Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Computers & Peripherals => Topic started by: Alan Klein on November 22, 2018, 12:11:44 pm
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I've been running Windows 10 desktop for years and use an Android cellphone. My wife and I keep all of our home files stored on the desktop as well as my photos. I use a USB connected WD Passport on my desktop to backup all my files.My wife wants a desktop of her own in another room. But she has an iphone and likes Apple. She doesn't want Windows. So the questions is, can I set up a net between the two computers through our wifi modem/router so that the home files on my Windows 10 (Dell) can be accessible by her new Apple desktop and vice versa? How would I do that?
Also, I see that there's a black Friday sales on a iMac Pro. $1299 for 21.5" What do you think of this model? Cost/value? Any recommendations for another Apple desktop. My wife does not do photography - just the basics, typing, filing, internet, email, printing, scanning papers, etc?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-21-5-imac-intel-core-i5-3-0ghz-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver/4881100.p?skuId=4881100
Beside WIndows Office, what apps would I need for the Imac to be able to see my Windows stuff?
Thanks.
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Just a suggestion....get her an iPad Pro, either 11” or 12.9”. She knows the iPhone and you don’t need to learn the Mac “ecospace”.
For sharing, use cloud storage such as Dropbox or Google. On ou PC, set up drives or folders as shared. On iPhone/iPad, apps such as “Filebrowser” (FileBrowser - Document Manager by Stratospherix Ltd https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/filebrowser-document-manager/id364738545?mt=8) allow complete read/write (if you allow it) access to your PC files.
I have gone to using Google Docs/Sheets to be independent and free of the Apple/Microsoft specific or formats. If you are paying for Windows Office, the apps are free on iPad.
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Alan, the link you provided for a Mac should be fine for your wife’s described needs.
There are many ways to share files between your Win 10 Machine and a Mac. The choice will depend on how much storage you’ll need for that. Dropbox is a popular option and I think the Apple iCloud for Windows is available as well. There are obviously a ton of options available.
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There's no need to use any Dropbox or other cloud (clown) service, macs and windows machine use the same file sharing protocol, SMB. You just enable file sharing on every computer that you want to share files from, no software required, it's all very simple.
I suggest you use wired Ethernet and not wireless.
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Everything Aram said plus,
Backup the phone to the Mac. Enable iCloud on the phone and Mac contacts, calendar, notes, browser and then they will appear on both and update as one is added or changed.
You don't "need" Microsoft Office on the Mac to read the files from your Windows machine. The Mac comes with apps that read Word and Excel and can save back, However if this is a regular thing it will be easier to have Office.
If you buy the 21,5" machines you can not upgrade the RAM (on 27" you can) but 8G is probably enough for basic things.
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Also, I see that there's a black Friday sales on a iMac Pro. $1299 for 21.5" What do you think of this model?
Minor point, perhaps, but that's an iMac, not an iMac Pro.
Jeremy
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Everything Aram said plus,
Backup the phone to the Mac. Enable iCloud on the phone and Mac contacts, calendar, notes, browser and then they will appear on both and update as one is added or changed.
You don't "need" Microsoft Office on the Mac to read the files from your Windows machine. The Mac comes with apps that read Word and Excel and can save back, However if this is a regular thing it will be easier to have Office.
If you buy the 21,5" machines you can not upgrade the RAM (on 27" you can) but 8G is probably enough for basic things.
I assume you mean iMac when you say Mac? Yes?
SO if I understand correctly, she'll be running Apple operating system normally. Will she have access to the Word and Excel and PSF files I have on the Windows desktop drives?
Is she running the iMac in Windows mode or is it just that the Apple program has a app that reads these type files? Is the app standard or do you have to buy a separate app from Windows?
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Let me add in a bit to what Bob said differing when iMac (hardware) and Mac (os and apps) are referenced.
Everything Aram said plus,
Backup the phone to the iMac. Enable iCloud on the phone and Mac applicationscontacts, calendar, notes, browser and then they will appear on both and update as one is added or changed.
You don't "need" Microsoft Office on the iMac to read the files from your Windows machine. The Mac OS comes with apps that read Word called Pages and Excel called Numbers and can save back, However if this is a regular thing it will be easier to have Office. If you pay for Microsoft Office on a monthly or annual basis, you may have a license for the computer. To check, you can login to your https://portal.office.com with your Microsoft account
If you buy the 21,5" machines you can not upgrade the RAM (on 27" you can) but 8G is probably enough for basic things.
