Foo - G5 iMac

Got one for the home a few days ago. 20" screen, 1.8ghz engine, 1gb ram, small Klipsch speakers, new printer. Went from a very high mileage, somewhat crippled iMac DV (2000 model) running 9.2, to this.

Couldn't quite justify the tower equivalent, but I won't be needing cards for audio or video, just web development. For everything my high school age kids and I do, it's a serious powerhouse.

OSX Panther is a beautiful thing. My life has vastly improved.

Boy, do I need some sleep.

Congrats. I'm not a Mac guy, but I like some of the things they do. I just wish they'd let you inside the case. Is that the really nice 20" wide screen flat panel? That thing rocks.

I just wish they'd let you inside the case. Is that the really nice 20" wide screen flat panel? That thing rocks.

Yes, the 20 - pure luxury after the little one. They say it's a cinch to change out ram, but yes, it is a pretty closed system. Luckily, in my situation that is not an issue.
iTunes' Visualizer is keeping me up late :p

I picked up the 17' late last year with 1GB RAM, the 20' is $500 more down here. I bought a mini-DV video camera with the difference. It works just great using FCP HD and DVD Studio Pro. It's a wicked machine. My old G3 350 with a massive 256RAM and 6GB HD ;) has been put out to pasture. :cry: Now I just need to justify an ipod to my wife, wish me luck.

CHEERS.

Mark

I had an iPod and sold it...I couldn't justify it.

My old G3 350 with a massive 256RAM and 6GB HD ;) has been put out to pasture.

I'm keeping the little red iMac's fires warm while I get all our old stuff off of it. My daughter sort of feels sad for it.


Now I just need to justify an ipod to my wife, wish me luck.


Perhaps if it was to be HER iPod?

I just went through an upgrade. All I wanted was to buy my wife an IPOD for Christmas. Well, first I had to deal with deciding to upgrade my second generation G3, 400MHZ IMAC to OS-X, or buy another computer.

It was a tough decision. $300 for all the upgrades needed (software + memory) or $500 for a new modern Dell. I really didn't want to buy a new computer in the end, especially not a PC, so I upgraded. First through 3 upgrades of 9.XX and then to 10.3. My biggest fear was slow performance.

I was surprised at how easy it all was. Installation and setup were flawless and the computer works better than it ever did. I'm not a power user but for surfing, email and MS Office stuff, it's great.

Not too many people would be happy with upgrading a 4 year old relic, but this computer has been a rock. Long live the Mac.

55/Rad

Macs are very behind PCs.

Macs are very behind PCs.
How?

Congrats man, sounds like a sweet machine!

:beer:

Got one for the home a few days ago. 20" screen, 1.8ghz engine, 1gb ram, small Klipsch speakers, new printer. Went from a very high mileage, somewhat crippled iMac DV (2000 model) running 9.2, to this.

Hmmm. I was looking at those this weekend, along with the new Mac Mini's and Powerbooks.

I've got a late '99 G4 350MHz tower with 512mb ram running OS 9.2.2 w/Viewsonic 17" CRT that's on its 2nd and 3rd hard drives. It's one of those funky G4s that doesn't want to run OS X (Yikes! architecture). Aside from hard drive issues, it's been a great machine; however, the temptation to upgrade to a G5 and OS X is strong.

Aside from trying to wrestling with the economics associated with an upgrade to the Mac Mini @ $599 + $250 for the 1gb ram upgrade, the machine you bought, or a 15" Powerbook. My PC needs (Polar & HAC4 software + Sony P100 photo downloading) are being handled quite nicely by a Compaq Presario 1900 series Laptop I picked up on close-out for $600 so it's hard to justify another laptoop since the PC can handle Email & Web access when we're on the road, so I'm thinking the Powerbook is definitely out of scope since updates to my Web sites is hardly time sensitive. The Mini Mac is a slick little box, but starts to get expensive once you pop in the extra 1gb of ram needed to run graphics-intensive programs, not to mention that a SuperDrive upgrade would be another $150. All of a sudden, the 20" box really begins to look quite attractive.

However, my biggest consternation is software compatibility. I've got a library of Adobe software (PhotoShop, Illustrator, PageMill / Go-Live, and ImageStyler), Macromedia Freehand, and all of the more basic MicroSoft and Quicken programs running on the 8.0 and 9.0-based platform and am not looking forward to a new OS that requires new software to take full advantage of the enhancements. Mac Classic is apparently bundled with all of the new machines so I guess I'd be curious to know how much of an improvement anyone has seen running the new machines in classic mode with older software?

