Computer bargains

[Hursticon]

Some great advice already, avoid fruity manufacturers at all costs.
My own advice? - DO NOT go to any store chain that is in the possession of Gerry Harvey, that is Harvey Norman, Domayne and/or Joyce Mayne.
You'll save a truck load of money and you wont be sold down the gurgler with inferior, out-of-date products and you wont have crap you don't need forced onto you by 'full of crap-know nothing' salesman if you avoid those chains like the plague.

[blackie]

get a macbook, dump winblows

[jaydisc]

I can't think of any worse advice to give a self-proclaimed technophone then they should install Linux.

Even before its star was rising as sharply and high as it is now, Mac is the way to go. And Macs scale all the way from technophones (that's right, no more Microsoft Security Essentials needed and no more reinstalling the OS to troubleshoot your problems) to the true professionals. Go to any software development related conference nowadays, go to Google headquarters (ironically Apple's biggest current competitor) and you'll see a sea of Apple logos on aluminum laptops.

If you really feel the need (although the only reason is games, and that reason is getting dated), you can dual boot it with Windows, or even triple boot it with Linux, which isn't necessary because you can basically compile anything that runs on Linux on your Mac anyway (if it isn't already built-in, e.g. PHP, Apache, RoR)

With your requested list of requirements, all of that stuff is built in, and just works, and works well.

Lastly, there's support. If you have a problem with a Mac, or just need help and you can make an appointment to go to an Apple store (not a reseller), get free advice, free support, and they even do repairs on the premises. If it's under warranty, and even sometimes when it's not, Apple likes to err on the side of just replacing the item or part. They feel they make up any loss in money as gains in reputation. And if you've ever seen how packed these stores are, I'm sure you'll agree.

As far as pricing and bargains go, don't expect much. There's very little margin on the lower-end Macs. The best you can expect to do on a new model is $100 off at Myer, and that's when that model has been around for a bit. You can also buy an ex-demo from a reseller, or a refurbished model directly from a reseller or even directly from Apple, although I don't personally feel the difference is worth it. Of course, you can always buy a last-gen model (either new, demo or refurb) once newer models are out, and typically get a full warranty with it.

Apple is pretty good about adjusting their pricing based on fluctuations in AUD (certainly better than Hasbro), but they rarely-to-never adjust the pricing of current models. Rather, when new models come out, they adjust the pricing. At the moment, a USD 999 laptop costs AUD 1199. I know that's still not correct, but when you think about shipping, and the convenience with getting one right away, I still think it's worth getting locally. However, even if you don't, the warranties are international. All the power adaptors are universal voltage and have a very cleverly detachable prong tip, easily swappable with any country. Also, you can just use a standard two-prong black cord instead of the prong-tip. Even the power adapters are overly designed.

If you were happy with 13", you could get the bottom of the line MacBook Pro:

http://store.apple.com/au/browse/hom...co=MTAyNTQzMjc

Apple doesn't make underpowered machines, and they don't make pieces of crap (eee pc anyone?), so even their bottom of the line is pretty awesome. That's $1399 and would give you everything you need. Buy it at Myer and you can probably save 100, and get Myer One points. You can jump up to a 15" for $2100 (full price). You could probably get $200 off that model.

I'm happy to field any further questions or dispel any old myths, either here or via IM/PM.

[Doubledealer]

I won't deny that Mac's have their uses. For live electronic music performance they're great as you get minimal audio lag, access to the fantastic Logic, Mac specific software, plugins etc. and a stable OS. iTunes also runs like an absolute PIG on a PC if you've got a large mp3 music library so if you simply must use iTunes, it's another reason to consider the fruitier option. The screens are also very nice (keep in mind you can get a matte screen, you don't have to get the glossy one you see in all the stores) although nothing the Sony Vaio's can't match.

Do not buy a Mac if you're going to primarily use Windows as the main OS. What's the point? Why did you just spend all that money on a Mac laptop?

At the end of the day though, what it comes down to is this: Do you prefer the Mac Operating System or the Windows Operating System? If you've never used the Mac OS, head into town and have a good long play around with it at one of those Apple Stores. Don't let Vista leave a sour taste in your mouth either, try out Windows 7 and see if this works for you. Once you've realised how much better and, for the most part, cheaper the PC/Windows world is, you can go back to that site I linked you to and buy a kickarse machine.

[jaydisc]

Do not buy a Mac if you're going to primarily use Windows as the main OS. What's the point? Why did you just spend all that money on a Mac laptop?

At the end of the day though, what it comes down to is this: Do you prefer the Mac Operating System or the Windows Operating System? If you've never used the Mac OS, head into town and have a good long play around with it at one of those Apple Stores. Don't let Vista leave a sour taste in your mouth either, try out Windows 7 and see if this works for you.

I agree with all of this.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

I won't deny that Mac's have their uses. For live electronic music performance they're great as you get minimal audio lag, access to the fantastic Logic, Mac specific software, plugins etc. and a stable OS. iTunes also runs like an absolute PIG on a PC if you've got a large mp3 music library so if you simply must use iTunes, it's another reason to consider the fruitier option. The screens are also very nice (keep in mind you can get a matte screen, you don't have to get the glossy one you see in all the stores) although nothing the Sony Vaio's can't match.

