Questions From Potential Mac G4 Owner

I have been a PC user for many many years. Recently my older 2 kids (26 and 31 yrs) have purchased Macs and really enjoy them. I have the opportunity (through my daughter's company) to purchase a couple Mac Powerbook G4s. They are 15" 1.67 GHZ, 100 GB with 2GB of ram. My questions:

1) Is this a decent Mac to use for my younger kids (age 11 and 14).

2) Primary use - browsing, schoolwork - wordprocessing, etc.

3) Is this a decent Mac to setup for my mother-in-law? She currently has an older Dell laptop which she continually gets all fouled up with adware and viruses etc. She would use it the same wewas as my daughters - browsing and fairlty light apps - wordprocessing etc.

4) Do you think it would be fairly trouble free for a year or two?

Thanks!

Lastly, I can purchase up to 3 of these Macs for $350 each guaranteed for 30 days. They are at the end

I think for what you are looking for this well be fine.

Being that there will not be a whole lot on the machine it should run smoothly.

Mac's are very reliable machines, however, it wouldnt be fair to say it will last you 'X' amount of time as there would be no real way of working out the life of a machine.

I guess if it has been kepy in good condition and looked after, my guess is that it will.

You kids will also be able to use the PowerBook - No worries

Welcome to the world of Mac OS X.

1) Yes, and you can run Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) on it. It's a far cry from Tiger (OS X 10.4). You cannot run Snow Leopard (10.6) as that requires an Intel processor. As long as they don't install a bunch of crud on it, it should run very smoothly.

2) I run a 500mHz Power Mac G4 (with only 1gb RAM), and I usually do web browsing and the occasional school work, so you should have no problems with 1.6gHz speed and 2 gigs of RAM.

3) It's a very good computer for older folks. Heck my grandmother switched from a Compaq running Windows Vista to a used MacBook Pro. She loves it! It is quite easy to keep Mac OS X happy- viruses do not (as of yet) exist for Mac OS X. There is a trojan, but that can easily be removed with a tool (there's a link or two to the same thing somewhere here on the forum).

4) For the most part, maybe. As long as your younger kids keep food and drinks away from it while they're using it! If you want a better guarantee (which I cannot assure you will be any better, it depends on if the PowerBook's you're giving to the kids was treated well) you can get a slightly newer (but still used of course) MacBook or MacBook Pro.

I guess if I wanted to spend a little more I could get:

13" White Macbook Intel Core Duo 2GHz/ 2GB ram/ 160HD

on eBay for $565. How much better would this Mac be?

Thx again!

Oh, I forgot to mention, the Powerbook's are running 10.5 "Leopard".

Chris H. said:

Welcome to the world of Mac OS X.

1) Yes, and you can run Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) on it. It's a far cry from Tiger (OS X 10.4). You cannot run Snow Leopard (10.6) as that requires an Intel processor.

2) I run a 500mHz Power Mac G4 (with only 1gb RAM), and I usually do web browsing and the occasional school work, so you should have no problems with 1.6gHz speed and 2 gigs of RAM.

3) It's a very good Mac for older folks. Heck my grandmother switched from a Compaq running Windows Vista to a used MacBook Pro. She loves it!

4) For the most part, maybe. As long as your younger kids keep food and drinks away from it while they're using it! If you want a better guarantee (which I cannot assure you will be any better, it depends on if the PowerBook's you're giving to the kids was treated well) you can get a slightly newer (but still used of course) MacBook or MacBook Pro.

Click to expand...

sarends said:

Oh, I forgot to mention, the Powerbook's are running 10.5 "Leopard".

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In that case, the PowerBook's should run rather smoothly with Leopard.

sarends said:

I guess if I wanted to spend a little more I could get:

13" White Macbook Intel Core Duo 2GHz/ 2GB ram/ 160HD

on eBay for $565. How much better would this Mac be?

Thx again!

Click to expand...

