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Yeah, or, better still (price-wise), SmallDog Electronics.

I assume you'll be able to get something like this for the new iMacs...

Here's one from Belkin that I just picked up a few weeks ago. Charger/Transmitter in one. Also can run off of iPod power, though it's kind of power hungry, so you can't run it for hours on end. But that's alright because most of the time I use it the car, so it's plugged in to the charger any way.

Other World Computing
Small Dog Electronics
Data Memory Systems

While all these places are geared towards Macs, they also carry lots of parts that fit both PC and Mac. Never had any problems with them, after using them for 6-8 years now.

No, but being slimy bastards who have time and again proven to use unethical and illegal business practices does make it more likely that that's what they're doing here. Given that I don't know the particulars of the case, nor the particulars of the law and precedent in cases such as this, I am quite likely to believe that they are just being complete asshats who want a piece of the action from Tiger, solely based upon what I know about the company.

If Apple were shipping Mac OS X 10.5 'Small Dog,' and Small Dog Electronics were suing them, I would give the matter much more consideration, because I know that Small Dog bends over backwards to be fair to its customers, that they've gotten several awards for how well they treat their employees, that they've gotten other awards for socially responsible business practices, and that they send out cute little plastic doggies with every order. They are a credible company; TigerDirect is not.

And, in fact, I would give the matter much more consideration if TigerJoe's Excellent Software Software, which I'd never heard of before, sued Apple. Because they haven't proven themselves totally unreliable and slimy.

So, in summation, you're wrong when you say that being jerks does not deprive them of any rights: it deprives them, in my mind, to the fred-given right of 'the benefit of the doubt.' Okay, so it's not a legal right, but I'd have to say that it's a pretty important one, taken en masse.

-fred

hm you should try this, especially if you like racing games:
Tilt Gamepad

There is a product called Xtrovert by Xtrememac which solves this problem. It attaches to an Xserve RAID unit to turn it into a stable, vertical tower. It is made from anodized aluminum with a matte silver powder coat finish that matches Apple's aluminum products. It costs around $280 bucks.

One source is here: http://www.smalldog.com/product/43611

Apple's online store has a "Special Deals" section where they sell refurbs. You can also try Smalldog - they're a pretty reputable reseller of older / refurb gear.

You can try Small Dog. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you own one) Macs do tend to hold considerable resale value.

Still no user-replaceable battery, which is quite lame, my iPod now has about 90 mins battery life these days :( Come on apple, is it really too hard to let people replace batteries on their own?

Are you new to the Internet? Go buy a new battery you fool!

So, at some indefinite point in the future, Linux might be able to be made as Grandma friendly as a $699 eMac.

OK. See, I like my Grandma. I wouldn't inflict Linux on anybody.

Small Dog is a great company. Most of their refurbed stuff is factory refurbed, so it will qualify for Applecare, should you feel the need to buy it. I've found their customer service to be excellent, as well.

I usually only see the resellers selling for $3 or $4 less on most products though, so not sure how much this will help sales.

Man, if you shop there you are getting ripped off. They list a used model identical to one of my iBooks for the same price I bought it for two years ago.

Try SmallDog instead. Much better prices, and they're nice people as well.

Except this baby seems to work just fine.

Yes, but by graduation the non-replaceable battery will surely be toast leaving you with nothing but an overpriced hunk of plastic to go with your overpriced degree.

Huh? Well, trollboy, once the battery's endurance gives out about three or four years from now you can always replace it with one of these, these, or these.

I can understand (theoretically) that your friends have different priorities for their money, and maybe they really want a mac, but things keep coming up to prevent that purchase.

However, there are some good low cost options if you look into used or refurbed models. I especially like the factory refurbs on the Apple Store site. They come with full warranty for hundreds less than brand new. Sometimes Apple sells old stock through this channel, too. Click the special deals link on the front page.

Two things. Because of the current situation with the iMacs, I doubt there will be a lot of refurbs available just now. Also, used iMacs will probably command a premium until the new iMacs are out. However, once Apple unveils the new models, you'll probably find some sweet deals in the used market. If your friends aren't interested in buying used from a private party, there are reputable vendors that sell used, demo, open box, etc., such as Small Dog Electronics. Small Dog offers a 90 warranty on used equipment and have a solid reputation for customer service.

