MAC Computers

Shiv411

Hey,


I'm looking to buy a MAC PC as i'm sick of Windows crashing and just doin my head in in General. Can anyone recommend where i might buy one in the Dublin area, any suggestions will do!

monkeyfudge

Spectra next to the Molly Malone statue is a good location where you'll be able to go in and see a good range of Macs.

Prices on Apple products tend not to vary too much... so they tend to be pretty much the same price everywhere unless you go to the US where they're considerably cheaper.

Oh and it's Mac, not MAC... MAC make lipstick...

im...LOST

There are some people here who will cringe at you calling them "MACs" first and foremost. Call them "Macs" from now on to avoid that.

Right, get yours online. They deliver within a week and you are guaranteed to get the newest version available. Also, you could consider a Reburbed computer either.

Are you interested in a Desktop or a Laptop by the way?

Sad Professor

Might get a better response to Mac related questions on the Mac forum. If possible I'd also recommend buying online direct from Apple at www.applestore.ie

challengemaster

What the heck are you doing to make windows crash so much? My XP is so stable that it could run for months no problems..

aidan_walsh

Moved from Computers and Technology.

Ham'nd'egger

Shiv411 wrote: »

Hey,


I'm looking to buy a MAC PC as i'm sick of Windows crashing and just doin my head in in General. Can anyone recommend where i might buy one in the Dublin area, any suggestions will do!

If you go into my stickied thread on this forum on lap tops, there is a comprehensive list of Apple re-sellers around the country. Purchasing direct from Apple is the 100% safe way to get the newest spec model on the market, delivered to your door or even a door of your own choosing:) Take a quick wander on some of the other threads on here for some more info on Macs as well

http://store.apple.com/ie

ZENER

You can also avail of the educational discount if you buy online. Delivery of standard setups is only a few days and the latest model is always guaranteed. They will delay your order if a new model is due within the next week.

This happened to a customer recently where she had ordered a 2.8GHz iMac 24", a week later she got the 3.06 GHz model for the same price !!

ZEN

Passenger

Appearently PC world are selling Macs now too.

randombar

Lads I'm basically falling in love with the reliability of my mac book, just wondering would it be a good idea to convert my dell/ibm server/desktop at home to mac?

dubmick

Passenger wrote: »

Appearently PC world are selling Macs now too.

they have been for some time now. Maybe 3 years.

projectmayhem

Passenger wrote: »

Appearently PC world are selling Macs now too.

i'm also lead to believe that pc world liffey valley (may be a different store though) has now got a dedicated mac section (i.e. authorised reseller style, not a gondola end etc.)... and because its pc world you might be able to haggle a price with the salesperson, or get something free/cheaper (software etc.)

Sad Professor

projectmayhem wrote: »

i'm also lead to believe that pc world liffey valley (may be a different store though) has now got a dedicated mac section (i.e. authorised reseller style, not a gondola end etc.)...

I think that's the Airside Retail Park branch in Swords. I wouldn't wish anyone in the direction of the Liffey Valley branch. It's a kip.

Sellphone

Or go to Any O2 Experience store, good help as well.

ZENER

New 3G store in Swords too ! Lots of Appley goodness :cool:

ZEN

randombar

Lads where would I get a decent second hand mac computer to use as a server at home? Sick to death of the Windows one freezing crashing etc.

What is the basic/ least spec I'd need for a run of the mill server, basically something I can plug my hard drives into, leave on the whole time and use my ps3 and xbox with?

ZENER

If you're looking for something to just share files to Windows (SMB) and Mac (AFP) and to a PS3 (DLNA) then you should consider something like FreeNAS.

This setup works better where there's a PS3 on the network -FreeNAS runs MediaTomb which streams audio/video/photos to the Sony - and it can take USB or Firewire drives too ! It's free too ! And will work on anything from a 1GHz P4/128MB upwards if you want transcoding to work or a P3 500/64MB if not.

ZEN

randombar

Would I be able to run things like bit torrent and stuff on that though? Since I leave the comp on the whole time, I try to use it for file sharing my important documents too!

ZENER

No you couldn't use it as a normal computer, it's just a server but it does offer FTP so you could access it from outside the network. you can also ssh into it.

