Mac ?

[SoCalDukeFan]

I have decided to get a new computer to replace my Windows XP machine.
Am thinking of a Mac. It seems like the Windows machines just get outdated.

Is this a good time to buy a Mac? Anyone know of some new models about to hit the streets? Thanks

SoCal

[DukeUsul]

I'm not sure that Windows machines getting outdated is a good reason to buy a Mac. You can replace your Windows machine three times over a three year span and you'd spend just as much as you would for one new Mac.

Well there's some hyperbole there, but the basic fact still stands.

I love Macs. They are great, well put together machines. They are very good at doing all the things you want to do. I'd much rather be tooling around with a MacBook Pro, with it's awesome case, light weight, and great feel than with a clunky Dell or HP. Yet..... I'd have to ask myself whether the extra costs was worth it.

[hc5duke]

I have decided to get a new computer to replace my Windows XP machine.
Am thinking of a Mac. It seems like the Windows machines just get outdated.

Is this a good time to buy a Mac? Anyone know of some new models about to hit the streets? Thanks

SoCal

not sure how reliable this is but this site (http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/) will supposedly tell you if it's the right time to buy

i own a macbook pro and i think it's definitely overpriced, but it's nice having a linux laptop that works out of the box. that, and you can't write iphone apps without a mac - though to be fair it did pay for itself already.

[BCGroup]

It cost a bit more, but we bought my new husband a mac laptop when his HP died (3rd one to crash in a year). He was not a Mac person, but now he says he'll never go back.

[alteran]

I have decided to get a new computer to replace my Windows XP machine.
Am thinking of a Mac. It seems like the Windows machines just get outdated.

Is this a good time to buy a Mac? Anyone know of some new models about to hit the streets? Thanks

SoCal

When purchasing any Apple product, pay special attention to whether any big conferences are coming up. They inevitably refresh some line for dramatic effect, and change all the prices. Apple does not do clearance pricing. (It's good to be the king.)

Nothing is more irritating than paying top dollar for something which is immediately second rate.

If expense is a concern, consider the Mac Mini. You gain entry to Macs and avoid a lot of the expense.

If you have some courage with hardware, always buy the lowest amount of RAM from Apple, and then upgrade the RAM yourself. Apple massively (I mean MASSIVELY) overcharges for RAM. Be warned, Apple generally utilizes all the memory slots in whatever unit you buy, so you'll have to toss/resell what memory you have. You still come out WAY ahead.

If money is not a concern, buy a MacBook Pro maxed out. Wheeeeeeeee!

[bluebear]

I switched to macs years back and wouldn't go back..the site that hc5duke referenced has been a good indicator for me in the past..
If cost is an issues, I would also consider getting a refurbished model direct from apple. My last 2 personal laptops have come via that route without any issues. I've seen savings as much as 30% on those deals with the same exact warranty as a brand new mac.

[2535Miles]

Wait for Apple's WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference), rumored to be June 28 - July 2. Prices should drop on most models.

[PensDevil]

Not sure if you're in the education field or not, but if you are you'll probably be able to get a free iPod Touch (after rebate) if you can hold off a purchase until this summer. For the past several years Apple has been running a "back to school promotion" good for $199 rebate on a Mac and an iPod purchased on the same order by a student or someone employed by a school. In previous years purchasing a Mini or a refurb did not qualify.

You may also be able to get a better overall price by not ordering from Apple directly. Amazon often has rebates or straight up discounts that knock $50-$150 off of Apple's price (depending on product). Plus they do not collect sales tax for a larger number of states. Of course, you can't customize the build from Amazon.

If you plan on getting the extended 3-year warranty (Apple Care), you can save by not purchasing this through Apple either. For example, Apple Care for a MacBook direct from Apple is $249 but only $198 from Amazon. You can purchase Apple Care anytime before your one year warranty runs out.

[theAlaskanBear]

I used to use PCs all through highschool for gaming, but if you are not a gamer, there is really no reason whatsoever to purchase a PC.

My two latest computers were a mac pro (the aluminum tower) and now a now I have macbook pro.

The thing about my macs, is that I have been running windows on them from day one, for certain applications like arcGIS, or occasional games etc, but I mostly operate from the mac side for everything else, school work, photoshop, videos, surfing...you know, the little everyday stuff.

So dont look at it like Mac OR Windows, but Mac AND Windows.