Anyway, when your friends are getting ready to buy, have them check the Apple site every morning for deals. They can go quick because there is so much pent up demand for some items.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Many third-party Apple vendors sell older models. I know of a few websites you can get them - ebay and smalldog come to mind.

Smalldog sells older-model Macs for somewhat lower prices.

Some of PB Parts prices were REALLY high. When the inverter cable running through the hinge to my iBook monitor frayed and shorted (I've had hinge issues with both my Apple laptops - my Wallstreet hinges actually cracked!) they were charging $100 for it. Apple charged even more to repair the whole thing. As it turns out, Small Dog sold the part for around $30, although you have to talk to their techs directly to get the price quoted. I'd familiarize yourself with PB parts prices first, and then go ask Small Dog.

You know, I'd love something like that for my car. I'd just hop in the car, slide the ipod into a socket and press a button to play it.

I tried the TransPod with my 1st gen iPod, and well, it sounded like a spotty radio station. I just got one of those tape adapters and a cigarette lighter -> firewire adapter to power it. I can deal with the cables just fine and the audio quality is great.

SmallDog.com - Good people...great prices and service.

While this may not be the only, or necessarily best option, if you do have to upgrade Small Dog Electronics has a trade-in program for upgrading to a newer iPod.

Here's a tip for Apple, AltecLansing, and even Microsoft: work on something -- anything -- that can *REDUCE THE GODDAMN SIZE OF POWER ADAPTERS* and, if that's not possible -- work on something that'll reduce the *NEED* for adapters.

I am a sysadmin for an ISP in NYC and I know one other ISP's sysadmin up here has a Mac laptop as well.

It's hard to beat built in FreeBSD on a 15" display that is so thin.

The display for the price sold me on my laptop. You couldn't buy a PC laptop with 15" display and DVD/CD-R capability for what I paid for this refreshed (apple's term for refurbished) laptop.

They also threw in a gig of ram which makes a world of difference in OS X.

I stopped using my desktop and totally switched to my Mac at work. Most of my work is in terminal though.

For those that have to connect to a windows network, the built in samba is hard to beat.

I bought mine at the apple store but Smalldog is has a good refurb selection if you don't have an apple store near you. Dealmac is where I found smalldog and has a lot of other good links as well.

I would agree that Apple is lacking a good entry-level desktop machine right now ($3K for a monster dual that can support 8-16 GB RAM is a good price, as are most of the PowerBooks... but there is no ideal $1K single processor desktop [the single proc G5s are really expensive in terms of bang for the buck]).

Entry-level single processor desktop systems for about $1,000?
Hmmm... we... let's see...
There's the eMac ($700-$1,700 depending on config).
Entry-level, check. Single-processor, check. Desktop, check. About $1,000, check.
And for just a little more, there's the iMac ($1,300 and up).
And you can find both for less (or with bundled add-ons) without looking very hard.

Down in the lower left corner of the Apple Store is a big red sign labeled "Special Deals", wherein you will find refurbished machines for lower than just about any commercial dealer (Smalldog, for instance...) of refurbed Macs. On the other hand, you'll pay sales tax. If sales tax = $100, go to Smalldog, or similar dealers.

Refurbs are covered by Apple's standard 1-year warranty, with the option of purchasing AppleCare, so hardware issues, well, aren't an issue. Also, a standard set of software, cables, manuals, etc. are included in the box.

Yikes!!
That's a bunch for an iBook. I don't work for any of the following companies but I do keep an eye on the used Mac marketplace. Ebay is not a buyers market btw.
As of this writing Smalldog has an 800MHz iBook for $899.
Macofalltrades usually has good deals on portables and desktop Macs.
MacResQ has good deals occasionally(sp?).
I would certainly put PowerMax at the bottom of the list pricewise. They want $729.00 for a G4 400 desktop!!
Macofalltrades wants $500 for a better equipped G4 450
Note: direct links subject to not work as both sites update stock quite regularly.

