Is Mac a good choice for multimedia ?

I'm in the market for my first laptop. All my friends are trying to convince me the Mac is the way to go. I wanted to get more feedback and advice from other users out there.

I am looking to spend about $1100-1400. I intend to use it mainly for web-surfing, email, burn cd's, store a decent music collection, digital photos, and possibly burn dvd's and edit movies.

From what i've heard (salesman @ the store), Mac is good for these applications because they not only made the hardware but they wrote the software also (idvd, itunes, imovie etc).

I can get a Powerbook G4 867mhz, 40GB, 256 ram, superdrive, 12.1 XGA, airport extreme ready (but not card) for $1399. It seems kinda steep but according to the salesman it's normally $1600.

Is that a good deal? I'd probably have to buy more RAM and maybe more hard drive space (external firewire).

Any advice?

 

All of these options you mention don't necessarily require a Mac, nor is it better, and yes you are paying more because it's an Apple and not a PC. There's obviously a ton of competition in the PC (Windows) market so the prices are naturally lower for a machine that might have better specs that this Mac. For instance, if you spend $1400 on a Windows notebook you're likely going to get at least 512MB of RAM and a good chance of getting a 60GB hard drive. Also, the fact that it's wi-fi ready with no built in wi-fi (airport = wi-fi) is a major bummer there...any windows notebook at this price will likely be Centrino and have built in Wi-Fi. Having said all this, I'll say that the multimedia software for Mac is definitely nice and burning DVDs is probably more intuitive and straight forward...but you'll pay more to get an external DVD burner if that's what you're looking to do down the road.

Overall, I'd say that for your needs a Windows notebook can do everything you'll need and you could spend less than you would on a Mac. But if you like the Mac styling and software then go for it. I'm a little biased as a programmer because a Mac is just not a good tool for me as far as computer progamming goes.

 

>>but you'll pay more to get an external DVD burner>>

The "superdrive" tag refers to an internal DVD burner.

The Powerbook would be an excellent choice...if you have the cash. You would need more RAM as 512MB is the practical minimum these days. Also, an airport card runs about $100US.

Apple's iLife software simply has no equal on the PC side. For video editing, DVD creation, music mixing...the Mac wins hands down.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Lucky13

 

That said I did seriously consider a Powerbook for their good looks and supposed software advantages. I made a point to actually try out my friends ibook prior to making my final decision so I wouldn't make a mistake. I went with a PC because I honestly wasn't impressed with any of the software; at least not enough to justify spending more money for less performance/features.

I would try out your friends' Macs for a while and see if you can stand them. Maybe you'll fall head over heels for Macs but at least you have then made a good decision based on what meets YOUR needs rather than blindly following any one person's advice (or even many).

 

Stickey (I'll refrain from using any Snoop language [ ]),

First off, make your own decision, don't listen to your friends. Instead, try out their iBooks or PowerBooks if they have any. At the very least, go to a store and hands-on compare the i/PowerBooks with the PC notebooks.

As for the salesman, ignore what he said; he said it just to get you to buy the Mac on the spot. If you had indicated interest in a Sony, he would have said that Sony includes the best multimedia software in the computer business (yes, some people swoon over the Sony apps).

In your situation, choosing between a PC and Mac is purely a matter of personal taste/preference because your indicated usage can be more than capably handled by EITHER a PC or Mac. Unless your usage entails specifically either a Mac or PC, as is the case with Administrator abaxter, then it simply boils down to choosing the platform that you *like* better. Some can't stand Windows and love Apple's OS, so they choose a Mac. Some think Apples are weird, so they go with PCs.

The question is: which one are you? What do you think of Windows (XP)? Apple computers in general (how they look, feel)?

Whatever you do, make sure to try out both Macs and PCs before deciding. Pick whichever one you *feel* you like best/better. Remember that you'll have to live with it everyday for the next 2-3 years, so don't pick one that you're gonna hate in a few weeks.

Why are you considering that particular PowerBook model? Were you drawn to it because of its light weight?

Are you sure that a 12.1" screen is what you want? Don't you think it's too small? I wouldn't consider a notebook with anything less than a 15" screen.

 

>>That is a pretty sweeping statement there>>

Thanks! I try to be as complete as possible.

I've had enough exposure to both platforms to form that reasonable opinion. Certainly, workable programs exist on the PC side, as does software with an excellent "feature set". Windows XP has its built-in tools. Apple's iLife, though, is more than the sum of its parts. As a complete package...from music to movies to photos to DVD...iLife is simpler, more seamless and more consistent. It allows the user to focus more on the creativity and less on the hardware/software behind it.

As for benchmarks, I'll check them at the door. Statistics tell only half the story. I'm convinced that the most efficient and most creative tool for Photoshop is a Mac running OS X.

I am not quite a MacAddict, though. My current laptop is a Toshiba...one of the wide-screen Centrino models. I specifically chose it over the 15" Powerbook for numerous reasons. The machine won't be used for any multimedia tasks beyond very casual iTunes use. It spends most of its time running Microsoft Office. The Toshiba cost much less and I couldn't see spending more for the Powerbook's high-end functions...DVI output, gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800, etc. Also, when working with words and numbers, I find the keyboard/touchpad layout to be more comfortable.

Anyway...

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by m3