Re:There's spam, then there's the partner in crime
on
Happy Spamiversary!
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· Score: 5, Insightful
That's a great point. Did you also know that some 90-95% of all telemarketing calls are routed through the four major telephone companies?
Also, some 80% of all automobile accidents resulting in FATALITIES occur because at least one driver is using a vehicle made by one of the popular car manufacturers!!!
Believe me, this sort of problem is all over the place.
For a bottom of the bin, cheap-o, just need something for email and web browsing and word processing non-techie, its not such a bad way to go.
Although I can build a box, and you can build a box, it does not necessarily follow that Joe-on-the-street can build his own computer.
Also FYI, The post was in the context of "bargain" computers (and "bargain Macs," which seems to mean something else entirely!). In terms of that discussion, Costco offers a better warranty than Apple.
Re:The first ever "bargain" Mac
on
Apple Revises eMac
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· Score: 1, Flamebait
Otherwise, why would people buy Macs, because the cases look cool?
Um... given the typical Mac owner...
Nah, that's too easy.
Re:The first ever "bargain" Mac
on
Apple Revises eMac
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· Score: 3, Informative
My parents have bought two computers from Costco, and had nary a problem with them. (Well, except for the usually MS virus/worm/insecurity nastiness, which I had to deal with for them.)
Although personal experience doesn't negate your point, this: " I understand Costco has a kick ass return policy" is very true.
I believe it is ONE YEAR (!!!) with NO restock fee! If it was me, I'd want it to break after 9 months (and if the proc is going to fail, it's likely to happen in the first year).
For a cheap computer like this one, I'd be willing to save the $200 dollars by buying at Costco.
*Your milage may vary*
Re:The first ever "bargain" Mac
on
Apple Revises eMac
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Since you ask:
Did the Windows box come with: - combo drive (DVD R, CD RW) No, it had one DVD (not R) and one CD-RW, but it was my understanding that the eMac with a superdrive was $1000, not $800.
- wireless and bluetooth support XP natively supports wireless (although I don't know why you'd need it for a desktop, in general), and SP2 will natively support bluetooth. The eMac in question does not come with the hardware for these features at the price we were discussing.
- Photo, movie, dvd, and music editing software (iLife) Of course it doesn't come with iLife. It comes with crappy MS equivilents (if anything). However, there is a great deal of software (both free and $$) that approximates this functionality in Windows.
- Jaguar I think I already mentioned... nah.
- the cache of owning a mac? The WHAT?
My point--which quite simply was the fact that Mac hardware still costs almost double standard PC hardware--is still completely valid. And, as I also said, you could argue that the superior OS improves the value, but the hardware is NO bargain in any realistic sense.
Listen, I am no MS lover. I was merely pointing out that even a "bargain" Mac is no bargain in terms of what you actually get for your money, unless you really need OS X.
Re:The first ever "bargain" Mac
on
Apple Revises eMac
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· Score: 1, Insightful
Remember that "bargain" in this context is very relative: a similarly configured PC could be found for somewhere in the vicinity of half as much: just today I saw a complete system at Costco for less than $500 with:
-P4 2.8 -256 MB -40 GB HD -CD-RW -17 in. Flat Screen CRT -Windows XP Home:(
You could argue that the better OS is worth the extra $300, but in terms of hardware, a bargain Mac is still not much of a bargain.
Re:Really how fast is this 1.25GHz machine
on
Apple Revises eMac
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· Score: 2, Informative
Although it doesn't show a direct comparison of the systems you mentioned, you'll notice that the P4 3.0 GHz just barely loses to a G4 1.42 (MP!) system in most of the tests and beats a G5 at 1.8 MHz in about half the tests.
This speaks well of Apple for processor cycle efficiency, but I would wager that a Pentium 3.2 would outperform a G4 1.25 by quite a lot.
Note that cross-system/OS comparisons must always be taken with a large dose of salt!
I just spent 2 months trying to get it up and running in a useable state on my desktop (I tried Fedora, then moved to Debian). I actually succeeded(!), but because it was so much work and the software was (largely) inferior, I switched back to Windows.
The article states "Fortune 1000 companies are already dabbling." While this may be true, Linux becoming dominant on the home desktop is still unlikely, IMHO. There are still too many usability issues for the average computer user to perform configuration in Linux (e.g. installation of programs). Once KDE is up and running, I suppose everyone will be okay until the purchase of a new printer, etc., but until system changes are as simple to handle in Linux as they are in Windows, there is not much chance of Aunt Tillie feeling comforatable with Linux.
In a corporate environment, where configuration is taken care of by IT, this is a completely different issue, and I can see that Linux is liable to make some important inroads here in the next few years. Perhaps once Linux becomes more widespread in corporate America (and has polished up some of the persistant usability issues), it will begin to make more of an impact on the home desktop market.