To keep this post somewhat on-topic, I want a Pegasos. They are supposed to support up to a PowerPC G4 MPC 7450. A G4 @ 1GHz is still a lot of computer.

Okay, an admission: I have OS X 10.2.6 running on a beige box. It was formerly a 266mhz G3 but I upgraded it to a 366mhz G3 for about $40 (actually it was the 1mb cache I wanted, cuz the 266 only had a 512k cache). Through other cheap acquisitions I boosted the RAM to 512mb and added a 40gb ATA/100 drive (yes it required an ATA card). But it's just a pokey little home server that we use for email, network backups, sharing a printer, etc. I do real work on a G4. It's just not worth running Photoshop and Freehand and Microsoft Awfuss on OS X on such a slow computer.

So I'd agree with the general consensus: just buy an eMac. Get something used if you have to (Small Dog and PowerMax usually have good deals). But if you must upgrade, at least do it cheap: check out OtherWorld Computing and MacSolutions for good deals on upgrade parts of all types.

Guide to Mac CPUsThis is Apple's own site for detailed specs on all their machines ever. I'm starting you off on the page for older machines to remind you that a well-configured 1996 Mac w/ a USB/Firewire card can run OSX just fine, thank you very much.

Mac of All TradesGetcher used macs here! Pretty visuals, delicious prices, detailed info. Selection could be better and there's no old stuff at all but I can deal with that. Have I bought from them yet? Nope. Am I likely to in the future? Yep.

MacResqThe best place I've found overall to pick up gear. Even the guys in that article figured that out.

Focus of Mac Hardware good workaday resource for doing mods. No cool toys. Considerable good data.

Missoula Mac User Group, Yeah, I know that you haven't heard of them; neither has anybody else outside of Montana AFAIK. Best place for overall newbie resources.

Powermax Cheesy setup, improving selection, good prices.

ResExcellence In the old days I would have suggested MacFixit, but these guys have taken their place. If you've been in the Mac world for a while you'll recognize them as the old-time source extraordinaire of ResEdit hacks.

Small Dog Shrinking selection, great quality, excellent service, annoying interface. Bottom line, these are the guys to turn to for premium service, support, and savvy. Been around quite a while and, hey, they enclose coupons for Ben and Jerry's.

applefritter. They've built Macs into everything from 1930's radios to LEGO people to ziplock bags. You can't buy anything there, but still much fun.

Think Secret Nice little rumor site. Some cool moments.

Of course, for those of us in the New York City area, there's always TekServe, an Apple and media gear mecca. You want to know what Lou Reed, Jam Master Jay, or Oliver Pratt are using? Ask them. You want toys? They got 'em. Ten cent cokes, vintage radios, serious testing gear, and a massive knowledge base. Hell, I once even applied for a job there when it would have meant giving up a far-better paying sysadmin gig. If they're good enough for Steve J., then they're worth a look.


Oh, by the way, the last time that I posted this list I included Shreve. What did I say?
ShreveExpensive, distracting, but the best place to get weird low-end stuff like Mac Plus manuals and Daystar cards.
There. You all feeling better now?
Rustin

Problem #1: iDVD issues.
You can't buy iDVD without buying a new Mac either. So your friend probably pirated iDVD.

Apple sells Macs. That's how they make money. As an incentive to buy a high-end Mac, Apple throws iDVD in as a free pack-in with systems that have a DVD burner. Apple doesn't include iDVD with every Mac, just the ones with DVD burners. iDVD(unlike the rest of the i-apps) is not free. Apple didn't invest their money in developing iDVD just to have a thousand other companies give it away with DVD drives that take sales away from Apple's bottom line.

If you want a DVD burner, get one from Pioneer($400). If you want encoding software, Apple is more than happy to sell you DVD Studio Pro, which works with any DVD burner($1000). If you want DVD burning software, Roxio has a kickin' version of Toast 5($100). Just don't expect to get freebies when you haven't paid your dues. The above solution will only cost you $1500. A new Mac with DVD burning capability can cost as little as $1000(check ebay or smalldog for an old G4/733 system with a SuperDrive).

