Apple : Updated: Buying Guide: Best Mac to buy in 2016: Apple's top iMacs, MacBooks and more

Updated: Buying Guide: Best Mac to buy in 2016: Apple's top iMacs, MacBooks and more

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Picking the perfect Mac

Buying a new Mac isn't as easy as picking out a new iPhone. With a phone you only have to worry about cost, color, and capacity, but when upgrading your computer you need to consider portability, power, speed, storage, screen size, pixels, expansion needs and more.

So while Apple's Mac lineup is fairly streamlined and straightforward, there's still a lot to consider. If you decide you want a desktop, there's the Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro to choose from. If portability is your primary concern, you have the 12-inch MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook and MacBook Pro. Even if you pass on the build-to-order options, there are dozens of possibilities ranging from $499 (about £325/AU$646) all the way up to $3,999 (about £2,610/AU$5,181).

A new Mac is a long-term investment. You don't want to be stuck with the wrong one for years and years, so we sorted through every option for every model to help pair you with your perfect match. Head to the next page as we dive right in.

Mac Pro - Best Mac 2016

1. Mac Pro

A cylindrical tower of power

CPU: Up to 3.0GHz 8-core processor with 25MB L3 cache or 2.7GHz 12-core processor with 30MB L3 cache | Graphics: Up to dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of GDDR5 vRAM each | RAM: Up to 32GB (four 8GB) or 64GB (four 16GB) of DDR3 ECC memory | Storage: 256GB PCIe-based flash storage (configurable to 512GB or 1TB) | Communication: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, IEEE 802.11ac | Dimensions (WxDxH): 16.7cm x 16.7cm x 25.1cm

Stellar design

Twin GPUs

Expansion ports

Internal expansion lacking

No bundled keyboard or mouse

The Mac Pro was cutting-edge when it launched in late 2013, and it's still one of the most advanced PCs money can buy - though an update wouldn't go amiss. The machine has power and performance to spare, with quad-core Intel Xeon E5 processors, dual AMD FirePro graphics cards, and super-fast PCIe-based flash storage. And its distinctive 9-inch-high cylindrical form fits great on any desk.

Of course, the Pro's price tag matches its performance - ranging from $2,999 (£2,499/AU$4,399) to around $10,000 depending on your storage, memory and processing needs - but it's as future-proofed as any Mac you'll find. Even if OS X were to transform into some kind of a Multitouch hybrid in five years, today's Mac Pros will surely be able to handle it.

Read the full review: Mac Pro

27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display - Best Mac 2016

2. 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display

Apple's biggest iMac puts everything on display

CPU: Up to 3.3GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz) | Graphics: Up to AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory | RAM: Up to 32GB of 1867MHz DDR3 memory; four SO-DIMM slots, user accessible | Storage: Up to 1TB of flash storage (SSD) | Communication: 10/100/1000BASE‑T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector) | Dimensions (HxWxD): 51.6cm (20.3 inches) x 65cm (25.6 inches) x 20.3 cm (8 inches)

Display

Performance

Core i7 costs extra

No Traget Display Mode

Packing an eye-popping 14.7-million pixel screen, a 3.3GHz chip, and the AMD Radeon R9 graphics card, the iMac with Retina 5K Display isn't just one of the most powerful Macs in Apple's line-up, it might actually be the most practical purchase you can make.

A decent stand-alone 5K display will set you back at least $2,000, and when you factor in the cost of a machine that can handle it, the retina iMac starts to look like a bargain. The lower-end model packs more than enough punch for most people, but you might want to consider upgrading the platter drive, either via a $200 BTO option or by stepping up to the 3.5GHz model for an extra $300.

Read the full review: 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display

21.5-inch iMac with 4K Retina display - Best Mac 2016

3. 21.5-inch iMac with 4K Retina display

A gorgeous 4K display on a compact all-in-one

CPU: Up to 4.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz) | Graphics: Up to AMD Radeon R9 M395X GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 memory | RAM: Up to 32GB of 1867MHz DDR3 memory; four SO-DIMM slots, user accessible | Storage: Up to 1TB of flash storage (SSD) or 3TB Fusion Drive | Communication: 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector) | Dimensions (WxDxH): TKTK

Display

Design

Fusion drive not standard

Chunky display bezel

If 27 inches is too much for you, Apple's 21.5-inch 4K iMac is much smaller but packs and equally sharp display. It goes toe-to-toe with the 27-inch 5K iMac's when it comes to pixel density, and it similarly supports the DCI P3 colour gamut that allows for accurate, vibrant colour.

It's not that much more affordable than the entry-level 27-inch iMac once you've ramped up the configuration, so it's worth bearing in mind whether spending the extra money would be worth getting hold of a larger display and much more powerful graphics capabilities. If they aren't important, Apple's smaller iMac is still a capable machine and packs one of the best 4K screens around.

