Mac buyers' guide: What you need to know before heading to the Apple Store

18.09.2012
You've finally decided to purchase a new Mac -- whether it's your first, a replacement, or for school -- you'll need to consider a lot of things. Do you buy a notebook, emphasizing portability; or get an iMac, focusing on power in your home? Or maybe -- with an all-day battery in concert with instant-on reliability - all you need is an iPad? If you're not sure what to get, here's what you need to keep in mind before heading to the Apple store.

All Macs come with the basic software suite necessary to be productive out of the box. From word processing with TextEdit to photo archiving, sharing, and editing with iPhoto, to movie creation with iMovie, the built in software has you and your interests covered. For iPads, there's more than enough productivity software available on the App Store - both free and otherwise.

If you stick with a traditional computer, you should be aware that each Mac listed is capable of running a copy of Windows using or - perfect if you own a piece of software that requires Windows without purchasing a separate PC. With Apple's free iCloud service, documents can be synced and updated across all of your devices. The only remaining question is: how do you want your OS X packaged?

This is the lightest, thinnest notebook in our roundup. The MacBook Air comes in two sizes weighing less than three pounds: the 2.38lbs, $999 11" model, and the 2.96lbs, $1,199 13" model. Both models are .68" at their thickest point, .11 at their thinnest; and with the instant wake-from-sleep capability of OS X, the Air lends itself very well to situations in which portability is key. The compromise? The Air does not have a built-in optical drive - though software tricks allow for borrowing neighboring PCs or Macs that do.