RR, That iMac will struggle to run much with OS X. If it's a 233MHZ G3, then it's an original Bondi Blue one. I have an old Tangerine iMac (266 MHz) and that was too sluggish for me to work on. Now it just runs Linuz as a headless server for me to play around with.
Same here with XP. I like Macs, but the cost turned me off. Even in the refurbished market or on eBay, the machines go for an often significant premium. Of course, I still plan on getting a Mac or two for some video editing (there's not a good Windows solution that compares to Final Cut Pro. FCP stays ahead of the game and often has features programs like Premiere take far more time to incorporate.) I've been using the PCs, but I've hit the limit of what they can do for me without making an investment that would be higher than just getting a very good Mac system that does the new things I need. But I actually started out on Apple (with an Apple IIe and, along the way, moved up to various Macs culminating with a Power Computing 180MHz 603 machine before converting to PCs) and switched to PCs because of cost factors mostly (though there was some desire to do things like play games, which is more limited on the Mac. Of course, at this point, I rarely play games anymore).
I really love the apple GUI, but I'm a Linux guy through and through Although, if I could build my own MAC and have the hardware options I have with the PC platform, I'd definitely put one together. I just got an old Apple with OS8 the other day from a friend. Looking forward to giving it a run through.
With shareware called XPostFacto you can actually run OS X on an old Mac. May be pointless if it doesn't have at least 256 MB RAM and a processor upgrade to 400 plus Mhz...
In all honesty - Win 9x platforms were crap. In WinXP, I have yet to see any wild crashes or reboots that were around back then. The whole problem with viruses, trojans, pop ups, etc. - I don't have them, although I do run a pop-up blocker. Unfortunately I think what's happened is that they've put a not-so-straight-forward platform in the hands of not-so-techno-geeky-people that gets attacked by techno-geeky-people. That's the Trifecta of Doom. If you don't run firewalls, antivirus software that's updated, and do some house-cleaning every so often, then yeah, you'll eventually be screwed. I have an Apple G4 at home. I also have PC's at home. Given the price, availability of the variety of software, etc. I would much rather have the PC. Of course things like the variety of software and hardware is what is the PC's downfall - that's just more crap the OS has to deal with. The Apple/OS-X platform is a sweet platform, but for my uses it's a lot of eye candy with decent functionality and purpose. At this point in time, there's no way I could replace my PC with a Mac.
The world ain't ready for Linux yet. You have people destroying their point-and-click interfaces and you're going to tell me grandma and grandpa are going to excel with Linux (even with their interfaces/GUIs)? The OS-X is just about everything that Linux promised. A beautiful GUI with a powerful underlying OS.
I'm starting law school next month and they use an exam software that only works with Winblows. The software allows your computer to only open the exam program and that's it. You can use Virtual PC to accomplish this on a Mac but doing so allows for the possibilty of other programs to be opened also. This is seen as usurping the exam software, which is a violation of the honor code. So my choices are: Buy a PowerBook and use it for everything but exams and use a library computer for exams or Buy a PC laptop... I don't like my choices...
What's funny about this is that my first PC was an Apple //e (Enhanced!) and the reason my parents bought that one was because it was cheaper than IBM clones. I still remember we paid something like $1300-$1400 for that computer. That was when IBM XT's and AT's were going for thousands. I had a friend whose mom was a doctor and his dad was an engineer. They spent something like $12,000 on their IBM. PC prices have come down immensely since then whereas for the most part Mac prices have stayed the same or risen for the "latest and greatest".
There's no way this would run that, although it would be cool. To demonstrate its age, check this -- it's one of these special Macs that included an x86 processor so it could be made to run Windows and Windows programs. Which Windows? Why, 3.1 of course -- the included processor is a 486. It might have an Apple OS even before 8, but I think he said it was 8.
PC card. When I was at Apple nobody wanted to take those calls. They used to suck shaved monkey balls.
During the Mac Clone era, the price differential wasn't so high. My first Power Computing machine was abou the same price as my first Windows PC. Since then, prices of PCs have come down considerably, in my estimation, which Mac prices have, if anything, gotten higher since the end of the clone era. To me, Apple doesn't seem to service the low-end of the market well, and that leads to market share problems. People will pay higher prices to a degree, but when the entry-level iMac is $900 more (roughly 180% higher) than the entry-level Dell PC, it's hard for many people to justify going with the Mac. Even when you figure in the added stuff that the entry-level iMac gets you (flat panel display, larger hard drive, more memory), you'll pay more than a $500 premium for the iMac. That's a lot to pay for elegance. Plus, I think the all-in-one design can be limiting. While I think the iMac is attactive, I think it could help Apple to sell a monitor-less low-end Mac.
Had a buddy at Apple that worked for Power Computing Tech Support (in Round Rock). When Power went under Apple offered jobs to almost all the reps in Austin. He said he was there the last day that Power was taking phone calls. He actually got to use this line... "OK, sir listen very carefully. Unplug the machine and disconnect all external hardware. Now place the computer into the box and take it back where you got it. When you get there, tell them that you are too f*cking stupid to own a computer." I seriously used to love getting Power Computing calls. Power shipped with Apple OS up to OS 8.1, and for awhile Apple stopped selling OS 8.6. So the only upgrade path was to 9.1, which we didn't support on Power. It was a catch 22. Sweet.
Yes, and we know the only computer that creative, intellectual, and influential people use is the Mac. In an otherwise objective thread, this pops up.
I use a mix of Apple and PC (both Windows and Linux). For desktops, I like PCs better. There's just such a variety of hardware to choose from, and I can assemble exactly what I want, usually cheaper. Then I can run linux on it for free. Most of the software is free. No worries about viruses or spyware either. For laptops, I like the PowerBooks. Those things are just so sleek, and there isn't much price difference between PowerBooks and PCs with the same features.
It's important to separate people into really five categories of users: 1. General home user This is a person who uses their machine for email, the internet, maybe some basic word processing or graphics. Nothing fancy. Either machine would work fine. 2. Office User This is someone who uses the machine for basic office functions - spreadsheets, presentations, word processing, etc. Either machine would work fine, but PC is far more common in these circumstances. 3. Creative User Recording engineer, filmmaker, graphic designer, page layout, etc. Mac dominates this area. 4. Programmer Anyone who wants to use their machine to program intermediate to advanced software applications including database development, software development, server applications, etc. Windows dominates this area with Linux starting to get a share. 5. Gamer Anyone who wants to use their machine as their primary gaming system. The PC is still the best option for speed and for availability of software. --- So, that's pretty much it. Figure out who you are and buy what you feel is appropriate.