I’m still saving up for a new computer, and once I get a new job I’ll be able to afford it. For the time being my laptop won’t serve for podcasting. I am looking into other options and will have something for everyone soon. While the podcast is on this forced hiatus I will be working to have more activity in the blog for readers.

This post serves as a discussion point, and my thoughts, on the new computer. Originally I wanted a new machine to run Windows XP. Any new machine, except custom built, would come from a manufacturer with Vista pre-installed and that’s a mess. Instead I’m aiming for an Apple.

I want a 17inch iMac with 2.0GHz processor, 1GB of memory, 160GB hard drive, 8x DL Superdrive (plays CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc), and ATI Radeon X1600 graphics card. I’ll also install Parallels and a copy of Windows XP Pro. This will let me boot into either OS X or XP depending on my needs.

I’ll use this to game (Dawn of War, SW Galaxies, Warcraft III, Age of Empires 2, etc) in XP. The superior dual core processor will be ablel to handle the stress of podcasting (recording, editing, publishing) plus other tasks. The large memory will be able to play modern software and the extensive HD will give me lots of room to use.

I’ll use GarageBand, once I get used to it, to record the podcasts thereby booted Audacity (I’ll still use that in the meantime). The Apple won’t suffer from meltdowns like a PC and it also is more secure than a PC. I won’t have to worry, as much, about losing files such as when my computer just died.

All told the machine should cost $1,300 or so.

What do you think I should get for a new computer? I’ll mainly use it for podcasting, gaming, surfing the net, running the website, and listening to music. When I get into grad school I’ll use it for that too.