I bought my laptop from this website www.powermax.com and they sell refurbished macs, definitely a good idea because they will knock several hundred dollars off the price if you are looking for a high end machine.

Go mac, you wont regret it!

[hc5duke]

if you are not a gamer, there is really no reason whatsoever to purchase a PC.

1. you need a laptop under $1000
2. you need a desktop/server under $500
3. you want a tablet
4. you want a touchscreen laptop
5. you want a touchscreen desktop
6. you want a pvr and hate itunes/apple tv

http://pistonsnationblog.com/images/devils_advocate.jpg :rolleyes:

[theAlaskanBear]

1. you need a laptop under $1000
2. you need a desktop/server under $500
3. you want a tablet
4. you want a touchscreen laptop
5. you want a touchscreen desktop
6. you want a pvr and hate itunes/apple tv

http://pistonsnationblog.com/images/devils_advocate.jpg :rolleyes:

I exaggerate. my bad.

[ohioguy2]

I just last month bought an I-Mac. Love it so far. Cost around $1,500--1TB of memory--if this thing holds up I will be a Mac advocate forever.

[camion]

If you want to build a customized system then go the PC/Linux route. You can't do that on the Mac side.

If you use an application that only runs in Windows than get a PC.

If your really can't afford a basic Mac then get a PC.

Otherwise I'd recommend getting a Mac.

If you aren't a computer geek and want to spend the majority of your time doing work with your computer rather than working on your computer then I recommend going Mac. I work in IT/IS at a university and I see much much more user and staff time spent keeping a PC running than keeping a Mac running. We perform numerous system installs on PCs each week due to viruses/worms/hacking, but very few on the Mac side. It has been my experience that Macs just have fewer problems than PCs. Also, the price difference isn't all that much for comparably equipped systems.

All that being said, if you plunk down a PC or a Mac on my desk I can do my work with either.

[tecumseh]

I have run and run both systems but switched to Macs exclusively at home. If you are using it for home computing Mac is hard to beat some other things to consider.
Macs come loaded with a fair amount of good software so the price comparison might be a bit misleading. The software is usually good and very easy to learn not quite pro like photoshop but do you really need that.
Apple is always rated as the top in customer support. As said above they do not attract viruses and malware like PCs

If your budget is lets say $2,000 I would buy the iMac 27 inch (not quad core).They list at $1,700 but add shipping and or sales tax and some extra "stuff". I like the end of desk clutter with the iMacs and they have A LOT of computing power. The extra screen size is not necessary but is nice if you keep multiple windows open or are getting older and don't want to wear reading glasses.

[moonpie23]

i second the suggestion that you should check the pricing on a REFURB mac (from the apple store)....you can save a bundle and it's warranty is the same...



once you've worked on a mac, most folks don't go back...

[alteran]

I just last month bought an I-Mac. Love it so far. Cost around $1,500--1TB of memory--if this thing holds up I will be a Mac advocate forever.

Uhm... I strongly doubt you have 1 TB of memory. If you do, I take back everything I ever said about Apple's price gouging. :D

You likely have a TB of disk space, and something between 2-6 GB of memory.

[ohioguy2]

Uhm... I strongly doubt you have 1 TB of memory. If you do, I take back everything I ever said about Apple's price gouging. :D

You likely have a TB of disk space, and something between 2-6 GB of memory.

Correct--typed too quickly--4GB memory, 1TB hard drive--I combined the two in my mind--:(

[tecumseh]

Like the IT guy said if you are not really a computer geek definitely go with a Mac. I was visiting a friend recently and his computer ran so slow I am sure it has a ton of viruses and spy ware on it....told him as much. But he is not really savvy enough to deal with it. Really probably needs to back up files scrub it clean and reinstall IMHO.

Anyway if he had had a Mac would probably be running fine.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Someone asked about Mac's on CTN recently, and here was my response.

I think they are pain to use, and contrary to popular belief, you can get a virus. For as much as they cost, I don't get it. Lots will say "yeah but I can get a used one for a few hundred bucks". True...and you can get a used pc for only a hundred. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for an item that is 3 years old. If someone can actually justify the expense of more than a $1000 for a new computer to me, I'm all ears. But it has to be worth it, meaning that it has to be able to do something that my PC can't. And whatever that "can't" is, it actually has to be useful to me. Like, $1k useful.

I'm still waiting to hear about the $1k useful part.

