Possible First Time Mac Owner

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Hi, as you may notice I'm new to this fourm.

I'm possibaly thinking of getting my first mac. However, instead of buying a computer of this year I plan on buying the iMac G3 Desktop but before hand I have a few questions.

1. What's the compatability of the Mac OS with Windows applications such as Microsoft office? Do I have to install two Operating Systems in order to be able to use Windows apps?
(I really hope to just be able to use the Mac OS)

2. What are some good sites for buying a used mac?
(Anyone heard of or used adopt a mac ) ?

3. Would the iMac G3 be a good computer?
(I plan on using it for Photoshop, school work, internet browsing, and less graphic demanding games)

Alrighty, and to avoid confusion (If any) the comp's specs will be posted below.
Apple iMac G3

-500MHz
-384mb ram (Would upgrading to 512mb be worth it?)
-Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger"
-20 GB Hard-Drive
-ATI Rage 128 Ultra 16 MB Graphics
 

cwa107


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Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Hi, as you may notice I'm new to this fourm.

I'm possibaly thinking of getting my first mac. However, instead of buying a computer of this year I plan on buying the iMac G3 Desktop but before hand I have a few questions.

1. What's the compatability of the Mac OS with Windows applications such as Microsoft office? Do I have to install two Operating Systems in order to be able to use Windows apps?
(I really hope to just be able to use the Mac OS)

Windows apps run on Windows, period. On a G3 Mac, you would be limited to running Windows apps on an emulator running Windows, which would be very slow and cumbersome. Modern Intel Macs can run Windows apps within a virtual machine or via a dual-boot configuration very easily, and at full speed.

3. Would the iMac G3 be a good computer?
(I plan on using it for Photoshop, school work, internet browsing, and less graphic demanding games)

Not for your purposes. A G3 iMac is quite an old machine now - and Apple has dropped support for the G3 in the most recent version of OS X. If you were just planning to surf the 'net, you might be OK - but I wouldn't recommend that machine for running Photoshop, much less playing games (especially if you're talking about Windows games).

In terms of raw power, you're talking about a machine that would be comparable to an early Pentium III powered Windows machine.

Alrighty, and to avoid confusion (If any) the comp's specs will be posted below.
Apple iMac G3

-500MHz
-384mb ram (Would upgrading to 512mb be worth it?)
-Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger"
-20 GB Hard-Drive
-ATI Rage 128 Ultra 16 MB Graphics

What is your budget? Perhaps we could recommend something more suitable.
 
OP
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In truth, gaming isn't really that important for this machine. Though it would be a plus. As for a budget, I don't really have much money to spend as a high school student. At the moment I'm on a Compaq 1800t which I purchased for $140.00 and ended up getting scammed (long story). I pretty much have around $200 max with $300 pushing the limit. Anything higher would require me saving up my allowance ($5/month) as I have no way to earn extra $$. (Parent's won't allow me to get a job. Since they belive it would distract me from future college plans.)

As for windows compatability, I guess I could find alternate programs that do the same thing. i.e. Open Office instead of Microsoft Office.
Sidenote:

Thank you for your response.
 

cwa107


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Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
In truth, gaming isn't really that important for this machine. Though it would be a plus. As for a budget, I don't really have much money to spend as a high school student. At the moment I'm on a Compaq 1800t which I purchased for $140.00 and ended up getting scammed (long story). I pretty much have around $200 max with $300 pushing the limit. Anything higher would require me saving up my allowance ($5/month) as I have no way to earn extra $$. (Parent's won't allow me to get a job. Since they belive it would distract me from future college plans.)

As for windows compatability, I guess I could find alternate programs that do the same thing. i.e. Open Office instead of Microsoft Office.
Sidenote:

Thank you for your response.

Honestly, I think you'd get a lot more bang for your buck by going with a Windows machine.
 
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Alright, thanks for you're help and input. I guess now isn't the time for the swich, maybe next year.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
20" iMac core2Duo 2.4Ghz 4GB ram
yeah, keep saving... you don't want to go in and be disapointed because you got the wrong hardware and it doesn't work like it should with modern apps. IF you could find a G4 or better yet a G5 with a decent amount of ram (512MB absolute minimum) in your budget, you'd be a bit better off, still- try to keep it easy with photoshop.

BTW- there is a mac version of Microsoft office that is just fine. Its universal, so it'll run on both the old powerpc processors and the current intel processors.... although I just run neooffice (www.neooffice.org)
 
Joined
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Canada!!!
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook 2.1 Ghz 4GB RAM 120GB HDD, iPod Touch 16GB, iPod Shuffle 1GB, BB 8130
I'm currently a highschool student (grade 10) with a job and I managed an MB.

I had a Snowbook (iBook G3) before and still have it, but its a netbook if that. These machines won't run Youtube videos smoothly. Go for Windows or just save up your money, wear down your parents on the job thing and buy one.
 

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