Pro. It is very, very, very nice.

~~~
bkmrkr
Do you carry it everywhere with you?

~~~
randallsquared
I used to have a 17" PowerBook (first 17" model), and I carried it around a
lot. There's a Halliburton case that fits it snugly on all sides; no rattling
or anything.

People complain about the weight and size, but I never noticed a problem. Of
course, I'm a pretty big guy.

------
Mistone
i'm also in the market - any idea if apple is planning to do a 15" MacBook?
Thats what I'm have been holding out for.

------
rokhayakebe
GET a DELL. Just kidding. just kidding. Common we can use some laughter.

------
kobs
13" MacBook

