Given the layout of the ports on a MBP, docking stations (http://www.bookendzdocks.com/Docking_Stations-Docking_Station_for_15_MacBook_Pro_Firewire_800.html) are fairly impractical. I tend to prop mine up (http://www.plasticsmith.com/loft) and just plug in the dangly bits by hand.

If I had the $$ right now, I would be buying a 24" iMac. They are more than hefty enough to do the high-end apps, and the screens are beautiful. (Brief editorial aside: Really, the "non-pro" Macs are excellent machines. And unless you're a graphics professional or a broadcast DV editor, they will be perfectly sufficient, especially because you can afford a couple extras like an external monitor or more RAM.)

By "tired," I only meant that my 4 year old 1GHz G4 Powerbook with 1GB of RAM is a weebit slow by today's standards. But I have done all of my graphic editing and video composition on it. It's still a great machine. Rendering tasks might take longer, but not in terms of screen refresh - only in terms of processing time.

Hm. The plasticsmith link doesn't seem to be working right now. But you can see the general idea here (http://www.lapvantage.com/).

I like that idea; I really haven't paid any attention to laptops so it's a whole new world to me. There's a lot for me to sort through and I need to sit down and prioritize my "want" list.

Huh. I was avoiding the iMacs because, pretty though they are, I'm leery of having everything housed in one box -- kind of like I never wanted a combo TV/DVD even as I understood the appeal.

I have to admit that the thought of a 24" screen is VERY appealing, especially since I also have my brand new 19" LCD screen. That seems very decadent. :) Lots of room for all the tool palettes on one and the image I'm working on on the other. I wonder how hard it would be insert memory bits in? I think there's a trip to the local Apple store in my near future to check the options out in person.

OK, so 2 GB is a reasonable amount of memory to make Photoshop zing along. That's a number I can work with. Hell, if 1 GB is enough for doing video editing, then I'm probably over-worrying the memory thing. It's just that I'm really tired of waiting while Photoshop loads a different set of brushes or patterns.

I've supported literally hundreds of Macs of various flavors for the past 8 years, and intel iMacs are exceptionally reliable boxes. In any case, you get huge bang for the buck.

2GB of RAM will serve you very well to start, and of course you can consider upping that later. Installing more memory actually couldn't be easier. You pop a panel off the bottom and plug it in. :)

You know I'm going to end up with an iMac, don't you? And it's all going to be your fault. ;-)

You know I'm going to end up with an iMac, don't you? And it's all going to be your fault. ;-)

For which you should say "Thank you" to the nice lady. :) I think an iMac might be a REALLY good choice for you.

Very good point. :) I shall do so now.

*SMOOCHES* Thank you!!!!! ♥