I-Mac computer guys-info needed

[jaxnjil]

my dell inspiron is 3 years old and my service contract is just about up.

its still windows xp but dell sent the vista up date with it and i never installed it.

i don't want another pc with vista and am getting tired of all the windows problems. i have read and heard apple is immune to a lot of this stuff

my daughter has a 6 year old i-mac that she got new for a present and didn't set up for the first 5 years she had it. have been thinking about buying a mac book. she is going to let me try-have the i-mac to see if i even want a apple. she has always used pc's and doesn't care for the way apple does things.

is this i-mac going to be to old and out of date to compair to pc's? will the programing be close to the same as we would see in a mac book?
is there anything any apple users out there can tell, guide, or give advice that will make this test successful?

anything you can pass on will be appreciated

thanks
john

 

[NoKlu]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

Vista is just a patch operating system to make money till the real OS is released later this year. I think they are calling it windows 7. Way better than XP or Vista and they have been working on it for a long time. Some people say the macs are easier to use but I find Windows easier. The Mac computers are a lot more expensive than a comparable IBM clone computer as well. It is nice that they don't have all the virus problems though but that is changing because of the popularity of the macs now, they are starting to write programs to screw them up as well.

 

[jlinder]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

The Windows vs. Apple argument can take on aspects of a religious ferver.

Windows is more open in their approach to hardware and configuration. Apple is more of a this is it approach - "if you should have had it we would have put it in there"

Less choices for owners but it allows Apple to have more control over the system and avoid all those problems that Windows has with upgrades and versions of the DLLs. This makes the apple more trouble free

Less virus and other attacks on Mac, but that is more a function of the reduced popularity of Macs.

Windows machines are typically used for business and many tools and software are written for it. Many of the games are Windows.

Apple is the favorite for graphics, audio, and video work. It is used by professionals everywhere.

Apple is more money. However the hardware tends to be a little more high end (my opinion - there will be others)

Apple does have some of the most advanced designs for how their systems look, and the user interface. (Note the iphone for example).

Probably does not matter to you but the Apple OS is now based on the UNIX/Linux OS. Very stable and pretty much the only OS used for the larger serious servers (again, there will be those who argue with me)

Windows Vista is one of the biggest messes of the software world. It has been out for a long while now and is about to be replaced with Windows 7 but I know of no large company that has adopted it. Microsoft keeps trying to kill it but every time they do the screams from the business world make them give it an other extension. You can't buy it but you can "downgrade" to XP if you are a big client. Everyone I know takes the Vista machine and scrubs the drive to build it as an XP.

If you get Vista make sure to get a lot of memory and horsepower. 3GB minimum (my opinion again)

Will Windows 7 be the OS Vista should have been? Maybe, the jury is still out.

Sorry for all the information without a clear direction but it is not a simple question.

My suggestion for you - look to what you are trying to do and go from there. Are you a business user or student? Look to the software you will need to use. If the software for what you need to do is only available in Windows that is a very big factor.

You talk about a 5 year old imac being out of date. True, but you should not look at a computer based on whether it is the latest hardware or not. You need to think about what you need to do and whether or not it will do it.

My wife does word processing. For what she does an 8 year old computer running windows 2000 is just fine.

If you are editing video (Final Cut Pro on the Mac is probably the most used video editor) and doing transcoding you want the fastest computer with a lot of memory.

So my biggest advice is to start with what you need to do, see what is there in the way of software and make your choice based on that.

As I tell people if you were buying a vehicle you would and asked someone what vehicle should I buy their first response should be "What are you planning to do?"

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

thanks jlinder; i should have put what i expect out of a computer in my question.
i want to store pictures' and files like the manuals here on iboats, watch dvds once in a great while, burn music cds and files, and surf the net at this and few sights like it do a little inter net shopping.

the 6400 dell inspiron i have now is starting to lock up when i turn it on and when i shut it off. i have used dell for years and really had good luck with them and there service. i got the extended service contract with this one and have needed it. this one from a hard ware stand point just doesn't seem to be as good as the ones i have had in the past.

i understand what your saying about PC versus mac thing. the one thing i have noticed about mac users is fervor that have for not having any trouble.
my daughter had a ibm pc and the i mac set in our basement unopened for 4 years and the another year at her house because she didn't like or want to use it.

most of my trouble started this spring when i was away for the net and didn't get any mirco soft auto updates for a couple of months. when i got back on the net i updated my security and then micro soft up dates. i had problems after that. i don't remember what all but i did a system restore and ms update 3 times before i figured out there was something in the auto up dates that was slowing and locking my PC up. the last time i turned auto up date off and update my trend micro PC-cillin and haven't had any trouble. now i think my hard drive is about ready to go
i dont want much but i want it to work when i turn it on and not have to piddle with it to make it work all the time

my wife doesn't think i will do well with the mac because she says they operate all together different and i have a lot of problems with changes