Problem #2: Editing video.
You don't need iDVD to edit digital video.

What you really needed was iMovie, which is included for free with every Mac. It's also available for download from Apple.

Then you can burn VCD's with Toast or dump the video back to the PC and burn with whatever PC burning software you like.

Problem #3: Replacement parts.
Apple sells replacement parts, including SuperDrives.

If you wanted one that badly, and wanted it to work with your questionable copy of iDVD, then you should've gotten a "replacement" SuperDrive.

Of course, this wouldn't be cheap, but at least it would work. And you'd have to pay Apple for their product. What a concept.

Problem #4: Entitlement.
You assume Apple owes you something. They don't.

Apple makes the whole widget. If it breaks, get a replacement part. If you just want to upgrade, well, go buy a new widget. It's their business, and it seems to pay rather well. Get over it. They don't owe you a damn thing. Especially not when you're expecting them to give their livelihood away for free.

Problem #5: The DMCA.
The DMCA is a problem.

Of course, in this instance, the DMCA was doing exactly what it was supposed to do - protect a copyrighted work. Software is a copyrighted work, iDVD included. If Apple(who owns the copyright) says that you can't use it that way, then you can't use it that way! It's their decision. There was a validity check in the software. To bypass that without permission from the copyright holder is wrong. (This applies to DVDs too, since you can make a bit-for-bit copy as a backup, and you can still use it on your PC. You can even make a disk image. You just can't break CSS.)

The End...
I'm sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but it's rather irritating to see all these jackals leeching off of one of the few companies that's actually trying to do something right(or at least different). Support them with your dollars if you want to use their product. If you don't want to pay, don't use it.

Matt

My first consideration was the iBook plus USB fdd but the price quickly shilled her.

This was the point in your post where the little alarm in my head started going off.

You can get an iBook for $1000. If your sister is a student, you can lop a bit off of that price. A built-in CDRW/DVDROM drive will cost you a few hundred bucks more. If these prices "shill" her, then you're probably not going to be able to swing a new Mac. Which is a shame, because it's really the way to go.

I'd suggest finding some way to get the $1000 iBook, but rather than springing for the combo drive, just buy one of those tiny USB keychain drives, like this one. (Not positive that link is going to work. The URL looks temporary. Try it anyway.)

These little widgets cost about $90 and hold 128 MB. If you format it FAT-- or whatever they call the DOS disk format these days-- you should be able to mount it on any Mac or PC that's equipped with USB. Easier to use and faster than a CDRW, and lots cheaper.

Your basic analysis is good, but by far the best advice would be for you to go to the nearest Apple retail store and talk to the folks there. Tell them everything you just posted here, and they'll be able to suggest the right solution for you. You'll also get the side benefit of being able to play with all the machines before you buy one. The only downside is that the new laptops probably won't be in stores for a least a week, and maybe more like two or three.

Good luck.

Mac of All Trades Getcher used macs here! Pretty visuals, delicious prices, detailed info. Selection could be better and there's no old stuff at all but I can deal with that. Have I bought from them yet? Nope. Am I likely to in the future? Yep.

MacResq The best place I've found overall to pick up gear. Even the guys in that article figured that out.

Powermax Cheesy setup, improving selection, good prices.

Shreve Expensive, distracting, but the best place to get weird low-end stuff like Mac Plus manuals and Daystar cards.

Small Dog Shrinking selection, great quality, excellent service, annoying interface. Bottom line, these are the guys to turn to for premium service, support, and savvy. Been around quite a while and, hey, they enclose coupons for Ben and Jerry's.

Guide to Mac CPUsThis is Apple's own site for detailed specs on all their machines ever. I'm starting you off on the page for older machines to remind you that a well-configured 1996 Mac w/ a USB/Firewire card can run OSX just fine, thank you very much.

Focus of Mac Hardware good workaday resource for doing mods. No cool toys. Considerable good data.

Missoula Mac User Group, Yeah, I know that you haven't heard of them; neither has anybody else outside of Montana AFAIK. Best place for overall newbie resources.

