Should i go Mac?

TestTransmission

Havent got around to buying a new notebook/pc since i got from from oz 6 months ago.
Used them a few times while over there and quite like the OS and well,they're sexy looking beasts
Are there any known issues?Are they prone to any common hardware faults?
I work in IT but have very little exposure to them,
What would i be looking at for an entry level model?
This ad on adverts.ie caught my attention,any feedback..greatly appreciated

adverts.ie/55732

Catsmokinpot

Depends on how much you are willing to spend, there are some pretty decent low-end Notebooks out there, but if you are going to pay the full whack i would recommend the macbooks and powerbooks.

Don't get the macbook air, its a gimmicky piece of s**t and not worth the money.

edit: youre looking at about €900 to €1200 for the low-end macs

WUSBDesign

For a entry level desktop Mac, my recommendation is a MacMini since you're in IT and will have various mice, keyboards and screen at your disposal. If you finally decided not to use MacOS, then its size is not a eye-sore .

Avoid iBook G3/G4 at all costs.

Remember: Macs are often criticised for being unfriendly to games.

atilladehun

to answer the first question, yes. And get into it too, learn how apps like ical, pages, iphoto etc can integrate to make your computer a unified machine. No longer should you have loads of programs to a slightly different thing with the same material that doesn't sync up.

to ask my own question. Why did you say stay away from G3/G4 stuff? Because its old? thats fair enough.

or do you not like them? Because i prefer my ibook to my macbook to be honest.

I was thinking of getting an old 22" 1.2 ghz swivel neck imac for watching dvd's in my room. I've always loved the look of them and was too poor to buy them at the time.

pimp it up with some wireless & bluetooth action, get 10.3 going on it, big hard drive in there, nice project.

I should go back to work.

WUSBDesign

atilladehun wrote: »

I was thinking of getting an old 22" 1.2 ghz swivel neck imac for watching dvd's in my room. I've always loved the look of them and was too poor to buy them at the time.

Er, bad idea. These Macs are prone to heat-related issues and the last thing you want is for it to suffer from heat exhaustion. Don't take my word for it - google and you'll find fancy means of trying to improve the ventilation inside the dome.

That's this weakest thing about the 7455 PowerPC CPU used in iMacs - as well as the earlier PowerBook G4's (Al) - they all can run too hot. Too bad there is no 7447A-based CPUs to replace these 7455s with.

JuncoPartner

Catsmokinpot wrote: »

Depends on how much you are willing to spend, there are some pretty decent low-end Notebooks out there, but if you are going to pay the full whack i would recommend the macbooks and powerbooks.

Don't get the macbook air, its a gimmicky piece of s**t and not worth the money.

edit: youre looking at about €900 to €1200 for the low-end macs

Harsh.... and in my opinion as a MacBook Air user, completely wrong. Have you used a MacBook Air? Some people like Fiat Puntos, other people like Ferraris. If the MacBook Air fits your needs what makes it a "gimmicky piece of ****"?
And considering you are recommending the OP buys a Powerbook you probably arent to be taken too seriously. Rant over.

OP, should you go Mac? In my opinion yes. If you are willing to spend the money on a Mac then its going to be money well spent.
If you are looking to save a buck or two you should investigate buying in the states or via the states, massive massive savings to be had.

Also I agree completely with atilladehun's advice, if you get a Mac take the time to learn how to use the programs it ships with. They arent the most advanced programs you'll ever use but the integration of them into your digital lifestyle will change the way you compute.

silvine

Any good 'welcome to mac' tutorials about?

aidan_walsh

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

Dog Fan

WUSBDesign wrote: »

For a entry level desktop Mac, my recommendation is a MacMini since you're in IT and will have various mice, keyboards and screen at your disposal. If you finally decided not to use MacOS, then its size is not a eye-sore .

Avoid iBook G3/G4 at all costs.

Remember: Macs are often criticised for being unfriendly to games.

HEY! what's wrong with the G4? Mine is nearly 4 years old and I'm still delighted with it! On a Macbook at the moment and it's very solid.

Dog Fan

Moved to Mac 4 years ago. Have never regretted the move.

I use PC's at work and find them very cumbersome.

WUSBDesign

Dog Fan wrote: »

HEY! what's wrong with the G4? Mine is nearly 4 years old and I'm still delighted with it! On a Macbook at the moment and it's very solid.

You mean the iBook G4...They suffer from a "chronic" production-related problem which results in the graphics chip developing poor contacts with the motherboard over the years. Not all - but enough to stay away from. eBay will provide plenty of such examples.

Macs using the PowerPC G4 in general is fine for everyday uses.

Dog Fan

Now that you mention it, my ibook G4 did have to have some work done to a connector to the screen.
That, and the battery's crap.

Ho Hum.

bluemachaveli

Do it. I switched back in January. Ill never go back to a Windows only machine. I do like my games so i still have a mid range pc for that but everything else my MacBook Pro is my first choice. Buy one invest a few months time playing with everything and you will wonder why u hadn't bought one before now!

Rollo Tamasi

I would sniff around the refurb store on applestore.ie
You can pick up a discounted Mac with up to a 25% saving.
I have purchased a Macbook and iMac from the refurb store and I am a very happy bunny as a result.

There is a black Macbook in there for just over a grand at the moment. Bargin so it is.

J-blk

Definitely worth the switch - I switched to a Mac Mini about 2 years ago and will be getting rid of my Vaio for a MBP/Macbook soon. And you can always use Boot Camp to run Windows if you really need to - I was running Vista Home Premium on my older 1.66Ghz Mini up to recently and it was fine for all general tasks/MCE use even though still unstable at times (though that's Windows I think rather than anything Mac related) so I scrapped Windows completely and just run an XP VM with VMWare's Fusion when needed (for some work related stuff). The refurb store is definitely a good place to look or if you or someone you know can pick one up in the US right now with the weak dollar...