Proof that the Macintosh is the superior computer.

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm gonna pick up Tiger tomorrow, perhaps 1 gig of RAM as well.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

All good advice, people...

My Pismo 500 mHz G3 PowerBook has 256 mb of RAM running OSX 10.3.9...
Runs any of 5 browsers, email, Microsoft apps (ugh), Adobe CS suite, iTunes and a bunch of other stuff. No problem. Just not all at the same time :wink:
A bit slow, but only in comparison to some of the other machines I work with...
Wouldn't want to run most video or music authoring apps because of the RAM and the slow RPM laptop Hard Drive. But then again, I don't need to for what I do...

Tiger does eat RAM like a beast, and although Widgets are really fun, they can make even the fastest computer c..r..a..w..l..
I've gone with Panther, mainly 'cause I'm waiting for a few more bug fixes with Tiger (plus I'd really have to dig into the bowels of the laptop to add more RAM)...

For inexpensive RAM, try http://dealram.com for up-to-the-minute prices from the RAM manufacturers and internet sites. I'll never buy RAM again from a catalog or a bricks-and-mortar store. RAM prices fluctuate daily much like pork bellies. Local computer stores and catalogs can't change their prices to match the market due to the fact they already purchased the RAM at a set price and can't sell at a loss (very often). DealRam has a really good system to allow you to pick exactly the RAM type you need for your Mac. Plus, they often have free shipping... The sister sites of DealCam is great for digital camera prices and DealMac is the best for special pricing on all sorts of computer products.
Good luck!

Another really great place for cheap Mac and stuff is http://www.macsolutions.com

Well I'm now up & running with Tiger & DSL. And 2 weeks later - here's my damage...

Earthlink:
Linksys router (for multiple connections in house) $80
Linksys usb adaptor for PC: $60

Apple Store (damn snot-nosed punks):
OSX Tiger Family Pack: $200
LaCie external DVD drive/burner: $125

Get home, get DSL up, reinstall all applications - my G4 has 100 megs of RAM left! Holy crap! I went to Di-No Computers in Pasadena, who were a lot less arrogant, and very helpful. They cracked open my machine right there & new exactly what mine was and what I should add...

Di-No Computers:
1 gig RAM (I would've done 1.5 gigs, but my PCI slots were reading 500 megs as 256, so I just put in another 500 megs on top of my existing 500) : $160 ($80 per 256 megs each)
120 Gig internal hard drive (for storage on all those huge psd files I have): $150 + $45 installation
Epson photo scanner (new, as my SCSI will just not work - the only option I found was VueScan ( http://www.hamrick.com/vsm.html ) and they want $50 for the software! I tried it - I didn't care for the lack of control in Photoshop - so I went with a new (USB connection - ditch the ginormous SCSI cable!) one: $145
4 hub USB port (as the G4 only has 2): $23

Total damage:
$988!!!!

Well - although I saved about $800 if I would have bought a new G5, I still would've needed a new scanner. I also wish I had saved myself all the headache and problems (i.e. SCSI connections broken, no wireless printer support for my wife on her laptop, had a stupid issue playing previously purchased iTunes music back on this machine - see this link if you are interested: scroll about 1/2 way down for my post as tangaroa ( http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?t=273180&page=2&pp=50 ) etc... etc...

Oh yeah - my mouse is now snapping all over the screen ( I had this problem before the upgrade) - looks like it's back to the store for a new mouse dammit....

Hopefully this will hold me for the next few years.

On 2005-10-29 07:33, Tangaroa wrote:

Apple Store (damn snot-nosed punks):

A friend of mine is a Senior Software Engineer for Apple (read: programmer) He recommends that whenever you go up to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store, start every question with, "Hey Genius..." in the most condescending tone possible. Try it. it's fun!

-Z

BTW, my recording studio is still powered with my trusty Mac IIci ... think it's time to upgrade?

Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open
Thank God The Tiki Torch Still Shines...

[ Edited by: Feelin' Zombified 2005-10-29 10:14 ]

My optical mouse snaps when it's on anything that's not a solid colour, like a woodgrain print for example.

If you're thinking of getting a new mouse, I suggest the new Mighty Mouse($49 with free shipping) It's multi button & has a 360 degree scroll wheel, which is also a button. Nifty!

Just put the RSS feed off TC into the Visualizer as a screensaver in OSX Tiger. Works pretty well, as does the RSS reader widget, but the widget does pull some system resources at times (as they all do).

