Genius?

[The Grood]

Seems to me that for around the same price (UK) as one 17" Macbook Pro I can afford a 'basic' white 1.83 Macbook and a 1GB, 250GB 1.83 17" iMac.

Giving me mobile goodness and home style greatness in one hit.

Am I mad?

Or am I a genius?

 

[jsw]

I'd say that's a much better combo than the 17" MBP unless you really, truly need the MBP. Desktop + laptop = goodness.

 

[20rogersc]

Or am I a genius?

Looks like it to me
Such a better deal, if I had that money, I would.

::20ROGERSC::

 

[The Grood]

Not exactly loaded either, but need to replace my 3 year old 15" PB.

Scraped the money together for the 17" MBP then thought... hold on a minute...

Just makes you think about the whole Apple pricing stratgey. ie at what point do you sacrifice a little top end grunt for the best of both worlds?

Think I'm going to order the iMac/Macbook combo next week...

unless anyone can give me a good reason not to..?

 

[arcsbite]

it's down to choice and needs.

I think that is a sweet deal, but I need portability, and I hate using 2 seperate machines for personal work (did I put that file on here or the laptop? which did I back up?!)
I'd take the mbp, because it suits my needs, and because i'm currently using the iMac/laptop combo...grass is always greener on the other side I guess.

but that does make me hurt at the thought of having a mbp but knowing I could have so much more in the way of product!

 

[wordmunger]

it's down to choice and needs.

I think that is a sweet deal, but I need portability, and I hate using 2 seperate machines for personal work (did I put that file on here or the laptop? which did I back up?!)
I'd take the mbp, because it suits my needs, and because i'm currently using the iMac/laptop combo...grass is always greener on the other side I guess.

but that does make me hurt at the thought of having a mbp but knowing I could have so much more in the way of product!

As someone who just went from one computer (iBook G4) to two (iBook and iMac), I can vouch for the confusion issues. I have iDisk, but it's still rather a pain keeping everything in sync. But overall I still think I prefer the two computer setup.

 

[The Grood]

See yer point.

But planning to use the iMac for the main life stuff - photos, itunes, work... and the macbook for email, word documents, working on the go.

So hopefully not a problem...

 

[tristan]

You are mad my friend - because you now have two applecares to buy, two RAMs to upgrade, two configurations to maintain, etc. You should get one, souped up, kick ass computer, and then an external monitor.

 

[jsw]

I use several Macs routinely, and it's not all that bad to keep them in sync. .Mac is fantastic for keeping bookmarks, contacts, etc. up to date. I'm not sure .Mac is a good deal for single-Mac owners, but it's great for those of us with more than one. The only real issue for me is Mail - sent items won't sync.

Still, there are many plusses. First, if you need to have one serviced, there's less of a need to get it back immediately. Second, it's easy to use each Mac as a backup for the other. Third, Xgrid can be fun to play with (minor point). Finally, you can iChat with yourself

 

[macgeek2005]

You are correct. And having a laptop the Power of the 17" MacBook Pro is worth the price it is.

If you want that kind of power on the road, go for it. If now, then what you mentioned is definetaly better for you.

 

[andiwm2003]

Seems to me that for around the same price (UK) as one 17" Macbook Pro I can afford a 'basic' white 1.83 Macbook and a 1GB, 250GB 1.83 17" iMac.

Giving me mobile goodness and home style greatness in one hit.

Am I mad?

Or am I a genius?

2 years ago when i bought my loaded 15" PB it was the same deal. the iMac 20" (released two month later) + a 12" ibook would have been the same price (only $300 more or so). so for 10-15% more i would have gotten the much better package in terms of usability.
now with the macbook being such a great deal it's probably even better to go with the imac/macbook combination.

 

[The Grood]

Thanks for all the advice... some good points, but placed the order for both machines last night...

 

[drlunanerd]

I use several Macs routinely, and it's not all that bad to keep them in sync. .Mac is fantastic for keeping bookmarks, contacts, etc. up to date. I'm not sure .Mac is a good deal for single-Mac owners, but it's great for those of us with more than one. The only real issue for me is Mail - sent items won't sync.

Mail will sync sent items - you need to be using IMAP on your .Mac account (or any email account that supports IMAP). You must be using POP.
I remember advising you of this in a previous thread.

 

[Queso]

I'll sort of echo what jsw says about the advantages of two Macs. I do all my real (i.e. chargeable) work on my PowerBook, but the iMac is perfect for my graphics and video hobby projects. In the meantime, I also backup everything from my PowerBook to the iMac in case the laptop breaks or gets stolen so I get the piece of mind of not being without a Mac if the worst happens.

I would get two. You don't want to be lugging around a 17" laptop anyway. Little laptops are way nicer when you want something that's really portable.