Janfriend said:

If it's for everyday simple home use (games, internet etc.) get a PC (preferably 64bit, which is becoming the standard...)
If it's for professional use (sound/picture editing etc.) get a Mac (but if it was for those kind of things you'd already know this...)

Neversin.

Stax said:

Depends on the games you want to play. Sims 2 is coming in May http://www.insidemacgames...roduct_328 and should run fine on a Mac Mini. (see more at http://www.insidemacgames.com/) I would say if you are *serious* about games, then $500 is way too low for even a 'decent' PC gaming system. When I get a chance to play games, I usually use my PS2, or NeverWinter Nights on the Mac.

MS Word and Excel are both available for the Mac (MS Office 2004 or seperately) http://www.microsoft.com/mac/, though it'd be an extra purchase - though I think MS has 'cross-grade' pricing available (I believe a 30-day demo version comes with every Mac). Pages (part of iWork) can read and write MS Word documents (though it's not clear to me if iWork comes with the Mac Mini at this time, I know it comes with all the other Macs). http://www.apple.com/iwork/. I've played with it, and it looks to be excelent for home use. If you are intersted in possible Excel compatible replacements, I could looks some up for you.

Does your current system have a cd writer? If it does, the best thing to do would be to put all the files from your hard drive and floppy disks onto a CD for use on the Mac. If not, there are 3rd party USB based floppy drives available (http://store.apple.com/1-....36.1.17.0
is just one example, I believe any USB floppy drive will work, and you can likely pick one up at Best Buy or CompUSA for cheaper). I'd highly recommend getting away from useing floppys, even if you ultimately don't go with the Mac.

As far as Internet use goes, it never looked, nor felt so good as it does on a Mac. And you won't have to worry about Viruses & spyware either (Mac OS X has been out for what, four/five years, and not one actual virus for it - a couple of rumors, but nothing in actuality) as well as a whole host of other carp that I've seen pile up on a windows system via innocent surfing.

Real Media Player is available for Mac
http://www.real.com/mac/?..._1_2_1_1_1, though once you start using Quicktime and iTunes, you may ditch it (I'd recommend using Quicktime and iTunes on Windows anyway, it's a free download).

Neversin said:

I would argue:

for "everyday simple home use (internet, etc)" your experience is going to be far better on a Mac, no viruses, spyware, and other 'fun' stuff like that, apps that 'just work' (iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, Pages, etc).

for "everyday simple home use (games)" plenty of games exist on Mac for this purpose, but a PS2 would be better then either Mac or PC for most types of games

"perferably 64bit" there is at this time, and in the forseeable future, very little benefit in a 64bit PC for the home, as 64bit Windows will be exclusive for servers

"for professionaly use" hey, I agree with that one

Sorry, I'm not trying to attack you personally, just speaking from many, many years experience and research

amyhr said:

I get that... I'm a Mac user myself (professional sound recording and editing... One's considered a joke/a pathetic amateur when using crappy PC's for things like this..)
But I prefer a PC for the "simple" things like the internet; sure there's a lot of spyware and viri but those are things that virus/adware scanners are made for, and games (you have to admit that most games either don't get a Mac release or a much too late release, like 99% of the games I('ve) play(ed) haven't been released for Mac's...)
And to be quite honest IMO a PS2 is the most pathetic machine since the creation of consoles, crap graphics (resolution), overpriced software, lame controls (try playing a decent FPS on a console, it's just pathetic...)

Neversin.

Neversin said:

This "Macs are only special for graphics" idea that has been around forever came from Apple being the first to make widely available a graphical user interface. Honestly, these days, it's not such a big difference. Photoshop is about the same on a Mac or a PC. Now, the hardware is probably superior, but it should be; high-end Macs are expensive.

Where Macs REALLY shine is for the everyday user, who spends most of their computer time on the internet (I've never had a virus/spyware problem, and I was using a fantastic tabbed browser before anybody had heard of Firefox), does day-to-day organization (excellent "lifestyle" apps ship with Macs), music (iTunes and GarageBand are fantastic) a little word processing and financial management (all of the common Office apps are available for Macs), and who wants their computer to be reliable and easy to use (OS X is the best thing going). Games. . .well. . .I've never wanted anything I couldn't get (I love Sims!), but I'm not a huge gamer. I have Nintendo and PS2 if I do want to play games.

Macs.
[Edited 2/22/05 10:11am]

tackam said:

I agree. If you are not a hardcore gamer and you only want to spend $500, get the mini mac. Microsoft blows.

MAC's are so user friendly!

This would always be by first choice.

MrJoker said:

amyhr said:

so, I can take the files on my hard rive and foppy disks and put them on cd's and use them with mac even though they are files from windows? I am assuming that people can now save documents on cds?

