Desktop Mac to Support my iPad

[Heaviside]

I was a mac enthuiast back in the days of the 128k, Fat Mac, etc, but for a variety of reasons I had to wipe out and convert to Windows based machines.

Now I am the fond owner of an iPad, which has become my number one go-to device.

But I do have a problem because my desktop is a Toshiba (actually a laptop, but with large monitor, etc.).

I use Good Reader a lot for reading very large pdf files, often around a thousand pages. This makes turning pages and other operations pretty slow. The help facility on Good Reader says that this can be sped up a lot if I first open a document in a Mac and then save it and transfer it to the iPad.

Long story, now the brief question:I am thinking of buying a used Mac just for this job. Can anyone tell me how new an OS I need to run? I am assuming that the older it is, the less expensive it will be.

Any recommendations?

Thanks.

 

[lok222]

I was a mac enthuiast back in the days of the 128k, Fat Mac, etc, but for a variety of reasons I had to wipe out and convert to Windows based machines.

Now I am the fond owner of an iPad, which has become my number one go-to device.

But I do have a problem because my desktop is a Toshiba (actually a laptop, but with large monitor, etc.).

I use Good Reader a lot for reading very large pdf files, often around a thousand pages. This makes turning pages and other operations pretty slow. The help facility on Good Reader says that this can be sped up a lot if I first open a document in a Mac and then save it and transfer it to the iPad.

Long story, now the brief question:I am thinking of buying a used Mac just for this job. Can anyone tell me how new an OS I need to run? I am assuming that the older it is, the less expensive it will be.

Any recommendations?

Thanks.

let me say.. not the cheapest by ANY means... but the IMAC is SOOOOO nice!

i am a network engineer and i run windows networks but at home.. it's all Apple

the Big screen IMAC is SOO sweet! plus, if you NEED to use windows, i just run it from the mac!

the 27" screen looks amazing

i can vpn in and rdp to my 2k8 servers and have 4 of them open at once on my big screen.. it really is the way to go!

 

[twerppoet]

Interesting. I wouldn't think that would make big a difference.

They are probably talking about the Preview app in Mac OS X. It is pretty handy. Any intel Mac from the last 4 years should do the job. If you have a spare USB keyboard and monitor laying around the Mac mini will do what you want for the least cost. A MacBook would be my next choice for cheap and out of the way. As long as it has a dual core Intel you'll be able to upgrade it to the latest OS if needed, but anything 10.5 or later will probably be enough to start with.

I have to agree with lok222 about the beauty of the iMac though. I love my 27" iMac.

 

[Jman09]

I wouldn't think you would need to get a Mac just for this.

When you say you are opening a PDF file on your iPad are you viewing it from the internet? Or do you have the file downloaded on to your iPad?
Transferring a file from a Windows machine or Mac should do the same thing.