I would actually recommend against this specific machine, partly because the RAM upgrade issue above (it's possible to upgrade, but it's an hour plus to do it, and you need a kit that has a cutter & replacement adhesives to re-attach the screen. The 8gb RAM is shared with the graphics (embedded) so it's more like 6.5gb of RAM. Plus the platter 1tb hard drive spins at 5900rpm & isn't even a fusion drive, so it's trapped in 2009 performance wise.
What are her actual disk space needs? Do you have a spare monitor or one you'd be interested in upgrading? The Mac Mini just got upgraded, and the new ones are very nice, plus have upgrade-able components (RAM currently, NVMe is still being worked out).
Dropbox is most likely the easiest method of moving files back and forth.
-Joe
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Normally, she's going to do internet, messages, stuff she does on her phone. She doesn't do photography or any heavy software use. So if the iMac integrates easily with her iPhone, that would be good. I use my Windows desktop for storing all our personal files, word documents, scans of financial and medical stuff, etc as well as any pdf documents. Of course, I was hoping to network them to her new machine so she can look for those files from her machine and create scanned files of new documents on her machine that she could save in my machine. That would be easy if both machines were windows. But if we get her an Apple, well, I'm seeing all sorts of problems and limitations.
How would Dropbox work? Is there a fee? Do you have to download the whole file if you add a couple of new files.
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Normally, she's going to do internet, messages, stuff she does on her phone. She doesn't do photography or any heavy software use. So if the iMac integrates easily with her iPhone, that would be good. I use my Windows desktop for storing all our personal files, word documents, scans of financial and medical stuff, etc as well as any pdf documents. Of course, I was hoping to network them to her new machine so she can look for those files from her machine and create scanned files of new documents on her machine that she could save in my machine. That would be easy if both machines were windows. But if we get her an Apple, well, I'm seeing all sorts of problems and limitations.
How would Dropbox work? Is there a fee? Do you have to download the whole file if you add a couple of new files.
Dropbox, on PC or Mac, is set up to have a mirror image of the files/folders on the local hard drive. On iPhone/iPad, the file storage is “dynamic”, that is you can see what is available and only bring down what you are looking at, works great. You pay a fee for storage you need, up to 1TB available.
There are apps to scan files on iPhone/iPad to turn into pdf and save locally, on Dropbox, or PC (FileBrowser). “Scanner Pro” is a good example. Take a picture with iPhone, it wil square it up and create pdf and allow you to “share” where you want.
Before jumping into a Mac, I would suggest trying out what can be done on iPhone linked to Dropbox and Pc. If you are happy, then get an iPad, with or without keyboard, for easier viewing/reading. If your wife knows the iPhone, I would think it would be an easy learning curve.
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Dropbox, on PC or Mac, is set up to have a mirror image of the files/folders on the local hard drive. On iPhone/iPad, the file storage is “dynamic”, that is you can see what is available and only bring down what you are looking at, works great. You pay a fee for storage you need, up to 1TB available.
There are apps to scan files on iPhone/iPad to turn into pdf and save locally, on Dropbox, or PC (FileBrowser). “Scanner Pro” is a good example. Take a picture with iPhone, it wil square it up and create pdf and allow you to “share” where you want.
Before jumping into a Mac, I would suggest trying out what can be done on iPhone linked to Dropbox and Pc. If you are happy, then get an iPad, with or without keyboard, for easier viewing/reading. If your wife knows the iPhone, I would think it would be an easy learning curve.
My wife wants a desktop with a large screen and full tactile keyboard. So we're pretty much stuck with an iMac. How does internet browsing work on the iMac as compared to the iPhone?
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1. I assume you mean iMac when you say Mac? Yes?
2. SO if I understand correctly, she'll be running Apple operating system normally. Will she have access to the Word and Excel and PSF files I have on the Windows desktop drives?
3. Is she running the iMac in Windows mode or is it just that the Apple program has a app that reads these type files? Is the app standard or do you have to buy a separate app from Windows?