Read the full review: A gorgeous 4K display on a compact all-in-one

15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina

4. 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina

Due a redesign, but still the most capable MacBook

Display

Performance

Chunky and heavy

Poor keyboard

The name may suggest a high-priced machine, but the MacBook Pro is far more affordable than the desktop tower that shares its surname. If you're looking for more of a desktop replacement than a road companion, it's definitely the way to go. We don't recommend the cheapest model, however. While it does have a zippy 2.5GHz i5 processor, we aren't wowed by the laptop's 13-inch non-Retina screen, 5400-rpm hard drive and 7-hour battery life. At $1,099 (£899/AU$1,549), we'd either get the upper-end Air for the same price or chip in another $200 to go Retina.

The extra money also buys double the RAM, three additional hours of battery life, a Force Touch trackpad, and Iris graphics. You'll give up quite a few gigs of storage (125GB vs 500GB), but the upgrade to a flash drive makes the tradeoff much more palatable. You can spend even more for extra storage and a few megahertz, but most users will get what they need for $1,299 (£999/AU1,799). At the very top of Apple's laptop lineup is the 15-inch model, and it earns its premier spot.

Packed with a 2.2GHz or a 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, a Force Touch trackpad, and 16GB of RAM, it's a screamer whether you're editing videos in Final Cut Pro or making music with Garageband. Starting at $1,999 (£1,599/AU$2,799), this model is significantly more expensive than its smaller sibling but worth every penny. And the $2,499 (£1,999/AU$3,499) step-up brings more than the usual storage and chip bump; Apple has also crammed in AMD's Radeon R9 M370X graphics card, which makes this the only laptop advanced enough to power a 5K display.

Read the full review: 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina

12-inch MacBook - Best Mac 2016

5. 12-inch MacBook

Small, but perfectly formed

CPU: Up to 1.3GHz Dual-Core Intel Core M processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5300 | RAM: 8GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory | Storage: 512GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage | Communication: 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible | Dimensions (WxDxH): 28.05cm (11.04 inches) x 19.65cm (7.74 inches) x 1.31cm (0.52 inches)

Design

Display

Underpowered

Keyboard

Apple's newest MacBook isn't for everyone. While it supplanted the MacBook Air as the lightest and smallest laptop, the extra portability came with compromises. Most notably, Apple replaced the standard USB 3 and Thunderbolt 2 ports with the brand-new USB-C protocol. While it's cool that a single cable can now be used to handle both power and data as with an iPhone, Mac users who are used to plugging in a variety of devices may find themselves frustrated until the market for USB-C hubs, docks, and drives starts to flourish.

There's also the keyboard. When the PowerBook debuted in 1991, Apple caused a stir by pushing the keys closer to the screen to create a natural palm rest and room for a trackball. Apple is attempting to change the game again with the new MacBook, this time by re-engineering every key to be thinner and far less springy to the touch. It feels quite a bit different than any other laptop we've ever used, so we recommend trying one at an Apple Store before making a decision. If those two concerns (and the loss of the glowing Apple logo) aren't an issue for you, the MacBook is pretty great. Even though its 1.1GHz or 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor has nowhere near the power of the Pro or even the Air, the laptop is more than capable of running iMovie, Photos, and even Photoshop with ease.

It's also easy on the eyes with a stunning design that's available in silver, space gray, and gold, and it comes packed with the latest in portable technology, from the 2304x1440 retina display to the Force Touch trackpad. An affordable $1,299 (£1,049/AU$1,799) gets you 8GB of RAM, a 256GB flash drive and a 9-hour battery.

Read the full review: 12-inch MacBook

13-inch MacBook Air - Best Mac 2016

6. 13-inch MacBook Air

It's now possible to grab big Air for less

CPU: 2.8GHz 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz) with 4MB on-chip shared L3 cache | Graphics: Intel Iris Graphics | RAM: 16GB LPDDR3 memory | Storage: 512GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage | Communication: 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible; Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology | Dimensions (WxDxH): 19.7cm (7.7 inches) x 19.7cm (7.7 inches) x 3.6cm (1.4 inches)

Battery life

Nippy storage

Dated design

Display

The MacBook Air is in an interesting spot. While it's still one of the most popular and well-known notebooks around, the launch of the slimmer, lighter new MacBook has stolen some of its thunder, and we have to assume one of two things: either a major update is in the works, or it will soon be made obsolete by an expanding MacBook line.

Still, we wouldn't recommend going for the 11-inch MacBook Air, which is well past its sell-by date. But until then, we wouldn't discourage anyone from buying it. The MacBook Air will still give you all-day battery life, USB 3 and Thunderbolt ports, and an SDXC card slot. Even without a Retina display or Force Touch trackpad, it's a very capable machine, with a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB flash drive. Either model can be had for less than a grand, and with identical specs, choosing between the two sizes comes down to preference, with just $100 separating the $899 (£749/AU$1,249) 11-inch version and the $999 (£849/AU$1,399) 13-inch one.

