best-buy apple computers
The machines are powerful, well built and very handsome to look at.
The Mac Mini is a small unit that is perfect where space is tight. They still use the same powerful Intel processors as their bigger brothers and have lots of ports for attaching peripherals.
Oh, and do yourself a favour - grab a free copy of Apple iTunes for organising your music collection!
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Apple is the choice of the style-conscious. For looks and image, Apple's products are all a cut above the rest. There was a time when Apple computers were difficult to interface to PC systems and networks, but not any more. Apple's operating software, Mac OS X, now comes with built-in support for networking and running microsoft software. Reliability and ease of use are excellent and Apple is now a viable alternative to the PC. |
Apple's product range is smaller than many other manufacturers. However, they do cover the spectrum of user needs with a couple of models of each machine, each of which has several customisation options. Where Apple really scores is in the graphics and sound departments, so if your main use for a computer is likely to be graphics work, desktop publishing, photo editing or music, Apple would be a good choice for you. |
#1 Upgrade from the basic 512Mb memory. The grahics and design work at which Apples excel is memory hungry so buy as much memory as you can afford. #2 Apple's modem is a dial-up modem. This is not likely to be much use to you if you upload or download graphics of music files. You are better off buying a separate broadband modem/router, perhaps from your broadband provider. Many broadband providers provide the hardware for free anyhow so save your money! #3 Consider buying the AppleCare Protection plan because support and servicing for Apple products is not as widely available as it is for PCs. |
 Click here to download Apple iTunes |
In keeping with their slightly funky hardware products, Apple is busy carving itself a large chunk of the online music market. Apple's iTunes service is fast becoming the standard by which others are judged. The catalogue is excellent and is extremely well organised. The software works very well and integrates very easily both with their online music store and with most mp3 players. |
The iTunes software, which is a free download from Apple, is truly excellent. It is easy to use, stable, endlessly customisable and works a treat. Our only gripe is that it's not easy to track down and delete duplicate tracks which creep into everybody's collection. Each user can have their own playlists, transferring to your mp3 player is a breeze, you can find tracks by artist, genre, album, most played, recently added and pretty much any other way you can think of - in short, iTunes is the bee's knees! Apart from the software itself, the iTunes store where you can buy and instantly download new tracks is also excellent. Prices are reasonable, the catalogue is enormous and the whole thing works very well together. |
#1 Sign up for the free weekly newsletter. True to their word, Apple don't bombard you with spam and they do send some great offers, including free tracks and discounts. We get about one email per week from Apple and their recommended tracks take account of what we like. |