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Taking Stock: iMac

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Just taking stock of my iMac to help figure out which Mac to get.

  • 24-in display running at 1920×1200
  • 500 GB internal drive, 284 GB used
  • 6 GB of RAM
  • SuperDrive
  • GigEthernet
  • FW400, external drive (FW/USB2)
  • FW800, external Drobo (FW/USB2)
  • USB2 (3 ports)
    1. Keyboard and trackball
    2. Hub 1
    3. Hub 2

Looking at the new MBP with Retina… the stock 256 GB SSD might be an issue. What can I get rid of to fit the stock drive? Do I want my photos or music on another drive, potentially unavailable when I’m mobile?

Might need to buy an external SuperDrive (comes in handy to burn a bunch of pictures to DVD to give to relatives). Wired Ethernet is doable with an adapter taking up a Thunderbolt port but Wifi at N speeds should be good enough.

What to do with the FW400 and 800 drives? Fortunately, these external drives also have (slower) USB ports so that’s an option. Get a Thunderbolt to FW adapter (and use up yet another port)? There are only 2 USB ports on the MBP but then again, I might not be needing my keyboard and trackball with a laptop setup.

How would a Thunderbolt Display affect things? The “umbilical” cords are the Thunderbolt and MagSafe cables, tethering the MBP to the display. Note: a MagSafe 2 adapter would be needed. The Display features another Thunderbolt port, 3 USB ports, a single FW800 port, and a GigEther port. The FW and GigE ports would alleviate those extra adapters. The 3 USB ports mimics my current iMac setup. That still leaves one FW400 port needed (but convertible to USB). At $999, the Thunderbolt Display is an expensive (but gorgeous) dock for a MBP.

Which Mac, Which Mac, Which Mac to Get?

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I’m in the market of getting a new Mac or two – one for home and one for work. At home, I have a 24-in iMac from 2007. At work, I use a unibody, late-2008 MacBook Pro. While both machines are functional, they are slowing down (comparatively) and over time, have had technical issues.

After Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference announcement of updated MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros, I was hoping for a new iMac announcement. There was none. Then I got to thinking maybe I didn’t need a desktop form factor after all. I mean what is an iMac but a laptop with a bigger screen.

With the Ivy Bridge architecture and quad-core i7 processors, the new Retina display MacBook Pro will be significantly faster than my iMac with Core 2 Extreme processors. My main uses would be blogging, working with photos, and fiddling with videos in iMovie. Right now, working with Aperture, iMovie, and even iPhoto is such a drag, it takes the fun away from using my Mac. I dread having to offload images off a memory card since this will hog my machine for minutes (seriously).

But then comes all my legacy peripherals. I have external USB devices, a Firewire 400 drive, a Firewire 800 Drobo, and a USB 3.0 drive. Would I get a Thunderbolt Display to act as a dock and “Thunderbolt converter?” Does the Thunderbolt display support USB 3.0 and MagSafe 2?

At work, I don’t need as much horsepower since I no longer work with pictures and video as much. It’s more Office productivity, email, and online content creation. Is a MacBook Pro with Retina display needed for these tasks? Not so much. While I do carry around my 15-in MBP, it’s out of necessity, not convenience. Would I want a MBP for home and one for work? That’s kinda silly, but I’m not going to mix work and home stuff so two machines is a must.

How about a MacBook Air? I love the space of a 15-in screen and am afraid of an 11-in screen, reminding me of the days of my Mac SE. But that 13-in Air should be livable. I’d want to bump up the processor and RAM, but this configuration is attractive. I’d much rather tote an Air in the office, and I wouldn’t feel silly having two MacBook Pros for different functions.

After writing this post, I think I have my plan. 🙂

My iMac Is Almost 4

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Wow, my iMac is almost four years old. Didn’t think it’s been that long and while the screen has gotten bigger in newer iMac models, the overall design has remained the same. I wonder if Apple will unveil a new iMac look this year after the Back to School summer promotion?

If so, I wonder if it’s time to refresh? Everything’s going good but apps like iPhoto are really becoming unresponsive. And the potential for Thunderbolt is alluring.

Overcompensating Inadequacies

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After getting the little iPod Nano with its 2-inch screen, I began to feel inadequate. Only two inches!?! So I had to compensate and had to go big. I’m talking Viagra big. I’m talking Viagramax big (or whatever else “magic pills” is advertised in junk mail). I went for the full 24 inches! 24-inches of computing power in Apple’s latest iMac that is.

This guy is huge.


The pictures don’t lie. See more pictures in the new Web Gallery feature of iPhoto ’08.

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