ResExcellence In the old days I would have suggested MacFixit, but these guys have taken their place. If you've been in the Mac world for a while you'll recognize them as the old-time source extraordinaire of ResEdit hacks.

Think Secret The only rumor site I like that I forgot to mention yesterday.

Okay, moving right along. CPUs. Those yahoos think that the only option is to start from scratch. Get a clue. The last pre-Jobs big boxes kicked almighty ass. Amelio may not have been a gifted businessman but he was a much better heavy gear guy. As far as I'm concerned your best bet for DIY is to buy an 8600. It'll be $230, tops. You get a great case, big power supply, floppy drive, cables, and so on. Probably also a Zip, for which I will pity you as that model of Zip just LOVED to come down with the Click o' Death. Even if you flat throw out all the electronics you're still way ahead of starting from a place like Tom's.
Next, processor speed. When will those yahoos figure it out? Before you get obsessed with latest and greatest ask yourself, "what exactly will I be DOING with this machine?" If you're running stuff like BBEdit (ah, my one true love!) or Photoshop for still work then any 400MHz box with fast drives and plenty of RAM will be, for all intents and purposes, instantanteous. Buying anything faster just means that you're acting like the small-donged dimwits who buy $20K stereos to get fidelity five times better then they can hear.
Drives. I'm always amazed at how terrified Windoze-damaged (let alone *nix) folks are at the thought of external drives. Get over it, already. On a Mac all that driver clash claptrap is a distant and not very credible folktale. Get a basic little 6 Gig internal and invest your money in external Firewire devices. You think this LAN party stuff is cool? On a Mac pretty much any well configured boot drive will boot any similar recent Mac. Stop carrying your entire box with you; stick to drives. Even better, get two or three smaller ones instead of one big one and, short of FBI seizures and vast fires, you become crash proof. Mac dies? Plug your drive (you did remember to back up your core data, right?) into another Mac and you're up and running again in minutes.
The future. If you're such an almighty techie that you just *need* to build a new cooler world every year or so, then remember, Mach kernel plus gigabit ethernet equals mongo shared resources. Even if you're too lazy to set up a formal Beowolf system, it's pretty damned easy to just keep adding machines and splitting the jobs between them. Instead of buying a whole new box, maybe you should just buy a second one and start spreading load to it.
OSes. Yup. No question, Jaguar is pretty spiffy. But almost every vendor site above (as well as eBay and co.) will sell you older legit disks and serial num.s for about fifty bucks. If you buy from a place like Small Dog you'll even be clearing out some of that famed Apple back inventory.
That's it. You want more? Then go to my site already (though best to wait a few weeks for my next redesign). Want more then that? Then pay me and I'll think about it.
Promising to not ever again use up time posting tutorials on /.,
Rustin

Most of this was written to help a friend out, I've updated it to reflect the situation you've discribed. I've included a couple of URL's below that should help in your search for a good Mac for your purposes. It might be worth noting that when you're buying an Apple, it often is a better deal to get a refurbished model and purchase additional AppleCare service agreements. Any reputable dealer will have more information on this for you, if you ask.

Go for MHz over memory. Memory can be added later. Invest in MHz. Also, it seems to be more prudent to buy your memory separately from the computer, for the dealers often use memory to pad the profit margin. For instance, Apple's current rate for 512MB memory on the PowerMac G4 is $300, vs. $71 at a memory retailer. Same thing goes for hard disk drives, though the difference won't be as great, and depending on the model it may be less trouble to buy what they're offering than to do the upgrade yourself. For reference, I have recently found an 80GB 7200RPM drive with an 8MB Buffer for about $114. That's a large, fast drive that surpasses most OEM hardware...