1. Any Mac, including iMac
2. Yes to running Mac OS and yes, to access the files, provided you share them. What is PSF?
3. No Windows, just Mac OS. The Mac comes with the Pages and Numbers app that can read Word and Excel, but it is clumsy. If this is a common need then get Mac Office. All PDFs can be read by Mac and the Mac can print PDF without any other software.
It sounds like she just has basic needs so a basic machine is probably fine.
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My wife wants a desktop with a large screen and full tactile keyboard. So we're pretty much stuck with an iMac. How does internet browsing work on the iMac as compared to the iPhone?
So get her a 27". Browsing is much easier on any computer compared to a any phone IMHO. There is a trick that allows you to easily post to Instagram from a Mac too.
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Dropbox, on PC or Mac, is set up to have a mirror image of the files/folders on the local hard drive. On iPhone/iPad, the file storage is “dynamic”, that is you can see what is available and only bring down what you are looking at, works great. You pay a fee for storage you need, up to 1TB available.
There are apps to scan files on iPhone/iPad to turn into pdf and save locally, on Dropbox, or PC (FileBrowser). “Scanner Pro” is a good example. Take a picture with iPhone, it wil square it up and create pdf and allow you to “share” where you want.
Before jumping into a Mac, I would suggest trying out what can be done on iPhone linked to Dropbox and Pc. If you are happy, then get an iPad, with or without keyboard, for easier viewing/reading. If your wife knows the iPhone, I would think it would be an easy learning curve.
The home office files I would want available to both desktops is currently 3gb. Apple includes 5gb of free iCloud storage when you buy an iMac. So I wouldn;t need Dropbox. Apparently Apple says I can download iCloud for my Windows desktop so that my windows and the new iMac will be able to automatically update the files in the icloud. All files will be available and stored in both machines. Both machines will be able to send new files and update files already on the icloud. So that seems good.
Regarding Windows Office files on my computer. The Apple OS has something called Preview that can open Word, Excel and pdf documents. Their system has Pages and Numbers to create Word type and Excel type documents. I didn't ask if those can be opened by windows OS. Do you know?
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i would suggest either a base mac mini (current 2018 or mid range 2014) 8 GB, 128 GB storage, with a third party screen (24 or 27 inch) and keyboard/mouse of your choice OR MacBook Air (2018) 8GB, 128 GB with third party keyboard/mouse and screen. The latter is portable and light if you want to travel with more than a phone.
The only real difference between the I-phone and the Macs above is touch screen. The apps are basically the same.
You could also look at a NAS device for local access storage for both of you. Something like WD MyCloud or Synology base NAS units. You can use them as TimeMachine backup location, in addition to the Apple cloud and use the backup/sync app for the Win 10 machine.
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Regarding Windows Office files on my computer. The Apple OS has something called Preview that can open Word, Excel and pdf documents. Their system has Pages and Numbers to create Word type and Excel type documents. I didn't ask if those can be opened by windows OS. Do you know?
Numbers, Pages and Keynote can export to MS Office files if needed. There shouldn't be any problems.
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I use my Windows desktop for storing all our personal files, word documents, scans of financial and medical stuff, etc as well as any pdf documents. Of course, I was hoping to network them to her new machine so she can look for those files from her machine and create scanned files of new documents on her machine that she could save in my machine. That would be easy if both machines were windows.
I would strongly advise against storing any files containing sensitive personal information on Dropbox, or any other "cloud" storage service, unless they are strongly encrypted before you upload them. (I'm a former chief information security officer for a U.S. federal agency, and have expertise that is relevant to this issue.)
As others have previously pointed out, it is easy to use your MS-Windows computer as a file server that is accessible to your wife's Apple desktop (iMac, Mac Mini, whatever) since both platforms can use the SMB file-sharing protocol. This would keep sensitive information on your home network.
It's at most trivially more complicated to share files between Microsoft and Apple platforms than to share them between two Microsoft machines. (And only more complicated in the sense that you haven't used Apple's MacOS before.)
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Well I wish my wife would get a Windows based machine. But she wants Apple so I won;t win that argument. :) OK SO it looks like I'll have to learn the Mac OS. Maybe I'll be surprised at how easy it will be.
So I'll probably go with the iMac 21.5" despite its "older" design. The power and storage my wife needs is rather small. I'll look into SMP to avoid the icloud and dropbox security issues.
The only down side I see with SMP is that I have to keep my Windows desktop on all the time. Even when on, it goes into sleep mode. So what's the best way to handle that?