I don't have a cd burner right now, so I don't think I could do that,transfer to cds

The mac sounds great but still a little nervous about switching. On the specs, it said to check with my ISP to see if they support all v.92 features and what is VRAM?

ThreadCula said:

I saw a sony vaio at circuit city and the tower alone was over $1,000

Janfriend said:

Me neither. But since you're getting a new computer anyway, you might as well get a laptop since it has all the qualities of a desktop plus flexibility. That's all I'm saying.

get a pooter with xp.

get internet.

download firefox as your browser.

is everyone freaking out here?

man, if you're totally afraid of using technology, well yes, then a PC is not a wise choice... but then also do NOT get a Mac. just go all the way and take a Sony Playstation or a Gamecube instead. Then you won't have problems with viruses or - heaven forbid - even confront yourself with strange things like an operating system or other shit


get a proper PC, everything else out there are Micky Mouse computers, which can't even afford to add a second mouse button
[Edited 2/23/05 3:30am]

let's face it, most plebs like me are really attracted to macs because they look like this



rather than


[Edited 2/23/05 4:14am]
[Edited 2/23/05 4:15am]

yes, very attractive.. if I want to do some ironing

Mistadobalina said:

still better than this though?!

and the new iMac is

sinaplenty said:

hey, that's not a fair comparison here. or does the Mac in the pic above have a built in printer, scanner, mouse, keyboard and Digi-cam?

but I admit, that the Apple design is superior to most PCs (depending on what PC model you buy, if you look hard enuff, you can find a few sexy ones for us as well)

.
[Edited 2/23/05 4:33am]

I can only add this: Dell is a horrible, HORRIBLE company

as you can tell--- everyone has an opinion .... lol

i will only add this --- the person above --- who commented on HP/Compaq being problematic .... I think alot of computers are like cars --- some people LOVE FORDS ... some people LOVE TOYOTAs .... take everything with a grain of salt ... I have NOT had any problems with my Compaq that i bought ...hmmmmm ... let me think .... a yr ago ... !? ... but i certainly realize .... that some people are NOT happy with the brand ... u can look at consumer reports and see that they have a higher than avg repair record i think ....

also - i do have a relatively new sony Vaio laptop ... and i was disappointed recently when the NIK card stopped working .... so i cant get on the internet like i used to ... someone who knows more about computers than i said - " thats laptops for ya ... i have heard that the NIK cards go out fast on em ... what alot of people do is use those wireless cards that fit into the side of the laptop ... etc --- rather than gettin the NIK card fixed (caus its so expensive to get laptops looked at ) .... again ...just adding .02 cents ... and i have never warmed up to my laptop in some ways ... i admit ... (too small to type on ... etc --- altho some people i am well aware just hook up regular keypads !!!)

MisterMan38 said:

I totally agree. But I would point out that EVERYBODY loves Bentleys!

Mistadobalina said:

maybe I was being a little harsh in the pic I chose. there are a few sexy PCs about, but most of them are a similar price to the Macs and therefore lose their main attraction!

Janfriend said:

Yes, a lot of people now use CD-r (recordable), or, more often, CD-rw (rewritable) in much the same way they they used to use floppys. Since you don't have a CD bruner presently, my next question would be does your computer have an USB port? In much the same way CD-r/CD-RW's have replaced floppys, USB flash drives are replacing CD-r/CD-rw's, can be easier to use, and can be cheaper (heck, you could even get an iPod suffle for all your Prince & Miss Jackson music http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/ which doubles as an USB flash drive).

If your current system is too old to have USB ports, don't despair, as there are still options. As I've mentioned before, it is possible to buy a floppy drive for the Mac. Another alternative is to upload your files to the internet from your PC, and then download them to your Mac (your ISP may provide you space to do this, or there are free services, like www.spymac.com. Also, the Mac will come with a free 60-day trial to apples online .Mac service, which has space for you to store the files). This may not be the best option if A) you have a very large amount/size of files you want to transfer, and B) the files are of a private nature and you don't trust the service you are uploading them to. Yet another option is to actually network your systems together, but from past comments you've made, that may be geting far more technical then you are interested in getting. Just remember, where there's a will, there's a way.

As to transferability of files. Data files can be used on any system for which you can find a program to use them - it doesn't matter which system they originated on. Quicktime/iTunes will play (most) all your video and audio files (Real, Windows Media Player, and VLAN client will pick up the rest). PDF is a native format, and supported by pretty much every document centric app. All picture formats are supported. Basically, every open file standard the average person is likely to have is easily used. When you start to get into propriatary formats (such as Quicken data files), you start to need to do a little research (Quicken is available for the Mac, and can most likely import older windows produced files. This really only breaks down when it comes to Microsoft based documents. MS has so many subformats, it's rediculous. Not every version of Word can correctly open every Word document (and I'm not just talking about older versions opening newer documents, I've seen patches break documents created with the same version). But even then, your data will still be there, though formating may be lost.

