I need a new Mac. I am well out of the loop - what should I get?

[Auntie Helen]

Hi folks,

My beloved 8 year old iMac 28" is struggling with life now I am running High Sierra (had to upgrade to that because of my banking software) and it doesn't always start up.

Because I prefer to replace something before it completely dies, I would like to buy its replacement nowish as I think its decline is only going to get worse.

What I bought it for back then (Adobe Design Collection 5.5) and what I use now (Internet, emails, basic banking software) means that my requirements from before are different. However, seeing as I paid out for the Adobe Design Collection I might still want to use it occasionally, maybe Photoshopping or InDesigning.

Klaus and I now share a desk. He has a laptop which he can plug in to a docking station (except we have no monitor on this docking station as my iMac takes up all the space). He has a decent monitor elsewhere we could use.

It seems to me that a Mac laptop might make life easier for both of us, as we can use our computers where we want but also dock to the larger screen(s) if we want.

So I started looking at Macs. And realised I don't know what's so important now, especially as my needs for the computer are not that onerous.

I currently use 400GB of my iMac's hard disk which holds all my music, photos and other stuff. So 500GB would be fine, but 1TB better.

I do have a Time Machine backup and wouldn't object to buying another remote hard drive if that was sensible for the music/photos. Because a quick look showed me that laptops now have SSD hard disks and not so much space.

We won't have a CD player after the iMac goes so when I buy CDs (which I still do, as I want a physical copy of my music, plus to burn CDs for the car) we will need to have a USB CD player I guess.

I don't want to spend more than 1000 pounds.

Can anyone suggest what I really need to look for in terms of specification for my very easy-going needs. I do most of my browsing on my iPad and I don't suppose that would change.

Please do not suggest a PC. I hate them, have to use them for work, have everything set up for my Mac/iPhone/iPad. My current iMac, which cost £800 and survived 8 years with no trouble and has only just started being a bit funny, shows that the initial cost of the Mac was well worth it!

And, a small aside, does anyone know if there is a way to use the iMac 28 as just a monitor? I think not, I don't see any inputs, but if this is an option this would of course save buying a new monitor.

And also, is there a docking station for a Mac laptop that would share a windows PC's monitor? Are standards all the same now?

[andrewc]

I gave my 2008 iMac a new lease of life by moving all my data onto external drives & replacing the internal drive with an SSD.  A lot cheaper than a new machine, though a fair bit of faff. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_3937534707&feature=iv&src_vid=F8Li_bPDAow&v=xfP9mRlwYFI


Edit - sorry, that video is for adding an SSD in addition to your hard drive.  They've got a lot of videos on that site !


https://9to5mac.com/2015/02/13/how-to-swap-imac-hard-drive-for-ssd/

[Jaded]

Hi Helen,

Try zapping the PRAM, might help with start-up

Also start up in recovery mode and run Duck Utility on the main hard disk.

As has been said, go SSD. The modern OSX versions really don’t get on well with traditional hard drives.

[Kim]

Also start up in recovery mode and run Duck Utility on the main hard disk.

Quack!

[Jaded]

Hehe. I really must turn autocorrupt off.

[Auntie Helen]

I have pressed the button on a Macbook Air from last year, 848 EUR and from a proper company (Medimax here, they are a bit like Currys).

I will need to buy an additional USB hard disk for my music but that isn't expensive.

We'll see how I get on, I am typing with the old iMac at the moment which I do love...

Oh, and I was brave and got a German keyboard version. This will make life easier as I come home from work tzping with verz odd kezstrokes normallz.

[Auntie Helen]

Oh OK, this is very good to know! I will do some research!

[Auntie Helen]

I’ve done some googling and it seems as though my CS 5.5 should still activate: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activate-deactivate-products.html

[yoav]

I share your dilemma. I have a 2008 MacBook running Lion, which is still my main computer. My computer needs are modest so it does for me but I know I need to replace it, but with what? Nothing in the current lineup appeals to me. The only new model is the MacBook Pro but that is ridiculously expensive, even by Apple standards. Every other model hasn’t been updated in years. Compared to innovation in the PC world, Apple’s computers looks like expensive dinosaurs.