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B&H has it for the same price, free shipping, and last i heard nosales tax for out of state (not sure where you are located).
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html
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B&H has it for the same price, free shipping, and last i heard nosales tax for out of state (not sure where you are located).
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html
Thanks for the heads up. I do get charged sales tax from B and H however living in NJ. But no ship charge. I could stop off at Best Buy near by and pick it up.
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Actually, I won't need the computer for another three months while the room is made ready. So do you think the price might go down even more? I might pay to wait?
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Actually, I won't need the computer for another three months while the room is made ready. So do you think the price might go down even more? I might pay to wait?
With Apple is difficult to know but the iMac has a long overdue update... maybe it happens in the next three months
http://dgpfotografia.com
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Actually, I won't need the computer for another three months while the room is made ready. So do you think the price might go down even more? I might pay to wait?
Better yet, get it now and start playing with it so you can learn it’s OS. The same happened to me years ago. After decades of being a windows guy, my wife wanted a Mac so she got one. Like no story short, no windows machines left in my home, but 5 Macs, a couple of iPhones and watches, plus a few iPads. Just for the record there was no real problems with networking Macs and PCs. But we do use iCloud quite a bit now even though I have a very high capacity NAS.
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That scenario (learn the OS) would push me towards a mini that would sit behind my monitor and integrate with existing kb/mouse.
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That scenario (learn the OS) would push me towards a mini that would sit behind my monitor and integrate with existing kb/mouse.
That as exactly what I did after buying my wife a MacBook Pro. I still have it😁
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Hey Alan, you should go look at it, but I would hesitate to purchase at the moment. How are your wifes eyes, and for that matter, how are yours?
The 21.5" screen is running at 4K, and while that works great for some, others have an issue with the small pixel sizes. Doing either the 2018 Mac Mini, or even the 2014 model Mac Mini and pair it with a better monitor for her - be it non-4K or just a larger size.
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That scenario (learn the OS) would push me towards a mini that would sit behind my monitor and integrate with existing kb/mouse.
Why would you want a mini instead of an iMac?
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Hey Alan, you should go look at it, but I would hesitate to purchase at the moment. How are your wifes eyes, and for that matter, how are yours?
The 21.5" screen is running at 4K, and while that works great for some, others have an issue with the small pixel sizes. Doing either the 2018 Mac Mini, or even the 2014 model Mac Mini and pair it with a better monitor for her - be it non-4K or just a larger size.
he 21.5" iMac is 2k not 4k screen.
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The 21.5" iMac is 2k not 4k screen.
Check again Alan - the model in your the Best Buy link is the 4K screen "21.5-inch (diagonal) 4096-by- 2304 Retina 4K display" Only the base model iMac for $1,099 has a 2K screen.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-21-5-imac-intel-core-i5-3-0ghz-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver/4881100.p?skuId=4881100
The reason for a Mac Mini instead of an iMac is that you can pair it with any display you want, not just the one Apple sells. The Mac Mini is more powerful and will have longer legs, but that doesn't sound like an upside for you. It comes down to the screen for most folks - and horsepower. The Mac Mini can be upgraded and accessorized to compete with the Mac Pro's - especially with the new eGPU's (external graphics cards).
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Check again Alan - the model in your the Best Buy link is the 4K screen "21.5-inch (diagonal) 4096-by- 2304 Retina 4K display" Only the base model iMac for $1,099 has a 2K screen.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-21-5-imac-intel-core-i5-3-0ghz-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver/4881100.p?skuId=4881100 (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-21-5-imac-intel-core-i5-3-0ghz-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver/4881100.p?skuId=4881100)
The reason for a Mac Mini instead of an iMac is that you can pair it with any display you want, not just the one Apple sells. The Mac Mini is more powerful and will have longer legs, but that doesn't sound like an upside for you. It comes down to the screen for most folks - and horsepower. The Mac Mini can be upgraded and accessorized to compete with the Mac Pro's - especially with the new eGPU's (external graphics cards).
Sorry Joe, that was the wrong link I gave. Here's the right one. It has limited power. But my wife only browses and does simple home office type stuff. This model has 21.5" 1920x1080 native resolution screen. Drive= 1 TB 2.5" SATA (5400 rpm), 8gb memory, Intel I5 dual core 2.3GHz cpu[/font][/size]
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html)
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Please don't buy in 2018 any computer without a SSD, without more than 8GB or RAM, and without a HiDPI (retina) screen.