"v.92" is (I believe - I haven't used a modem since 1990) the latest standard in modem technology, has been around a long time, and most ISP's use it. The modem in the Mac mini is backwards compatible, I don't think this is where you'll encounter any conectivity problems. (The part where it says "check if your ISP supports features" is mostly for people who care about a specific feature, such as being able to answer call waiting w/o losing your connection). The problem you may encounter is if your ISP uses propriatery connection software and is windows only (this is more and more rare, but still out there). [All that being said, once the Mac vastly improves your internet experience, DSL or cable connection to internet will change your life, in a way that has nothing to do about being addicted to technology, or even the internet. But that is an entirely different conversation.]

VRAM is video memory, and is an imporant point of contrast. In the Mac mini, the video memory is seperate from the main memory. In most windows PC's in your stated price range, the video memory is shared with main memory, which greatly reduces performance.

I can understand the nervousness - it probably seems like a big change (there's an old adage that goes something like: "people fear what they do not know"). There will be an adjustment period, some re-learning, but the curve is not that steep. A big point a lot of people make noise about is the Macs single button. This is just Steve Jobs 'thinking different' (it's a design/human interface issue which is a whole different discussion which is irrelevent to this one), the Mac OS is fully capable of using a mouse with as many buttons as you can stuff on it. Three button w/scroll wheel support is built-in. Since the Mac mini doesn't come w/a mouse, you'll be using the one you're using now, which most likely has more then one button.

CalhounSq said:

What makes you say that?

There are two things I will admit drive me nuts with Dell. They've seemingly gone back to outsourcing much of their tech support to India. The last couple times I've called, it was a complete nightmare trying to understand what the person was saying because her accent was so thick.

Dell is VERY quick to replace a part on your computer if something is defective or breaks. They will have it to you in like 2 days, postage pre paid. They don't give you any hassles or run arounds, they just replace it. However, what they send you are refurbished parts. Although they work fine and are already tested, it just bugs me that if I paid for a brand new computer, but I get a refurbished part instead if something happens to be defective.

amyhr said:

Thank you so much for all the info you have given me. I really appreciate it. I'm going to think about it. I do have cuurent pc games on my desktop that I would still want to use and I don't want to back and forth between 2 computers to do that. That's mostly what I do. Games and internet. You have peaked my interest in a mac. I didn't even think about it as an option until now

That one-touch mouse is kinda wierd. The scroll is my best friend

Tom said:

Seems like a lot of people have had no problems w/ Dell. I, on the other hand, have had a nightmare w/ that company.

• You literally have to take off work to resolve any issues with Dell. The hold times are out of this world (I once held for an hour just to get a question about software straightened out) & as you said, it's sometimes difficult to understand what you're being told b/c of the outsourcing.
  
  
• I had the thing only A WEEK when it started beeping @ me continuously & not booting up. When I finally got a support person on the phone, they informed me that I'd have to open the computer up & do several checks before they could even begin to assess the problem & to call back once it was open, i.e. another marathon holding pattern to talk to an actual person. I didn't know I'd have to perform surgery on the thing & I'm not comfortable doing that stuff, so just the act of calling for help & being told to dig in the computer's ass was stressful.
  
  
• Turns out my brand new Dell needed a new motherboard - gee, how well made!
  
  
• Like you said, they don't send you new parts - they're refurbished, which completely SUCKS. That really bugged me - sending me some used crap for what's supposed to be brand new. For all I know the entire computer is a used piece of shit that'll just fall apart piece by piece within months. As it turns out, that's exactly what happened. I can't remember if it was the motherboard again or the hard drive this time but I had to send the entire thing back & get it replaced. There was no way they were gonna send me another refurbished part, which is what they wanted to do.

It's kind of a blur now but I remember it being a maddening & very disappointing purchase. Making several calls to get my motherboard issue resolved b/c they didn't believe me at first... having to reason w/ them to send me a new system... the thing completely breaking down twice within a 2 week period... a bunch of bullshit.

Could be an isolated incident but I just don't like the way they do business.

I've always been tempted by Macs, but it's stil about the software for me at this point. Whenever there is a piece of software that I may want to "borrow" from a friend, it's nice to not have to worry about any compatibility issues. Also, I can get legitimately licensed professional software through work, but not for Mac. Paying for MS-Office myself vs. having the office do it, advantage PC.
for now

CalhounSq said:

What kind of computer do you have now?