Dont you think you shouldve gotten alittle more hardware with your mac?

MadSkillzMan · May 26, 2005

ok guys hear me out, i love my mac and all. LUCKILY i used it to replace a huge server i could save some parts from.

When setup my mac, i couldnt help but notice, they give us a phone cord, for that dialup we hardly use, but not ethernet? Give us an antenna for the airport, but no airport?

Also, im VERY surprised apple didnt give me some sweet speakers. Even dell does that. I just used some old KOSS ones, and usually my stereo.

and for 2100$, i got a dual 1.8ghz, 256mb ram, and 80gb hard drive. i had to supply my own ram because apples is too outragous (BTW, the special on zipzoomfly.com works GREAT). Use a spare IDE drive which has taken me forever to fix the power management (su pmset 0)

I sat and thoguht about this, what if i wasnt one who had PC parts lying around i could jsut mooche off of? i cant beleive they dont give you alittle monitor or something. Now granted, im probably a "power user" and be it that i bought a powermac, i know what im doing, and id already have a monitor, so if i was a newb id get an iMac.

The other thing that ticked me off, DVI to vga. ok nice. EVERY OTHER VIDEO CARD IVE EVER OWNED COMES WITH ALL THE ADAPTORS YOULL EVER NEED! You have any idea how much i spent trying to get a good ADc to VGA pigtail?? All the other cards ive ever owned, even the G3 apple ATI Rage XL, comes with an adaptor for nearly every port, Svideo to RCA, Apple LCD to DVI.

No Svideo out. THAT ticks me off! i love to copy my edited video straight to VHS. I dont think ive ever seen a firewire VHS deck, so thats pretty not helpful. And a single layer DVDRW drive? luckily theresa hack (which im working up the courage to try)

Honestly, performace has been totally worth it. Since the day i turned it on, nothing but easy use, i get all my work done, everyting just works. I cant complain about anything at all there. I was just thinking today about the whole hardware i got with it.

and does anyone know if the sound card has any kind of surround sound on it?

i will say, the ibooks/powerbooks seem like a much better price than the PC laptops by far.

any comments?

technologist · May 26, 2005

Before 1997, Apple didn't even include a keyboard with its Pro-level systems. You could pay $5000 and get a just a tower and a mouse. Keyboard sold separately. :mac:

Apple does a little better with its all-in-ones and notebooks. I got both VGA and DVI dongles. Speakers and AirPort built in, of course. YMMV.

MadSkillzMan · May 26, 2005

jeez they wonder why people nock them lol

jhelm007 · May 26, 2005

MadSkillzMan said:
jeez they wonder why people nock them lol

I've never seen a desktop PC that came with S-video out (I've seen it on BTO PCs, but not your run of the mill buisiness or consumer PC). The radeon 9800 and 7000 mac edition video cards have that feature though. I got a ADC-VGA dongle free when I bought my ATI 9000 mac edition video card (am I the lucky exception?). I guess what I'm trying to say is... If you want special features buy special hardware just like a PC user. Or get with the times and use iLife and your superdrive to bun a DVD. :headphone

Good topic for discussion by the way.

I still encounter people who get pissed that they can't swap files with me using their 20 year old 3.5 in floppies. Does that count as a missing hardware issue?

I haven't bought a new mac since the late nineties, but I did think my PM G4 should have had better speakers whether internal or external. I had a hockey puck mouse which was just a dirty trick to play on consumers. I waited until 3 button optical mice were cheep and that took care of itself.

rs2sensen · May 26, 2005

My 17" 1.67 Ghz Powerbook came with several video adapters. I think it must be a "tower" kind of thing for them not to include it. Adapters are more commonly used for laptops, as they are often hooked up to projectors, tv systems, etc.

My PC has a svideo out, but it is a "media center." It has several video outs and ins.

Floppies are dead, but I wish I still had something that could read them... I have no wish to make new Floppy disks with files on them, just read some of the old ones I have laying around. But, occasionally you just have to bury the past.