The person who recommended against 4k screen is clueless. The 1080p screen and the 4k screen display UI elements (buttons, text) at exactly the same size, only at 2x more linear resolution (4x more pixels!). If you have bad eyesight, the retina display is strictly better (plus on retina screens you can change the size of the UI elements...). There is no justification for a low-DPI screen today. Just like there isn't any for a HDD today. And my web browser uses more than 8GB RAM alone.
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Please don't buy in 2018 any computer without a SSD, without more than 8GB or RAM, and without a HiDPI (retina) screen.
The person who recommended against 4k screen is clueless. The 1080p screen and the 4k screen display UI elements (buttons, text) at exactly the same size, only at 2x more linear resolution (4x more pixels!). If you have bad eyesight, the retina display is strictly better (plus on retina screens you can change the size of the UI elements...). There is no justification for a low-DPI screen today. Just like there isn't any for a HDD today. And my web browser uses more than 8GB RAM alone.
Aram, Thanks for your thoughts. My wife doesn't do photography. She only does internet, email, iPhone, messages, Word, Excel, printing, etc. Shouldn't this unit be sufficient?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html)
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Aram, Thanks for your thoughts. My wife doesn't do photography. She only does internet, email, iPhone, messages, Word, Excel, printing, etc. Shouldn't this unit be sufficient?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html)
Alan, what monitor do you have on PC. I would expect she would be happy with similar. Possibly not with less.
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Alan, the B&H link for $900 is perfectly fine - if you start playing with it I would recommend taking it in and doing the SSD & RAM upgrade.
As for advocating against 4K and such, not everyone is a spring chick, and having folks look at and use the screen to confirm what their eyes are most comfortable with is important. HD at 27" is fine - I had a client who was using a 42" screen at 720P because of viewing distance and usability.
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My Windows PC monitor is 24 inch 1080. I think the 21 and a half inch would be fine for her. I doubt if I would have to modify the system. The only thing holding it up now is that she can't use it right now until the room is built and I'm wondering whether or not I should wait if they going to come out with an updated model in the next three months.
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My Windows PC monitor is 24 inch 1080. I think the 21 and a half inch would be fine for her. I doubt if I would have to modify the system. The only thing holding it up now is that she can't use it right now until the room is built and I'm wondering whether or not I should wait if they going to come out with an updated model in the next three months.
The may come out with an updated model, but it will certainly be more expensive.
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The may come out with an updated model, but it will certainly be more expensive.
But won;t the ones that are out now drop in price so I can get more bang for the buck?
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would I be better off with 256M SSD rather than 1TB HD @5400?
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for speed of access, initial boot, and reliability, yes, i would always choose and SSD or NVme over rotating rust. Once you get past initial application or OS loading or file loading, you may not see much practical difference for your wife's usage.
For backup or less frequent usage storage, regular USB C/USB3 drives are fine.
For your wife's application (light office), though all you really need is 128GB of boot disk/local storage in an SSD or NVme drive.
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for speed of access, initial boot, and reliability, yes, i would always choose and SSD or NVme over rotating rust. Once you get past initial application or OS loading or file loading, you may not see much practical difference for your wife's usage.
For backup or less frequent usage storage, regular USB C/USB3 drives are fine.
For your wife's application (light office), though all you really need is 128GB of boot disk/local storage in an SSD or NVme drive.
There's a $300 premium upgrade charge for replacing the 1tb HD with a 256gb SSD. Is it worth it?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=6490&fct=fct_imac-model_6406%7cimac-21.5in&N=4110474295
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I would not unless for business.
I would invest in Applecare to extend the warranty instead. You have a year from purchase to buy it usually.
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SSD upgrades are always worth it.
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SSD upgrades are always worth it.
Though the cost is higher, I would go to a minimum of 1tb internal SSD. Even finding a refurbished computer from a dealer that specializes in machines for graphics, photography and film will save you a lot of headaches. I have a few dealers I work with, for upgrades or repairs I use a shop in santa monica, one in london and buy my machines from a company in Minnesota (macs4u, talk to Wolfgang)* that configured two 2015 15" macbook pros that are just rockets. I don't know what SSDs they use but I can go from location to studio, plug them into a monitor (or monitors) keep working and they fly without overheating.
