As a Windows XP user that is feed up with all the problems associated with Windows, I am seriously considering switching to Mac. Have absoulty no experience with Mac. Here is what I want a computer to do for me. Photo and Video editing, e-mail, web browsing. That is bascailly it. I don't play games on my computer but I do need the very best if photo & video editing. So therefore it is a given that I want a DVD burner and enough memory to store at least 30 minutes of video. I have a couple of questions. I am now using Windows Picture It Pro 7.0. Will iPhoto do the same type editing as this program. Does the Mac Browser work well with almost any web site? As cost is a factor, I have been looking at the eMac with the Super drive. Will this computer be sufficent for my needs? Thanks. :eek:

Multimedia creation and manipulation (at the consumer level or the high-end professional level) has always been one of the Mac's strongest areas.

1. Finding picture/video editing programs which fulfill your needs will not be a problem, although I haven't worked with Macs very much in a couple of years, so I can't answer your specific question regarding iPhoto. If iPhoto doesn't do it for you, I'm sure there are other applications which will.

2. In terms of the DVD burner and sufficient memory/hard disk space, you just get as much RAM as you can afford, and do a realistic assessment of your disk-space requirements based on the length and quality and resolution of the video/picture files and formats that you use.

3. Browsing and email:

- Internet Explorer, Outlook, and Outlook Express, if those are the programs you are used to using in WIndowsLand, are all available for the Mac.

- The built-in Mac browser (Safari) works well with most sites, although the actual amount of cross-browser compatability of a given site is really in the hands of the person who designed the site. Other popular browsers such as Netscape, Mozilla/Firefox, and Opera all have Mac versions.

Thanks for the info. It is appreciated. The more info the better.

Feel free to ask if you have more questions- when I responded to your post earlier I was just logging off to start dinner, so my answers were a bit "distilled", so to speak.

I have an emac at home and I love it. I have a digital camera and download to iphoto and my camera also has the capability of doing vidoes with imovie, and so far I've had no problems. I am still learning osx but so far so good. Glad to see folks moving to mac. As far as browser's go, I use 3 (foxfire, internet explorer and safari....and it seems that foxfire pulls up faster than any of the others. You will just need to play with them to see which one you like.

Thanks for the advice. Still looking and trying to decide. My XP PC is on it's last leg. :cry:

Since you said that you have no experience with Macs, you should keep something in mind: there will be a learning curve involved in migrating to the Mac.

The Mac and Windows operating systems (as well as the underlying Mac and PC hardware technologies) are entirely different beasts. Macs have different disk/file/folder structures (you won't even find a "C:" drive on a Mac), a different visual presentation, different keyboard shortcuts keys, and many other things that will be foreign to a user who is only used to Windows.

Not that it's that hard to wrap your head around, but it will take some time to get used to.

I'm curious why an eMac over a Mac Mini?

I haven't bought a computer of any kind yet. Was waiting for the new OS Tiger to come out later this month on Mac. The reason I would not buy a Mini is that by the time I installed the Superdrive and the amount of Ram and Memory I want for video editing, I might as well just go ahead and get an eMac. Price would be almost the same. Went on the Apple web site and took the tour of Tiger. I am impressed. No Mac store near me. Going to Nashville next month to see Mac in person. Will decide at that time if I get a Mac or another Windows system. Thanks for all the replys.