[theAlaskanBear]

Its been said in this thread a couple of times that if you run windows programs, you need to buy a PC.

That is NOT the case. Using "Boot Camp" I have been running Windows on my Mac (requires a reboot to switch operating systems) for years now. All it requires it a hard drive partition that can later be erased if you dont have enough memory for the mac side.

Windows XP and Vista ran as well on the mac hardware as it ever did on PC hardware. I dont use Windows nearly as much anymore, but I still have it installed in case I run across GIS/mapping programs that use it.

[BCGroup]

Someone asked about Mac's on CTN recently, and here was my response.

I think they are pain to use, and contrary to popular belief, you can get a virus. For as much as they cost, I don't get it. Lots will say "yeah but I can get a used one for a few hundred bucks". True...and you can get a used pc for only a hundred. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for an item that is 3 years old. If someone can actually justify the expense of more than a $1000 for a new computer to me, I'm all ears. But it has to be worth it, meaning that it has to be able to do something that my PC can't. And whatever that "can't" is, it actually has to be useful to me. Like, $1k useful.

I'm still waiting to hear about the $1k useful part.

I'm not sure if you will qualify this as useful, but here's my Windows-loving husband on his change to a Mac:

1. No more screen of death.
2. No more lengthy booting-rebooting times
3. Haven't missed the bells and whistles I paid for on windows (touch screen, fingerprint security)
4. Video editing is a breeze (side-note, our 12 year old has been creating a skateboard video of him and his friends with a flip camera--less than 2 minutes and he was loving a Mac)
5. Start-up, transfer, etc. was a breeze
6. After a year of hassling with viruses, etc., we've not had a single problem.
7. Wireless network is seamless now with our airport as opposed to multiple problems with old one.
8. No need to pay for Carbonite since we use the time machine.


We're now a fully MAC household, waiting for the family IPAD to arrive Saturday morning. Originally, was to be my late Christmas gift (I turned down a Kindle) but it has morphed into a family Easter gift.

[theAlaskanBear]

Someone asked about Mac's on CTN recently, and here was my response.

I think they are pain to use, and contrary to popular belief, you can get a virus. For as much as they cost, I don't get it. Lots will say "yeah but I can get a used one for a few hundred bucks". True...and you can get a used pc for only a hundred. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for an item that is 3 years old. If someone can actually justify the expense of more than a $1000 for a new computer to me, I'm all ears. But it has to be worth it, meaning that it has to be able to do something that my PC can't. And whatever that "can't" is, it actually has to be useful to me. Like, $1k useful.

I'm still waiting to hear about the $1k useful part.

Lets start with the track record, I've owned 6 computers in my adult life, 3 PCs and 3 macs. I have had 2 PCs die on me, one with an unrecoverable harddrive, and I have forgotten what happened exactly to the other. The one that DIDNT die, was such a hassle and PITA to keep running cleanly. The amount of time you spend keeping the system clean, clearing spyware/malware, etc, its really not worth it, especially when you stand the risk of losing all of your data.

Never had a Mac that has needed to be replaced. Maybe I was just unlucky and got a few PC lemons, but the piece of mind, and the amount of time I dont spend worrying about losing my computer or data (I do keep things backed up just in case) is well worth the increase in price. I ran my Mac Pro tower for three years without a single glitch, in the same time I would have gone through two PCs (i resold it for a macbook pro). If I wanted to, I could go back to my parents house and fire up the first generation iMac g-3, and it would run like a charm.

I know Macs arent for everyone, when I was younger Macs frustrated me to no end because I was a gamer. Only in the last couple of years has the software really expanded for Macs. But don't pretend like there is no difference.

The difference comes down to whether or not you see computers as a disposable commodity. Yes, you can buy PCs way cheaper than macs, but in all likely hood you will go through two or three PCs to the life of one Mac computer.

If Macs are a PITA for you to use, you probably havent given it a real try. Windows 7 is a capitulation to Mac interface and simplicity, after the Vista debacle.

