Take Control of Buying a Mac

Take Control of Buying a Mac, Third Edition

Save money, avoid stress, and buy the right Mac for your needs and budget!

Deciding that you want to buy a new Mac is easy, but embarking on the project immediately raises questions like "What Mac will best meet my needs?", "Should I buy now or wait a month?", "How do I move my files from my old Mac to my new one?", and "What should I do with my old Mac?" Mac guru Adam Engst has answered these questions countless times, and he has distilled the answers into this 98-page book. Worksheets in the book help you match your needs and budget to the model that's right for you. And, you'll learn how to predict when Apple will release new models and when you can get the most bang for your buck. When you're ready to buy, Adam helps you compare different choices for where to shop. You'll also find advice and step-by-step instructions for transferring your files from your old Mac to your shiny new one, along with a thoughts about how to get the most out of your old Mac.

"Just read your Take Control of Buying a Mac. Excellent, clearly written, and current! Loved the charts." —Chris Greaves

Questions answered in this book include:

Are there particular months when it especially makes sense to buy a new Mac?
Should I buy a brand new model, or one that has been out for a while?
What are the important pros and cons of the MacBook Air?
Do I really need a Mac Pro, or would an inexpensive iMac be a better choice?
How much RAM should I get, and should I buy it from Apple or a reseller?
How should I connect my old and new Macs so I can transfer files?
What should I do about iTunes authorization when moving to a new Mac?
Before I give it away, how should I prepare the hard drive on my old Mac?

Book Info

98 pages
Version 3.0
Updated 16-Sep-08
1.3 MB download
ISBN: 0975950363
Free sample with Table of Contents, Introduction, Quick Start, and section starts.

About the Author

Adam C. Engst is the publisher of TidBITS and of the Take Control ebook series. He has written numerous technical books, including the best-selling Internet Starter Kit series, and many magazine articles - thanks to Contributing Editor positions at MacUser, MacWEEK, and now Macworld. He has been turned into an action figure.

Book Reviews

MyMac
AAUG; from a PC switcher (5 of 5)
MyMac.com (5 of 5)
AAUG (4.5 of 5)
OMUG's Top 5 Books
Contact us for review copies

Author Interviews

MacNotables (Sep-08)
Contact us for interview requests

Read Me First
Introduction
Mac Buying Quick Start
Decide When to Buy
Figure Out Which Mac to Buy
Choose Where to Buy
Determine What Else to Buy
Move to a New Mac
Deal with Your Old Mac
About This Book

Read Me First

Buying a Mac is a serious decision, but with expert advice from Take Control publisher Adam Engst, you can be sure that you're buying the right Mac for your needs, at the right time, and for the right price. This book was written by Adam C. Engst, edited by Caroline Rose, and published by TidBITS Publishing Inc.

Introduction

Computers are expensive. We keep hearing that prices are always dropping, but if you look at the cost of a full Macintosh system, it hasn't changed much over the years. Of course, you get a lot more for your money now than you did in the past, but one way or another you'll probably be spending somewhere between $1,000 and $3,000 on a new Mac. That makes a Mac one of the most expensive items you're likely to buy in any given year, so you'll want to make sure you choose the right model and buy at the right time.

Lending weight to the decision is the fact that you have to live with the Mac you buy for some years. So, although the industry moves rapidly, you'll want to make sure your new Mac can handle whatever you think you might throw at in the future until you want to (or can afford to) upgrade again. Obviously, your needs determine how often you upgrade; graphics professionals might upgrade frequently to take advantage of every speed boost, whereas a family with average email and Web needs might wait 3 to 5 years between new Macs.

Buying a Mac is a big decision, and that's where this book will help. I've bought 11 desktop and 9 laptop Macs in the years I've been working on the Mac, and I've also helped innumerable friends, relatives, and TidBITS readers pick what to buy and when to buy it. There is no single answer here—everyone's needs are different—but the process I lay out in this book will help eliminate the uncertainty and stress of choosing which Mac will best fit your needs and when you should cough up your money. And remember, sometimes the answer is not to buy a new Mac yet but rather to wait a little longer (perhaps upgrading your existing Mac); there's no shame in that.

