I don't know what to do

T

Tarambana

Registered
Hi,

I am a 23 years old university student in Madrid, and I were wondering about switchiing to Macs. I just love their looks and I think OS X will surely be reliable enough for my normal work.

Yet, I have some questions. First: there is so much fuss about the new IBM PPC to be presented un june, that I don't know wether it would be worth waiting. Second: it is exactly the same about Mac OS X 10.3 Panther - Should I wait for it so that I have it bundled with my new Mac? And last but not least: I have heard all the rumors about OS X on x86 and, although I think it would be cool, I am unsure wether to believe them or not; and I don't want to pay 2,000 $ for a Mac and find out that te OS works on my old computer.


Thanks in advance.


[Sorry about my english] :)
 
What do you need ?

Most probably, you need either an iMac or an iBook, maybe a PowerBook. None of these is expected to use the new IBM PPC during several years. So unless you want to buy a PowerMac, you have no reason to wait on the hardware side.

For the software... the next one is always better than the previous, and you can expect one new OS X generation each 12-18 months. If you buy now and the new OS is released in June you can probably have it for free or nearly free.

So the answer is the usualy answer in the computer world. If you don't need a new computer, wait, tomorrow will be better. If you need a new computer, chose the one you need, with possibly a little more RAM and disk space than you need now, and buy it.
 
Thanks a lot.

Indeed, I were thinking of buying an iMac 1GHz, and adding it another 256 MB RAM module.


Once again, thanks.

:)
 
That's what I bought... it's a fantastic machine ! And really fast, yes !
 
Great!

By the way, I have got an offer of a second hand iMac (the one with the 800 MHz and 256 RAM MB): Do you think it is also enough to run most common applications (chatting, e-mail, word processing, Photoshop, etc.)?; Are second hand Macs oftenly reliable?

Do Macs suffer from same "out of store lose of value" that PC do? I ask because he is selling it a 15% cheaper than bought from Apple, do you think it is fair?


Once again, thanks a lot in advance for your time and attention. -I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel-


P.S.: [I had never found a forum which worked so well for M$ Window$ users]
 
Lol

Just noticed (after checking the link on your signature) that you have some terrific pics of Neuchatel. Hope not to jump onto something too personal ;-) but, do you live there? One of my dearest high school friends (Cecile Zehr), used to go on Summer Holidays to Neuchatel, where her parents came from.


As we often say:

"El mundo es un pañuelo"
"The world is like a tissue"
 
Sorry to make these three separate posts, but, I almost forgot to ask:does anyone know why Apple charges more for the same computer when bought in € rather than in USD. I ask because it is above what would be a direct conversion from one to another currency. Is it because of taxes in the USA or in the EU?
 
Main difference is taxes (especially VAT) I think. The price even varies between EU countries ... but there probably are extra costs also beforehand, import taxes or something, or just extra transport.

Good luck with your Mac! I bought one for university study too and I was very very satisfied. I started out with an iBook and now I bought a 12" PowerBook: laptops are really great! An iBook can effectively replace your desktop PC and moreover you can take it anywhere, to class, to the library, at weekends wherever you are ... but an iMac is great too. ;) We have them at our faculty: wonderful things. :)
 
Cat

Not at all...

Your page is anything but boring! On the other hand, I think your thesis must be of great interest to read. Though I study law, I LOVE Philosophy, and right know I am reading Betrand Russell's "Principia Mathematica"


Thanks for the advice. I'll check The Powerbooks
 
Originally posted by Tarambana
Hi,

I am a 23 years old university student in Madrid, and I were wondering about switchiing to Macs. I just love their looks and I think OS X will surely be reliable enough for my normal work.

Yet, I have some questions. First: there is so much fuss about the new IBM PPC to be presented un june, that I don't know wether it would be worth waiting. Second: it is exactly the same about Mac OS X 10.3 Panther - Should I wait for it so that I have it bundled with my new Mac? And last but not least: I have heard all the rumors about OS X on x86 and, although I think it would be cool, I am unsure wether to believe them or not; and I don't want to pay 2,000 $ for a Mac and find out that te OS works on my old computer.


Thanks in advance.


[Sorry about my english] :)
Click to expand...

There are many reasons to buy a Mac, but I think you'll be in a better position to decide if you know the reasons NOT to buy a Mac:

1) The processor will eventually change with the risk of rendering your software inoperable and thus forcing you to buy them all over again

2) Terrible upgradeability for the Macs. Many peripherals can plug into a Mac, without actually working

3) Every operating system upgrade with cost you a great deal of money and unless you upgrade, you will be ignored when comes time for software upgrades. Even Windows doesn't do that to its users.

4) If your computer ever has problems, you have to send it to Apple at a delay of ~4 days. You can take a PC to any computer store for service.

5) Extremely high price for Mac

6) OS X operating system JUST AS STABLE, not moreso, than Windows XP but way more secure.

That's about it.

Andre
 
Thanks, Cellfish. Nevertheless, I don't really understand what you mean when you say that the processors change: does the CPU just go faster (don't think so)?; is it that Apple introduces that fast new technologies in their CPU to yield my software useless?


As usual, thanks a lot.
 
Originally posted by cellfish
There are many reasons to buy a Mac, but I think you'll be in a better position to decide if you know the reasons NOT to buy a Mac:

1) The processor will eventually change with the risk of rendering your software inoperable and thus forcing you to buy them all over again

2) Terrible upgradeability for the Macs. Many peripherals can plug into a Mac, without actually working

3) Every operating system upgrade with cost you a great deal of money and unless you upgrade, you will be ignored when comes time for software upgrades. Even Windows doesn't do that to its users.

4) If your computer ever has problems, you have to send it to Apple at a delay of ~4 days. You can take a PC to any computer store for service.

5) Extremely high price for Mac

6) OS X operating system JUST AS STABLE, not moreso, than Windows XP but way more secure.

That's about it.

Andre
Click to expand...

Firstly osx is not going to be on x86 for the forseeable future, don't read too much into the rumours.

Also, Andre, I wouldn't entirely agree with some of your points. The bit about processor change seems a bit harsh - consumer macs won't change to PPC 970 for a while, and PCs will be moving to 64bit chips eventually too. As far as I know the 970 is 32bit backwards compatible so it wouldn't render software unusable.

I also wouldn't say that macs have terrible upgradeability. True, graphics cards especially cost a bit more and if you have an imac then you don't have the pci ports that a tower will have but they do use industry standard ram and have usb and firewire which is ample for most expansion.

I won't argue that Macs aren't too expensive compared to PCs but remember that they tend to hold their value better and often have better build and component quality.

In terms of service, I've never had a bad experience with Apple. Also, servicing appears to be better in Europe than the US. Bear in mind, if you have to get a PC repaired under warranty then, as with most electronic products, it will have to go back to the dealer or manufacturer, not really any different from Apple.

I won't sugarcoat the mac too much, it has its flaws as does any system, but I think some of the above points are a bit harsh, though not neccissarily untrue.
 
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