Hello. That is really great of you to do this for me.
I already have a BT Apple keyboard and intend to buy the Apple USB keyboard which I didn't know about. I am going to get the new I Mac with SSD and Fusion drive and RAM isn't going to be an issue. When I'm ready I'm going to do it properly and after that a Mac Book Air when I'm ready and if I need to just for portibility. Keep the messages coming as you are all helping me to make a decision for the I Mac. Thank you very much. Kawal. On Nov 13, 2012, at 4:15 PM, Nicholas Parsons <mr.nicholas.pars...@gmail.com> wrote: > HI, > > I bought a mid 2011 iMac 21" 2.7 GHz quad-core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM > and 1TB HD earlier this year, along with a 13" MacBook Air 128 GB SSD with > 1.7 GHz i5 processor. > > Basically, I absolutely love my iMac and don't regret buying it. I only > slightly regret missing out on the new fusion drives, but not much I can do > about that now. > > I will offer a few observations though. > > 1. I Originally got my iMac with the standard BT keyboard. However, I found > that only having the VO keys on one side of the keyboard makes keystrokes > like VO-Shift-D and VO-Command-~ really difficult and life pretty sucky in > general. So, I bought a full Apple USB keyboard and this has made the whole > Mac experience so much easier and more pleasant. I really miss it now when > I'm using my MacBook Air. So my advice to you, if you get an iMac choose the > USB keyboard instead of the BT keyboard. > > 2. Despite having 4GB of RAM and a quad core processor, my iMac would become > "busy" surprisingly easy. This would happen most in iTunes and Safari. I've > since upgraded to 16GB of RAM and everything works so much more smoothly. I'd > really recommend upgrading your RAM. If price is an issue, you can buy RAM > online for fairly cheap. > > 3. For some things, e.g. loading ML and rebooting etc, my iMac is much slower > than my MacBook Air, despite it's much greater power. This is obviously due > to the MacBook Air's SSD. So, the iMac is great, but if you can get one with > an SSD or fusion drive I'd really recommend it, as an HD is the one thing > that will really noticeably slow it down. Although, I think a RAM upgrade is > probably better value for money. > > 4. Despite the super sexiness of my MacBook Air, I rarely use it in > comparison to my iMac. I only use it when I really need to, e.g. when I'm in > class or on holidays or away for business etc. The reasons I prefer my iMac > are: > • I love having huge amounts of storage for all my audiobooks, TV > shows, podcasts, music etc. My iTunes library definitely takes up the vast > majority of my space. > • The internal speakers and microphone are great for listening to > music, watching movies and making Facetime or Skype calls. However, I do have > external speakers when I really want to get the party started. > • I love the full USB keyboard with VO keys on both the left and the > right, proper home and end keys, and a number pad which I use for the > calculator. > • It's huge amount of RAM is great for iTunes and Safari and GarageBand > etc. > • It's a lovely feeling (and apparently looking) machine, and is super > easy to set up etc as it's all in one piece. It's also great to have so many > available ports, and the optical drive is great for importing old CDs into > iTunes and watching DVDs etc. > • I have some sight, though very little. I kinda hoped that with the > big bright iMac screen I may be able to see something of movies. But > unfortunately those days seem to be beyond me. I can't really see much on the > screen and tend to use the screen curtain much of the time. However, It is > nice to be able to get some feedback from the screen. Importantly, the screen > has been useful a couple of times when I've needed to get some sighted > assistance, either when VoiceOver has been misbehaving, or where there's > something inaccessible in an app or webpage. Also, the big screen means my > girlfriend and I can watch movies together straight from iTunes on my iMac. > > Hope these observations help you in your decision. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