[CameronBornAndBred]

If Macs are a PITA for you to use, you probably havent given it a real try. Windows 7 is a capitulation to Mac interface and simplicity, after the Vista debacle.
I like playing around with them, but I'll never see the justification for spending that much on a computer when I can do everything it can on my PC. As far as spyware/ viruses, I'm a pc tech, so I keep my systems clean and don't have issues, but then I know what to avoid and how to spot infections before they activate. I will tell you I've had a couple experiences this year alone with Macs that had lots of hardware problems. One was a bad board in a mac book (Ozzie's daughter's in fact, and she had already had that board replaced before I looked at it), and the other was an older macbook. It had faulty RAM, but unfortunately the RAM was soldered on, so repairing it was not worth the hassle and expense to the customer.

[hurleyfor3]

Are Macs generally faster than PCs? By this I mean not in terms of chip speed, but in terms of getting things to load and run after you've had the machine for some time. I'd pay extra to have performance that doesn't degrade as I use the machine over time.

My other hassle has been with hard drives -- I can count on mine crashing every 2-3 years. (This is one reason why I still shoot film.) Is this somehow less of a problem with Macs?

[tecumseh]

Having your computer run slower and slower is sign that it is possibly infected and has a lot of useless stuff running. Have seen this happen all the time with PCs and my IT would run diagnostics and fix it it is amazing how fast a PC can get screwed up unless you are vigilant.

Your computer should not slow down with use, something is amiss and yes with Macs even without vigilance this does not happen much

[alteran]

Someone asked about Mac's on CTN recently, and here was my response.

I think they are pain to use, and contrary to popular belief, you can get a virus. For as much as they cost, I don't get it. Lots will say "yeah but I can get a used one for a few hundred bucks". True...and you can get a used pc for only a hundred. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for an item that is 3 years old. If someone can actually justify the expense of more than a $1000 for a new computer to me, I'm all ears. But it has to be worth it, meaning that it has to be able to do something that my PC can't. And whatever that "can't" is, it actually has to be useful to me. Like, $1k useful.

I'm still waiting to hear about the $1k useful part.

Okay, I'll bite.

I consider myself pretty OS agnostic. I think Win, OSX, and Linux all do extraordinary things, and each has its place.

OSX is worth it if:

- money isn't your biggest concern.
- you don't have a lot of pre-existing computer knowledge
- you don't really care to learn a lot about how your computer works

That second one is the killer, but maybe not for the reasons you think. First of all, it's WAY easier to get infected on a PC. It just is. Now, getting infected on Macs CAN happen, but it's way rarer.

For those of us who a) are going to end up being customer support for our retired relatives who b) are just getting into computing, Mac OSX is a no-brainer recommendation.

It is an easier OS. It's not as much easier as the Mac sycophants make it out to be, but it really is easier. (One thing that makes it seem harder than it is that there's just a different way of doing things in OSX as opposed to Windows. Bottom line, lots of things are arbitrary in both OS's where Windows went one way and OSX went another. Neither is "better" although apologists on both sides will certainly argue otherwise. Apple folks are actually more guilty of this than the Windows folks-- exaggerating the usability edge because they just assume that anything Windows does arbitrarily different is confusing or wrong.)

Another great thing about OSX: Apple doesn't feel the need to shuffle how you do stuff every OS iteration. I REALLY am getting sick of Microsoft changing things like networking completely around every version. If you learned how to manage networking in Win2k, that would be almost completely useless in managing networking in Vista.

If you learned networking in OSX 10.1 and jumped into OSX 10.6, networking would be in the exact same place, look materially the same, and be usable. It HAS changed somewhat, but it's 90% the same and EXACTLY where you looked for it in OSX 10.1.

Internal hardware incompatibility is functionally not an issue on Macs. This isn't so much Apple brilliance as the fact that they don't allow anything they don't sell or vet to be inside their box. When you stick something in there, you're on your own. This is why they're more expensive, but also more stable. FWIW, when you buy peripherals, you get the exact same problems you get with Microsoft. I have personally lost two printers to OSX upgrades.

Oh, and one last thing-- Time Machine. Wow. Apple actually has people running their backups now. Time Machine is part of OSX and it rocks.

I'd say for many, those pluses are worth it. Maybe not for you, but for many.

You can get a Mac Mini for $600. That's way less than $1000 dollars. Granted you have to get a keyboard/mouse/monitor, but most people already have those. It isn't the cheapest computer by any stretch, but it's not crazy, and it is one of the rare computers where Apple's pricing isn't that far out of line with others (relative to the hardware you get -- as long as you don't add memory from Apple).

FWIW, I get how irritating the Apple fanbois can be. Some of them don't understand the difference between an OS and a religious belief. But OSX is a hell of an OS.