Anway, no decision was the easy decision this weekend but congrats on your new machine. They are way-cool... and hardly lagging behind PCs in terms of anything that really matters. Well, except vulnerability to viruses; PCs definitely have the upper hand there.

Macs are very behind PCs.
Shimano is "very behind" Campy. Or is it the other way around?

55/Rad

Nice purchase Bryan, thats a sweet machine you have there:)

The fastest Mac runs at what, 1.8 ghz? Whereas the fastest PC is up to about 3.4 ghz.

The fastest Mac runs at what, 1.8 ghz? Whereas the fastest PC is up to about 3.4 ghz.


Aren't you the complete guru? Ask some learned person how processor speeds work and then come back with your silly one-liner ******* comments!

I have both Macs and PCs and as far as I am concerned the Mac is for working with and PCs are for tampering with.

The G5 iMac is ideal for video!!!
...and the software is FREE!!!

I have both Macs and PCs and as far as I am concerned the Mac is for working with and PCs are for tampering with.


I try not to rank my perceptions as hard evidence, yet that is exactly the picture I've gotten over the years. To wit:

"How was your weekend?"

"Well, Comp USA was having a sale on Program X, so I bought and installed it, then spent all of Saturday trying to figure out why Program Y would no longer work...well, it worked at first, then Program Z opened all by itself with this weird error message, then NONE of it worked, so I tried uninstalling Program X, and Programs Y and Z would no longer open, so I had to reinstall them, and I went online to try to find out why, and then everything started acting a little weird after that so I ran Norton twice and ended up reinstalling Windows...everything seemed back to normal, but I still hadn't
installed the new version of Program X, and frankly, I'm afraid to even try it now, but of course CompUSA won't take it back, so I guess I'm screwed..."

"Gee, that's too bad. I made a pot of coffee early, turned on my computer, worked on Project A for a few hours, then finished up Project B, which got me inspired to play with Project C, where I discovered this really cool function that I went back and incorporated into Project A. Around three o'clock, I reached a stopping point, backed up the day's work, and spent the rest of the day outdoors."




The G5 iMac is ideal for video!!!
...and the software is FREE!!!

And how about that Garageband???!!!

Really, there are some fine non-Apple machines available - the real problem is WINDOWS.

...the real problem is WINDOWS.

No kidding and, as a Microsoft stockholder (no, not one of the early ones who cashed-in big time), I'm always a bit conflicted by it all.

For example, we were finally able to switch over from 56k model to DSL and installed a wireless router so that my wife could use the laptop anywhere in the house after her desktop PC's hard drive died. (BTW: Running two computers on the net while talking on the phone is way cool; can't believe how long it took DSL to become available in our area)

After getting the wireless stuff up and running I finally had the bandwidth needed to download all of the XP updates and security patches. After rebooting, the wireless connection has gone away. No amount of reconfiguration will bring it back on line so I decide to reload the software.

Turns out, the new XP updates included a whole bunch of wireless network "fixes", one of which disables all non-Microsoft approved wireless adapter cards. I received 2 different warning screens while reinstalling the Netgear software for the wireless card that issued dire warnings about the consquences of continuing my installation with a product that had not been reviewed and approved by Microsoft.

As a MSFT stockholder I'm thinking, new revenue stream from 3rd party software/hardware providers who don't want PO'd customers returning products. As a PO'd Netgear customer I'm thinking, what a load. But, then again, given all the security holes in Windows, it's probably a prudent step.

So, for anyone of you Mac users (or Mac detractors following this thread) who have PCs running XP andwho find that your network cards aren't working after a recent XP update, this is what you're up against.

I agree, Macs are way better for video edidting but they cant do half the stuff PCs can do

I agree, Macs are way better for video edidting but they cant do half the stuff PCs can do
What, like crashing?

Haha, i just feel limited when using a Mac.

Haha, i just feel limited when using a Mac.

What type of processing, analysis, or programs do you run on your PC that aren't supported by Mac's running native OS or virtual PC software?

Just curiuos, again I own a PC because there are a few applications that aren't fully supported by my older G4 / OS 9 system, e.g., some CAD programs, Polar & Ciclosport HAC4 software for HRM/Cycling Computers and some rather obscure software. However, for all of the mainstream applications or uses, I can't think of anything that doesn't run on the Mac.

What, like crashing?

And getting viruses.

What type of processing, analysis, or programs do you run on your PC that aren't supported by Mac's running native OS or virtual PC software?