Do not buy a Mac if you're going to primarily use Windows as the main OS. What's the point? Why did you just spend all that money on a Mac laptop?

At the end of the day though, what it comes down to is this: Do you prefer the Mac Operating System or the Windows Operating System? If you've never used the Mac OS, head into town and have a good long play around with it at one of those Apple Stores. Don't let Vista leave a sour taste in your mouth either, try out Windows 7 and see if this works for you. Once you've realised how much better and, for the most part, cheaper the PC/Windows world is, you can go back to that site I linked you to and buy a kickarse machine.

That's a really good thought, ta. I haven't really used a Mac OS much, so it's less a matter of preference than familiarity. From what I have seen - a friend or two have them and operate on Linux - it seems more accessible than Windows, at least once you've got it sussed. The only major attraction of Windows for me is the games factor, otherwise it seems like everything else works just fine on either as Jay says.
The eventual plan has been to have a Mac laptop for work/travel purposes, and a home PC for gaming and as a replacement TV etc, but that's a future plan for when I've got cash to burn.

Next question: how's the switching over to HTML 5 likely to impact upon the lastability (for lack of a better word) of a new 'puter? 'Cos if it's just going to become obsolete in the next two years or so I might just get a techie friend of mine to have a look through and/or go to security essentials and leave replacing the hardware for later when it'll really be worth it.

God I feel like such a dinosaur.

[jaydisc]

Do you mean will current computers be obsolete when HTML5 comes in? Absolutely not. A lot of stuff in HTML5 is all about getting more out of the web while using less resources. HTML5 will require less computing resources than comparable Flash does now.

Currently in tech, due to the new frontier being mobile (which includes tablets), the push is to do more with less. The race for higher and faster CPUs has basically plateaud. While desktops and laptops are getting more CPU cores, instead of faster ones, new operating systems are being written from the ground up (iOS, WebOS, Android, Windows Phone) to handle less resources.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Do you mean will current computers be obsolete when HTML5 comes in? Absolutely not. A lot of stuff in HTML5 is all about getting more out of the web while using less resources. HTML5 will require less computing resources than comparable Flash does now.

Currently in tech, due to the new frontier being mobile (which includes tablets), the push is to do more with less. The race for higher and faster CPUs has basically plateaud. While desktops and laptops are getting more CPU cores, instead of faster ones, new operating systems are being written from the ground up (iOS, WebOS, Android, Windows Phone) to handle less resources.

Cheers again, you guys are awesome as ever.

Thanks lads.

Don't forget young Grasshopper, this is going to be a pretty big year for PC gaming too, the biggest in years! The Witcher 2 recently came out and is a must have, then you've later got Diablo 3, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Rage, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Deus Ex: HR, Duke Nukem Forever...The list goes on! Just food for thought. Dedicated gaming desktop would be pretty sweet too...Getting a big tax return this year?

Meh, I still haven't got around to playing my way through Morrowind yet, and I'm probably going to be short on free time for the next few years what with work and travel as opposed to fruitless job hunting here in Oz.
So yeah, it's very much a long-term eventual plan, i.e. when a winning Lotto ticket blows my way or somesuch. I'm a traveller at heart so it's one of those 'if I can ever afford a house' plans.

[Doubledealer]

I agree with all of this.

@Doubledealer: Forgot to mention you also in my previous post , what you said was spot on though.
@Jaydisc: +1
@Killingspoon: Agreed that one has to start somewhere, Linux certainly isn't for the faint of heart though.

That's a really good thought, ta. I haven't really used a Mac OS much, so it's less a matter of preference than familiarity. From what I have seen - a friend or two have them and operate on Linux - it seems more accessible than Windows, at least once you've got it sussed. The only major attraction of Windows for me is the games factor, otherwise it seems like everything else works just fine on either as Jay says.
The eventual plan has been to have a Mac laptop for work/travel purposes, and a home PC for gaming and as a replacement TV etc, but that's a future plan for when I've got cash to burn.

Next question: how's the switching over to HTML 5 likely to impact upon the lastability (for lack of a better word) of a new 'puter? 'Cos if it's just going to become obsolete in the next two years or so I might just get a techie friend of mine to have a look through and/or go to security essentials and leave replacing the hardware for later when it'll really be worth it.

God I feel like such a dinosaur.

Thanks lads.

Don't forget young Grasshopper, this is going to be a pretty big year for PC gaming too, the biggest in years! The Witcher 2 recently came out and is a must have, then you've later got Diablo 3, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Rage, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Deus Ex: HR, Duke Nukem Forever...The list goes on! Just food for thought. Dedicated gaming desktop would be pretty sweet too...Getting a big tax return this year?

[gamblor916]

Kinda off topic (maybe) but that list of upcoming games is awesome. I have a Mac Pro desktop which should be beefy enough for most games. How would one run PC games reliably on OSX? I know Blizzard are mac friendly, but Deus Ex and Duke Nukem are shaping up to be must buys.