Does anyone know anything about computers? I want to buy a second hand G4 laptop.
Any advice PMed would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Sadie
Any advice PMed would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Sadie
computers.....
- Thread starter Sadie
- Start date
I know a lot about computers but... what's a G4? 
Oh! It's a Mac? sorry, I tought you were asking about computers...
Just a joke, could't help it, sorry...
Oh! It's a Mac? sorry, I tought you were asking about computers...
Just a joke, could't help it, sorry...
G4 ?
I asked my computenic buddy who's a programmer and full on geek.....he told me Macs are great, but if they break you have fewer options to get them fixed than if you have a PC or generic clone and it can get very spendy. His advice was always buy a new Mac with a warranty, if you must buy second hand caveat emptor
I asked my computenic buddy who's a programmer and full on geek.....he told me Macs are great, but if they break you have fewer options to get them fixed than if you have a PC or generic clone and it can get very spendy. His advice was always buy a new Mac with a warranty, if you must buy second hand caveat emptor
metoo4 said:I know a lot about computers but... what's a G4?
Oh! It's a Mac? sorry, I tought you were asking about computers...
Just a joke, could't help it, sorry...
Don't listen to his ilk. You are making a good choice, especially so if you are not particularly knowledgable yourself. You don't indicate what your applications will be, so I assume you need email, web and other basic tools. Maybe digital photos. An ibook would serve you very well for all but the most demanding applications, and you won't be troubled by those pesky viruses, worms and spyware that windows machines are so prone to acquire. I am writing this on my own G4 ibook which just recently replaced a three and a half year old G3 ibook (which still works fine, I just out grew it). The newer ibooks definitely have better graphics, but that won't matter much unless you want to play graphics intensive games. As bonus they play nicely with iPods!
Look for one with added RAM (runs a bit faster) and a little bigger hard drive (room for more pictures and songs) if you can find it.
I use Macs at home and work, and share files with work PCs all day long. The biggest problem you will have is the PC geek annoyance factor, as witness Mr. metoo [and Techman, see below].
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Macs vs PCs
Macs are indeed good machines. But the only reason that they seem to be immune to viruses and spyware is that there are not enough of them in use for the hacker kiddies to bother with. There's no glory or publicity to gain by attacking Macs. The thing that keeps me using PCs is that one,I make my living servicing them. Two, I like to have a variety of software to choose from and I enjoy playing the latest games, not waiting two years for the occasional game to be ported over to the Mac platform. People always love to attack Microsoft but if it wasn't for Bill Gates few people would have computers at home and this discussion would not exist.
And before anyone starts attacking my statements, I've been a computer tech for 30 years, before either the PC or Mac came into being. Many competing systems and operating systems have come and gone. The only 2 that remain are the Mac and the PC. The number one software for the Mac is Microsoft Office for Macintosh. And soon the Macs will be running on Intel chips. Eventually there will be only one, and it won't be an Apple.
Macs are indeed good machines. But the only reason that they seem to be immune to viruses and spyware is that there are not enough of them in use for the hacker kiddies to bother with. There's no glory or publicity to gain by attacking Macs. The thing that keeps me using PCs is that one,I make my living servicing them. Two, I like to have a variety of software to choose from and I enjoy playing the latest games, not waiting two years for the occasional game to be ported over to the Mac platform. People always love to attack Microsoft but if it wasn't for Bill Gates few people would have computers at home and this discussion would not exist.
And before anyone starts attacking my statements, I've been a computer tech for 30 years, before either the PC or Mac came into being. Many competing systems and operating systems have come and gone. The only 2 that remain are the Mac and the PC. The number one software for the Mac is Microsoft Office for Macintosh. And soon the Macs will be running on Intel chips. Eventually there will be only one, and it won't be an Apple.
Techman said:
Please Techman, I may not have been around computers as long as you have, but I do have memories of the punch card days.
The fact that Apple is switching to Intel chips by 2007, does not mean that there will only be one platform left. Your comment reminds me of the people who said the Mac will die out when Apple made the switch to PowerPC chips in the 90's.
Sure, there will be growing pains at first, but that's to be expected. Additionally, those that invest in G4/G5 technology today will not be left behind for many years to come.
Sadie--> What is it exactly that you need to know? If you are looking for a used G4 laptop, buy whatever you can afford. I would try to buy one with at least a 1GHz processor. Without knowing what you want to use it for, it is difficult to answer your question.
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used macs
These places sell used Macs in Canada - they all ship
MacDoc, Toronto, Ontario
Mac Legacy Store, Weyburn, Saskatchewan
The Mac Market, 2710 West 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC
Mostly Digital, London, Ontario
Simmply Macs, Toronto, Ontario
For the best Mac service in Montreal there is a new place called i-technique on St. Laurent blvd
These places sell used Macs in Canada - they all ship
MacDoc, Toronto, Ontario
Mac Legacy Store, Weyburn, Saskatchewan
The Mac Market, 2710 West 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC
Mostly Digital, London, Ontario
Simmply Macs, Toronto, Ontario
For the best Mac service in Montreal there is a new place called i-technique on St. Laurent blvd
I can vouch for MacDoc...have not bought anything from him (yet) but have interacted with him many times. An upstanding guy!
If possible, try to get a G4 laptop that still has AppleCare on it. Apples usually come with one year of AppleCare that can be extended by purchasing an additional three years. Definitely recommend it for laptops.
If possible, try to get a G4 laptop that still has AppleCare on it. Apples usually come with one year of AppleCare that can be extended by purchasing an additional three years. Definitely recommend it for laptops.
Danger!
OK, this explains why Regnad hangs out here...
