iMac

[thegunner]

Hey guys, does anyone have an iMac? If so, is it worth the money?
I may get a new computer so Im just wondering what the best option is.

 

[Ax3C]

I own both a PC and a G3 Power Mac Blue & White tower.

I prefer Apple products for their user-friendly designs and applications, virus-free OS, and its raw processing power. Mac OS-X (Tiger) is one of the easiest, most user-friendly OS's available today.

Yet, I also enjoy using the PC due to its large, native software library and components.

Here is a Google web search link on iMac reviews and another for PC reviews. I know this isn't really what you're aiming for, but it may help make more informed choices based on functionality, design, cost, and features once you get more input from other Members.

Good luck!! :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

> Google - iMac Reviews

> Google - PC Reviews

 

[BNF]

I need more info about what you do and want to do.

 

[thegunner]

I dont work from home so I am just looking for a computer to watch movies, listen to music, use with my digital camera and surf the web.
I will probably not go for the iMac as it is pretty expensive and im sure I could get something cheaper to suit my needs.
I want a good PC that is fast but easy to use. Simple designs etc...
PS thanks asianxxxchickk for the input.

 

[baultista]

If you know how to use a PC there's no point in getting a Mac. Macs are frustrating to use, to say the least. To the average user it may not make a difference; they can still check their emails, listen to music and post on message boards. If you're interested in photo editing, video mixing, making music, or other multimedia stuff, Mac software acutally makes it pretty easy.

 

[Tachi]

If you know how to use a PC there's no point in getting a Mac. Macs are frustrating to use, to say the least.

Frustrating? How so?

 

[member2686]

Macs are tailored to pedestrian, "soccer mom," home computer users (they're relatively simple to use) with big bank accounts and also to graphics people (Macs ARE good for graphics!); the irony is that Macs are LOADED with computing power, but they're marketed to "Susie Homemaker." They never have been competitive with PCs cost-wise, and they're frustrating in that the porting over of software from Windows-based PCs to Macs often takes months or even over a year. I was playing The SIMs a YEAR before my brother, who owns a Mac, could even buy a copy. :eek: I first started out as a n00b computer user with Macs, and then Windows opened up and I could see the world. lol

:ban: :thefinger

So...lol...my advice, to stay on-topic, is to buy a Windows PC.

 

[BNF]

Macs are not soccer mom computers and the amount of machines that you see in advertising, design, biotech and engineering (not to mention the US TV firm NBC did all their realtime editing and graphics on Macs) should prove that. (Ok, not all that is done with iMacs, but the OS is the same..)

Since you didn't mention games, and since I could care less about games, I've nothing to say on that issue.

For surfing the net, it is a superior machine - period. No spyware, trojans or viruses.

For music.... that should be obvious enough.

Every new Mac comes bundled with iLife '06, which has more photoediting AND organizing capabilites than most people need. It also includes iMovieHD for importing and editing all types of video, iDVD for burning (Windows does not even natively supporty DVD burning ).

Nightfly makes his case against Macs the same way every time, and, respectfully, his experience is a decade too old.

The cost of the machine is really based on two things - a superior design and build and as a way to fund the OS. The simplicity extends as far as you want it too - if you call the UNIX frame underneath simple....

The new iMacs (and minis) have Intel processors. This means that software designed for PPC chip Macs will need to be converted to run on Intel Macs. All of the new Macs have "Rosetta", a software translator, meaning practically all software that has been designed for OSX Macs will run on new ones. Professional apps will need to be upgraded as the slightly slown performance is critical. As a new Mac user (even regular Mac users) will not notice any difference at all with the new chipsets.

I wouldn't bother arguing about the coming new version of Windows - every rumour and fact that has emerged has again shown it will be an inferior and truly 2nd rate product.

Lastly, go to this forum, and read the 2nd forum area "Mac Hardware". It features two subsections that will give you all of the info you need regarding switching and hardware selection.

 

[member2686]

As I said, and many points you made conceded, BNF, Macs are LOADED with functionalities but marketed to n00bs and high-end users - but principally n00bs. I don't think they're shit machines. I think their marketing and pricing is shit. They have colorful and clever TV ads for the iMac, and there's a reason for that - eye-candy for n00bs with flush wallets. lol

I loathe the way they sell a VERY expensive computer to the n00b user when the n00b user could be just as well off getting a $300 e-Machine at Wal-Mart, since all they're going to do is use email and use AOL (the shittiest ISP out there, IMO) to surf the web.