I'd describe it as very close to worth the price. :D

[alteran]

Never had a Mac that has needed to be replaced. Maybe I was just unlucky and got a few PC lemons, but the piece of mind, and the amount of time I dont spend worrying about losing my computer or data (I do keep things backed up just in case) is well worth the increase in price. I ran my Mac Pro tower for three years without a single glitch, in the same time I would have gone through two PCs (i resold it for a macbook pro). If I wanted to, I could go back to my parents house and fire up the first generation iMac g-3, and it would run like a charm.

I've had two Macs. The first one, a tower G4, crashes frequently, I'm pretty sure there's some defective hardware in there.

My Mac Mini was shipped DOA and I had to take it back three times before the Apple Store threw in the towel and just gave me a new one. Currently, the DVD burner refuses to recognize unburned DVD's and hence can't burn. Used to work, don't know why it doesn't now. Still burns CDs. Weird.

Of course, my Windows computer has a similar issue with DVDs.

Apple hardware is generally better than Windows and I think my 100% failure rate is fairly unusual. My relatives all use Macs and they haven't had anywhere near this degree of trouble although they do have problems from time to time. But Macs are not immune to problems by any stretch of the imagination.

[hc5duke]

1. No more screen of death.
My mac crashes/stalls just as often as my XP machines did. Granted, I'm a poweruser, and at least there aren't those annoying windows update messages; but the instability of XP has been grossly exaggerated.


2. No more lengthy booting-rebooting times
Again, my mac takes just as long to start up from completely powering down (>1 minute). I never power down any of my machines, so this doesn't affect me, but I will give you that coming back from sleep state is slightly faster on the mac than XP/Vista


5. Start-up, transfer, etc. was a breeze
Transferring files from my macbook to macbookpro was the worst mistake I made. This caused so many issues later down the road that I ended up re-installing OSX and starting fresh again. Again, as a power user, Apple's migration app probably didn't catch all of the things that needed to transfer for my machines, but still, it's not perfect. Not having to "activate my copy of windows" was a nice feature though.


8. No need to pay for Carbonite since we use the time machine.
Except you have to pay Apple another $300 for Time Capsule. So yes, you DO need to pay for it.

[juise]

Are Macs generally faster than PCs? By this I mean not in terms of chip speed, but in terms of getting things to load and run after you've had the machine for some time. I'd pay extra to have performance that doesn't degrade as I use the machine over time.

That is my #1 love for my Mac.

I purchased a MacBook pro in 2007, around the same time that I got a Dell Precision M65 notebook at work. My Dell take about 5 minutes to get to the desktop in the morning and then it takes another 5 minutes to get to the point that I can respond to e-mail in Outlook. In the evening, it takes ~3-4 to shut down. It's gotten progressively slower over time.

I use my Mac for an average of 2 hours her day at home. I have not rebooted it for... about 3 months (I put it to sleep when not in use). It runs like it did when I bought it. It starts up in about 30 seconds and shuts downs in about 20 seconds.

Every PC I've ever owned has degraded like my Dell. I would have to re-install the OS or something similar yearly. If I leave a PC notebook on for a few days, it gets so slow that it needs to be restarted. My Mac doesn't seem to have the same self-destructive tendencies.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Are Macs generally faster than PCs? By this I mean not in terms of chip speed, but in terms of getting things to load and run after you've had the machine for some time. I'd pay extra to have performance that doesn't degrade as I use the machine over time.

I've had Windows 7 since it was released, previously I had Vista. Windows 7, in comparison to XP and Vista, is blazingly fast. Compared to Mac boot times, it is equal or slightly faster. When I reboot my PC, if I blink, I miss it. I've loaded tons of crap onto my PC since I put 7 on it, and have not had any performance degradation. On XP and Vista computers, it never took long for the speed issues to creep in. Knocking on wood, 7 is still as fast as the day I installed it months ago.

[DukeUsul]

We're a dual-OS house (well triple really, but I haven't used my Linux box in forever). A few responses to some points above.

Macs can degrade in speed over time, particularly if you upgrade the OS. We had an iBook G4 with OS X 10.1 on it (what was that, bobcat?) and had it progressively upgraded to whatever the current one is (snow cheetah?). Anyway.... that thing was pretty fast when we first started using it, but by last year it was dog slow. Frustratingly slow. IMNSHO Apple is just as guilty of adding bloat to its OS as Microsoft is, so beware of upgrading to their newest OS releases on older machines. Same is true of Windows.