Although I've aimed most of this book at the individual Macintosh purchaser, most of the advice applies to small businesses as well—just think about your business's needs instead of individual needs when deciding which Mac to buy and when to buy it. If you're working at a large organization, I'm sure there will be plenty of useful information for you here as well, but you'll have other considerations (in terms of bulk purchases, budgetary schedules, and so on) that I don't cover.

Quick Start to Buying a Mac

As with any major purchase, you must make a number of decisions before you can know that you're buying the right Mac at the right time. If you skip these decisions, you could end up paying far too much for a Mac that's about to become obsolete.

Decide when to buy:

Start by analyzing whether you really need a new Mac. See Determine Whether You Need a New Mac.
Pick the best time of year or product cycle to buy. See Pick the Best Time to Buy.

Figure out which Mac to buy:

Consider whether a desktop Mac or a laptop makes more sense for you. See Decide between a Desktop and a Laptop Mac.
Narrow your choices within the desktop or laptop line. See Pick the Right Model.
Determine which options and add-ons you need (or want). See Decide on the Right Options.

Choose where to buy your Mac:

Decide whether to buy your Mac locally or online and whether to purchase directly from Apple, from an authorized reseller, or from an individual. See Choose Where to Buy. Determine what else to buy with your Mac:
Decide whether you can reuse old peripherals and software, or if not, what you should replace. See Determine What Else to Buy.

Deal with your old Mac:

Transfer your files from your old Mac to your new one; see Move to a New Mac.
Figure out if you want to dedicate your old Mac to a new task or pass it on to someone who can make good use of it. See Deal with Your Old Mac.

Update Plans

February 5, 2010 -- It's time for us to start thinking about an update to this PDF, but as of yet we remain in the planning stage. You can read below to learn about changes in the Mac landscape since we last updated this PDF.

—Adam C. Engst

Considering a Mac Pro?

February 5, 2010 --

Reader Mary R. recently wrote in, asking, "I will be purchasing a new Mac this year—going from an eMac running Tiger to (probably) an iMac running Snow Leopard. I'd like to do some research before the purchase. It looks like the book, Take Control of Buying a Mac, would be a useful read, but I'm wondering if there is a more recent edition."

Adam, author of the ebook, wrote this in reply, "No, there's no more recent edition, alas, but for the most part, it doesn't really matter, since the bulk of the book is not about the specs of current models or the like, but about helping you figure out what your needs are, and how that matches with a particular type of Mac. The only thing that's changed much since the book came out is that I would no longer recommend someone get a Mac Pro unless they absolutely know they need the utmost power and flexibility. The iMac is plenty for most people."

By the way, what with Adam's change in thinking about the Mac Pro and the iPad popping up as an intriguing option on the low end, it's probably time for us to consider revising this ebook.

—Tonya Engst

Read Adam Engst’s Advice on Buying the Right Mac at the Right Time

September 9, 2008 --

Deciding that you want to buy a new Mac is easy, but embarking on the project immediately raises questions like "What Mac will best meet my needs?", "Should I buy now or wait a month?", "How do I move my files from my old Mac to my new one?", and "What should I do with my old Mac?" Mac guru Adam Engst has answered these questions countless times, and he has distilled the answers into the 98-page Take Control of Buying a Mac.

Worksheets in the book help you match your needs and budget to the right Mac model, and a chart of Apple's model launches over the last 5 years helps predict when new Macs will appear. Adam also explains when you can purchase to get the most bang for your buck, compares different venues for where to shop, gives advice and step-by-step instructions for transferring files from an old Mac to the shiny new one, and offers thoughts about how to get the most out of the Mac that's being replaced.