On 11/22/13, 12:08 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:

Being the resident Apple "Genus", I have a question for you:

Mrs.E. has been hinting around for a new computer. She became enamored
with my daughter's Apple computer that is basically a large screen with
a wireless keyboard and mouse (I guess). I don't know what it is
called or what the model number is. All I know is that the computer
guts, hard drive, etc. are all built into the screen.

With Christmas coming up I was thinking of getting one for her. I
searched around and the model that seems to be most like the one my
daughter has is very similar to the one in the link below.

She's not a heavy duty computer user. Mostly email, browsing and
watching horse competition videos.

Is this one appropriate, in your opinion?

http://tinyurl.com/k6wlo6n

Sure, but...

that's the 21" model. There's also a 27" model. Better for watching videos.

In either case, I'd go for the 256GB internal SSD and if your wife is
going to want to store hundreds of movies, an external hard drive. Get
8GB of RAM. Apple no longer builds a CD/DVD reader into these machines,
so if you need one, Apple sells an external one. But for the same money
you can get an external Blu-Ray recorder/reader. The wireless Magic
Mouse is fine. I prefer the wired keyboard because it is full width with
a number pad. The bluetooth keyboard is smaller and has no built-in
number pad.

Also, I would order direct from Apple, and I'd get the AppleCare add-on,
too. Free shipping, fresh merchandise. If you have anyone in the family
in school, order it in their name, specify the school and have it
shipped to you. You can register it in any name you like. Save 10%.

Whatever you do, save the box and the form inserts. If you ever need
service, it's perfect for carrying the machine in to apple.

Apple has free introductory courses at its stores for newbies.

The best software for watching vids is VLC, a downloadable free software
package. Everyone uses it. Thunderbird is an easy and complete email and
newsgroup program. Apple includes its Safari web browser. I prefer Firefox.

If you get one and need a hand with setup, just call me. I'll be glad to
email you my phone number.


If you need more info, email me at:



I've misplaced your email.

--
Religion: together we can find the cure.