My wife has had a number of stability issues with her Mac. She's been using OpenOffice for word processing - we didn't want to have to buy Office for Mac. That thing constantly crashed her machine. Constantly. She got so fed up we went out and bought Office for her. It's been stable since. Ironic, huh?

My wife's iBook G3 had three mainboard failures in three years. Thankfully we had AppleCare and had those all covered. After the third one, we actually got Apple to replace the machine with the aforementioned iBook G4. I've never had such significant hardware issues with any of the 5 PCs I've owned. YMMV.

I too never understand why Apple Fanbois talk up the intuitiveness of Mac OS. It's not intuitive at all to me. Maybe because I spent my whole time "growing up" with X11 systems on Unix and on MS Windows. But dragging a CD from the desktop to the trash ejects it? That isn't intuitive at all. That sounds like something I'd do if I wanted to delete all the files from the disk.

I will heartily agree with the previous poster who laments Microsoft changing the interface so much. I've had Win7 at home for a few months now, and I still have trouble remembering the new way to do things.

[tecumseh]

I have had numerous macs and have only had one major problem on a desktop mac this is several Macs going back 25 years but have had several problems with Apple laptops. I wonder even for many a consumer if laptops are even worth it. My son my take our laptop to college and I will run an iMac and network with an iPad at home and take the iPad for travel.

There is an interesting review by Mossberg in the WSJ about this.
http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20100331/apple-ipad-review/

[SoCalDukeFan]

I assume that I can install and run my xp programs on the mac and then slowly upgrade and install mac versions as I see fit.

Is that correct?

Thanks

Dick Fay

[camion]

I assume that I can install and run my xp programs on the mac and then slowly upgrade and install mac versions as I see fit.

Is that correct?

Thanks

Dick Fay

Why would you assume that? Commercial applications are generally sold for a single operating system. Microsoft Office, for instance has Office 2007 for PC and Office 2008 for Mac. There are however numerous open source applications, including Open Office, that you can get for $0 and will run on the operating system of your choice, PC, Mac, Linux.

[hc5duke]

I assume that I can install and run my xp programs on the mac and then slowly upgrade and install mac versions as I see fit.


Commercial applications are generally sold for a single operating system. Microsoft Office, for instance has Office 2007 for PC and Office 2008 for Mac.

if you want to, you can run Windows apps on a mac, but basically what camion said: if the license does not allow you to run multiple instances of it, you may end up having to pay for another one. If you are looking for Office, Office for Mac is so bloated and useless (sorry DA!), I would recommend getting iWorks, which is like $50-$80 range as opposed to the $300 range you'd need to pay for MS Office. Or OpenOffice like camion suggests, but I just never liked it.

[tecumseh]

Someone asked about Mac's on CTN recently, and here was my response.

I think they are pain to use, and contrary to popular belief, you can get a virus. t.

Yeah but to put it into medical lingo while we are it. It is like with PCs you are immunosuppressed and you will catch a LOT of viruses. Sure you can get a virus with a Mac but it is MUCH less probable, like by a factor greater than 10 and probably closer to a 100.

[duke2014]

. Currently, the DVD burner refuses to recognize unburned DVD's and hence can't burn. Used to work, don't know why it doesn't now. Still burns CDs. Weird.


try clearing the PRAM- That worked for me when I had the same problem

[theAlaskanBear]

I assume that I can install and run my xp programs on the mac and then slowly upgrade and install mac versions as I see fit.

Is that correct?

Thanks

Dick Fay


No and yes. If you want to, you can run both Windows OS AND Mac OS on the same mac laptop/desktop using a utility called bootcamp. So if you want Windows applications you can start the computer up in Windows and switch over to Mac when you want.

Almost all applications are exclusively for Windows or Mac. You have to buy separate versions of the applications made specifically for the operating system usually.

[theAlaskanBear]

My mac crashes/stalls just as often as my XP machines did. Granted, I'm a poweruser, and at least there aren't those annoying windows update messages; but the instability of XP has been grossly exaggerated.


