On Macs

So, recently I've been using the generic "Mac" rather than referencing a specific product when talking about my nex computer. In all honesty, it's because I've been spending a lot of time assessing the pros and cons of the current models and several now defunct ones.

It's no secret that I got pissed at Apple and decided not to spend the money on their MacBook Air. At any rate, my Asus Eee PC is serving me well as a lightweight portable computer, so it would be redundant.

Then I thought about going back to the MacBook for a while, but I scrapped that idea for financial reasons - that is, to free up money for a Halo 3 Xbox 360, which I'll need for once I'm no longer living with my brother.

So then I started thinking about going for a used Mac. I spent a while looking at prices on the old sunflower iMac (Scrapping it for logistical reasons in the end) before focusing on PowerBook G4s. I was very close to deciding for sure on one of them, then I realised I really wanted Leopard, and I wanted it to run well.

So, I thought to myself, how can I get a cheap Mac which will still run Leopard well?

Simple. For just £80-£100 more than I was lookign to spend on a PowerBook, I can get a Mac mini Base Unit. I know what you're thinking, but I've studied the specs and it's perfectly adequate for what I want to do with it. It'll sit happily atop my Windows PC and it's main jobs will be iTunes and making Multiplayer.

That said, it's easy to imagine me switching over to the near-silent Mac mini as my day-to-day computer, only powering up the noisy Windows box for games or watching TV or Blu-Rays. The Mac will certainly be my iPlayer/YouTube box though, thanks to an as-yet unacknowledged bug with Flash Player which prevents full screen FLV playback under Vista (Business) under certain conditions.

In order to finance the Mac, I'll be doing overtime to ensure my next 2 paycheques are in excess of £200. The one coming is already overtimed to about £180, and I've got a £44 overtime shift a week on Monday. Helping out is a £49 tax rebate I'm owed. That's £273 right there. That means I only need to work enough to earn £181 the following month in order to buy the Mac and iWork '08. But I'll probably once again try and push it over the £200 mark to ensure there's a bit of overflow and to prepare for the Xbox - itself necesitating £220. But since my exams will be over by then, I'll be abe to do more overtime.

Well that's the plan as it stands now. I'm eagerly anticipating the move now. I can't wait to pt together an all-new rig. The changes to this one since the Dell was installed are virtually 0, despite adding the Wii. Basically the only changes not related to the devices are the onitor and moving the Hi-Fi speakers.

I've got to get to work coming up with a complete new setup. Honestly, I expect to need to buy a TV as a second screen. On a bigger desk with more shelf and desktop space. Ths one's already cramped.

Thing is though...Like most men...For me, buying a TV is way awesome.

Jens Out