One thing you may want to keep in mind is that Macworld New York is coming up at the end of the month, and Apple may be introducing new hardware, or updating current line-ups at that time. The signs are good, and point to some changes I've been anxiously awaiting for some time now. For instance, Apple recently introduced xServe, which is a rackmount server with a motherboard that uses DDR memory. This change in memory type is an advance that should have been made some time ago, and may percolate down to the non-server models at Macworld NY. If you must buy now, go with the xServe, 1GHz Dual processor: as a professional, it would not be a bad investment. As a home user, it probably isn't suited to your needs, so a tower would be a better choice, but that DDR sure looks yummy!

http://dealmac.com/
Tips on hardware and software deals.

http://dealnn.com/
Tips on hardware and software deals. Different though.

http://www.ramseeker.com/
Good memory prices, provides merchant reviews. Another deal-site, not a retailer.

http://www.powermax.com/
Reasonable retailer, offers new, used and refurbished. Does packages.

http://www.smalldog.com/
http://www.smalldog.com/SmallDogPriceList.txt
Another reasonable retailer, offers new, used and refurbished. Does packages too. Second address is for the pricelist, gives a No BS rundown of the equipment they carry.

Now I've only listed a couple of places here, if you want more let me know. I think you'll notice that the big names (The Apple Store, MacMall, Etc.) aren't listed above, because I figured you could find those easily enough. If you want a list of big guys, email me. They have good deals too sometimes.

Oh, forgot to mention - Apple runs all kinds of rebates and promo's all the time so check their site out for the forms and such. And you don't always have to purchase directly from Apple to qualify, either.

I know I've not answered every specific question, but hopefully you haven't been too swamped with replies at this point and this will help with your purchase.

Good Luck!

PS: I bought an Power Mac G4 450 DP when they were first announced about two years ago, and still use it day-to-day for motion graphics, web development, video work, and fun. I've got 768MB RAM, and am running OS X v. 10.1.5, and my biggest bottleneck at this point is my hard disk drive speed. I will probably be investing in the drive I mentioned above: Western Digital model #WD800JB can be found on PriceWatch.com by searching for "8mb 7200" and if you want the larger model (120GB) look for model #WD1200JB.

Most of this was written to help a friend out, I've updated it to reflect the situation you've discribed. I've included a couple of URL's below that should help in your search for a good Mac for your purposes. It might be worth noting that when you're buying an Apple, it often is a better deal to get a refurbished model and purchase additional AppleCare service agreements. Any reputable dealer will have more information on this for you, if you ask.

Go for MHz over memory. Memory can be added later. Invest in MHz. Also, it seems to be more prudent to buy your memory separately from the computer, for the dealers often use memory to pad the profit margin. For instance, Apple's current rate for 512MB memory on the PowerMac G4 is $300, vs. $71 at a memory retailer. Same thing goes for hard disk drives, though the difference won't be as great, and depending on the model it may be less trouble to buy what they're offering than to do the upgrade yourself. For reference, I have recently found an 80GB 7200RPM drive with an 8MB Buffer for about $114. That's a large, fast drive that surpasses most OEM hardware...

One thing you may want to keep in mind is that Macworld New York is coming up at the end of the month, and Apple may be introducing new hardware, or updating current line-ups at that time. The signs are good, and point to some changes I've been anxiously awaiting for some time now. For instance, Apple recently introduced xServe, which is a rackmount server with a motherboard that uses DDR memory. This change in memory type is an advance that should have been made some time ago, and may percolate down to the non-server models at Macworld NY. If you must buy now, go with the xServe, 1GHz Dual processor: as a professional, it would not be a bad investment. As a home user, it probably isn't suited to your needs, so a tower would be a better choice, but that DDR sure looks yummy!

http://dealmac.com/
Tips on hardware and software deals.

http://dealnn.com/
Tips on hardware and software deals. Different though.

http://www.ramseeker.com/
Good memory prices, provides merchant reviews. Another deal-site, not a retailer.

http://www.powermax.com/
Reasonable retailer, offers new, used and refurbished. Does packages.

http://www.smalldog.com/
http://www.smalldog.com/SmallDogPriceList.txt
Another reasonable retailer, offers new, used and refurbished. Does packages too. Second address is for the pricelist, gives a No BS rundown of the equipment they carry.

Now I've only listed a couple of places here, if you want more let me know. I think you'll notice that the big names (The Apple Store, MacMall, Etc.) aren't listed above, because I figured you could find those easily enough. If you want a list of big guys, email me. They have good deals too sometimes.

