Calling all mac buffs

[Spastik_Roach]

Originally Posted by Clivey

That was exactly my point...it would probably be cheaper to buy an iBook G4 (We have one as a family computer in our household and even in the most basic spec it's still pleanty good enough for anythign they're gonna do)

We already have a monitor keyboard and mouse all lined up for it.

[Spastik_Roach]

And to be honest i'm not a big fan of the somewhat cramped keyboard lay out, the small size of lap top screens, etc.

[Lagonda]

Be advised that the Mac mini uses 2.5" laptop hard drives. NOT standard 3.5" desktop drives. 2.5" HDs are more expensive and come in smaller sizes (2.5" HDs are used in laptops).

You can upgrade the RAM yourself, it's not hard at all and you won't break anything.

But please, by all means, wait untill the end of January before ordering anything. It's MacWorld San Fransisco in January (in the first half IIRC) and they will probably introduce a new Mac mini and there is a big possibility that they will go Intel with the new Mac mini and add 3.5" HDs.

Also check out forums.macnn.com, the definite nr1 Mac forum and info source. a Great forum.

You'll love a world without Windows, seriously.

[Clivey]

Originally Posted by Spastik_Roach

We already have a monitor keyboard and mouse all lined up for it.

In that case a top-of-the-line Mac Mini (with a DVD writer) is $699, that's an 80GB HDD, for $799 you'd get 20GB extra...you might be better off buying a large external HDD, then at least you have one for backing-up files too.

[Spastik_Roach]

Mum doesn't really wanna wait until the end of January to get a mac but i'll see what I can do. Its just that the graphics card doesn't seem enough for up and coming games these days. But i've been looking at alot of games and most of them say that 32mb is fine. Infact can you guys think of any games where 32mb wouldn't be alright? It would surely only be stuff like Unreal Tournament 2005 or whatever the latest ones called, which I don't even play. And it turns out mums all good with waiting a bit for a mac. How sure are you that they are gunna release an upgraded mac Lagonda?

BTW we have survived with 80gb on this computer just fine for 3 years and I don't think we will be needing anymore. And when we do we'll just get a cheap external drive.

[Lagonda]

I'm more than 50% sure, say 75%. As you may know or not know, Apple is planning a switch to Intel CPUs in 2006-2007. According to most sources the first Macs to switch are the consumer Macs like the iBook and Mac mini and maybe the iMac. (because most consumer don't need to wait for the native Intel version of software like Photoshop, pros do.).
I'm also quite sure that they will be upgrading the graphics card on the Mac mini to let it support Core Video and Core Graphics (if you want I can explain you what this is, but I don't want to go too technical on you now) it would surprise me if they didn't. And it will be 64MB minimum for sure. As for what games run on it, I wouldn't know as I don't play any games. Ask around in the gaming forum or the Mac mini forum on MacNN, they'll give you an answer for sure.

PS: MacWorld San Fransisco is January 9 to 13.

Check this out: http://thinksecret.com/news/0511macmini2.html, it's only rumours but their track record is pretty good.

BTW: Apple has stated that they will do nothing do prevent you from installing Windows as a secondary OS on the Intel Macs. So that could be a bonus if you like to play games. Play games with windoze and use a good OS for everything else. How easy that will be remains to be seen and also some driver support could be an issue. We'll see, nobody can tell you anything about that. Except of developers of course who have an Intel Mac developer box but they are under an NDA

[Spastik_Roach]

The problem is with the mac mini is that i'm quite keen on using it to set up a bit of a studio with my guitar, and it only has one audio slot for speakers. Could I buy an external sound card for stuff like that?

[Clivey]

Originally Posted by Lagonda

BTW: Apple has stated that they will do nothing do prevent you from installing Windows as a secondary OS on the Intel Macs. So that could be a bonus if you like to play games. Play games with windoze and use a good OS for everything else. How easy that will be remains to be seen and also some driver support could be an issue. We'll see, nobody can tell you anything about that. Except of developers of course who have an Intel Mac developer box but they are under an NDA

Jeez, that's an idea...until support for Mac OS by games manufacturers gets better.

[Lagonda]

Originally Posted by Spastik_Roach

The problem is with the mac mini is that i'm quite keen on using it to set up a bit of a studio with my guitar, and it only has one audio slot for speakers. Could I buy an external sound card for stuff like that?

There are lots of FireWire based interfaces availble with all sorts of connectors. Like this one: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...e410-main.html

[Spastik_Roach]

Oh ok, thanks, forgot about firewire. Looks like it'll be a Mac Mini, late January, unless a super good deal on a Powermac comes up on trade me.

[Clivey]

Originally Posted by Spastik_Roach

Oh ok, thanks, forgot about firewire. Looks like it'll be a Mac Mini, late January, unless a super good deal on a Powermac comes up on trade me.

You wont regret it, moving to Mac was the best thing I ever did computer wise.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by Clivey

You wont regret it, moving to Mac was the best thing I ever did computer wise.

Especaially as afterwards it can still be useful ....


Just for a laugh, what DO you do with an old MacSE ?
The full story is at http://techrepublic.com.com/2300-108...5955727-1.html
Some people have too much time on their hands ( courtesy of techrepublic.com )

Or for the green-fingered fed up with their iMac ....

[Lagonda]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

Just for a laugh, what DO you do with an old MacSE ?

Hey at least they are still usefull. You won't see that happening to a generic PC of equal age. There are lots of examples or people turning their Classic* macs into aquariums and other things. I read a few weeks ago that some guy is in the proces of putting a Mac mini in on of those and replace the monochrome CRT with a new small LCD.

*Classic mac is term used for those little all in one Macs (like, the Classic, SE, SE/30, 128k, 512k etc.) FYI.

I'm contemplating myself to get a PowerMac 6100 case and give it new internals and use it as a music server. I want a 6100 case because they have roughly the same size as the full size components of my hifi system. Oh and I'll paint it black as well.

[Clivey]

LMAO...I don't think I'll be doing that with my Powerbook...the family PC is another story though.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by Lagonda

Hey at least they are still usefull. You won't see that happening to a generic PC of equal age.

It was getting done to computers long before the Mac even hit the streets !! That wins the fanbooy-comment-of-the-week award for sure
My FAVOURITE PC one is this one ...

I want a 6100 case because they have roughly the same size as the full size components of my hifi system. Oh and I'll paint it black as well.

A couple of years back there was a guy who put a PC M/B etc into a Mac case. It was widely touted as the "fastest Mac" at the time