For specialized work, you need to buy specialized equipment... Thats not going to change anytime soon.

KuruMonkey · May 26, 2005

There is a certain level of pettiness in the converters and cables apple _does_ supply, too:

The keyboard, comes with a USB extension cable. But the end of that cable is keyed; only apple usb keyboards fit it - why make that only a keyboard extension cable instead of general usb?

The powerbook 12" mini-dvi to dvi adapter. Except the DVI end isn't a standard DVI connector; it has wells blocked that shouldn't be, and the large blade is the wrong shape (it tapers too shallowly). Net result; my DVI monitors don't work with it. Presumably the apple displays would, though.

Petty.

sevenhelmet · May 26, 2005

Agreed...

Yeah, I hear you. The PMacs are GREAT, but the could come with 1 or 2 more extras. The thing that gets me is that silly little "whole button" mouse that Apple is still bundling with all its desktop systems. It looks pretty, but is hardly functional. Plug in a nice logitech or kensington though, and you're good to go! I kinda wish they'd include some peripherals in the BTO options.

technologist · May 26, 2005

sevenhelmet said:
...the thing that gets me is that silly little "whole button" mouse that Apple is still bundling with all its desktop systems. It looks pretty, but is hardly functional....

Well, you worship a false god; only my religion is the true path.

And your political party is dumb. Mine is so much better :mac:

sevenhelmet · May 26, 2005

Say What?

technologist said:
Well, you worship a false god; only my religion is the true path.

And your political party is dumb. Mine is so much better :mac:

I've no idea what you meant by that, but to each his own buddy!

iLEFTOVERCRACK · May 26, 2005

MadSkillzMan said:
ok guys hear me out, i love my mac and all. LUCKILY i used it to replace a huge server i could save some parts from.

When setup my mac, i couldnt help but notice, they give us a phone cord, for that dialup we hardly use, but not ethernet? Give us an antenna for the airport, but no airport?

Also, im VERY surprised apple didnt give me some sweet speakers. Even dell does that. I just used some old KOSS ones, and usually my stereo.

and for 2100$, i got a dual 1.8ghz, 256mb ram, and 80gb hard drive. i had to supply my own ram because apples is too outragous (BTW, the special on zipzoomfly.com works GREAT). Use a spare IDE drive which has taken me forever to fix the power management (su pmset 0)

I sat and thoguht about this, what if i wasnt one who had PC parts lying around i could jsut mooche off of? i cant beleive they dont give you alittle monitor or something. Now granted, im probably a "power user" and be it that i bought a powermac, i know what im doing, and id already have a monitor, so if i was a newb id get an iMac.

The other thing that ticked me off, DVI to vga. ok nice. EVERY OTHER VIDEO CARD IVE EVER OWNED COMES WITH ALL THE ADAPTORS YOULL EVER NEED! You have any idea how much i spent trying to get a good ADc to VGA pigtail?? All the other cards ive ever owned, even the G3 apple ATI Rage XL, comes with an adaptor for nearly every port, Svideo to RCA, Apple LCD to DVI.

No Svideo out. THAT ticks me off! i love to copy my edited video straight to VHS. I dont think ive ever seen a firewire VHS deck, so thats pretty not helpful. And a single layer DVDRW drive? luckily theresa hack (which im working up the courage to try)

Honestly, performace has been totally worth it. Since the day i turned it on, nothing but easy use, i get all my work done, everyting just works. I cant complain about anything at all there. I was just thinking today about the whole hardware i got with it.

and does anyone know if the sound card has any kind of surround sound on it?

i will say, the ibooks/powerbooks seem like a much better price than the PC laptops by far.

any comments?

hahahaha you said DELL

technologist · May 26, 2005

sevenhelmet said:
I've no idea what you meant by that, but to each his own buddy!

I meant exactly that. Discussing the number of mouse buttons is like religion or politics: people have strong opinions, and it's a good way to start a debate.

witeshark · May 26, 2005

I really don't see any reason to even bring up the single button mouse. All functions are available. Why must they all be on the mouse??