Disclaimer: This statement is not to be construed as an opinion, and is submitted purely for entertainment value. If the statement was intended to mean something, other programming would have been interrupted with directions about how to interpret it.
regnad said:
OK, this explains why Regnad hangs out here...
Disclaimer: This statement is not to be construed as an opinion, and is submitted purely for entertainment value. If the statement was intended to mean something, other programming would have been interrupted with directions about how to interpret it.
Mac, PC, it's all moot anyway now that apple is switching to intel architecture, the old macs will remain the same but the new macs will basicaly be pc's in a cute box with a different os.
As for PC's crashing or windows networks being slow and unreliable understand this
A network is only as fast and stable as the people using and supporting it.
A PC's life without crashing is directly related to the user and what he/she choses to do with it.
Mac's are more limited in terms of what a user can an cannot do, thus they crash less often, but when they do it's usualy more than your run of the mill pc crash.
I've done support for both so I'm speaking from experience here. I don't advocate one or the other, that's always up to the preference of the user.
One thing though have you ever seen the mac switch commercials? I am glad those people switched to mac because they are clear representation of what a Code 18 is.
As for PC's crashing or windows networks being slow and unreliable understand this
A network is only as fast and stable as the people using and supporting it.
A PC's life without crashing is directly related to the user and what he/she choses to do with it.
Mac's are more limited in terms of what a user can an cannot do, thus they crash less often, but when they do it's usualy more than your run of the mill pc crash.
I've done support for both so I'm speaking from experience here. I don't advocate one or the other, that's always up to the preference of the user.
One thing though have you ever seen the mac switch commercials? I am glad those people switched to mac because they are clear representation of what a Code 18 is.
The choice of CPU has little to do with a computer being an Apple. The company dodes spend sone time in designing expensive but cool and easy to use products. Their hardware is more reliable because they spend more on parts and QC than some unknow PC clone. I have switched to Dell from clones over 6 years ago and the quality of their notebooks and PC's is now awesome.
This Mac users talks about the problems he has had with Mac's, but I have had the same problems and feelings towards PC's as well and laughed my head off.
http://www.flogged.net/media/video/whymacssuck.wmv
Bottom Line, buy a good PC/Mac that you can afford over its expected life of 3 years. i.e a $2400 PC/Mac will cost you $67 a month since in 3 years it will be near obsolete and too slow.
If you buy used, do not buy anything more than 3 years old unless you want it just for email and light browsing.
This Mac users talks about the problems he has had with Mac's, but I have had the same problems and feelings towards PC's as well and laughed my head off.
http://www.flogged.net/media/video/whymacssuck.wmv
Bottom Line, buy a good PC/Mac that you can afford over its expected life of 3 years. i.e a $2400 PC/Mac will cost you $67 a month since in 3 years it will be near obsolete and too slow.
If you buy used, do not buy anything more than 3 years old unless you want it just for email and light browsing.
Macs are more reliable due to the fact that it is a closed architecture. All Macs are the same except for very small things such as the amount of ram and size of the hard drive. All systems are built by Apple. One manufacturer, better control, less problems.
There are literally thousands of different ways to build an x86 computer, which when finished will have the same relative performance. There is no possible way that Microsoft can test every possible combination of hardware for problems.
As far as Dell is concerned...they are no better or worse than any other clone pc. In fact you can order two identical model numbers and get different parts in the case. Do not buy a dell if you are interested in adding hard drives or a faster video card down the road as their power supplies are not strong enough.
Like anything else...buy the one that suits your purpose, and buy it from a reputable dealer that has a good service record. If and when something goes down, you don't want to have to wait more than a couple of days for it to be repaired.
There are literally thousands of different ways to build an x86 computer, which when finished will have the same relative performance. There is no possible way that Microsoft can test every possible combination of hardware for problems.
As far as Dell is concerned...they are no better or worse than any other clone pc. In fact you can order two identical model numbers and get different parts in the case. Do not buy a dell if you are interested in adding hard drives or a faster video card down the road as their power supplies are not strong enough.
Like anything else...buy the one that suits your purpose, and buy it from a reputable dealer that has a good service record. If and when something goes down, you don't want to have to wait more than a couple of days for it to be repaired.
Is the Mac using a chip developped by IBM?
Is Apple manufacturing hard drive, cards, or are they supplied by third parties to Apple specs?
I have worked with both Macs and IBM compatibles.....only problem at the time was the fact that my clients did not and still don't use Apple computers...business don't revert to Apple (unless you are in very specific fields!). I had to be the one converting everything!!!
Is Apple manufacturing hard drive, cards, or are they supplied by third parties to Apple specs?
I have worked with both Macs and IBM compatibles.....only problem at the time was the fact that my clients did not and still don't use Apple computers...business don't revert to Apple (unless you are in very specific fields!). I had to be the one converting everything!!!
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Lawless said:
Was
Lawless said:
Third parties but every "model" (g4, g5, powerbook) has only one component per type.
fb1807 said:
Wrong see my above comment and add this
Having only one type of hardware for each model removes a lot of the compatibility issues that a pc will have because the os is designed for those specific cards/drives.
Mac's in the past were made for very specific groups of people, people who wanted things simple and didn't need the customisation that PC's offer and also people who were more artisticaly minded so one type of hardware geared towards graphic sharpness, acceleration and power was fine.
This unfortunately leaves developers who are trying to get their software to as many people as possible with two options, make a software that allows fof a variety of hardware, or make the software for mac. Developers usualy chose the first option and if they have time later they make a mac version.
Bungie was one of the few companies that started off with the opposite minding, building their game for mac and then switching it to microsoft xbox.
Apple is changing from IBM to Intel because they want to give mac users more compatibility in software and hardware thus by switching to Intel architechture they will add the uncertainty element that PC's have.
Thats why hardcore mac users were pissed when this the switch to intel was announced.
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