To give people an idea of what kind of customer I am here are some bits of information:

A. No price is to low. about 1250.00 USD is my max (and I mean max) budget for a new computer.

B. The computer will be used for primarily educational purposes (i.e typing papers/practice articles, putting together presentations, etc.)

C. Web Design, not that hard I use NVU for my WYSIWYG needs, but if Mac has something that comes on the OS, that is great.

D. Doesn't need to crap out when I need it most like Micro$hit Winblow$.

C. Needs to be affordable

Thanks in advance.

there are a lot of options out there but most importantly you need to decide between a desktop and a laptop. Each has their ups and downs so I will lay out some choices.

For a desktop, an iMac or Mac Mini is plenty sufficient. I have an iMac that I bought last August and I use it for some publication layout and design and it has plenty of power for what I need. A Mac Mini would also provide the power you are looking for at a slightly cheaper price (even more so if you have a monitor, mouse, and keyboard.) I wouldn't waste you money on a Mac Pro, as it is way more power than you require and cost more than double you budget. Both the iMac and Mac Mini can fit in your budget although the iMac is pushing it.

For a laptop, a Macbook is the way to go. A Macbook Pro is more power than you need and is way over you budget. You would have sufficient power with a Macbook and they are priced to fit well into you budget. You can get the 2.1ghz model for just over $1100.

You can take a look around and configure some models yourself
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...ac?mco=MTE3MDg
keep in mind that you may qualify for an educational discount (I did and it took the price down a good bit)

Get a dell with Ubuntu.

/thread.

What kind of Mac should I get?

Does dell produce Macs? No.

Is Ubuntu a version of Mac OS? No.

Thanks, but If I wanted a machine running Linux, I would buy a beat to hell machine and install Fedora on it.

I recently got a Macbook and absolutely love it. since your a student you can also get a discount. i saved 200 bucks.

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/2041/...utingpage.html

Well said.

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Maybe a second hand Powerbook G4?

I'd recommend an iMac (the base one), then spec it up.

If you're interested in a portable, it would have to be a mid-range MacBook. But I'd recommend the iMac overall (20" screen, faster, etc.).

Thanks for the replies so far.

I am really digging the Mac mini mainly due to price. The only thing I dislike is that it is not an effective stand alone machine (laptop).

I entered for the educational discount, and it is not showing any discounts at all. Maybe I did something wrong.

Right now I am considering saving for a few more months to get a low end Macbook.

Just build yourself a hackintosh. Piss easy to do.... you'll have an amazing mac pro for way less than 1250. If you want a laptop: For the stuff you want to do if you you just got a piss cheap inspiron 1300 and installed tiger on it (really really easy... it's all on the insanelymac forums) then you'd have an ok macbook for pennies. If it's just the OS you want then it's the most cost effective.