Entering the cult of Mac.....

[westy]

Having a 'slightly' worn out windows laptop and after missing out on the PowerBook that came through Sales Corner the other day, I've actually gone and bought another one... from Ebay, eeek! :shock: :shock: :shock:
17" PowerBook, G4, 1.67GHz, 2Gb ram and errrr.. a hard drive of some sort and wifi hopefully!! (Talk about an uneducated buyer :albino: )
Supposed to be perfect working order, so we'll see what turns up... :twisted:

I've now got to get my head around migrating and everything else.
As I mainly edit photo's, have started on videos and web surfing, it seemed to be the way to go.

Apparently, once you've had Mac, you never go back.
We'll see....

Any advice on that bit (apart from don't buy a Mac ) gratefully received!

[WORKSIMON]

Best advice is to not sign for it when it arrives and file a paypal dispute to get your money back :twisted:

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Post your experiences without prejudice.

[vaizki]

To be honest, I wouldn't buy a G4 Mac.. Then again I'm a power user and run all kinds of software, often at the same time too. With a G4, you don't get the latest OS (10.6) but Leopard (10.5) does support G4 so you will be stuck on that. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great OS and still patched by Apple regularly. But there's some software out there that's Intel Mac only now.

With a 1.67GHz CPU and 2GB RAM, it seems like the previous owner has fully decked out the machine so it's top spec for what it is. That's good as you won't need to upgrade it.

The laptop will probably be a-ok, certainly more usable than a laptop from 2005 upgraded to Vista or W7. But it's no match for a modern Mac in terms of features and performance.

[Seamaster73]

PowerBook G4

See you on the Antiques Roadshow. :lol:

[westy]

Ahhh... I obviously forgot to mention the 'B' word.

"BUDGET"

Not having had a Mac before, I wasn't going to drop £1500 on something I might hate.....
I know it's old but it's about the same age as my knackered laptop.

So, call it, a toe in the water.
If it's OK, there's plenty of MacBook Pro's in the sea... :wink:

Best advice is to not sign for it when it arrives and file a paypal dispute to get your money back :twisted:

What's the forum look like in black and white. :?:
I hear colour hasn't made it into the outer colonies yet.
Baaa.

[WORKSIMON]

What's the forum look like in black and white. :?:
I hear colour hasn't made it into the outer colonies yet.
Baaa.

PMSL :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[rfrazier]

PowerBook G4

See you on the Antiques Roadshow. :lol:

Nah, now this is something you might find on the Antiques Roadshow. (I found this squirrelled away today when looking for something else.)



Best wishes,
Bob

[Seamaster73]

The furthest back I can claim is the PowerBook 1400C, bought just as OS8 was coming into being.

[dforgrieve]

My first mac was an ibook G3 running 10.2/9 Classic, My imac G4 with that iconic swivel screen running 10.3 is still being happily used in a friends household.

I still miss my 12" Powerbook G4. The poor thing drowned following a wine related incident involving my wife. :( Yes she is still my wife.

Post typed on a Dell Vostro running Win7 :shock:. There is also a MacBook running 10.6 and a netbook running Ubuntu in our home.

I watched a Apple Keynote last week and my wife commented that I used to "get very excited about Steve jobs's announcements". This was before my descent into WISdom. Is there such as thing as a AIS? (Apple Idiot Savant).

Dave

[rfrazier]

We still have a Mac Classic floating around somewhere. Before that, I don't know what my wife used. I think it was one of those things that were a cross between a general purpose computer and a dedicated word processor (Acorn?).

Best wishes,
Bob

[Seamaster73]

We still have a Mac Classic floating around somewhere. Before that, I don't know what my wife used. I think it was one of those things that were a cross between a general purpose computer and a dedicated word processor (Acorn?).

Amstrad PCW, I bet. They sold them by the container load in the late eighties.

[rfrazier]

We still have a Mac Classic floating around somewhere. Before that, I don't know what my wife used. I think it was one of those things that were a cross between a general purpose computer and a dedicated word processor (Acorn?).

Amstrad PCW, I bet. They sold them by the container load in the late eighties.

I think you are correct. That certainly rings a bell. Indeed, if I went up to the loft, ....

PS I didn't see an Amstrad in the loft, but I did find my old Tandy 1400FD, which was blazing fast, as it has a NEC V20 (a much fast clone of the Intel 8088). The V20 was way cool as I could run CP/M86 on it, and had a 8080 emulation mode, which allowed me to run all the 8080 programs from my KayPro on it. Zoom, zoom! (Although, since it didn't emulate Z80, I had to give up using ZCPR, which was unfortunate. But, it only lasted 3 or so years until I start using linux.)