If you have parallels or some other VM software you could install it to see what it can do.

I take it you were going to use it as a normal functioning computer which just shares it's files and drives ? Finding something simple on the Mac to stream with DLNA to the PS3 isn't easy without going into X11. iTunes doesn't yet support the protocol unfortunately.

ZEN

randombar

Ya will def have a look at that all right, just getting into the mac's really but definitely going that direction from now on! What was I thinking using a windows machine!! Didn't know that they didn't offer streaming for PS3 yet though.

So the types of mac computers?

Mac mini

Power Mac

Is that it?

I understand the mac book range but this one seems like there's a bit more to it!

ZENER

Well FreeNAS runs on any intel computer with a BIOS, i.e. your current Windows box could be used as a FreeNAS box. It doesn't need a keyboard or mouse nor does it require a monitor to be connected. You administer it via a web browser such as Safari etc.

A Mac Mini (G4 or Intel flavour) will make a perfect server due to it's size but the PS3 side won't be easy. I haven't had a chance to play with Leopard Server yet so can't say for sure it doesn't offer that facility but that path will be expensive.

Adverts.ie has a few people selling PowerMac G4s and Mac Mini G4s which could perform the same functions without a keyboard/mouse/monitor. Desktop sharing (system preferences > Sharing > Remote Management) comes into it's own here or for added functionality, Apple Remote Desktop allows drag and drop from the remote desktop to the local desktop.

By far the cheapest option though is FreeNAS.

ZEN

randombar

Cool, thanks for the info.

Basically

1 - If I'm looking for a box to stream, go FreeNAS

2 - If I want it to do more than stream, go at least mac mini + G4 and play around with leapord.

I'm using logmein for remote desktop at the moment cause irish broadband is crap and uses roaming IP

BostonB

GaryCocs wrote: »

Lads where would I get a decent second hand mac computer to use as a server at home? Sick to death of the Windows one freezing crashing etc.

What is the basic/ least spec I'd need for a run of the mill server, basically something I can plug my hard drives into, leave on the whole time and use my ps3 and xbox with?

I think Irish Prices are rubbish. Even 2nd hand. I'd go Apple refurb or somewhere in the UK.
http://www.2ndchancepc.co.uk/maccpus.html

If you have a Windows box thats always crashing you need to fix it. Or stop doing whatever you do that makes it crash. Bad workman blames his tools and all that. But theres no need to make excuses. If you want a Mac just get one.

randombar

Dealing with large movie files etc it's slow as hell when I'm transferring them between drives. Resets the windows explorer etc. I now use dos to move the files, rename etc. Would definitely prefer Bash or something to do all of that!

BostonB

GaryCocs wrote: »

Dealing with large movie files etc it's slow as hell when I'm transferring them between drives. Resets the windows explorer etc. I now use dos to move the files, rename etc. Would definitely prefer Bash or something to do all of that!

So your computer is broken and you're unable/don't know how to fix it. Can I have it when you buy your Mac? Why you feel the need to justify buying a Mac I have no idea. Macs are cool, have a great OS. No need to justify it at all. Just go buy one..and give me your broken PC.

cjm4eva

try www.apple.com

bushy...

Link to cds / image etc of freenas :
http://www.freenas.org/index.php?option=com_versions&Itemid=51

GaryCocs wrote: »

Would I be able to run things like bit torrent and stuff on that though? Since I leave the comp on the whole time, I try to use it for file sharing my important documents too!

You could probably add in one of these

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/ports.cgi?query=torrent&stype=all

randombar

BostonB wrote: »

So your computer is broken and you're unable/don't know how to fix it. Can I have it when you buy your Mac? Why you feel the need to justify buying a Mac I have no idea. Macs are cool, have a great OS. No need to justify it at all. Just go buy one..and give me your broken PC.

Hahaha ya 2Gigs o ram, 1,8Ghz processor over 1TB of mem. I'll just give that away!

Like I said not broken performance is just crap!

BostonB

GaryCocs wrote: »

...it's slow as hell ...Resets the windows explorer etc. ...

Sounds very definately broken to me. A "slow as hell" computer is worthless. I'll save you the recycling charge by taking it off your hands.

randombar

Hahaha no deal!