With this MacBook you can run more applications at the same time (faster processor), plus the parts for this notebook are easier to find (though not as cheap) than that of a PowerBook. Plus, since it uses an Intel chipset, Snow Leopard (10.6) can run on it (though I would by all means hold off on that- there are a few nags with SL that some people are angry about).

Chris H. said:

With this MacBook you can run more applications at the same time (faster processor), plus the parts for this notebook are easier to find (though not as cheap) than that of a PowerBook. Plus, since it uses an Intel chipset, Snow Leopard (10.6) can run on it (though I would by all means hold off on that- there are a few nags with SL that some people are angry about).

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I agree - All bar the snags part lol

A MacBook would be a great machine to have and it's a lot newer, I'd probably advise to get the PowerBook first, get used to that, then if you need to upgrade in the future you always can.

Chris H. said:

With this MacBook you can run more applications at the same time (faster processor), plus the parts for this notebook are easier to find (though not as cheap) than that of a PowerBook. Plus, since it uses an Intel chipset, Snow Leopard (10.6) can run on it (though I would by all means hold off on that- there are a few nags with SL that some people are angry about).

Click to expand...

Not really. They each have 2GB of RAM. It will run more smoothly on the MB, but it's not because of the processor as much as the faster system bus and RAM speed (I think the pbooks are DDR2 vs the macbook's ddr3 - unless it's an older macbook with ddr, but still at 667MHz or 800MHz it should be faster). You can run the same amount of apps though.

Also, what snags with snow leopard? The people who are having issues haven't been having very serious issues. I know there were complaints about CS3 and CS2, but i'm running CS3 fine here. It's a new OS, there were bound to be a few bugs that slipped through the cracks, but really this is the best OS upon initial release that I can remember, and that's with me having had bought it and had it delivered the day of release, installed then. I used to wait until at least the .1 or .2 update before I'd upgrade, and this OS is pretty freakin' sweet.

DarkestRitual said:

Not really. They each have 2GB of RAM. It will run more smoothly on the MB, but it's not because of the processor as much as the faster system bus and RAM speed (I think the pbooks are DDR2 vs the macbook's ddr3 - unless it's an older macbook with ddr, but still at 667MHz or 800MHz it should be faster). You can run the same amount of apps though.

Also, what snags with snow leopard? The people who are having issues haven't been having very serious issues. I know there were complaints about CS3 and CS2, but i'm running CS3 fine here. It's a new OS, there were bound to be a few bugs that slipped through the cracks, but really this is the best OS upon initial release that I can remember, and that's with me having had bought it and had it delivered the day of release, installed then. I used to wait until at least the .1 or .2 update before I'd upgrade, and this OS is pretty freakin' sweet.

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They're not serious, no, but for a parent who may want to avoid whining kids about their tiny little hiccups with SL, sticking with Leopard on that used MacBook will save them the headaches until "the all clear" (so to speak) is given about SL.

Chris H. said:

They're not serious, no, but for a parent who may want to avoid whining kids about their tiny little hiccups with SL, sticking with Leopard on that used MacBook will save them the headaches until "the all clear" (so to speak) is given about SL.

Click to expand...

Yea, but I'm a power user and have no problems other than one small thing that i don't think most people use anyway (like if you hit choose file, or command o to open a file within an app, the list of apps and folders, i usually click into where i want to search and begin typing to get to a directory, now I have to start a pane before where I used to). I don't think some kids learning a new OS are going to have any difficulties with the OS having "bugs" as much as they will with learning a new OS.

More Newbie Questions from "About to be Mac Owner"

For an "about to be a Mac Owner", what are the essential softwares? What I am used to on a PC is Firefox, Chrome, Google Apps and Microsoft Office 07.

I am buying a couple Macs, for several reasons:
1) Mother-in-law who is constantly messing up her Dell laptop with adware and viruses
2) Two school age kids who have also been using Dell laptops in the past
3) My wife who just wants an easy to use laptop for browsing, wordprocessing, etc.
4) My sophomore college student (industrial art major) son who currently has a Mac Mini but wants something portable and uses photoshop and other graphics programs
5) I am also considering a Mac dual boot machine to "wean" myself into the world of Macs and to be able to help all of the above

So, I am looking at some very good condition Powerbook G4s - 1.67 GHZ, 10.5 OS, 80 GB HD, 2GB ram that I can purchase for $350 each. I also see that I can get 15" Macbook Pros on ebay for around $800 - $1,000.

