Apple iMac G5 vs HP Media Center PC

danielctulldanielctull
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Okay I am a recent (3 months now and loving it!) Mac convert and my dad is entering the realms of buying a new computer. I took him down to PC World the other week to see the iMac G5 and it surprised me when he said "Wow" to its thickness. He doesn't do much more than browse the net and word really, maybe look at his digital photos. He's not bad with technology by any means, he's probably the average.



Whilst *I* know that he'd be better off with the Mac, he really isn't too sure about it. I have tried to convince him, and dropped the odd hint. He looks at the specs and he can't get around why 1.8GHz CPU & 64mb Graphics RAM is enough. Can someone help me out with some definite answers? I *know* it's enough, I have a PB12 and it does all i want fine (well sometimes its a tad slow, but hey its 12"!).



Lastly he's worried about learning the system. I've said its extremely easy to learn, but he says I learn things quickly anyway. Has anyone else had someone convert and what are their experiences? Where do people normally fall down when converting to Mac OS X (to be honest I found it a little weird, but natural after about an hour)? My dad's coming from Win ME by the way.



Anyway, I'd be grateful for any help in the matter. In the mean time I'll taunt him with talk of 20" display included in the price

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    hdcoolhdcool Posts: 48member
    I adviced my girlfriend to get an iBook...

    she loves the fact that she doesn't get any spyware or virusses and the fact that she doesn't have to be concerned about it.

    She learned it really quickly (she's not very advanced on windows..but she can use internet/office/printing ... )



    someday she called me that she was so proud that she had an issue with something and that she was able to fix it herself.



    OS X is good... it's easy to figure out..



    BUT.. in a windows network... i don't know... since 3.6

    everything goes wrong... no more SMB connectivity.

    and since M$ has dropped appletalk support on win XP...



    I really hope Tiger will fix every damn issue (none that your father probably will have... but maybe the windows connectivity) I have now... or even 3.7





    Would I care about that minor thing? Nope...

    Your father can run his system theoretically for more than 10 years and it will still work..

    that cannot be said off a windows machine.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    He said "wow" as in "gee, that's really thick?"



    I don't want to be insulting, but he did realize that was the WHOLE computer, right?



    I'd push the lack of virus/spyware on OSX angle personally.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    Flounder: I'm pretty sure there was an implied "lack of" with regards to the thickness comment, but maybe not



    Well, what is he trying to do with this system? Your title references an HP Media Center PC, but your post doesn't mention this at all. Is he also trying to use this as some sort of TV/PC, or just a PC with internet/office/photo maniuplation capabilities?
  • Reply 4 of 10
    gene cleangene clean Posts: 3,481member
    With regard to the whole Mega/Gigahertz myth, why don't you show him this video before making a decision, as I'm sure it will help him understand that the Intel myth about Gigahertz being speedy is just that, a myth.



    Video Here
  • Reply 5 of 10
    danielctulldanielctull Posts: 586member
    Thanks guys this is most helpful



    hdcool - What are the Windows issues? I have my PB12 10.3.6 on a windows network and there doesn't seem to be a problem 'cept finding and mounting my windows PC, but i thought that was the fault of the PC since I can mount my dads and brothers.



    Flounder - It was a "wow" as in "gee, thats thin! wow"



    MCQ - If he were to get a PC thats the one it would be I'm sure. God knows why, chances are he wouldn't use the Media Center extras.. If he were to want to play, pause and record TV, is there a way to do it on a Mac?



    Gene Clean - Thanks, I haven't seen it yet, but from the start it looks like it will explain very well
  • Reply 6 of 10
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    You can get stuff for the Mac as far as TV... just not cheap. EyeTV is the most popular from what I recollect. If he's looking to deal with digital photos, then show him iPhoto on your PB.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    hdcoolhdcool Posts: 48member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by danielctull

    [B]Thanks guys this is most helpful



    hdcool - What are the Windows issues? I have my PB12 10.3.6 on a windows network and there doesn't seem to be a problem 'cept finding and mounting my windows PC, but i thought that was the fault of the PC since I can mount my dads and brothers.



    well... when I want to open a windowsshare, i can't.

    when i want to add a smb printer, i can browse the domain, and the computer, but no printer shows up... I had to use the option add trick and do the smb://user@host/printer thing...



    try it for yourself... try to readd your printer ...
  • Reply 8 of 10
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MCQ

    You can get stuff for the Mac as far as TV... just not cheap. EyeTV is the most popular from what I recollect. If he's looking to deal with digital photos, then show him iPhoto on your PB.



    I have the Plextor PX-TV402U for my TV viewing needs. Works great, has Tivo type functions, records and encodes to DIVX/MPEG4 in real time plus it's a good price at $180.00.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Relic

    I have the Plextor PX-TV402U for my TV viewing needs. Works great, has Tivo type functions, records and encodes to DIVX/MPEG4 in real time plus it's a good price at $180.00.



    Psssst, perfect for copying DVDS to.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by danielctull

    Flounder - It was a "wow" as in "gee, thats thin! wow"





    Uh, looking back I guess that was pretty obvious, huh?



    Too many finals and not enough sleep........
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