Oh, forgot to mention - Apple runs all kinds of rebates and promo's all the time so check their site out for the forms and such. And you don't always have to purchase directly from Apple to qualify, either.

I know I've not answered every specific question, but hopefully you haven't been too swamped with replies at this point and this will help with your purchase.

Good Luck!

PS: I bought an Power Mac G4 450 DP when they were first announced about two years ago, and still use it day-to-day for motion graphics, web development, video work, and fun. I've got 768MB RAM, and am running OS X v. 10.1.5, and my biggest bottleneck at this point is my hard disk drive speed. I will probably be investing in the drive I mentioned above: Western Digital model #WD800JB can be found on PriceWatch.com by searching for "8mb 7200" and if you want the larger model (120GB) look for model #WD1200JB.

• Are modern G4 towers quieter and/or cooler than comparable x86 workstations?

• Is it wiser to spend money on memory or megahertz?

• Is it best to buy everything directly from Apple, or just a minimum to be fleshed out with cheaper, after-market add-ons?

Shop around before you buy. With Apples current attitude toward industry standard parts, you can, generally, use all sorts of commodity, over-the-counter parts that are labled for PCs (NOTE: video cards don't follow this rule. Niether do modems. For most other types of cards you can either find Mac drivers online, or you can download programs from the manuacturers to flash that card's ROM for Mac use. It is best to do some research before you buy)

• What's the best video option for dual-head on Jaguar?

• Does OS X make SMP worth the investment?

• Is the SCSI performance gain great enough to be worth the investment over IDE?

Overall, my advice is to buy a middle of the line machine, skimp on memory directly from Apple (upgrade though a third party), possibly skimp on the hard drive as well (upgrade through a third party), get the best optical drive and video card Apple offers (software support is vital for both, so get them from Apple), and everything else is a toss-up. Buying middle of the line saves you some money, which is good since this is your first Mac: if you discover you don't like Apple products (not that I think that's likely to happen) you won't feel so bad about the money you spent. Once you are comfortable with Apple hardware, you can decide home much (or little) you want to spend on your next machine.

In general, unless there are compelling reasons to go for the top of the line, buying middle of the line is a good policy. When your machine is, inevitably, made obsolete, you won't feel so bad, since you weren't cutting edge to begin with. With Macs, you have the added advantage of, generally, being able to upgrade the system (new CPU, memory, disks, etc.) without needing an entirely new motherboard, so the middle of the line system will last longer than similar systems on the PC side.

The current best fast machine with lots of expandability and a not-outrageous price seems to the be the Shuttle SS40. It's a pretty sexy and silent little box, with firewire to boot. pricewatch suggests this barebones box will run you about $US 350. According to Storage Review, the Seagate Cuda IV is the quietest drive on the market, but the Western Digital JB series are only a bit louder, and their 8mb buffer makes them hella fast. Throw in the fastest Duron or Athlon XP you can get your hands on and some CAS2 DDR, and off you go.

Or you can just go to Smalldog and get the fastest Powerbook G4 you can afford, which serves as a pretty darn good desktop replacement, especially the new one with a 17" LCD attached via the DVI connector (-:.

One of the Smalldog newsletters had some commentary on the comparison. The latest newsletter has not hit the archives yet, but it did bring up some good points:

1) He mentions that on the iMac "but sound quality and volume are limited." Of course, the Sony includes seperate speakers. For the price difference you could easily pick up a pair of aftermarket speakers.

2) He mentions how easy the iMac is to set up (and then complains about the set-up screens), then goes on to comment on the Sony "I think we're going to have some fun with this rig - a thought that helps get me through a 45-minute setup."

3) The author mentions "Windows XP is much more reliable, and somewhat easier to use, than its predecessors." Well, perhaps. How is it in comparison to Mac OS X, though? I have had my new Mac for over three weeks now and have not had a single crash or kernel panic.

4) He often comments about the poor included software on the Sony.