 

[lowkee]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

You may want to just give Windows 7 a try. It isn't released yet, but you can get a 'release candidate' for free (good until March). I am using it on most of my systems, even this tablet PC, and have to say, MS finally finished an OS prior to releasing it. It is wonderful. They finally added the most obvious features, such as auto-finding drivers and just oodles of usability touches. Think of it as Vista if MS wasn't in a rush, because it is essentially Vista with 3 extra years of development and UI design.

I've considered the Mac switch as well (web developer), but I found I just have too many Windows based programs to just start over again. Plus, I would be switching over an entire household, which just wouldn't be cost effective.

 

[jlinder]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

Jaxnjil,

I wonder if you would be better off looking into your current computer a bit more.

I have had friends with systems they wanted to chuck. It took a while but after cleaning they realized they did not need a new system (read "saved $$"). Try this if you are interested

Download Spybot search and destroyand run it on your system. Careful to get it from safer-networking.org. There is a look alike pretending to be the good one that you do not want.

Run it and let it find and remove any malware/spyware on the system.

Then run it in advanced mode and under tools look at startup. You will most likely find a ton of crap there. If you can uncheck it from starting automatically on startup.

Next go to the control panel/add&remove programs and look for everything you have on there. You will probably find a lot of crap there also. Remove anything you don't use or remember putting on.

Now check the amount of memory you have. If 1GB or less it is worth buying more. Just took a friends computer with 512MB of memory and added 1GB for $20. Big difference. (tell us what you have)

Check how much free space you have on the disk. Empty the recycle bin. If you have less than 15% free see if there is anyway you can free up more. There is a utility under accessories/system tools for cleaning the drive.

Now run disk defrag. Under accessories/system tools. You may want to run this a couple of times.

This will all take hours but the good news is that you don't have to watch it while it runs.

Give this a try and see if you need to replace the computer

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

thanks jlinder; i tried to copy and paste the specks but couldn't i'll wright them in
windows xp media center 2002 service pack3
inspiron l6400
Intel(R) CPU t2050@1.60GHz
1.60 GHz, 1.22 GB of RAM

looks like i'll be stuck with it for another year any way because my wife looked up the service and we still have at least one more year on that

the problems with it now are the screws that hold the lid-screen are loose in the plastic and the screen wobbles when i use it. what makes me think the hard drive is going bad is, it will get to making a squeaky noise when i try to shut down and then it will lock up and i have to take the battery out and un-plug it to get it to shut off and about one in is every 5 start ups it will lock up and i have to do the same.

i do d-frag and run disc cleaner pretty often along with crap cleaner and windows registry cleaner. can you run these programs to often?

i will get the spy bott and run as you said. i had it on my older computers went to put it on this one once but had some kind of trouble. don't remember now what but maybe i got the fake one your talking about.

i cant complain about dell service. it has had to have the memory chips replace, the mother board changed, and a new battery. also a new ac adapter and cable.

i still want to try my daughter's i mac but will get a hold of dell service and get started fixing this one.

i try to be careful with this one and it still looks new but i do use it quit a bit more than any other computer i have had.

 

[lowkee]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

i cant complain about dell service. it has had to have the memory chips replace, the mother board changed, and a new battery. also a new ac adapter and cable.

Sounds as if you should be complaining about Dell quality, not the service. My last laptop (Prostar) and my wife's laptop (Averatec) are 5 years old and never had an issue. My previous one before that (Prostar as well) still works and it is 10 years old (looks like a tank, though).

Frankly, I'm worried I made a bad choice getting an HP this time around, as their QC sucks, too. This is my 3rd one within 90 days. Sadly for me, this is the only tablet PC with the features I wanted (at any price).

Keep in mind, new laptops only cost $300-400 nowadays, and messing with that old one for hours and days on end is likely costing you more in time and frustration than it's worth. This how you would decide if it were a boat project, is the time and hassle worth it for what seems like a lemon already?

 

[fishingman220]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

i hope a mac guy reads this, we have a year old mac book and i cant figure out how to put pitcures into a post. i have been using mine and other than trying to get pictures in to the posts, i love it. it is alot easier and i use windows vista at work and have grown up using windows95/2000 hope it helps

 

[jlinder]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

Not sure the noise is from the drive, could be the fan.

As for lockups on shutdown this sounds more like it is something in the OS.

