Some advice please...

[DEADMARSH]

First off, I apologize if this isn't in the right forum...

Back a couple of years ago when I was teaching at the local JuCo, I used a G4 dual processor to edit a stupid movie a few friends and I had made. I had never used a Mac before and was quite surprised with how quickly I picked up the basic interface and iMovie.

A couple months later, my old band I cut our first studio album and the engineer we hired did the all of the mastering through his iMac.

I'm not teaching anymore because the allure of big money and fabulous prizes lured me back to manufacturing. That being said, I still like to mess around with music and making movies.

I've got some big overtime checks coming and I'm thinking about picking up a used or refurbed Mac to play around with. I've been using PC based systems for about 10 years now and part of my current job requires me to be a bit of an IT guy, so while I'm fairly handy with PCs and related hardware, I'm basically clueless when it comes to Macs, so I thought I'd stop by and ask for some advice.

Basically I want to be able to easily edit video and record/ mix the music I write. It'd also be nice to be able to use the Mac as a "second box" as far as getting on the net and basic things like that- nothing intensive, that's what the PC will still be around for. I've tried using my PCs to do the music/ video thing in the past and frankly it was a hair-pulling experience that resulted in something less than desirable. Just seemed so easy on that G4...

So what should I buy? As I said, this is more akin to a hobby than a production level effort- just something that will result in decent looking/ sounding results. I don't plan on going pro, but I do want to get something that'd enable me to produce stuff for friends and sympathetic strangers, y'know?

So what do you think? I can probably drop 500-800 bucks without the wife raising too much of an eyebrow. Is it worth getting into for that amount of cash? I've got no real frame of refrence here, so I don't know.

Any advice on hardware, software, where to buy, etc. would be mucho appreciado.

Thanks!

[Wyatt]

In your price range, you're looking at the Mac mini (http://www.apple.com/macmini/). If you put enough RAM in it (at least 1 GB, preferably 2GB), it's more than capable for using iMovie. Of course, you *can* use iMovie with the stock 512 MB, but it'll be pretty slow.

The cheapest way to go is to buy a refurbished model. Right now Apple's online refurb store has a Core Duo mini with Super Drive (DVD Burner in Applespeak) for only $699 ($100 of the price of a new one). You could use that extra $100 to add 1GB of RAM yourself to speed up iMovie. Apple has an excellent reputation for their refurbished computers, so it's perfectly save to buy one. My first Mac was actually a refurbed mini (a much older model), and it was a great machine for me to get started with.

I'm assuming you already have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, so just pick up a KVM switch and you can use all your PC peripherals with your mini. It's a little strange using a Windows keyboard with a Mac, but it's perfectly doable.

[edit]
Oh, and welcome to AppleNova! We do have a purchasing advice forum, which is where a thread like this belongs, but that's okay. The mods will move it to its proper home. No harm done.

[turtle]

I'd have to agree with fcgriz about the Mac Mini suggestion. That's how I made my move into the Mac world from being a PC user my whole life. I baught a KVM switch to use my current PC keyboard, mouse and monitor. Then when you want to use the Mac you just switch over and use it. When you're ready to use the PC just switch again.

All total I put about $1000 into getting my Mini though. I have the original Mini that only had 1GB max RAM and I got a few other things too. A refurb will do you fine though.

Welcome to AppleNova! :)

[Brad]

Oh, and welcome to AppleNova! We do have a purchasing advice forum, which is where a thread like this belongs, but that's okay. The mods will move it to its proper home. No harm done.
Indeed! Moving now...

[curiousuburb]

I'd have to agree with fcgriz about the Mac Mini suggestion. That's how I made my move into the Mac world from being a PC user my whole life. I baught a KVM switch to use my current PC keyboard, mouse and monitor. Then when you want to use the Mac you just switch over and use it. When you're ready to use the PC just switch again.

All total I put about $1000 into getting my Mini though. I have the original Mini that only had 1GB max RAM and I got a few other things too. A refurb will do you fine though.

Welcome to AppleNova! :)

Good advice from here and up the thread for a bang for the buck intro machine.

If you're musical in other ways, consider adding a new keyboard to your keyboard, Macs have Garageband (http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/), and you might find it irresistible.

There are audio solutions that might require machines you could add cards to, but if it works via Firewire or USB2, the mini can handle or hub it.

Thinking and asking considered questions are good things to do before the purchasing thing. Thinking is pretty much always recommended.

Welcome.

[DEADMARSH]

Thanks to all of you for the great advice. I remember hearing about the Mac Mini when it first came out, but I had totally forgotten about it.

Think I may give it a shot here.