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That's a great point. Did you also know that some 90-95% of all telemarketing calls are routed through the four major telephone companies?
Also, some 80% of all automobile accidents resulting in FATALITIES occur because at least one driver is using a vehicle made by one of the popular car manufacturers!!!
Believe me, this sort of problem is all over the place.
XP can easily be virus free. Three easy steps:
1) Start with a fresh install of Windows.
2) Plug in monitor, power, keyboard, mouse.
3) Stop.
So long as you follow these three steps EXACTLY, you will not have a single virus on your computer.
DISCLAIMER: I cannot make any promises if you attempt any other actions with the PC.
For a bottom of the bin, cheap-o, just need something for email and web browsing and word processing non-techie, its not such a bad way to go.
Although I can build a box, and you can build a box, it does not necessarily follow that Joe-on-the-street can build his own computer.
Also FYI, The post was in the context of "bargain" computers (and "bargain Macs," which seems to mean something else entirely!). In terms of that discussion, Costco offers a better warranty than Apple.
Otherwise, why would people buy Macs, because the cases look cool?
Um... given the typical Mac owner...
Nah, that's too easy.
My parents have bought two computers from Costco, and had nary a problem with them. (Well, except for the usually MS virus/worm/insecurity nastiness, which I had to deal with for them.)
Although personal experience doesn't negate your point, this: " I understand Costco has a kick ass return policy" is very true.
I believe it is ONE YEAR (!!!) with NO restock fee! If it was me, I'd want it to break after 9 months (and if the proc is going to fail, it's likely to happen in the first year).
For a cheap computer like this one, I'd be willing to save the $200 dollars by buying at Costco.
*Your milage may vary*
Since you ask:
Did the Windows box come with:
- combo drive (DVD R, CD RW)
No, it had one DVD (not R) and one CD-RW, but it was my understanding that the eMac with a superdrive was $1000, not $800.
- wireless and bluetooth support
XP natively supports wireless (although I don't know why you'd need it for a desktop, in general), and SP2 will natively support bluetooth. The eMac in question does not come with the hardware for these features at the price we were discussing.
- Photo, movie, dvd, and music editing software (iLife)
Of course it doesn't come with iLife. It comes with crappy MS equivilents (if anything). However, there is a great deal of software (both free and $$) that approximates this functionality in Windows.
- Jaguar
I think I already mentioned... nah.
- the cache of owning a mac?
The WHAT?
My point--which quite simply was the fact that Mac hardware still costs almost double standard PC hardware--is still completely valid. And, as I also said, you could argue that the superior OS improves the value, but the hardware is NO bargain in any realistic sense.
Listen, I am no MS lover. I was merely pointing out that even a "bargain" Mac is no bargain in terms of what you actually get for your money, unless you really need OS X.
Remember that "bargain" in this context is very relative: a similarly configured PC could be found for somewhere in the vicinity of half as much: just today I saw a complete system at Costco for less than $500 with:
:(
-P4 2.8
-256 MB
-40 GB HD
-CD-RW
-17 in. Flat Screen CRT
-Windows XP Home
You could argue that the better OS is worth the extra $300, but in terms of hardware, a bargain Mac is still not much of a bargain.
This website has a test that relates to your question: Apple vs. Mac Benchmark (Barefeats.com)
Although it doesn't show a direct comparison of the systems you mentioned, you'll notice that the P4 3.0 GHz just barely loses to a G4 1.42 (MP!) system in most of the tests and beats a G5 at 1.8 MHz in about half the tests.
This speaks well of Apple for processor cycle efficiency, but I would wager that a Pentium 3.2 would outperform a G4 1.25 by quite a lot.
Note that cross-system/OS comparisons must always be taken with a large dose of salt!
I just spent 2 months trying to get it up and running in a useable state on my desktop (I tried Fedora, then moved to Debian). I actually succeeded(!), but because it was so much work and the software was (largely) inferior, I switched back to Windows.
Maybe in a couple of years.
The article states "Fortune 1000 companies are already dabbling." While this may be true, Linux becoming dominant on the home desktop is still unlikely, IMHO. There are still too many usability issues for the average computer user to perform configuration in Linux (e.g. installation of programs). Once KDE is up and running, I suppose everyone will be okay until the purchase of a new printer, etc., but until system changes are as simple to handle in Linux as they are in Windows, there is not much chance of Aunt Tillie feeling comforatable with Linux.
In a corporate environment, where configuration is taken care of by IT, this is a completely different issue, and I can see that Linux is liable to make some important inroads here in the next few years. Perhaps once Linux becomes more widespread in corporate America (and has polished up some of the persistant usability issues), it will begin to make more of an impact on the home desktop market.