new to mac"s mac laptop need opnions

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russ722

[H]ard|Gawd
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hey all , im thinking of venturing into the world of mac"s,been browsing ebay and seen some g3"s , ibooks and g4 laptop that look nice. want one for just playing around on net and maybe to watch some movies. (pc"s getting boring.:))
anyways i wanna start out on something cheap to learn on . wha would you guys recommend of the three.
only real requirement is a burner and wifi.

do any of these macs run better /faster then a normal pc?

could i use a standard pc mouse like a logitech mx518 mouse with one?
 
I think you're looking a little too far back. None of those (iBooks, G3s and G4s) are even remotely speedy and won't run any current software well or at all. They don't even make them any more. Look into getting something with at least an Intel Core 2 Duo.

Also, you're going to have to define "normal PC." The current crop of iMac's and Macbook Pro's can certainly stack up against a majority of new PCs.
 
CKMorpheus said:
I think you're looking a little too far back. None of those (iBooks, G3s and G4s) are even remotely speedy and won't run any current software well or at all. They don't even make them any more. Look into getting something with at least an Intel Core 2 Duo.

Also, you're going to have to define "normal PC." The current crop of iMac's and Macbook Pro's can certainly stack up against a majority of new PCs.
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thanks for the reply , only real use would be surfing the net, movies/music and cd burning .is there any othe r"older macs that would do what im looking for., the core 2 is a lil much to start out . i wanna keep it cheap as possible until get to learn it and go from there.

for some reason i thought macs run better then pc :)
thanks for the reply
 
russ722 said:
thanks for the reply , only real use would be surfing the net, movies/music and cd burning .is there any othe r"older macs that would do what im looking for., the core 2 is a lil much to start out . i wanna keep it cheap as possible until get to learn it and go from there.
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The problem is the older G3/G4 architecture is truly "another architecture" and Apple is quickly moving to retire it. The latest OS X doesn't even run on non-Intel platforms. You can get one of these older Macs and learn every single little piece of info about them, and be five years out of date. You don't want to do that.

russ722 said:
for some reason i thought macs run better then pc :)
thanks for the reply
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You probably remember many years ago, there was an advertising campaign (note: ADVERTISING) where Apple tried to say the G4 was faster than a P4. Even back then this was widely panned as their benchmarks were designed to give the results they wanted. Do not dwell on ancient mis-history.

A 2Ghz Core 2 Duo in a Mac is the same as a 2Ghz Core 2 Duo in a PC.
 
russ722 said:
thanks for the reply , only real use would be surfing the net, movies/music and cd burning .is there any othe r"older macs that would do what im looking for., the core 2 is a lil much to start out . i wanna keep it cheap as possible until get to learn it and go from there.

for some reason i thought macs run better then pc :)
thanks for the reply
Click to expand...

Eh people are exaggerating a bit with you, though not too much.


Depending on the year this was somewhat true. For example I have a PowerMac from 2002. Dual 1GHz G4 processors, gig and a 1/2 of ram and a ATI 9800. It does pretty much any email/flash/web/word processing stuff just fine. It is actually quite fast considering how damn ancient it is. Until recently I also had a Dell from that same era that was a 1.4 (if I remember correctly) Ghz also with a gig and a 1/2 of ram. It could skate by for light tasks, but for the most part ran like crap. So once, in the long long ago, with some models yes... Macs were faster 'mhz to mhz, same year' than many PCs. Now? They are the same stuff. Apple no longer uses the PowerPC architecture. Core 2 Duo is a Core 2 Duo.


If you are mostly just wanting to play around and learn you don't need Snow Leopard and any decent G4+ will run Leopard just fine. Which sounds like all you would need.


Anyway, if you want to do just light stuff yes a G4 will work fine for you. However don't spend a lot of money on it. You are better off saving and getting something newer. If you really want to tinker with an old PowerPC mac I would recommend Craigslist or your local University. They often have decent prices on old Macs. On ebay and forums and stuff? Forget it, they will cost way more than they are worth.


Oh and don't bother at all with any G3s or the slower G4s. They really will be too slow for even your uses. If you don't have to have a laptop, you can often find deals on the 1.42GHz emacs. Those run fairly well as long as you stuff them full of ram. Really though I would look for a dual G4 (if you are going there) or a lower end G5 model if you are going PowerPC. This kind of negates laptops.

EDIT: Oh and I guess no one answered your mouse thing, yes they are the same. Your USB mouse will work with the Mac, same with keyboards (though obviously the command/apple keys won't be labeled right, but not really an issue).
 
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I agree with previous posters. Don't buy something so old and definitely don't buy it from ebay. Buying off ebay will cost you. Even the old stuff.

I think a white macbook would work great for your needs. Don't spend more than ~$300 on it, though.
 
Buy a cheap mac mini!

About $350-400 should get you a core duo model.
 
get a powerbook g4...later model maybe 1.5 or .67ghz. Should be plenty plus more for maybe 300-400 now
 
I think any G4 or G5 Mac would be fine as a "toy" machine. If you want to do anything remotely productive with it, an Intel Mac is what you'll want. The first Intel iBooks are pretty inexpensive, as are the first Intel minis.
 
phide said:
I think any G4 or G5 Mac would be fine as a "toy" machine. If you want to do anything remotely productive with it, an Intel Mac is what you'll want. The first Intel iBooks are pretty inexpensive, as are the first Intel minis.
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By iBook you mean Macbook right? ;)
 
I concur about getting a cheap Mac Mini. So long as you already have a USB mouse and keyboard, and a monitor, you'll be set.
 
Just so you know, my 1.3Ghz G4 Powerbook can't play flash video smoothly from youtube. You will be disappointed if you go that route. Grab a fairly recent Intel C2D.
 
-Sn1PeR- said:
Just so you know, my 1.3Ghz G4 Powerbook can't play flash video smoothly from youtube.
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What OS do you have on there? Seems odd. Granted this is a desktop with dual processors and most likely a better video card, but my dual 1GHz G4 plays Hulu and youtube just fine.
 
I was checking out the 13.3 inch MBPs today and was pretty happy with the size of it. I'm thinking of going the Mini route though as I really just want to get started with iPhone/iPad dev stuff.
 
Another vote for a cheap Mac Mini, or a refurbished one from Apple directly. You'll get everything you need and it'll work fairly well, and to learn on will be no problem since you're practically up to date. If you already have a USB keyboard/mouse and a monitor for your PC, then you don't need anything else.
 
MattyC said:
What OS do you have on there? Seems odd. Granted this is a desktop with dual processors and most likely a better video card, but my dual 1GHz G4 plays Hulu and youtube just fine.
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It's the last version to support the G4 -- not sure of the number off the top of my head, but it's the newest that it can run.

I'm wondering if wipe/install would speed things up.
 
The Black MacBook's are cheap $4-600, will do everything you want and there not so old you cant use the new software on them.
 
MrFuzzy said:
The Black MacBook's are cheap $4-600, will do everything you want and there not so old you cant use the new software on them.
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Agreed :0 or usedmac.com / ebay.com will be best :) don't buy a g4 mac, its useless!
 
Just a heads up that Frys has the Mac Mini with 4GB RAM for $650 in todays LA Times Ad. It's $800 through Apple ($750 with student discount), so it might be a pretty good deal for someone looking to give a Mac a try. I'm thinking of swinging by there at lunch to see if I like it. I'll probably need a KVM to hook up with my PC while I'm there.
 
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