Again, my mac takes just as long to start up from completely powering down (>1 minute). I never power down any of my machines, so this doesn't affect me, but I will give you that coming back from sleep state is slightly faster on the mac than XP/Vista


Transferring files from my macbook to macbookpro was the worst mistake I made. This caused so many issues later down the road that I ended up re-installing OSX and starting fresh again. Again, as a power user, Apple's migration app probably didn't catch all of the things that needed to transfer for my machines, but still, it's not perfect. Not having to "activate my copy of windows" was a nice feature though.


Except you have to pay Apple another $300 for Time Capsule. So yes, you DO need to pay for it.

Just out of curiousity, but what kind of work are you doing on your Mac that crashes it, and what kind of Mac are you using?

[hc5duke]

Just out of curiousity, but what kind of work are you doing on your Mac that crashes it, and what kind of Mac are you using?

Web development/iPhone development. 15" Macbook pro. I have 4gigs of ram and it's typically close to 100% used up/reserved, and if I'm running the iPhone simulator or I've got Parallels open (not at the same time), my CPU usage is likely to be close to that as well.

[2535Miles]

Microsoft's handling of multiple-boot operating systems is atrocious. I would've happily paid $1,000 for the ability to expand a partition and then install 2003 Server on the newly expanded partition (already running XP, Vista, Win7). It is not easy and one could argue it is impossible for even an advanced Windows user.

In the time it took me to write this post, I could've walked a first time user through the process.

[greybeard]

I'm computer dumb. We're talking real dumb. Work in Word for work. Need to be able to send documents back and forth via e-mail. Surf net. Tired of having to get machine wiped; have optiplex 4.

Would you recommend that I buy this for $550?

iMac 20" G5
no scratches , exellent condition\1.8 GHz G % processor
OSX 10.4.11 Tiger
1.25 G Ram
250 hard Drive
super Drive DVD/CD
Bluetooth/wireless key and mouse
Apple standard softwear, MS office, Word

[hc5duke]

It sounds like the computer is about 5 years old, I think you're overpaying. If you already have a monitor (or don't mind getting a new one), why not get a Mac Mini? $585 for this one (http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Mac-mini-MC238LL-Desktop/dp/B002QQ8AJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1271128827&sr=1-1) and gets you
2.26GHz dual-core
2G Ram
160GB hard drive
superdrive

The only things missing are mouse/keyboard/monitor, but I wouldn't trust a 5-year old LCD monitor to last much longer. Add iWorks for $70 and you'd be paying $655 (no tax, no shipping) for a much better computer (i.e. one that would last you another 5 years instead of 1-2)


Would you recommend that I buy this for $550?

iMac 20" G5
no scratches , exellent condition\1.8 GHz G % processor
OSX 10.4.11 Tiger
1.25 G Ram
250 hard Drive
super Drive DVD/CD
Bluetooth/wireless key and mouse
Apple standard softwear, MS office, Word

[greybeard]

It sounds like the computer is about 5 years old, I think you're overpaying. If you already have a monitor (or don't mind getting a new one), why not get a Mac Mini? $585 for this one (http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Mac-mini-MC238LL-Desktop/dp/B002QQ8AJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1271128827&sr=1-1) and gets you
2.26GHz dual-core
2G Ram
160GB hard drive
superdrive

The only things missing are mouse/keyboard/monitor, but I wouldn't trust a 5-year old LCD monitor to last much longer. Add iWorks for $70 and you'd be paying $655 (no tax, no shipping) for a much better computer (i.e. one that would last you another 5 years instead of 1-2)

Wow, this is great. A guy who got an Ivy League education on the cheap, having gone to one of Cornell's state colleges, gets the benefits of a Duke education, without the costs. Actually, with a state scholarship, the entire deal for a year on the hill cost me less than 2/3 of what the mini now costs. Please, no "you-get-what-you-pay-for-comments," and yes I do know how much that dates me--I'm the one looking in the mirror every morning.
Thanks, hc5!

[theAlaskanBear]

I have to concur with hc5duke. At this stage in development, try to avoid buying Apple processors that are not Intel! That means avoiding the g5s and 4s if you can!

[alteran]

I have to concur with hc5duke. At this stage in development, try to avoid buying Apple processors that are not Intel! That means avoiding the g5s and 4s if you can!

Not to mention, non-Intel Macs can't run OSX Snow Leopard +. You're not just locked out of the future, you're locked out of the present.

[alteran]

try clearing the PRAM- That worked for me when I had the same problem

Thanks for this tip. Hope to try this sometime this weekend.