Read the full review: 13-inch MacBook Air

Mac mini - Best Mac 2016

7. Mac mini

Apple's most affordable Mac

Design

Ports

Impossible to upgrade

No monitor

While the all-in-one iMac is Apple's most popular entry-level desktop, the screenless Mac mini is a more cost-effective option. Its small, square enclosure can easily fit on any desk, no matter how cluttered it may be. The mini isn't exactly a powerhouse, but it performs well for a computer that's cheaper than an unlocked iPhone 5s. The Mac mini doesn't come with a keyboard, monitor, or mouse, but it's packed with ports: one for HDMI, a pair for Thunderbolt 2, four for USB 3, an SDXC card slot, and an IR receiver sensor.

The entry-level model skates by with a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, but for an extra $200 you can double most of the specs. That's a 40% price increase over the base model, but it's worth considering since Apple has made it almost impossible to upgrade your mini after you get it home. The top-of-the-line Mac mini bumps the processor up to 2.8GHz and adds a Fusion Drive in place of the 5400-rpm spinner, but at $999, we wouldn't recommend it. If you're willing to spend over a thousand dollars on a desktop computer, you'll be better served by moving up to an iMac. In the UK, the Mac mini runs from £399 to £799, while in Australia it starts at AU$699 and tops out at AU$1,399.

Read the full review: Mac mini

Updated: 13 weird and wonderful niche Linux distros

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Introduction

Intro

Note: Our weird and wonderful niche Linux distros round-up has been fully updated. This feature was first published in December 2011.

Fed up with the bog-standard Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and so on? Looking for a distro that reflects your individuality? In this round-up we've discovered no less than 13 of the best, oddest and most useful distributions that Linux has to offer.

They include one distro which is the official, sanctioned OS of North Korea, no less, along with a Satanic Edition of Ubuntu (yes, you read that correctly), and also a distro which is so light it will run on a PC from the mid-80s. That ancient 386 in the attic could still be useful, then…

Read on to find out more about each of these interesting distros – and why on Earth you'd want to use them.

Red Star OS

One distro that's never going to trouble the top of the Distrowatch rankings chart is Red Star OS. This is the Linux distribution that was developed/is being developed as the officially sanctioned operating system of North Korea, apparently originally at the behest of Kim Jong-Il, the country's ex-leader.

The latest release – version 3.0 – was released back in 2014 and gives the desktop (and installer) an OS X-like makeover. It works surprisingly well, although you'll need to learn Korean to have any chance of understanding what's going on.

Familiar apps have been renamed too – there's a notebook app called My Comrade, and Firefox is called My Country (perhaps fittingly, as North Korea has its own internet). We searched for 'Democracy' in the default search engine, but nothing came up. If you're desperate to try it for yourself, download the 2.5GB ISO from this website and try it in a VM.

MuLinux

The classically educated might be able to guess that MuLinux is a small distro, possibly in the same vein as Puppy or Damn Small Linux. You'd have difficulty, however, comprehending just how small it is. MuLinux requires 20MB hard disk space and 4MB RAM, and will run on an Intel 80386 processor or later.

That's the same Intel 80386 processor that was released in 1985, meaning Mu will breathe life into even ancient hardware. Mu is no match for a modern system in terms of productivity, having been finished in 1998-99, but if you have a 25-year-old machine that you want to rescue from the scrapheap, it's the distro for you.

Ubuntu Satanic Edition

Ubuntu spin-offs are ten-a-penny, but we have to recognise that the makers of Ubuntu SE have gone beyond the ordinary in their quest to please The Dark One. The dark theme and collection of background images is the most obvious modification, and the sound effects and start-up jingle have also been customised.

Ubuntu's fondness for alliteration is still there (the last three releases have been Lucifer's Legion, Microsoft Massacre and Necrophiliac Necromancer), but the version numbers have been modified to 666.8, 666.9 and 666.10 respectively. Sadly, development appears to have ceased, but if you're a fan of the dark arts and Gnome 2-based desktops, then Ubuntu SE may still appeal.

Oh, and it doesn't have live CDs; they're "undead". Endearingly bonkers.

GoboLinux

This is one that will appeal to the techies out there – the thing that marks GoboLinux out from the rest is its filesystem layout. Most Linux distributions use an archaic non-arrangement wherein an application's files are scattered around your hard drive in several different folders.

GoboLinux adopts an OS X-like approach (which Apple took from RISC OS), and stores all files associated with an application in a single folder in /Programs.

The most current version of GoboLinux is 015, which was released back in 2014 boasting the Enlightenment 18 desktop along with refreshed versions of the GoboLinux management tools.