Could I get the Powerbooks for above users 1 - 4 and a Macbook Pro for myself? Or, should I also get the Macbook Pro for my college student?

Also, for users 1 - 3 above, what are the "essential" Mac softwares to get?

In a Macbook Pro, should I try to get 6 or 8GB ram?

I know there are a plethora of questions here and I really appreciate the help!

Steve

sarends said:

For an "about to be a Mac Owner", what are the essential softwares? What I am used to on a PC is Firefox, Chrome, Google Apps and Microsoft Office 07.

I am buying a couple Macs, for several reasons:
1) Mother-in-law who is constantly messing up her Dell laptop with adware and viruses
2) Two school age kids who have also been using Dell laptops in the past
3) My wife who just wants an easy to use laptop for browsing, wordprocessing, etc.
4) My sophomore college student (industrial art major) son who currently has a Mac Mini but wants something portable and uses photoshop and other graphics programs
5) I am also considering a Mac dual boot machine to "wean" myself into the world of Macs and to be able to help all of the above

So, I am looking at some very good condition Powerbook G4s - 1.67 GHZ, 10.5 OS, 80 GB HD, 2GB ram that I can purchase for $350 each. I also see that I can get 15" Macbook Pros on ebay for around $800 - $1,000.

Could I get the Powerbooks for above users 1 - 4 and a Macbook Pro for myself? Or, should I also get the Macbook Pro for my college student?

Also, for users 1 - 3 above, what are the "essential" Mac softwares to get?

In a Macbook Pro, should I try to get 6 or 8GB ram?

I know there are a plethora of questions here and I really appreciate the help!

Steve

Click to expand...

I'm going to be like I'm working at best buy and ask lifestyle questions now... What will your Mother in law be using her computer for? Haha, well I'll try and answer anyway without knowing these things, but it'd be helpful.

1) Make sure iLife is installed on the PowerBook. All new macs come with iLife, but if the machine was a company machine, it may have been wiped off. Other than that, built in apps in the system include Mail (which is the best mail client I've ever used), Safari (fastest web browser I've ever used, even faster than Chrome), and iTunes (a bit bloated, but still a great music app). Basically, make sure it has iLife. If it doesn't, grab a copy and put it on your machines.

2) iLife! Also, friends don't let friends pay for Microsoft Office. Download the free and 100% compatible Open Office.

3) iLife, OpenOffice

4) If your son already has a mac, he's probably got an idea of what he needs to load on there and will probably do so himself.

5) Dual boot... Yea, I mean, it's nice. I think people may use it as a crutch a little too much. The real way to get to know OS X isn't to run back to windows every time you want a hug (all be it a hug from a stinky perverse uncle who just grabbed your butt). If there are some Windows apps you can't live without (well, think you can't... you really can and we're here to show you how!), then I'd suggest installing Windows in a virtual machine within Mac OS X. That way you're not going to infect one OS with viruses and whatnot, and if you do, then you can just delete the "hard drive" of your VM.

And now your RAM question... This OS isn't like Windows. I am running a 13 inch MacBook pro with 2GB of RAM right now, and really I don't need to upgrade to 4GB (which I will be doing soonish). I just want to for poops and giggles, and to free up some more RAM for other apps while I am playing World of Warcraft (god that makes me feel lame). I see all this windows hardware while working at best buy with 4-8GB of RAM in it, and the machine doesn't perform any better than my macbook with 2GB of RAM. So really, I'd say stick with 4GB. If you decide you need more later, it's WAY cheaper to buy it yourself (and will be even more so then because the price will drop with time on those bigger sticks of RAM) and it's a very very easy procedure to put RAM into a MBP.

Hope I helped a bit.