All in all, it is a good review, although I wish he would mention more than a couple of times the drastic price difference and the fact that most short-comings on the iMac could be more than made up by the price difference (i.e. He comments that the included photo manipulation software on the Sony is better than iPhoto for adjusting/cropping/etc. For the price difference, though, you could almost pick up Photoshop for Mac OS X).

Also, I know that GraphicConverter is included on new G4 machines. It is included on the new iMac?

[Boycotting the Boycott.]

One of the Smalldog newsletters had some commentary on the comparison. The latest newsletter has not hit the archives yet, but it did bring up some good points:

1) He mentions that on the iMac "but sound quality and volume are limited." Of course, the Sony includes seperate speakers. For the price difference you could easily pick up a pair of aftermarket speakers.

2) He mentions how easy the iMac is to set up (and then complains about the set-up screens), then goes on to comment on the Sony "I think we're going to have some fun with this rig - a thought that helps get me through a 45-minute setup."

3) The author mentions "Windows XP is much more reliable, and somewhat easier to use, than its predecessors." Well, perhaps. How is it in comparison to Mac OS X, though? I have had my new Mac for over three weeks now and have not had a single crash or kernel panic.

4) He often comments about the poor included software on the Sony.

All in all, it is a good review, although I wish he would mention more than a couple of times the drastic price difference and the fact that most short-comings on the iMac could be more than made up by the price difference (i.e. He comments that the included photo manipulation software on the Sony is better than iPhoto for adjusting/cropping/etc. For the price difference, though, you could almost pick up Photoshop for Mac OS X).

Also, I know that GraphicConverter is included on new G4 machines. It is included on the new iMac?

[Boycotting the Boycott.]

Indeed, third party retailers have complained that Apple mark-ups and incentives are less than what other computer manufacturers offer, making them less than ideal to sell.

Apple has a long history of not getting along with its brick-and-morter resellers.

I would also make a guess that Apple is feeding its online store before some resellers.

What a lot of PC fanatics do not realize is that a lot of Mac sales are done online and through phone orders. SmallDog is a great example of this.

As a Mac fan who has *tried* purchasing Mac accessories (usually high mark-up items) at stores, I have no sympathy for the resellers.

On a positive note, I have actually clicked on relevant banners (not that most sites have them) and more importantly, I have clicked on text links to advertisers. Without relevant (to the website) ads, I never would have found Small Dog Electronics, RamJet, and even CD Now. All of which I have plunked down a large chunk of change at, as well as some other sites. Problem most websites have is that they don't use targeted ads, or they just have a banner that is for a site, instead of like MacInTouch and MacNN that have text links announcing deals for those web sites surfers when they click the links (which I have received some great deals by doing so).

I have banner images turned off in OmniWeb, manly because banner ads are typically junk, but I like relevant text links, or text ad boxes, because advertising works (and I want it to work) when advertisers do a good job. Text links require better targeting, and are more likely to be clicked.

Just as a heads-up....

I love my iBook, but make sure you get the 600mhz model. I have the 500, and you can definitely feel the speed difference. the 600 has the 100mhz system bus, where mine has a 66mhz bus. Yuck-o!

It's a great machine though, and OS X rocks. Really makes Linux pretty worthless for me. I use Solaris on my servers, and OSX on the desktop. Squeezed Linux right out of the picture....

Anyway, good luck on getting the iBook! I had great results getting mine from the Apple online store, but you also might want to check out Small Dog Electronics too...

--NBVB

The link the article was a link into the Apple store that timed out. http://www.apple.com/displays/acd22/ ; ; ; is a more permanent link to information. (square pixels, top notch image quality)

The input is TMDS from the Digital Display Working Group. Follow the link, hit product list, search for vendor and cards. (Be aware the the connector changed recently. New Cinema Displays have a combined power/video/usb connector, you may need a fancy cable to get into it from your video card.)

I have used a number of flat panel displays from different vendors. I must say the Apple ones are the best I've used, no exceptions. Its especially striking when an Apple display is next to another brand.

If you decide to buy one you should go by smalldog. You won't find a better reseller and they sell off refurbished Apple units at reduced cost. All my displays are refurbs, I've never had a problem.