"Simplicity," marketed and sold to people with ample cashflow, lack of computing skills, and no knowledge that they're buying a shitload of computing power is just bizarre to me. Macs are marketed to the average consumer as "an easy to use machine," yet they're capable of doing a ton of things. THAT, and several other reasons I've mentioned in my above post, are why I don't like Apple or Mac anymore. As much as people say Microsoft is trying to bleed the world of its money, I find Mac/Apple to be even more demonizing, stupidly, because they build a wonderful computer but market it to the most naive user, and they charge a LOT of money for it, even knowing the end-user will NEVER be able to use all of their product's abilities/functions.

It's like target-marketing a sports car to a grandma who takes her "Sunday drives to the park." Sure, it's a nice car, but she's really been robbed by the seller because all she needs is basic transportation but has been convinced to overspend, and she'll (unfortunately & additionally) have to wait a year later for the tire company to come up with a new set of tires for her car (and almost every other upgrade), while every other driver has theirs. lol

:2 cents:

 

[blinddog]

I'm lucky enough to own an iMac, and though some of you may think it expensive it's not really, not when you look at the software that comes for free - iLife 06 - and the fact that it's got a built in monitor. $1299 will buy a 17" and $1699 a 20", consider that a 20" widescreen flat panel will cost around $6-700 and that means one of the fastest (and best designed) computers that you can buy is about $1000. I'd say that was pretty reasonable.

The decider in my opinion is this. Have you used a Mac before and did you like it, if yes, go for it . If no, do you fancy a go at it, if yes go for it . if you're a bit unsure just go for it

Altenatively, a PC means getting your software and hardware at better prices, quicker and easier. It means stuff downloaded from the web will probably work straight away. So there you go :dunno: it's totally up to you.

 

[member2686]

You can get a kickass, very fast Dell or HP computer, with a flat-screen, for about $600. Sure, for a mega PC with a massive display you're going to pay more, but the average Joe Blow who buys an iMac is overspending and buying way too much computing power than he needs.

I knew a guy who trashed his iMac and made an aquarium out of it. It was pretty cool. lol

 

[Phil_Mitchell]

As a graphic design student who uses both Macs and PCs there isn't a big advantage over using either from a design point of view. The software is usually produced for both formats..exept Macs tend to be industry standard so if you were using a PC for design purposes you may find it a little harder to transfer work around.
For general usage I dont see why anyone would pick a Mac over a PC as they cost a bundle ...exept the fact that they do look the nuts
I have a bunch of friends who only use Mac's and they often get annoyed that certain thinks are only available for PC's.

 

[Tachi]

AAaarrrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!
Ok, I can see where everyone's coming from here but seriously! Ok, let me list the things that are in favour of a PC:

• They're cheaper*
• They have billions of games available
• Everything is made with Windows in mind
• Um... ok, struggling now
• Ooo, you can use the latest version of MSN and sneer at the primeval version the Mac users are stuck with (Thank You Microsoft)**

Ok, now let me list some real basic points in favour of Macs:

• They're freaking simple to use (most of the time you don't even have to install drivers to connect your camera/printer up)
• They're free of lame-ass viruses, and safe as fook on the internet
• OSX isn't just a big application program like Windows (Windows runs on DOS)
• Prior to popular belief, you can do just as much on a Mac internet-wise as you can on a PC
• I'm going to get seriously flamed for everything I've just wrote aren't I

Ok enough. It's your call.

*Was gonna follow this up but most of you hate me now, so I won't

 

[Phil_Mitchell]

..you forgot the right click button as one of the advantage a PC has Tachi, lol.

 

[Ax3C]

AAaarrrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!
Ok, I can see where everyone's coming from here but seriously! Ok, let me list the things that are in favour of a PC:

• They're cheaper*
• They have billions of games available
• Everything is made with Windows in mind
• Um... ok, struggling now
• Ooo, you can use the latest version of MSN and sneer at the primeval version the Mac users are stuck with (Thank you Microsoft)**

Ok, now let me list some real basic points in favour of Macs:

• They're freaking simple to use (most of the time you don't even have to install drivers to connect your camera/printer up)
• They're free of lame-ass viruses, and safe as fook on the internet
• OSX isn't just a big application program like Windows (Windows runs on DOS)
• Prior to popular belief, you can do just as much on a Mac internet-wise as you can on a PC
• I'm going to get seriously flamed for everything I've just wrote aren't I

Ok enough. It's your call.

*Was gonna follow this up but most of you hate me now, so I won't

Not at all, Tachi. Macs are vastly superior to Microsoft and PC's. Besides, Microsoft is consistently having to release upgrades to Windows in order to beat their own asinine technical screw-ups due to rushing to market.

