So, I'm getting a Mac

[giza]

Yep, you read that right, I'm getting a new computer soon, and it's going to be an Apple G5. Here are the specs:

- Power Mac G5 1.6GHz/256/80G/SuperDrive/PCI/GeFr5200
- 17" Flat panel
- 3 years of Apple Care
- HP DeskJet 5150

Total cost is about $3K. I figure if I can put $1K down, I can pay $66/mo on it over the course of 3 years, which is just as long as Apple Care will last. Wow, it's almost like buynig a car!

Here are some of the reasons why I am interested in a getting a Mac:

- Apple Care is a decent warranty. Full parts for 3 years. And from what I've heard from people, Apple has a good history of customer service.

- The hardware just works. I'll be able to plug in things like digital cameras and scanners via firewire, and not have any problems with them.

- The OS is also a lot nicer than Windows. I won't have to worry about worms. In fact, since it's BSD, I can install all of my UNIX stuff onto it! Furthermore, since the front end (Aqua?) is fairly advanced, I can also do things like.. watch Quicktime and DVD movies!

- Backups: The machine comes with a CD/DVD writer, so I can do backups to DVDs, which are a over 4 Gigs, the current size of my tapes. Not only that, but I'll be backing up onto something that won't require special software to run to extract it. That's a definite bonus.

- Built-in ethernet jack. Believe it or not, my current machine does not have ethernet on it. I could put in an adapter, but RedHat 6.1 is kinda picky about what it supports. (And I don't wanna upgrade, either. That's asking for trouble)

Comments

[cheetor.livejournal.com]

But... But... Its a Mac

[atpaw.livejournal.com]

*overacted scream* Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ... (time passes) ... ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

Seriously...

[lionman.livejournal.com]

You might want to check and find out who can -service- your Mac in your area, or if you'll have to mail it back to Apple. Sometimes finding someone decent to service your system under Apple Care can suck rocks. :-<

Especially since the Apple Cert testing is more complicated than M$ testing.

Re: Seriously...

[lionman.livejournal.com]

I wholly agree. Check into making sure you can get an Apple Specialist to work on your unit before you buy it, no arguments.

However, I've got 3 folks who have more than 3-decades of Mac experience between them that have failed the apple certification testing more than once, each. So, I'm afraid that I have to believe that they've made the tests a wee bit harder than they probably ought to.

When I took them, they'd only recently broken off from CompTIA, and the tests were more like those given by CompTIA, and therefore more based on a good troubleshooting technique, rather than knowing the Apple-way of doing things. IMHO.

Re: Seriously...

[james968.livejournal.com]

The thing is that Macintosh experience does not equal Hardware experience.

Re: Seriously...

[giza.livejournal.com]

What's the different between getting AppleCare certified and being an Apple Specialist? And how does AppleLoan make a difference for warranty repairs, is there something I'm missing?

I did search for a specialist in my area, and found about 3 within half an hour's drive. :-)

[mannu.livejournal.com]

What version of OS X does it run? 10.3?

[giza.livejournal.com]

It will, yes.

I was at a "party" (for lack of a better term) at an Apple Store last Friday, where I was able to see firsthand how cool some of the Macs were, too!

[zthulu.livejournal.com]

I have a dual G5 now, and I'm very happy with it. The BSD subsystem is nice, and X11 is integrated right into Panther (just remember to select it as an option at install time, or else you'll have to download the package later). Sometimes hacking a compile is a little more troublesome than on Linux, but it's worth it -- the system overall utterly rocks.

Of course, I also do a lot of video & sound editing, graphics work, & Director programming, so having a Mac is pretty much essential...

For a straight server, I still stick with Linux on a i686... (R.I.P. Alpha.. ), and I still keep a Windows machine around for Games.. :)

I've tried switching to Windows twice now, and I keep coming back to Apple...

[james968.livejournal.com]

The X11 is either on CD 2 or 3 and you can install it from there.

later,
James

[giza.livejournal.com]

I've having problems justifying that to myself, since a 1.8Ghz is an extra $400, it gives me a bigger HD (which I don't need), and MIGHT allow me to upgrade to more memory in the future. If I get a 1.6 Ghz, I can spend ~$200 on 1 Gig of memory and I should have all the memory I'll need for the next 3 years, no?

[rustitobuck.livejournal.com]

On the other paw, we paid for Apple RAM for my new PBG4, which means my machine hasn't been crashing. There's a lot of marginal RAM out there, and when you get some, and you take your crashing machine in, you get it back with the marginal RAM removed and a note from the service department.

I like getting my accessories from Other World Computing. Generally, they're on top of the RAM issue as well, and they have guarantees on the RAM. So if you get aftermarket RAM, check them out.

As for service, if you have an Apple Store that you can visit, take the machine there. They can diagnose problems, and if it has to go in, they can dispatch the repair from there as well.

I do recommend getting at least a Gb of RAM. It's cheap enough, and it really makes the diff.

[freakylynx.livejournal.com]

"1.6 Gigawatz??? 1.6 Gigawatz!!! *runs off screaming* 1.6 Gigawatz!"

*looks around confused*
"What the hell is a Gigawat?"


Oops, my bad. You said Gigahertz :P

I have no experience with Macs, I can't comment. All I know is that their game selection is smaller than the regular game selection at EB ;)

[unciaa.livejournal.com]

Mmm. Games. Hear hear. We ruv games. ^^

[giza.livejournal.com]

That's what my PS2 and low resolution monitor (aka TV!) are for.

[unciaa.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeeh. Paying 30% more for games to run at a quarter resolution and look grainy as hell isn't my idea of a good deal, but whatever floats your boat.

[jfbat.livejournal.com]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Another convert!

[tgeller.livejournal.com]

One of us... one of us...

But seriously, good luck with it! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I don't know what the current system is, but it used to be that anyone could become an Apple Developer and get ALL system updates for free, plus other nice spiffs. Let's see... ah, here we are! $500 to become a "Select" member is money well spent, if you plan to do any Mac development. And certainly I'd recommend the free "Online" membership.

[james968.livejournal.com]

Plus I think you get a 20% discount on the purchase of 1 computer a year.

3000 x .2= $600 savings.

(I'm not positive its 20%, but you can probably find it on the web)

[rustitobuck.livejournal.com]

It's around 20%. You get what the special version of the Apple Store lists. Select members get a hardware purchase each time they renew their membership before expiration. So you get one after a year, and each year after that.

Most everything you get as a Select developer, you can get online, even joining the seeding program. Select gets you stuff in the mail, and other goodies.