I also have moved to the new small black G drive external SSDs for storing and working files and see zero overheating where the fan kicks in. I have even gone back to some older machines and had them replaced with internal SSDs and they transform the machine.
The G drives are silent don't overheat and are rugged. Previous I stored on 1 and 2 tb lacie rugged and have hundreds of them, but when I need to pull legacy footage for a project, I pull the data to a g drive because the speed difference is more than worth it and in the last 6 months have bought over a dozens of the g drives with many more to come.
https://www.cinema5d.com/a-fast-g-drive-ssd-r-is-all-you-need-when-editing-on-the-go/
I try to use computers until eol and stay 1 or two operating systems behind, as I don't like beta testing to find what software works, what doesn't.
*I have no affiliation with macs4u, other than as a full paying customer and they have saved me thousands.
IMO
BC
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FWIW..... the Samsung X5 external SSD are blazing fast in comparison to the G drives ( and also T5 Drives ). They cost more but faster is always more expensive.
Victor
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That particular iMac is a problem machine that will probably lose support from Apple relatively quickly for a couple of reasons. It's a "super-cheapie" configuration meant for schools.
Most importantly, it's the only Mac currently sold that lacks a high-resolution display. With the retirement of the old MacBook Air, everything else has a Retina display. At some point MacOS and applications will come to expect Retina.
Secondly, it's very slow. Not only is it one of the few remaining dual-core Macs, that's actually a mobile dual-core CPU, while all other iMacs use desktop CPUs. It's the low-end configuration of a discontinued 13" MacBook Pro in a desktop case.
Third, it has no SSD at all. Most Macs are pure SSD, and MacOS is optimized for that. Some iMacs use a Fusion Drive, which has a small SSD for caching with a larger hard drive for storage. A few rare cheapie configurations are hard drive only, and this is one of them.
Here's an iMac that's about the cheapest I'd go - it has a Retina display, a quad-core desktop processor and a Fusion drive. It's also upgraded to 16 GB of RAM - 21.5" iMacs are a real pain to upgrade, and it'll cost about $100 in labor (plus the RAM) if you ever want to upgrade. This is a B&H link (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342839-REG/apple_z0tk_mndy25_bh_imac_i5_3_0_qc.html), but you might get it cheaper, perhaps refurbished if you look around - these have been out for quite a while.
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Having opened multiple iMacs in the past few months, it's very easy, and completely worth it. I would actually recommend against doing a Fusion Drive - it makes the upgrade to a SSD a complete disassembly PITA. Just did a 5K iMac and the night & day differences between the SATA drive and a 2tb SSD is unreal.
The Fusion drive uses a small PCIe drive that's under the board on the right (under the arrow). To get to it, you have to remove everything. Had to do the hinge on this one as well - 9 screws in a line holding the on to the L leg for the thing.
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It's very easy to network the two systems together, provided you know or able to do a little network troubleshooting and assigning IP addresses as necessary. (Most of the time, IP addresses are assigned dynamically, but some things I want a fixed addresses -- network drives, printers, etc.)
I work on Windows, my wife -- a graphic designer, has used Macs for years (though has no issues on a PC). I have a desktop (Ethernet) a laptop (wifi) and my wife has a desktop (Ethernet), and we both have iPhones. Throughout the house we have multiple other devices. We have four network printers in the office -- two via Ethernet, two via wifi.
For data networking, we have two NAS drives (from Synology) on which we keep both work and personal files we want to share. (For us, things like Dropbox, etc. are kludgy for ordinary day to day work. I do use OneDrive for files that I need both in the office and when I'm out on a shoot.) All this work pretty seamlessly, partially because our router is easy to manage. Almost two years ago I replaced our old router and two repeaters with Netgear's Orbi mesh router. Best thing I did. Not only is it easy to manage (on a computer, with my phone etc.) should I need to do anything, but speed of downloads and upload improved dramatically throughout the house, especially streaming movies.
Hope this helps, though you've had a lot of good advice.
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I finally got this for $999. Thanks everyone for your help. I also got her a WD Passport 2gb for backup.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342554-REG/apple_mmqa2ll_a_21_5_imac_mid_2017.html