Also, can I say right now how much I love the "zoom and scan" feature in the screensaver module? Pointed it to my folder of scans of Tiki postcards and it's like watching a Ken Burns documentary...

On 2005-10-29 18:32, Tikiwahine wrote:
My optical mouse snaps when it's on anything that's not a solid colour, like a woodgrain print for example.

Well that's your problem, Mac mice only work with American spelling.

So you all know you can now do this with your Nikes, right?: http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/

I installed a PCI card so that I could use an iPod...you have to have USB 2.0 for that, and since I have a G4 I was still at 1.0. The card I got actually has Firewire 800 and 400 and two USB slots...woohoo. :wink:

One of the best things about Tiger is the SPOTLIGHT function and how you can really do majorly detailed searches for anything you want and need to find. I've also switched to using SAFARI as my #1 browser and so far like it.

I wanted to post Apple's "Factory" video (about the Intel chip) but can't seem to find it. It's really arrogant...it's great (if you're a Mac lover...) ha ha

Exoticat, mac users arn't arrogant...we're just better than PC users! :)

On 2006-06-18 14:50, Exoticat wrote:
I wanted to post Apple's "Factory" video (about the Intel chip) but can't seem to find it. It's really arrogant...it's great (if you're a Mac lover...) ha ha

I haven't seen that one, but my friend sent me this one called:

Microsoft designs the iPod package

I love the "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" music!

I didn't say Mac users were arrogant, just the people creating their ads, and maybe everyone at Apple and maybe...oh never mind... :)

That YouTube movie was funny...thanks.

God, that "Microsoft designs the iPod package" parody was funny! It clearly shows the "corporate-think" that goes into MS products...

Thanks!

My head is about to explode from researching iPod accessories...it's enough to drive a person insane if they aren't already.

Wanted to share these finds because they are of a retro design nature. First a Tabletop Stereo Speaker System:

Then a very mod-futuristic clock radio:

I would love to hear the Specktone in person. I'm seriously considering gutting some computer speakers and trying to make a DIY version of those speakers as a weekend project.

My 6 year old Fujitsu desktop is on its way out . I am not a computer geek . I use a computer mainly for internet surfing , emailing and Skype . I do not game . All I need is a basic machine with say 2GB of memory and 80-120 HDD . Over here in Japan I can get a Dell desktop with Vista or a laptop with XP for around $ 850 . An Imac would run $ 1500 . I'd really like to say sayonara to Windows , but we're talking a $ 650 difference and I know I'd never take advantage of all the advantages Mac offers . Have to decide soon ...

Hey SushiMan:
Consider a Mac Mini.

must ... not... let ... thread ... die....

Actually, my G4 is in the transitioning process to Mac Heaven, but do not worry, Mac tiki fans...I have an iMac now. :)

Mac then. Mac now. Wireless Mac from the grave. All hail the mighty Mac. Mac rules. Macalicious!

Love the Specktone speakers!! oh, and its not arrogant to say Macs are better than Windows PC's, becuase its true. I've used Mac's since 1990 and I work with PCs in my office. I can say (having worked with both side by side) Macs win hands down.

On 2008-04-28 10:43, Digitiki wrote:
Love the Specktone speakers!! oh, and its not arrogant to say Macs are better than Windows PC's, becuase its true. I've used Mac's since 1990 and I work with PCs in my office. I can say (having worked with both side by side) Macs win hands down.

Nice point there Digi. You work with Windows at your job. Big difference. Sort of like you surf the internet which is based on primarily Unix machines. So, if a MAC is better, why aren't your offices full of Macs and the internet run on Macs? Hmmmm...

On 2008-04-28 11:32, Swanky wrote:

On 2008-04-28 10:43, Digitiki wrote:
Love the Specktone speakers!! oh, and its not arrogant to say Macs are better than Windows PC's, becuase its true. I've used Mac's since 1990 and I work with PCs in my office. I can say (having worked with both side by side) Macs win hands down.

Nice point there Digi. You work with Windows at your job. Big difference. Sort of like you surf the internet which is based on primarily Unix machines. So, if a MAC is better, why aren't your offices full of Macs and the internet run on Macs? Hmmmm...