I may be saddled with a PC currently, but had I preferences, I'd be on a Power Mac G5 tomorrow had I the money.

Functionality, design, ease of use, and raw processing power ... ya can't beat it.

Some people who have posted detracting opinions on this thread truly need a reality check on top end computers. Sure, PC's are a dime a dozen. I will give Gates credit due on his smart move when he approached IBM to license windows to all clones. However, Jobs has created a vastly superior product in all ways and forms plus resurrected a company with branding and excellent marketing ... it's been proven time and time again.

Macs are not soccer mom computers and the amount of machines that you see in advertising, design, biotech and engineering (not to mention the US TV firm NBC did all their realtime editing and graphics on Macs) should prove that. (Ok, not all that is done with iMacs, but the OS is the same..)

Since you didn't mention games, and since I could care less about games, I've nothing to say on that issue.

For surfing the net, it is a superior machine - period. No spyware, trojans or viruses.

For music.... that should be obvious enough.

Every new Mac comes bundled with iLife '06, which has more photoediting AND organizing capabilites than most people need. It also includes iMovieHD for importing and editing all types of video, iDVD for burning (Windows does not even natively supporty DVD burning ).

Nightfly makes his case against Macs the same way every time, and, respectfully, his experience is a decade too old.

The cost of the machine is really based on two things - a superior design and build and as a way to fund the OS. The simplicity extends as far as you want it too - if you call the UNIX frame underneath simple....

The new iMacs (and minis) have Intel processors. This means that software designed for PPC chip Macs will need to be converted to run on Intel Macs. All of the new Macs have "Rosetta", a software translator, meaning practically all software that has been designed for OSX Macs will run on new ones. Professional apps will need to be upgraded as the slightly slown performance is critical. As a new Mac user (even regular Mac users) will not notice any difference at all with the new chipsets.

I wouldn't bother arguing about the coming new version of Windows - every rumour and fact that has emerged has again shown it will be an inferior and truly 2nd rate product.

Lastly, go to this forum, and read the 2nd forum area "Mac Hardware". It features two subsections that will give you all of the info you need regarding switching and hardware selection.

Preach it, brother ... preach that Mac Gospel!!! :bowdown: :bowdown:

As I said, and many points you made conceded, BNF, Macs are LOADED with functionalities but marketed to n00bs and high-end users - but principally n00bs. I don't think they're shit machines. I think their marketing and pricing is shit. They have colorful and clever TV ads for the iMac, and there's a reason for that - eye-candy for n00bs with flush wallets. lol

I loathe the way they sell a VERY expensive computer to the n00b user when the n00b user could be just as well off getting a $300 e-Machine at Wal-Mart, since all they're going to do is use email and use AOL (the shittiest ISP out there, IMO) to surf the web.

"Simplicity," marketed and sold to people with ample cashflow, lack of computing skills, and no knowledge that they're buying a shitload of computing power is just bizarre to me. Macs are marketed to the average consumer as "an easy to use machine," yet they're capable of doing a ton of things. THAT, and several other reasons I've mentioned in my above post, are why I don't like Apple or Mac anymore. As much as people say Microsoft is trying to bleed the world of its money, I find Mac/Apple to be even more demonizing, stupidly, because they build a wonderful computer but market it to the most naive user, and they charge a LOT of money for it, even knowing the end-user will NEVER be able to use all of their product's abilities/functions.

It's like target-marketing a sports car to a grandma who takes her "Sunday drives to the park." Sure, it's a nice car, but she's really been robbed by the seller because all she needs is basic transportation but has been convinced to overspend, and she'll (unfortunately & additionally) have to wait a year later for the tire company to come up with a new set of tires for her car (and almost every other upgrade), while every other driver has theirs. lol

You don't go to Apple stores that often, do you, Nightfly???

How can you sit there and justify these statements??? "because they build a wonderful computer but market it to the most naive user, and they charge a LOT of money for it, even knowing the end-user will NEVER be able to use all of their product's abilities/functions."

PLEASE.

Mac has an incredible, vastly superior customer service and technical support department that most naive "beginners" benefit from more than Gates' Windows support group and users.

You don't have a leg to stand on, Nightfly. None.

Trust me. I speak from current experience.

 

[BNF]

Trust me, trust AsianxxxChick and Tachi - based soley on what you said you need, the iMac will be perfect for you. If you can't afford it now, then I think it is worth saving and waiting for...

The iMac will cruise with video too. The iLife package will make your vid collection from Freeones alone, huge, editable and convenient. It may have more power than you need now, but you won't have that terrible feeling of outgrowth too soon either! BTW Any Mac actually has resale and trade in value - try that with a PC.