GNewSense

If you like software freedom, you'll love GNewSense. It's based on Ubuntu, but has had all non-free software removed, including those tricky non-free driver files that are loaded into the Linux kernel (known as binary blobs). Unfortunately, many of these blobs are drivers for wireless networking cards, so GNewSense may not be the best distro for laptops.

On the plus side, it has removed or renamed software that doesn't fit the Free Software Foundation's definition of freedom (Firefox, for example, is renamed as Burning Dog), and it doesn't provide any links to non-free repositories, making it even more free than Debian.

Until we get the Hurd to replace the Linux kernel and create Gnu/Hurd, GNewSense – along with another Ubuntu-based distro by the name of Trisquel – is the closest we'll get to completely free.

C.A.IN.E

The bizarrely named C.A.IN.E stands for Computer Aided Investigative Environment, and is basically targeting those who need to perform computer forensics. It's described as "an interoperable environment that supports the digital investigator during the four phases of the digital investigation."

To this end, it focuses on a user-friendly front-end that organises software tools into modules for easy access. It can be installed to the hard drive or run direct as a live CD – the current version 7.0 (DeepSpace) is based on Ubuntu 14.04.1, and was released in November 2015.

Yellow Dog

Yellow Dog was released in the late 90s for Apple computers using the PowerPC chip architecture, and found its niche among people who wanted an even more different way to think differently. All was good, but then Apple abandoned PowerPC in favour of Intel chips, which it's still using today.

This left Yellow Dog out in the cold, but after a change of ownership it reinvented itself as an OS for high-performance multicore computing – most notably as the OS used on PlayStations hooked up to form cheap supercomputing grids.

Ubuntu Studio

This is a distro for media enthusiasts. Whether you're into music, graphics, video, photography or publishing then you'll find Ubuntu Studio comes with all the apps you need pre-installed, complete with workflows to help you get stuff done. It's bang up to date too, with builds based on the latest LTS and cutting-edge releases available.

All you need to do is follow the Ubuntu-friendly installer, choosing which package sets to install. Once complete, you'll reboot into an Xfce 4-powered desktop

Gentoo

We love the freedom that we have to modify and recompile source code according to our needs, but very few of us actually do this, because it's easier to just download a Deb or RPM file. The lazy majority would not like Gentoo – or Linux For Masochists, as it's sometimes known – for the simple fact that you have to compile it yourself.

That's not just the apps – it's the whole thing, including the kernel and all the other bits of your current distro that most people take for granted. The point of this is that if your Linux distro is compiled for your exact hardware, it should be possible to wring every last drop of performance from your kit. You just need to make sure that you have a large supply of coffee to hand before you attempt to install it.

And yes, we know that there are versions of Gentoo in existence that are easier to use, but they're not really Gentoo now, are they?

Scientific Linux

There still exists among our Windows-using cousins the risible idea that Linux isn't good enough to take over on the desktop – that the continued dominance of Microsoft on the desktop is inevitable, because Linux is not up to the job technically.

This can easily be refuted: the cleverest people on the planet – the scientists searching for clues about the beginning of the universe – use Scientific Linux at the CERN laboratories.

It's based on Red Hat, and anyone can download and install it on their machine. You don't even need a PhD in theoretical physics.

Parted Magic

We're sure that nobody runs this as their full-time operating system (if you do, get in touch and tell us why), because although it's technically a distro, it's best thought of as a specialist tool.

Parted Magic is a live distro that comes with all the tools you need to fix broken partitions. If something won't boot, this is what you use to fix it, and that goes for both Linux and Windows machines.

It also allows for secure disk erasing (making sure that data is really nuked), benchmarking, and disk cloning among other features. As a troubleshooting aid, it's indispensable, but it will cost you $9 (around £6.30, AU$12.70) to download direct from the author's site.

Bodhi Linux

Before Unity, Gnome 3 and KDE 4 came along and showed the world what it was missing, the Linux desktop was a staid place, enlivened only by the ongoing flame wars between KDE and Gnome users. This is odd, because as long ago as 1997 we had a far glitzier alternative: Enlightenment.

Enlightenment is a window manager, and is beautiful without distracting you from the task in hand or forcing you to adopt your way of working to it. Bodhi Linux ships with a modified version of the Enlightenment desktop called Mokha, which means 'emancipation, liberation or release', and it's this decision to go with Enlightenment over other, better known desktops, that puts it on our list.

Papyros (coming soon)

Papyros

The purpose behind this new Linux distro is to give those who love the material design of Android the opportunity to run the same user interface on their computer. Papyros is so new at this stage that at the time of writing it was still in alpha pre-release stage, with the developers currently working towards version 0.3.

However, if you're desperate to experience the user interface for yourself, you can install the shell in Arch Linux. This will give you a decent flavour of what's coming, and we'll certainly be keeping a close eye on this one.

Yahuui Blog

Friday, February 5, 2016