Never even heard of the PRAM before. Messing with it looks a little hairy. If you have any advice on doing it manually versus using one of the programs that just does it for you, I'd be all ears.. er... eyes.

[duke2014]

easy- just reboot while holding down -option-P-R

wait for 3 chimes

let go and allow it to boot as normal

[OZZIE4DUKE]

easy- just reboot while holding down -option-P-R

wait for 3 chimes

let go and allow it to boot as normal
Leave it to a young whippersnapper to know how to do something like this! :cool:

[moonpie23]

I have to concur with hc5duke. At this stage in development, try to avoid buying Apple processors that are not Intel! That means avoiding the g5s and 4s if you can!

depends on what you are using it for.....yes, you're definitely at a ceiling with regard to software and OS support, however, the G5s are incredibly stable and efficient machines....

depending on the price, and how long you're going to accept being "behind", a refurb g5 might suit your needs just fine...

[alteran]

easy- just reboot while holding down -option-P-R

wait for 3 chimes

let go and allow it to boot as normal

Weird. I think it's clearing the PRAM but I'm not sure. I do the splat-option-P-R thing after the system boots. It does a rapid additional reboot but doesn't beep three times.

And I still get the "laser calibration" nonsense.

If you have any other suggestions I'd appreciate it, otherwise thanks for trying to fix my lemon for free!

[2535Miles]

Weird. I think it's clearing the PRAM but I'm not sure. I do the splat-option-P-R thing after the system boots. It does a rapid additional reboot but doesn't beep three times.

And I still get the "laser calibration" nonsense.

If you have any other suggestions I'd appreciate it, otherwise thanks for trying to fix my lemon for free!
Three-chimes is not automatic. It chimes each time you restart, so you need to keep the keys depressed through each restart until you hear the third chime. PRAM is finicky, as such some people recommend zapping it even more. I've never had a case where I could identify the difference between three restarts or five, six.

[duke2014]

yeah, what 2535 said- make sure you hold the keys down from before the computer turns on for the first time until it chimes for the 3rd time. You will notice it rebooting- just wait until you hear the 3rd chime, then release

[camion]

Another good thing to do as preventive maintenance is to run the Disk Utility and repair permissions on your system disk. This can fix many odd, quirky problems when things don't quite work right. The Disk Utility is in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder. I generally drag it to my Dock so it will be handy, and I run it after any major upgrade.

Disk Utility repairs the permissions for files installed by the Mac OS X Installer, Software Update, or an Apple software installer. It doesn’t repair permissions for your documents, your home folder, and third-party applications.

How do you repair permissions? Glad you asked.
1. Run Disk Utility and select the disk you want to check. Usually it's called "Macintosh HD" and you shold see it listed in the left hand window.

2. Click the First Aid tab.

3.Click "Repair Disk Permissions" to test and repair permissions. This could take anywhere from 1 to 15 minutes depending on your particular system.

[alteran]

Another good thing to do as preventive maintenance is to run the Disk Utility and repair permissions on your system disk. This can fix many odd, quirky problems when things don't quite work right. The Disk Utility is in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder. I generally drag it to my Dock so it will be handy, and I run it after any major upgrade.

Disk Utility repairs the permissions for files installed by the Mac OS X Installer, Software Update, or an Apple software installer. It doesn’t repair permissions for your documents, your home folder, and third-party applications.

How do you repair permissions? Glad you asked.
1. Run Disk Utility and select the disk you want to check. Usually it's called "Macintosh HD" and you shold see it listed in the left hand window.

2. Click the First Aid tab.

3.Click "Repair Disk Permissions" to test and repair permissions. This could take anywhere from 1 to 15 minutes depending on your particular system.

Did this. Thanks.

[alteran]

yeah, what 2535 said- make sure you hold the keys down from before the computer turns on for the first time until it chimes for the 3rd time. You will notice it rebooting- just wait until you hear the 3rd chime, then release

I tried this and it failed, but I just realized that I have a bluetooth keyboard and this is probably the problem. I'll grab the old school USB from my other Mac and try again.

[2535Miles]

I tried this and it failed, but I just realized that I have a bluetooth keyboard and this is probably the problem. I'll grab the old school USB from my other Mac and try again.
Good call alteran. I'm pretty sure that Bluetooth settings are stored in PRAM so if you zap it once, then you're hosed. USB will work.