I have been a Mac user for the last few years, my first plunge was with a Mac mini and this allowed me to try the Apple brand without spending too much money. I loved the Apple product so much that after 12 months of using the Mac Mini I went out and bought an iMac 20" 2.16Ghz core 2 duo.
I love it!
My mac mini had OSX Panther installed and now I have OSX Tiger which has so many little improvements over Panther such as Dashboard - I have my calculator, google mail checker, webcam viewer and other little bits and bobs which all pop up as soon as I press F12. Great touch.
The computer itself is a dream to use. It came with a 250GB hard drive which is almost full now and no slowdown in performance is found. - The monitor is crisp and clean and the speakers quite powerful. I have added a small program called "shades" which allows me to easily control screen brightness. - The iSight webcam is great and produced good quility images. The kids love using "Photo booth" to produce funny pictures. - Front row is Apples Media Centre and performs well, I can pull up a comfy chair and watch my movies with a remote control. - The Keyboard (wired) is easy to use and buttons are responsive. I also use a wired Mighty Mouse which has took some getting used to - I still sometimes find my left click turns into a right click as my finger has wandered slightly. The scroll button is also prone to sticking occasionally and is difficult to clean. - The bundled iLife software really enhances your usage of the machine and I find myself doing things I wouldn't have normally done with my PC - movie editing (iMove/iDVD) music making (Garageband). All the software is easy to use and nothing is too complicated - I haven't had to read any instructions as everything is very straightforward.
Most of the software I had from my PC has equivalents which work on Mac OSX. For those few programs that don't then I have installed Boot Camp which allows me to use Windows XP (or Vista) on a separate partition. It's exactly like using a Windows PC and all my peripherals still work including the iSight webcam. A word of warning though - if using Windows, then you will need the usual Virus protection/firewalls/security software etc...
Applecare is worth the extra cash for extra piece of mind. Buy as much memory as you can afford. I have 1GB and machine performs well but go for more if you can.
Everything about the mac feels quality, from the keyboard and monitor display to the software on the machine.
With the new iMac range and the new OSX Leopard due soon, it's never a better time to get on the Mac bandwagon - there's no stopping it. Go and get one you won't regret it!
If there is no Apple Store near you, nip down to PC World and test drive one of the machines instore.
More details
Reliability
Excellent
Memory / capacity
Good
Range of Extra Features
Excellent
Instruction manual
Good
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system for video chatting. You can record a video right at your desk using iMovie HD. And with Photo Booth software you can snap a picture then add fun effects b...
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