Tel · May 27, 2005

For my iBook my hands constantly rest in the same place and my right thumb can use the trackpad perfectly, I find that using command + tapping the trackpad is a lot easier that it would be to reach down to where the second mouse button would be and click that with my right thumb. But I would miss the right click on a desktop and when using a USB mouse I have to use a 3 button mouse with a scroll wheel.

Not entirely sure what my point is...

sevenhelmet · May 27, 2005

witeshark said:
I really don't see any reason to even bring up the single button mouse. All functions are available. Why must they all be on the mouse??

Well, ease of use for one. Instead of moving over there, selecting a menu, and selecting options from that menu, it's a lot faster to just go "click". Plus I like to play games, so having certain functions mapped to different mouse buttons is mission-critical (i.e. "strafing" mode, reloading weapons, etc.) Otherwise I'd get my head bitten off by a demon or something...

I brought it up for discussion because, though I am pro-mac, I notice that almost all other computer manufacturers offer 2 or 3 button mice standard with their systems. You are correct, the functions are all available with any mouse you use. But as somebody said, there's no right or wrong here- It's all about your priorities as a user.

lonerider · May 27, 2005

I think it's kind of strange how stripped the bare specs of the powermacs are. However, what you're experiencing isn't typical of any of the other lines afaik. The iMac, eMac, and all the laptops come with a good bit of gear in that way. RAM is really an issue for just about any base system, Apple or otherwise.

Keep in mind how much a real dual processor x86 box costs when thinking about that powermac though. Dual processor x86 motherboards alone can cost $500+ real easy, 2 processors like a pair of 3ghz Xeons will run you over $600. You're already at $1100, buy a case, some RAM, and a double layer DVD drive, video card, and a HDD. Then add a keyboard and mouse, WinXP Pro, and you're closing in or passing on $2000. And you have to assemble all that yourself. The only powermac that isn't really a good deal when looking at it this way is the single processor G5. The rest of them, you really do get a lot for you money.

Murlyn · May 27, 2005

I could not understand the whole one button mouse thing either, until I started helping my grandmother use her PC.. oh man there were so many things you could not do unless you clicked on the right mouse button.. it confused her to no end! When I convinced her to get a Mac and she only had one button, she didn't have that problem anymore. Apple in their specs for how software should be designed you have to be able to get to everything without contextual menus.. now that's if everyone actually followed those specs, since many companies don't, but it's still there.. my Grandmother now has none of the problems she used to have with her PC. She's not a power user and that's exactly what Apple is banking on.. Mac's are so easy to use that once you get used to them.. you become a power user and you go out and buy a 2 or more button mouse, but that's after you learn it, not before when it could frustrate you.

sevenhelmet · May 27, 2005

Hmm... that's a good point, Murlyn. It doesn't change the fact that many users immediately buy multibutton mice, but it does explain why Apple has stuck with their simple mouse for so long. But wouldn't a 2-3 button scroll version of the current "clear top" mouse look cool?

Murlyn · May 27, 2005

Oh it would be very cool, but that's basically "The Mouse" that you are talking about

http://www.dvforge.com/themouse.shtml

sevenhelmet · May 27, 2005

Hey cool! I didn't know about those...

scooter · May 27, 2005

Murlyn said:
Oh it would be very cool, but that's basically "The Mouse" that you are talking about

http://www.dvforge.com/themouse.shtml

Very cool!

My friend is looking for something like that!

I'm used to a thumb/Trackman style mouse, so two buttons are an essential for me.

Dont you think you shouldve gotten alittle more hardware with your mac?

MadSkillzMan

technologist

MadSkillzMan

jhelm007

rs2sensen

KuruMonkey

Guest

sevenhelmet

technologist

sevenhelmet

iLEFTOVERCRACK

technologist

witeshark

Tel

Guest

sevenhelmet

lonerider

Murlyn

sevenhelmet

Murlyn

sevenhelmet

scooter

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