The only thing I should mention, to make it cost even more, is that the stock RAM is not enough. Get as much as you can afford and do not buy it (the RAM) direct from Apple. (I'm running 4GB RAM and can't imagine needing more unless my HDV hobby work increases.)

Besides my Mac forum link above, really study the Apple website for more details of what you get. It's worth spending a few hours there.

Anything else from me, we can go to PM. :thumbsup:

 

[Ax3C]

Drawing on an earlier statement I made about software / operating systems:

Microsoft is notorious and infamously known for having to release continuous updates, service packs, and patches for their often flawed products.

Why? Because, in his infinite greedy wisdom, Bill Gates wants to push a "new" version of the Microsoft Windows OS to the consumer as often as possible; regardless of the inherent design flaws in the OS coding. Apple, on the other hand, has designed an OS that requires NO updates. It's virtually free of coding flaws. Software updates / upgrades are released less frequently than Microsoft's simply due to the fact that the OS has NO issues and therefore requires NO frequent update as compared to Microsoft Windows..

Make no mistake, I use a PC ... and have used PC's for most of my life. I learned quite a few programming languages via my PC's: Basic, Machine Language, Fortran, Pascal, C, C++. I prefer Apple products. Mac OS X (Tiger) specifically.

When you stack the two OS packages up against one another - XP (now the upcoming Vista) and OS X (Tiger) - Mac OS X far outshines Windows XP and Vista in terms of sheer raw data processing power, speed, ease of use, functionality, and lack of bugginess / coding flaws.

Apple products are virtually untouchable in terms of viruses, worms, trojans, malware, etc. Windows isn't due to all the security flaws that were left in waaaay back when Windows NT was used as the design platform for XP Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center Edition, and now Vista.

Windows users are consistently having to download security patches for that entire suite of products to prevent hackers and all the rest from taking advatage of those inherent flaws in a platform that was designed on the rush TEN years ago.

Yes, Mac has its issues. No one is denying that. However, the difference between those issues that plagues Microsoft as compared to the minor issues with Mac are as vast as the difference between a 1965 1/2 Ford Mustang and a 2006 Ford Mustang. One is superior to the other. One is more advanced than the other.

Cost. Yes, it is a factor. Gates deserves MUCH credit for his vision to dominate the market and give the buying public a cheap, affordable OS. His deal with IBM to license out Windows products to IBM clones was fucking BRILLIANT. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs didn't have that kind of vision at that time. There were internal conflicts within Apple. However, now with the advent of Apple using Intel processors, you WILL see an exponential growth in more end-user Mac-compatible products. It's inevitable. Jobs has that same vision Gates did way back when ... and trust me, he is in a very good position to capitalize on it.

No one can dispute these facts. They are real ... and quite visible to all who pay attention and observe the market. They are also very real and tenable to more than a handful of Windows users who are extremely dissatisifed and have grown disillusioned with their fair-haired child's products.

'Nuff said.

 

[Phil_Mitchell]

I agree that Mac's are beautiful peaces of machinery and are great tools to design with. However for the average joe I dont think the extra cost is justified, the major advantages that come along with a Mac just wont be
utilised as they aren't intended for just word documents and surfing the web. I use top end computers on a daily basis ..both G5's and high powered PC's and run QuarkXpress, Photoshop CS2, Flash 8 and Illustrator CS on both systems and the only main diffrence I notice between the two is PC's are more user friendly.

Altho give me iTunes anyday over Windows Media Player, lol

I think its intreasting to see so many passionate Mac's users on the board tho :hatsoff:

My summary for thegunner898989
PC = Ugly, but value for money and good for general usage.
Mac = Beautiful, but would only recommend it to someone moving into a design profession or overly worried about viruses etc.

 

[thegunner]

Thanks people, from what I have heard, I think the best option for me is A PC. Since I use a computer for non advanced things, I dont really need to spend that amount of money.(mostly because I dont have it)
By the way, Im an artist to let BNF know.

 

[Tachi]

Get a Mac!!!
Macs aren't just about graphic and video editing, they're also stuuuupidly user friendly!! Seriously. Ok, I suggest you sit down and play with OSX Tiger for a while - Is that not the greatest operating system in the world? I've tried to stay neutral on the matter, but the truth must be heard:
Macs are BEST!

I'm still using a 5 year-old G3 iMac (running OSX Panther) and it does everything I want it to and more. I just use it for internet use and music... it's like an entertainment computer.

At the end of the day, it's your choice though. Macs are best