I have a dell laptop also and have had problems with the hinges after a couple of years. I retired it and now use it in a desktop configuration - the lid is open and will always remain so.

I also had problems with the disk drive. You would try to start the computer and the power light would come on for a few seconds then go off and you would try starting it up again.

Turns out it was a symptom of the drive not starting up - drawing high power for a few seconds then the system shutting down. I could get it to start if I hit the computer on the side a couple of times.

Gave new meaning to the term "booting up".

Again, that computer is left on all the time now to avoid that. I have gotten a couple of years more out of it that way.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

Macs don't have viruses because the first one that catches it tells apple and they fix it!

No need to virus software or any other BS just plug into broadband and go!

I'd never imagine going back to some clone put together with should be compatable parts by that should work.

Use the mac donate the dell to a kid who will still think it's worth something.

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

craig; i have the i-mac here and been messing around with it. it seems ok so far. a little slow but if i get a new one, should be able to fix that.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

Is the Mac running on OSX or OS9? How much RAM? Click on the Apple logo in the upper left corner and select "About this Mac" to find out.

If you're just cataloging photos/images and poking around on the web that Mac, with a few upgrades should be fine.


fishingman: I don't think this site supports images downloaded directly from a PC/Mac. Download your images to an image hosting site like photobucket.com, copy the link from that site and paste it in your thread.

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

CN;the one i'm trying now is running OS X with a version of OS9 that starts for some of the programs. it has 512 MB SDRAM with a 800 MHz processor

i need a lap top to take with me. i seem to run threw one every 3 years and will be looking again around christmas. i wanted to try a apple product because till i borrowed this one from my daughter i'd never touched one. she doesn't like it so i didn't want to spend the bucks on a new mac book and find out i didn't either

i had a little trouble under standing the reason for the two operating systems pulse couldn't get it to update. called apple and figured out her X has the hard drive almost full of pic and files he saved. there is a pass word missing and the data isn't any think we are worried about saving so he sent me the program disks no charge( not even shipping) which i thought was nice. when i get around to it i'll wipe the hard drive and start fresh.
other that i'll be buying apple next. it seems to work ok for me

 

[CN Spots]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

The two operating systems is due to the machine's age... Mac's of that era shipped with both systems as most users had not converted to OSX applications yet, having OS9 handy allowed them to start up in that version and continue using their software until they (or the application's manufacturers) got around to upgrading.

The new Intel Macs ship with OSX but can run Windows (You'll have to purchase). You can then run any Windows based applications on your new Mac but are also subject to all of the fun viral attacks that PCs enjoy while running in the Windows OS. The OSX apps/operation system probably won't be attacked, I've yet to hear of a case where they were, but the machine will still be a carrier. In short, a Mac running Windows will need all of the protection of a PC running Windows.

You can also run Windows on a Mac through a software emulator. A bit safer and does not require partitioning your hard drive.

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

CN; that's what i found out from the apple guy.

but here is a really dumb question (MAY BE)... shows how much i know about computers any way.

can you wipe the drive on a normal pc and install a apple operating system on it..?

this is the main reason i would like to go to apple in the first place. just get away form micro soft all together

 

[CN Spots]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

CN; that's what i found out from the apple guy.

but here is a really dumb question (MAY BE)... shows how much i know about computers any way.

can you wipe the drive on a normal pc and install a apple operating system on it..?

this is the main reason i would like to go to apple in the first place. just get away form micro soft all together

Not to my knowledge. Nor have I heard of a Windows based emulator that can run OSX. Bill's kinda stingy with his toys, won't let anybody else play with them & I doubt that Apple would be too happy about their beloved OSX running on a $400 Dell either.

 

[mike64]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

CN; that's what i found out from the apple guy.

but here is a really dumb question (MAY BE)... shows how much i know about computers any way.

can you wipe the drive on a normal pc and install a apple operating system on it..?

this is the main reason i would like to go to apple in the first place. just get away form micro soft all together

Huh. I started this post saying--"Like CN Spots said, you can't put an Apple OS on a PC, but you can put a PC OS on a Mac..." But then I did a little Googling and found this:
http://laughingsquid.com/installing-leopard-on-a-pc-in-three-easy-steps/

I have no idea how well that works, if at all, but apparently it is possible. If you decide to do it, proceed with caution.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

Google knows all! Learn something new everyday.:redface: Most of the sites use the word "hack" a lot so as Mike said, use with caution.

I would like to try this with an old pc though just to see how well it works.

 

[JaSla74]

Re: I-Mac computer guys-info needed

If it is your drive that's making the noise I highly recommend that you back up your data now if you haven't already done so. Did your drive show any bad sectors after you defragged it?