Knuckledragger

I parsed that as "video gamer" three times before I got it. I was thinking "The Mac Pro will run almost any game you throw at it under Windows." "Just install Steam." "Does Tyll really have time for games?" Uh. Re: video cameras. I used to work as a sound engineer for a small video production company. What I recall is this: Canon has the best glass, Sony CCD (and CMOS?) chips are excellent, JVC pro shouldercams are the best value in that price bracket. What I suggest is a smaller Canon that has an analogue audio input (at least 1/8" mic), FireWire I/O and a flip-out LCD screen so you can see what is going on. If you're not going to be doing long recordings, as solid sate based model might work well for you. Otherwise look at a tape format (MiniDV). Avoid HDD-based models as they invariably fail at the worst possible time.

tevorlane's post reminds me of a crucial point. Whatever machine(s) you end up buying, do not skip getting AppleCare. It just ain't a Mac if it doesn't have AppleCare. I had my early 2008 MacBook basically rebuilt from the ground up midway through last year. Woulda cost me $ARM and $LEG were it not for AC.

I am by no means a network geek, and I have had no trouble getting my MacBook to talk to any Wintel that comes into the house. When my old PC died, I successfully backed up 850GB of files vial ethernet from the semi-functional WinXP box to my Mac to an external LaCie drive. The value of a Mac Pro is not just its power, but its expandability and lifespan. It's easy to get 5+ years of service out of a Mac Pro, even if you run demanding tasks on it every day. Obviously, a Mac Pro isn't going to be a help when you're mobile. See if you can run the apps you want on your MacBook, and replace it with an MBP when you need/can afford to.

KR Audio : Kronzilla DM : tubeAudioPRODUCTS.com Available for the "introductory price" of $20K. Also:

I generally avoid posting political stuff here, but this cartoon elicited a genuine chuckle from me.

Well, shit. Looks like I just bought myself a pair of these: In the age of LED blinkenlights, I'm much less of a fan of Chauvet than American DJ. That said, these things are really cool and ADJ doesn't make anything equivalent. I put what I thought was a seriously lowball bit on a pair of these (20% below list) on an eBay Buy It Now/Best Offer auction and ended up winning the damn things. Good thing I have a slew of lighting gigs coming up. I just managed to pay myself back for the last round of lights I bought. I'm really going to have to sell off some of my less-used headphones, Real Soon Now.

At least once a day I have to talk myself out of buying VPI's 5D.

It used to be the case that Apple's panels were the best binned that Samsung had to offer. I do not know if that is still true.

I should point out that there's a reason some people pay a premium for Apple displays, and it's not so the little logos match. For video and still frame editors, proper gamma and color accuracy are essential. Even with the user of a monitor sucker fish, it can be difficult or impossible to get many LCD panels to behave properly. Of course what srs bsns pros (and amateurs with srsly deep pockets) use isn't AAPL, it's Eizo.

I have two different sized monitors, and they're vertically stacked: (Old pic is old. I really need to take a new one.) That said, they're much smaller than what Dusty is using. Sometime Real Soon Now I'm buying a Mac desktop, and will then be tasked with buying a new monitor. I do like the two-smaller-monitors paradigm vs. one big one. I find the Apple 30" difficult to use. It's so damn big I have to sit farther away than normal, which means jacking up the font sizes. I also lose track of the pointer sometimes.

^^ Congratulations. If you don't, I suggest you avail yourself of a battery pack for your camera*, the 85L's AF (and in fact, MF) motor sucks juice like there's no tomorrow as it moves around 2 1/2 lbs of glass. *That is, unless you have a 1 series body, which I suspect is not the case.