Intel Mac

[Klassy Guy]

Our family computer is really old, it can run 98se at best and freezes right after it turns on usually. We (me and my parents) were thinking of getting a intel mac. This is because they never, or barely ever have viruses made for them, and most spyware isn't made for them. I had a few questions about them, are they noisy because everything is in the screen. Second, can you plug in other speakers. Third, if anyone has one, do you like it? Any help would be great.

[xxmjumpman23xx]

I used one in the Apple store and the little experience I had with it was great, I also saw a review (with video) for it on Cnet and it got a good rating, they aren't noisy at all and I believe you can plug in other speakers

[Vantage_TeS]

Mac's are excellent for doing specific tasks. Ask yourself, what am I going to do with this computer?

Gaming, while it exsists, isnt as diverse on a mac. Alot of games don't have mac versions, or they are hard to find. Then again if you are running 98se you probably dont play many up to date games...

Photo editing/music/video on a mac is excellent.

Internet browsing/email is wonderful.

If this is basically just going to be a work station/internet machine then by all means go for it! Almost maintenence free and user friendly.

[Klassy Guy]

This is the family computer, not mine. I have a 5 year old dell 4400. All I play is command and conquer, starcraft, and warcraft if I could scrape up enough change. The mac would be used for dvd editing, surfing, and that is about it. Glad to hear they aren't noisy.

[Vantage_TeS]

Well in that case, this mac is perfect.

[Klassy Guy]

All right, now all I have to do is make the other computer crap out even more. I can't believe how bad it currently is. Pentium 2, gotta love it.

[xxmjumpman23xx]

All right, now all I have to do is make the other computer crap out even more. I can't believe how bad it currently is. Pentium 2, gotta love it.

LlolL

[Klassy Guy]

Really it isn't funny, this thing is a §§§§ing POS. I refuse to even try and fix it. All I do is press the on and off button until it works.

[Vantage_TeS]

Might I suggest pressing f8 during startup, then choose DOS mode.

you will get to:
c:\

type:
cd windows

you will get:
c:\windows\

type:
cd system32

you will get:
c:\windows\system32

then go:
dir

it will give you a list of files
type:
delete c:\windows\system32\whateverfileyouchose

after one or two of those gone you will no longer be able to boot up the computer. Problem solved. A note, you might wanna take off anything important first. You could still access the files by running the HDD as a secondary HDD in another computer however.

[xxmjumpman23xx]

Might I suggest pressing f8 during startup, then choose DOS mode.

you will get to:
c:\

type:
cd windows

you will get:
c:\windows\

type:
cd system32

you will get:
c:\windows\system32

then go:
dir

it will give you a list of files
type:
delete c:\windows\system32\whateverfileyouchose

after one or two of those gone you will no longer be able to boot up the computer. Problem solved. A note, you might wanna take off anything important first. You could still access the files by running the HDD as a secondary HDD in another computer however.

Yup, deleting a system file always works lol, your parents would never have to know :notsure:

:cheers:

[Klassy Guy]

Yeah, but even during startup it freezes a lot, and if it doesn't it will stay at the little light in the left corner of the screen blinking for 10 minutes. I don't like having a guilty conscience either. I will just let more spyware build up on it. The thing will crap out sooner or later. The problem is that quicken files are on it too, so that is not good. Running 98 sure keeps hackers away though, they hate old computers, just too slow.

[matthepepe]

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

press release was today, mac mini w/ intel make sure you get the dual core though.

[Klassy Guy]

Yeah, I saw that, but we have a crappy monitor too, so combined w/monitor, the normal mac would be the same price with a faster cpu. I would love to get the mini for my room though, replace my 4400.

[Sparco]

I picked up the 20" desktop when it came out for my personal use and the good ole occupation splurged for the Macbook Pro (fully loaded, of course). I couldn't be happier with the new system. It's noticably faster than the older machines, which of course were fantastic as well.

The Macbook Pro has really impressed me though, not only do I get fantastic frame rates in World of Warcraft but the core temperature never goes above 120*F. Battery life is about 4:30 under normal use with airport/bluetooth.

I made the switch about 15 months ago and I couldn't be happier with the performance.

[Klassy Guy]

Hmm, sounds good, my dad becomes more and more pissed at the computer every day, and he's the one that has to use it. Hopefully we will get a mac soon. I find it funny that the g5 macs cost more then the intel ones on the apple site. Probably because companies that use g5 software need to keep the interface, so apple capitalized on it.

[Klassy Guy]

Well, I am typing this on a brand new intel mac, and so far everything has been really easy, plug stuff in and turn on. Only the power cord is coming out of the comp. Easy interface too, widgets are neat. Just wanted to give the heads up.

[Ghost_SD_SP33DY]

Yeah Im in the same dilemma (sp) in getting a Apple computer/laptop. The operating system seems simple when playing with it. But I want to check out and see what the new Windows Vista is going to be like.

[JawCrusher]

This is going to be a biased post as I work at a University who is a HUGE customer of Apple. Anyways... first off... all I'm going to say is "boot camp". Apple's software released under a month ago that allows you to dual boot an Intel mac to boot from either OS X (Apple's OS) or Windows XP, Vista... whatever. IMHO, the ONLY reason I'd ever boot into Windows was if I wanted to game. Other than that... EVERYTHING I need to do is better on a Mac.

At this point... aside from the price, I don't understand why anyone would not buy an Intel Mac as their next computer. Having the luxury of using the best OS on the market today with the ability to boot into Windows (completely native mind you) just seems like the ONLY computer you'd want to buy. Again... I'm biased.

On a side note... if anyone has any questions hardware/software related with Macs, feel free to PM me. I've been working on them for over 4 years buliding software and adminstering 100+ machines across our campus. So if anyone needs "free" help... I'm here.

Whoever started this thread... CONGRATS on your new Mac purchase... you're gonna love it!!!

[Klassy Guy]

Yeah, thats me, got firefox for it, and everything is ship shape. The widgets are really cool, I'm going to download the "mirror" one, that seems neat. I like how little details are paid attention to in the operating system. Microsoft sees a problem, and says, oh lets put a square with a word in it to fix that. Apple just comes out with updates, and integrates them in the program. Little details make the operating system work, and apple does it well.

[JawCrusher]

Yeah, thats me, got firefox for it, and everything is ship shape. The widgets are really cool, I'm going to download the "mirror" one, that seems neat. I like how little details are paid attention to in the operating system. Microsoft sees a problem, and says, oh lets put a square with a word in it to fix that. Apple just comes out with updates, and integrates them in the program. Little details make the operating system work, and apple does it well.


Check out Camino. It's a Mozilla web browser (like Firefox) but with a Mac touch. I'm personally addicted to Safari but on my Mac laptop I use Camino... it's a great browser that's blazing fast. If you want to learn a little trick with getting a Dashboard widget to stay on your desktop let me know. I use the trick to keep the weather widget on the desktop permanently. Fun times.

[JawCrusher]

Also...

I noticed you're a half life fan. Well... you're not going to find half life for the Mac BUT... Boot Camp will allow you to install Windows on your Intel Mac thus allowing you to install/play Half Life all you want. I believe the standard vid card is at least 128 MB so you should be set.

[Klassy Guy]

Yeah, the vid card is good ati x1600. I have my windows computer in my room for half life though.

[BustA]

Yes i would strongly suggest buying an intel mac. they are great for gaming because they can run windows xp + they have all the great things a mac has.