I also work (and manage IT) in an office of PCs while using a Mac at home. Where I work, in an engineering firm, you can't give all the engineers Macs because they wouldn't be able to run their AutoCAD, modeling programs, GIS, etc. - you are quite right Swanky in that case. But Microsoft Office works just as well on a Mac as a PC (and probably better than in Vista). So we're kind of stuck with PCs at work. My boss likes Macs so he got a $2000 Powerbook, while the equivalent Dell laptop with more features would have cost almost half that price. And he only uses it for email and the web. But he's the boss.

I may be wrong, but isn't Mac #2 most common (after Unix) for web servers? Not PCs.

I still use a Mac Cube G4 at home. It's 7 or 8 years old but runs like a charm. I boot the system to an external Firewire hard drive, which speeds it up quite a bit. I mostly run iTunes, Entourage, and Firefox. I wouldn't run Photoshop on it but it still suits my needs.

I think both Macs and PCs have come a long way. My work PC with XP rarely crashes (except when I tried to run the Beta version of Opera), and my Mac never crashes. Once and a while a program freezes but you don't have to reboot a Mac in that situation.

In my opinion Macs are designed better but PCs are catching up, looking more sleek and doing more with multimedia. I still prefer the OS on a Mac to Windows.

My G4 is also dying. I've had it for 9 years now, it's aboot bloody time! I've had to revert OSs, take her in for data recovery, and almost daily she won't wake up from sleep, not to mention the multiple system crashes I've been having lately.

Time to take 'er out back and put 'er out of her misery. Poor old gal.

So I'm thinking of running a Mac OS on a PC. The thought of having a Mac inside a PC skin sends cold chills down my spine. Aside from the terrible looks, it should run pretty well! We'll see.

On 2008-04-28 11:32, Swanky wrote:

if a MAC is better, why aren't your offices full of Macs and the internet run on Macs? Hmmmm...

Because they are more expensive.

It is like saying that a Jaguar, a Lexus, or a BMW is better than a Pinto, a Toyota, or a Yugo... most people would agree with this statement, but you see a whole lot more Toyotas on the road compared to Jaguars, simply because of the economic factor.

*On 2008-04-28 12:53, thejab wrote:*Where I work, in an engineering firm, you can't give all the engineers Macs because they wouldn't be able to run their AutoCAD, modeling programs, GIS, etc.

No longer true.

The new Macs can all run Windows (XP or Vista) natively.
This means that you can partition your hard drive, install Mac OS on one partition, install Windows on the other, and boot from whichever one you need.

Best of both worlds, and if you want/need both types of computer, you now can have them both in one box.
In light of this... so much for my own argument about them being more expensive!

Oh, and I have never had a virus in 20 years of using Macs...

[ Edited by: tikibars 2008-05-14 23:52 ]

I just switched to a Mac and I love it. I have Parallels which allows me to run Windows and any PC software I need to. So, there's really nothing to miss out on.

If anyone is using Leopard I found a great little application that has a very streamlined design and is easy to use and the name ANXIETY really ties in with a to do list. :wink: It easily syncs into iCal with a double click and puts it in its own to do list there. You can also easily copy that onto any date on the calendar.

http://www.anxietyapp.com/

Tikiwahine... my G4 is fixed and I have to boot it up again eventually to finish a couple of movies I was working on. It will feel weird to revert back most likely. Sorry yours is on its last legs, but that's what I love about MACS...real long lasting performers.

I can't say enough good things about my iMac. I have this Tech Guy on the island who has his own home business and he said to me, "well I probably won't see you again for several years" ha ha which is most likely true. Anyways, I was asking him about why I would need a PRO over an iMac and really, with the technology today the iMac can serve the needs of a designer/photographer the way the more pricey Macs used to..(I had an 8500 before the G4) so that's good news. I was looking at the history of Macs the other day and a MAC LC is considered vintage...I had one of those.

Hi Tikibars! :)

[ Edited by: Exoticat 2008-05-17 22:57 ]

I just recently upgraded to OS X 10.5 and I love it. It really is a smooth OS. its MAC all the way!

On 2008-05-14 23:48, tikibars wrote:
Oh, and I have never had a virus in 20 years of using Macs...

Funny, I've used a Windows PC since the early 90s and I've not had a virus in, ummmmm.... let's see... EVER?! :wink:

OS differences aside, most viruses take hold because of user sloppiness and the fact that most viruses are targeted at Windows simply because the user base is vastly larger.