Maybe someone can convince me I’m wrong.

[ian]

To be honest, unless you have specialist needs, any laptop is probably going to be fine. If you're buying a Mac, it's probably not the case of it being the most GB or whatever (because they've never won on that basis). My main criterion is a machine that is reliable, fast and pleasing to use and will last several years. These are the most underrated yet most important features, and of course are subjective. I don't want gimmicks I probably won't use (touchbar, cough). Admittedly, stuff like facial recognition rather than typing a bloody password should be standard. That said, I find Windows slow and finicky and hardware a bit hit and miss. Horses for courses, and all that, I'm never sure why people get so het up about their choice of operating system. To be honest, I like computers to be dull and useful. They're tools for getting stuff done.

My old 2009 Mac Mini with a upgrade to SSD runs surprisingly well, though it's been relegated to the cupboard under the stairs as a server. The battery finally died in my 2011 Macbook Air (well, it works, but leaks charge) which isn't bad an innings. I'm a happy user of a 27 inch retina iMac and my mothership Macbook (whatever the last plain aluminium model was).

Helen – bear in mind compatibility for those 5.5 apps is fading rapidly. I have Creative Cloud, but I do most use Affinity Designer and Photo as alternatives to Illustrator and Photoshop. They lack a few features as they're younger products but they're frankly a lot more pleasurable to use. They're working on an InDesign replacement which I'm looking forward to seeing, like the other Abode apps it's functional but creaky and makes me swear a bit. Anyway, at £40 a pop, they're an absolute bargain.

[ian]

I recommend their tutorials: https://vimeo.com/channels/affinityphoto

The learning curve for Photo is a bit steeper, it does some core things is slightly different ways, and Photoshop-ways-of-doing-things are very ingrained (I've been using it since v2). Cropping, masking etc. is different (though arguably simpler and more intuitive, but different).

It's not quite there with Photoshop yet, some of the replacement tools (colours etc.) just aren't quite as powerful or accurate, and of course, if you're using a lot of third-party add-ins that might be an issue. For what I use it for, mostly resizing, cropping and masking, occasional recolouring, it's fine, and to be honest PS is overkill. Once I got the hang of it, it's generally quicker and easier in Photo.

[Auntie Helen]

Finally got round to installing my Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 on my new MacBook.

It works very well. It's a bit crashy after you close the programme but it seems to run OK and that's the main thing. I rarely have to use it, just there are a few things that I need to do in InDesign, Photoshop or Illustrator.

I took note of Ian's comments about Affinity and had a look but didn't feel like paying 55€ per product just yet. I guess in the future after a few more updates of the operating system on this Mac I will have to.

[lastant]

Finally got round to installing my Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 on my new MacBook. It works very well. It's a bit crashy after you close the programme but it seems to run OK and that's the main thing.

Using High Sierra? Mine's behaving exactly the same since I upgraded my MacBook Air (2012, I think) to the new OS - Creative Suite works fine, it just throws up 'closed unexpectedly' errors after I close whatever part of it I'm using.

That and telling me it's not optimised for High Sierra, but a click on OK solves that one.

[Auntie Helen]

Yes, exactly that. No major hardship.

[Redlight]

Interesting stuff.  I am in a similar position to Helen in that I use a 2008 MacBook as my laptop when I am out and about working but most of the time I use an iMac at home as my main computer.  The MacBook is on its last legs - very slow, poor battery life, touchpad is virtually dead) so I need a new laptop but I'm also loath to pay Mac prices for a load of gimmicks applications that I don't need.

I run Microsoft Office for Mac on both, mainly because most of the people I write for are on Windows systems and I don't rate the Apple equivalents such as "pages" as equally useable.

All I need is something portable on which I can create and edit word documents, send email and find stuff online.  I've no interest in gaming, downloading anything other than the odd file, photo editing, video, etc. 

Presumably I can get something fairly basic - do the panel have any specific recommendations? 

[Jaded]

You could make an offer on my 17" MBP 2011, 8GB RAM and an SSD.