Soon to be convert with a couple important questions.

[cornerdealy]

Hello all, probably by the end of the summer I'll be getting rid of this old crappy PC and replacing it with a nice new 20" Imac. This will be my first mac and I have some questions, so please bear with me. I'll try and make them as organized as possible.

1. I've been reading up and there is talk about the new core 2 duo possibly coming out within the year. I don't really plan on waiting just for that upgrade, but if say it is scheduled to come out like a week later than I was ready to buy, would it be worth waiting for, and will it have a drastic price change? I'd prefer not to spend over 2k for this mac, and the one I want now is going to be maxed out except for the harddrive, and that comes to like $1990.

2. Right now I have 2 PCs, a dell desktop and a compaq laptop. I'll be getting rid of the desktop and keeping the laptop. Right now the cable modem is connected to a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router, connected via cable to the desktop and wirelessly to the laptop. Because I will be replacing the Desktop with the iMac, I have the following questions:

- Will I be able to connect the imac to the router without any compatability issues?
- Will I be able to still connect wirelessly with my laptop?
- Will I be able to enable file sharing on the imac so I can access it with my laptop?

Please be gentle, I'm not very well versed in computers, so these questions might sound trivial.

Thanks in advance!

 

[netdog]

- Will I be able to connect the imac to the router without any compatability issues?

Yes

- Will I be able to still connect wirelessly with my laptop?

Yes

- Will I be able to enable file sharing on the imac so I can access it with my laptop?

Yes

All easy.

 

[cornerdealy]

Great! Thank you! You have officially squashed any apprehension I had about getting this computer.

Damn I wish I had the money to get it now!

 

[realityisterror]

All the networking issues are possible as netdog pointed out, but sometimes getting the Windows side to work with networking (edit: I meant file sharing with the Mac specifically) can be finicky... Of course, feel free to come back to us if you ever need help with that

As far as the Core 2 Duo, from most of what I've read and what seems likely, the Core 2 Duo should be appearing in the "Mac Pro". It's not easy to tell how the performance will compare to the Core Duo, but I don't think it'll be something that'll make or break a deal. Regardless, whenever the Core 2 Duo does reveal itself to us, it'll likely be more expensive because it's brand new, and it'll only drive down Core Duo prices. So, I don't think you've got much to worry about.

Go ahead with your iMac! It's a beautiful computer.

 

[netdog]

My impression is that he has things working on the Windows side, so I really don't see any problems, but yes, if you do have any problems, post here. I was a switcher in January, and this forum has saved me a lot of time and aggravation more times than I can count. The best Mac forum that I have found, and I tried all I could find.