Just curiuos, again I own a PC because there are a few applications that aren't fully supported by my older G4 / OS 9 system, e.g., some CAD programs, Polar & Ciclosport HAC4 software for HRM/Cycling Computers and some rather obscure software. However, for all of the mainstream applications or uses, I can't think of anything that doesn't run on the Mac.


AHAH! If Mac is so superior, why is there virtual pc for mac but no virtual mac for pc?

AHAH! If Mac is so superior, why is there virtual pc for mac but no virtual mac for pc?

Because it's a dumbass program to keep PC people happy. It slows down the computer and freezes when it feels a need to.

Any more foolish questions? :D

my first computer was an altair...you had to hook it up to a TV and i think it had a 1k processor. you really could not do anything useful with it

my first "fast" computer was a commodore 64...the 5" disk drive cost more than the computer itself...i think it is still up in my parents attic...the apple II was too expensive at the time..my best friend had an original "apple"...some of the parts were actually nailed to a real wood board

my wife bought the "original" macintosh when she taught school and that computer served us well for over a decade

made the switch over to dell in the late 90s...it was an excellent computer and windows 98 was a good operating system

wanted a laptop and bought the absolute top of the line gateway in 01...it had a 17" screen and windows ME

that os caused me to move back to mac

i have a g4 imac 20 and a g4 power book...very stable systems...my wife recently got a work related hp laptop...it is 1 month old and has lots of very nice features and is really cutting edge. windows xp sp2 is a much improved os, but microsoft has really gone over the top with some of its security "upgrades"...it has taken a lot of work to make it compatible with my home wireless network..especially wireless printing. the simplicity of os x really hit home then....apple os x is truly the "plug and play" operating system

I'm a PC guy myself... Work on them for a living also.

I am tempted by the new Mac Mini, though I think the $500 would be better spent in upgrades for my bike. I have 4 computers in this room, one in my parents' room. Most could be operational and networked with a little tinkering, one needs a new hard drive which I haven't gotten around to yet.. not really worth the trouble for a 233MHz machine. I do have a 450 that'll probably be my 98 machine/scanner host/web server if I get dsl.


Anthonaut: There's a reason Mac's are used, and it's not solely based on customer loyalty. I admit windows XP is flawed at best, and though I've only used Mac OS very briefly, it seems like a great piece of software.
The megahertz race really isn't a concern... Getting x amount of work done in less time is more to the point. I think a Mac would be perfect for a beginning user, before they get hooked on crappy software they 'can't live without' that's only made for windows.

http://my.execpc.com/~saruman/art/paintings/armacgdon.JPG

Because it's a dumbass program to keep PC people happy. It slows down the computer and freezes when it feels a need to.


:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

So theres a need to keep PC people happy but not Mac people happy. (How could you be happy with a mac anyway?)

So theres a need to keep PC people happy but not Mac people happy. (How could you be happy with a mac anyway?)

Keeping PC people happy is like masochism, nutcases love it! :D

One is not just happy with a Mac, one enjoys deep inner peace and contentment!

Along with fewer keystrokes on average.

So theres a need to keep PC people happy but not Mac people happy. (How could you be happy with a mac anyway?)

You seem really cranky about this whole thing. Did a mac user steal your girlfriend?

There's a reason Mac's are used, and it's not solely based on customer loyalty. I admit windows XP is flawed at best, and though I've only used Mac OS very briefly, it seems like a great piece of software.
The megahertz race really isn't a concern... Getting x amount of work done in less time is more to the point. I think a Mac would be perfect for a beginning user, before they get hooked on crappy software they 'can't live without' that's only made for windows.

I do like an objective observation from a non-Mac person!

You seem really cranky about this whole thing. Did a mac user steal your girlfriend?

Yeah, i want her back.

Yeah, i want her back.


Could we say she was the Apple of your eye?..... :p

Macs are very behind PCs.

Have you actually tried one? I'm a computational physicist and push machines to the edge. For software development I used a PC from 1984 to 2002. When the dual G4's came out the combination of 10.1 and growing software availability put the MAC ahead. With the dual G5's I'm now using, the PC is far behind. MAC's are back in many labs that require lots of computing power. I don't need a PC and and SGI anymore - the MAC plays both roles. It's my office machine and my research machine. I could get the same power out of a Windows workstation, but I'd pay far more for the dual Xeon's and I'd be stuck with XP. Then there is the other advantage - number of virus problems since the switch: zero.

Its cos Macs are so worthless no one can be bothered making viruses for them.