A Mac that'll please me and my parents...

Okay, so here's my dilema. Yesterday, my dad and I were talking about Windows XP. And I basically bashed every flaw it has, and he said, "Look, if you want a mac so bad, you can have one."

Basically, I can get a mac this summer if my grades improve. Now my question is this: Which should I get?

He's obviously leaning towards the Mac Mini due to its cheapness. But I'm not one for slow and sluggish.

He's against the new Intel Macs because applications run badly under Rosetta.

He doesn't feel like paying thousands upon thousands of dollars for a mac.

So what are my options? Should I just settle for the Mac Mini or should I try to convince him for something else? And how should I convince him?

#354045

I wouldn't call a Mac Mini "settling".. they are great machines... nothing slow or sluggish about them. Plus, great bang for the buck in my opinion.

The next step would be an iMac .. I'm sure you'll still be able to find them with PPC instead of Intel Chips.

You could also consider an iBook .. they are not so expensive, just depends on whether you were thinking desktop or laptop.

Beyond those 3 options, you start talking big $$$.

#354048

Well, there are a few misconceptions that are influencing your reasoning here...

Mac Minis are not sluggish so long as you give them a decent amount of RAM. Rosetta apps run slower than they would on a PPC, but "slower" is a relative term: performance is still acceptable.

If the Mac Mini is the best you can do, then wait for the refresh with an Intel CPU. There's no reason not to at this point. If you want to do better, get an iMac. If you're dead set on avoiding a Mac with an Intel CPU, get an iBook.

#354050

I'm not set on avoiding intel macs at all, but my dad is. And he's the one buying it, so it's kind of up to him.

I would love an iMac, and Apple still sells PPC iMacs. Chances are they'll get less expensive after a few months, right? Like, from other vendors? MacMall maybe?

#354056

Is it just me or do you seem like a spoiled brat?

#354057

My dad wants a mac too...it's not like I'm making him get one...

Thanks for the kind words Sid. <.<

#354058

macmini or imac? i have only the right to dream of such things:p

#354060

I don't really have anything against the Mac Mini, I just want to know if it's really worth the money. I don't want my dad wasting his money. He's not too fond of the Mac Mini as it is, all he likes about it is the price and size. And it is overpriced, I mean, you can get a PC of the same size but with better specs for less.

#354061

Yes, you can get a PC for less, but can you get it with OS X?

In my opinion you should wait a while. Mac Mini still runs on a G4 processor, which by now is way out of date (2 processors behind).

If the only reason your Dad dislikes the iMac Intel is because apps run slowly under Rosetta, then tell him he won't have to wait much longer. By this summer, most applications will have already been converted to intel, or at least universal. All the programs you NEED already run well under the intel, so there's no problem there

But if money is an issue, wait. I think they should have dropped the iMac's price when they switched to intel, considering they aren't making the processors. But $1200 isn't bad for a sexy computer that runs how many times faster than a PC and 2 times faster than the original iMac.

"Is it just me or do you seem like a spoiled brat?"

Why, because he's getting a Mac that everyone that goes to this forum doesn't have and has to resolve to making it look like one? There's nothing wrong with getting a new computer. Everyone gets something new sometimes. It's not like he's getting a new computer every 2 weeks. :|

#354064

I'm not set on avoiding intel macs at all, but my dad is. And he's the one buying it, so it's kind of up to him.

If your father is really trying to get the best value for his money, why is he NOT considering an Intel Mac? The PPC platform is going to die, while the Intel platform is only going to improve. 10.4.4 is the first release of OS X that's Intel-native, rather than PPC-native, and all others will be the same. Given that PPC Macs have not been and will not be discounted in price, there really isn't an alternative here.

Push for the Intel iMac, or wait for the iBook/Mac Mini revisions.

#354070

I'd improve your grades first, but its sad that you need to be bribed in such a way.

#354081

Support Konstantino

In the summer Everything is going to work perfect in the intel based macs ....

Remember its coming the apple anniversary so.....

Maybe "ibook Core Solo" or "MacBook" ....

And a new Mac mini Intel Based ......

In the summer your dilema will over, and you can take a decission that make your dad and you Happy :)

Thanks Desides

#354101

Maybe "ibook Solo Core Duo" or "MacBook" ....

Core Solo, not Solo Core Duo. But you're right, the new iBook will probably use a Core Solo, just to save costs. The Mac Mini... might actually use a Core Duo if you believe the rumors of Front Row 2.0 and TiVo DVR software.

#354102

Is it just me or do you seem like a spoiled brat?

lol

{this message is too short bla bla bla}

#354111

fact of the matter is mac will always be expensive maybe they will drop in price a little but not a huge amount so if your dad doesn't want to spend that much then mac isn't really a good option, and also don't worry about what mac to get now cause by summer who knows what will be out.

#354118

Yeah, if he says you can get one in the summer, well, summer's a looong ways away. There are usually keynote presentations every quarter of the year, and they usually have major product updates in those presentations. By summer one or two of these presentations will have gone by, and who knows, maybe they may even drop prices for intel macs?

You can get an idea now, but make the bigger choice closer to the season.

#354265

^^^ Very wise words, listen to them.

Konstantino is absolutely right. Your best option is to not make any decissions untill closer to summer, when the Intel Mac mini's are released. They will be MUCH more powerful than the current G4 mini's, which will also take care of your preformance worries.

Also, when you say you can get a PC with better specs for less - absolutely true. However, cramming all that hardware into a box that could fit inside my subwoofer isn't easy, and OS X is much less rescourse demanding than XP. This means a Mac can perform just as well, or in some cases better, than a PC with more powerful stats.

#357150

Wait for apples new cpu with the touchscreen they have been getting patents for.

#357368

Wait for apples new cpu with the touchscreen they have been getting patents for.

Apple patents plenty of things that they may or may not release.

#357380