RLF

[dforgrieve]

The Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh had a "Technology of the 20th Century" exibit. The home computer was represented by the Mac II. (IIRC)

Dave

[westy]

I'm mildly concerned that a request for advice on my purchase has turned into a walk down antique computer memory lane. :shock:

It won't be that bad.


Will it......... ???

[vaizki]

Naah you'll be ok.. may I ask what you paid for it?

Even though I said I wouldn't buy a G4 mac.. I just might get one of those G4 imacs with the white globe base and flexible arm. They are iconic. For the kitchen recipe meachine :twisted:

[mactrack]

Even though I said I wouldn't buy a G4 mac.. I just might get one of those G4 imacs with the white globe base and flexible arm. They are iconic. For the kitchen recipe meachine :twisted:

The G4 iMac was what made me switch and it is the only Mac I truly wished I had not sold. It was incredibly well built so much so that the manual stated that the best way to pick it up was by the metal swivel arm!

[westy]

Naah you'll be ok.. may I ask what you paid for it?

Even though I said I wouldn't buy a G4 mac.. I just might get one of those G4 imacs with the white globe base and flexible arm. They are iconic. For the kitchen recipe meachine :twisted:

Probably too much knowing me.
Ask Simona, my negotiating skills are legendary...

£340

<cringe>

[WORKSIMON]

Ask Simona, my negotiating skills are legendary...

I tell you, Alan Sugar should be worried when you are about :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Zimmer]

As you are starting off on the mac trail, I personally would flog the G4 before the hassle of migrating and buy an Intel powered mac of some description. At least everything you learn would be 100% relevant as you would be on the latest OS.

[dforgrieve]

I'm mildly concerned that a request for advice on my purchase has turned into a walk down antique computer memory lane. :shock:

It won't be that bad.


Will it......... ???

No, like I said. my iMac G4 is still being used.

Enjoy!

Dave

[Azuk]

I started my Mac journey in the late 80's with something called the SE which was pretty special for it's time. IIRC it had 2 floppy drives built into it. It was the size of a small refrigerator and weighed twice as much. Enjoy your purchase but it probably won't be long before you start to think about the newer ones they make.

[mr1973]

I still got a Newton at home ;-)

[Azuk]

The PDA contraption? It's interesting how far ahead of its time it was. Does it still work?

[WORKSIMON]

I still got a Newton at home ;-)

I thought he was dead :?: :D

[Omegary]

I started my Mac journey in the late 80's with something called the SE which was pretty special for it's time. IIRC it had 2 floppy drives built into it. It was the size of a small refrigerator and weighed twice as much. Enjoy your purchase but it probably won't be long before you start to think about the newer ones they make.

My first mac was a IIci with a whopping 40meg hard disk :lol:
Amazing how fast technology has advanced in 20 years really.

Cheers,
Gary

[TimD]

Hope you haven't bought one of these? Oldie but a classic.
P-P-P-Powerbook!

Anyway welcome brother to the cult of mac.

Cheers,

Tim

[Maris]

I`m a recent convert with an i3 iMac. Wish Outlook was available though as I can get on with the email that comes with it and Entourage isn't great.
Loving Time machine though and uninstalling programs by sending the icon to trash is the way it should be !
Gotta wait for my IBM Thinkpad to die before I invest in a Macbook but unfortunately they last forever.......

[alexandr0s]

Wish Outlook was available though as I can get on with the email that comes with it and Entourage isn't great.

Outlook will be part of the latest Microsoft Office for Mac. This is the official press release:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/p...cofficepr.mspx
I've been using their betas, and I have to say I'm very happy with it

Alex

[sundial]

Naah you'll be ok.. may I ask what you paid for it?

Even though I said I wouldn't buy a G4 mac.. I just might get one of those G4 imacs with the white globe base and flexible arm. They are iconic. For the kitchen recipe meachine :twisted:

Probably too much knowing me.
Ask Simona, my negotiating skills are legendary...

£340

<cringe>

If it has been upgraded to 2Gb RAM it might have been upgraded to Leopard ...but the previous owner may have wiped Leopard off before selling it ... so you might need to check which operating system is installed . The Powerbook G4 was a top of the range machine in its day and cost £1850 new ... user guide here if you need it http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/powerb ... rguide.pdf

I considered buying the very same machine today with same 2Gb RAM upgrade but changed my mind ... because decided to wait for a later model. There are lots of good reviews available for the machine if you search for them.

dunk

[mikes]

Apple DuoDock running System 7!