I'm a little disappointed the case is so hard to break into, but that's cool. A couple more weeks like we've been having and the difference in price won't even matter.

Still can't believe they can pack that much stuff into such a small box!

Thanks again!

[Schnauzer]

Still can't believe they can pack that much stuff into such a small box!


its apple ;)

[turtle]

I'm a little disappointed the case is so hard to break into, but that's cool. A couple more weeks like we've been having and the difference in price won't even matter.

I thought the same thing after coming from a life of rebuilding and swapping parts on my PCs. You'll find that you don't need to for the most part.

[DEADMARSH]

I thought the same thing after coming from a life of rebuilding and swapping parts on my PCs. You'll find that you don't need to for the most part.

Y'know, that's an interesting point. I'm still under the old Win mindset that at some time, probably very soon, I'm going to need to crack open the case of any given computer and upgrade something in it in order to keep on rolling.

Man, it's funny how I'm undergoing a whole paradigm shift after like 10 years of using a PC.

I dig it.

[turtle]

Y'know, that's an interesting point. I'm still under the old Win mindset that at some time, probably very soon, I'm going to need to crack open the case of any given computer and upgrade something in it in order to keep on rolling.

Man, it's funny how I'm undergoing a whole paradigm shift after like 10 years of using a PC.

I dig it.

I really know what you mean. There are a few things you certainly can swap, but it just isn't as needed on most machines. However, if you want to make sure you always have the best graphics card or most current processor then the Mac Pro is your only real route to go, even though, you just won't need to.

[DEADMARSH]

I really know what you mean. There are a few things you certainly can swap, but it just isn't as needed on most machines. However, if you want to make sure you always have the best graphics card or most current processor then the Mac Pro is your only real route to go, even though, you just won't need to.

Nah, I'm pretty much past that point with my home PC. I spend enough time with the ones at work that I just want my home PC to do what I want it to.

I don't even play games that much anymore which was my main source for forced upgrades. I've been playing Dawn of War and it's various expansions and mods since November of 2004. I'll jump on for the occasional game of BattleFront 2, but that's pretty much it.

[turtle]

Nah, I'm pretty much past that point with my home PC. I spend enough time with the ones at work that I just want my home PC to do what I want it to.

I don't even play games that much anymore which was my main source for forced upgrades. I've been playing Dawn of War and it's various expansions and mods since November of 2004. I'll jump on for the occasional game of BattleFront 2, but that's pretty much it.

Sounds to me like you'll never need to upgrade your hardware along the way then. Just max the RAM earlier than later and you won't have to worry about it again. :)

[DEADMARSH]

Just wanted to update you guys and thank you again for all the advice.

About a month ago my Mini arrived in the mail.

I'm super pleased with my purchase. I absolutely love this little guy! The wife and I have been watching DVDs on it and I've been having a good time messing around with my music stuff in Garageband. I found an Alesis USB mixer that I use to get my bass, guitars, and vocals into the computer and it sounds a lot better than it should for 150 bucks (course the hundred dollar mic I'm using probably doesn't hurt. :) ) I typed up a flyer for an upcoming league event for my wargaming club in Pages and it looks fantastic even though I only spent about 30 minutes on it.

Call me a fanboy or whatever, but I'm hooked. A guy at work bought a new PC with Vista on it around the same time I ordered my Mini. His came in the mail quicker (I sprung for the RAM upgrade so it wasn't a "stock" Mini). Other than that, I've had a much happier experience with my new computer than he has. Basically none of his peripherals worked- whereas I had mine connecting to the net and my home network through Airport the first day. Plugged in my digital camera- boom. Worked. Pluged in this USB mixer- boom. Worked. Simple as that. If that's the advantage to being closed system, it's worth it not having to track down drivers every ten minutes. I even took my Mini on a work trip and got it on the wireless network at the Holiday Inn I was stuck in for four days! Spent most of that time messing around with the Garageband files Reznor had posted on the NIN site.

So happy I made the switch. Thanks again guys!

EDIT: Oh, and Expose RULES. I know it probably sounds silly, but it's like when I started using a scroll mouse; I don't know how I got by without it before. It's just the little stuff that Tiger does better that makes the difference for me. It just seems like the folks who put it together spent a little more time polishing than the folks who made XP (or 2k, or 98...)

[Kickaha]

Cool, glad you're happy with the switch. :) And yeah, it's definitely the little things that add up to make a much more pleasant experience.

[turtle]

That's great news. I'm glad you love it. You'll learn all the new tricks along the way too. Some really great stuff these machines can do. I have Expose and Dashbaord set to activate through my mouse and it is a great time saver for some of my workflows.