[Ti] Buying the "faster" Mac model

[Mark Gibson]

At 01:00 -0500 18/1/06, John wrote:
>So, there comes a time when one must upgrade their mac.
>
>I have a dilemma. I'm trying to decide between 3 different macs - 
>mini, iMac, and MacBook. I can easily afford the mini. The iMac I 
>can somewhat afford. I can only afford the MacBook if I get a 
>freelance job that I might get. The mini will not be powerful enough 
>for me in the long run. I need something portable so the iMac might 
>be a waste of $$$. However, I CANNOT keep carrying my work MDD home 
>every other weekend because my PB is too slow.
><snip>
>Thanks!
>
>John

John,

I've had a few clients ask me the same question. My advice boils down to:

How long do you want to keep it for and then what?

If people want to buy a machine and keep it "forever" (say 5 years) 
and then bin it or give it away then it probably doesn't matter (as 
long as it does what you need it to do in the first place).

If you a looking to use it for say 2 - 3 years and then sell it, I'd 
suggest getting the better machine since the better spec'ed it is the 
more likely it will retain a good resale value. Who knows in 3 years 
time everyone might have a 256Mb graphics card on their MacBook Pro 
and if you "only" have 128 you might not be in the race.

Think back a year or two. The CD-RW / Combo drives were the "norm" 
and super drives special. But I'm guessing that if you are trying to 
sell a iBook / PowerBook now with "only" a combo drive you would 
probably find it a challenge because everyone wants a super drive or 
a dual layer super drive (I've already heard grumblings about the 
MacBook Pro "only" having a 4 x dual layer rather than a 8 x).

If you cant afford to purchase up front, can you lease / rent the 
machine, paying $x per month instead? Might help the cash flow (esp. 
if you aren't certain of getting that extra project).
-- 

Regards,

Mark (}-:
+61 (0)4 1927 7198
Skype / AIM / iChat: gibsonm1

A computer without a Microsoft operating system is like a dog without 
bricks tied to its head.