Check Here for a nifty shirt expressing very similar feelings:
"they lied to us
this was supposed to be the future
where is my jetpack,
where is my robotic companion,
where is my dinner in pill form,
where is my hydrogen fueled automobile,
where is my nuclear powered levitating house,
where is my cure for this disease"
I really like - thinking of ordering. Full disclosure: in no way affiliated with the money on this one.
Working on it - got brute force downloader on the actual pics. Have thumbnails from linked page, but still waiting on pics. URL for pics can be found in HTML source if you can get page to load. Going for pics only might save this guy some bandwith, eh?
Will post URL ASAP.
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!
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.
Slashdot Mirror
Check Here for a nifty shirt expressing very similar feelings:
"they lied to us
I really like - thinking of ordering. Full disclosure: in no way affiliated with the money on this one.this was supposed to be the future
where is my jetpack,
where is my robotic companion,
where is my dinner in pill form,
where is my hydrogen fueled automobile,
where is my nuclear powered levitating house,
where is my cure for this disease"
MIRROR HERE: http://crazyserver.150m.com
Enjoy!
PS: Sorry for the banner ads, it's a free server.
Working on it - got brute force downloader on the actual pics. Have thumbnails from linked page, but still waiting on pics. URL for pics can be found in HTML source if you can get page to load. Going for pics only might save this guy some bandwith, eh? Will post URL ASAP.
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.