Help settle an argument

trevorlsciacttrevorlsciact
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Alright my father (who used to work with computers in the 70 (large corporate computers, with tape drives etc.) and I are currently in an ongoing argument regarding our iMac intel Core Duo 20" computer. He is convinced that this computer is not powerful enough to do what he needs (mostly audio editing, and some video) he keeps ranting about buffers and how much more powerful the computers that professionals use are. I said that is not true and provided an example to prove my point (Goldfrapp, who happen to use a G4 Powermac) he remains convinced that it is more powerful than this computer, just because it is a Powermac. We have been having some issues with this machine, I'm convinced it is a dud, it stalls frequently, the backlight is seriously messed up, the drive has problems (won't read or write DVDs and has been having some problems with CDs) iTunes frequently freezes when CDs are imported and has to be force quit. He thinks that a CD is pushing the limits of the machine, that a 45 min CD will overload the buffers, but a 12 min 4 track one won't. which is ridiculous. Of course I am reluctant to argue due to him previously having a career with computers and understanding programing language and hardware better than I (even though his knowledge is archaic)



So, basically I'm asking--a G4 Powermac<iMac intel Core Duo, right?

What the fuck is a buffer and do we have enough?

A CD is in no way pushing the limits of a machine, or am I just insane (well, I am, but that's besides the point?





**Also, something really weird (and somewhat unrelated) happened, a CD he had burnt (of his own stuff) was recognized as Unchain My Heart by Joe Cocker. Freaky, huh?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    hirohiro Posts: 2,663member
    My God! Overflowing the buffers!! Head for the hills!!!



    Tell your dad that sometime in the early 80's we figured out how to do circular buffers and solved the consumer/producer synchronization problems. We can't overflow those buffers anymore, especially since they're not physical buffers like he was used to.



    String keyboard inputs done by idiots are another matter.



    That Core2Duo CPU is at least 10-12 times more powerful than the most powerful G4, and the memory bus is an order of magnitude faster. They're not even close, or in the same zip code performance wise. The list of things he can do at home that will overtax that iMac is very short.





    Sounds like you machine may have been dropped or roughly handled at some point. Back up your data and take it back ASAP. Optical drive and LCD problems seem to indicate the optical drive got whacked and or bent into the backlight enough to mess it and the drive up.
  • Reply 2 of 3
    trevorlsciacttrevorlsciact Posts: 224member
    Yea, I figured things must have changed, but it felt awkward trying t argue with someone who does know considerably more that I do about programing and hardware, (not to mention audio editing) even though what he knows is outdated. This machine is not C2D, only CD (but I assume since we are not dealing with vast amounts of ram that makes little difference, and that it is still exponentially faster than a G4, also being a 32 bit processor, how much of a difference is there between a 32 vs. 64 bit processor, anyway?)



    I have AppleCare on this machine, would it be better to take it to a genius bar, or call to have them take it away to be repaired? Also, I don't have an external drive to back up to--should I get one, I probably would anyway in time for Leopard, Time Machine is just too sexy not to use.



    "String keyboard inputs done by idiots are another matter." what are you talking about here? What is a string keyboard input?

    edit: I googled it, I see it has something to do with buffers, still not sure what it is exactly.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    hirohiro Posts: 2,663member
    The 64-bitness itself doesn't make it faster, but some other architectural changes on a C2D over a CD do. CD is still WWAAYYY faster than a G4 though.



    Buffer overflow attacks are a security risk where a programmer inadvertently accepts inputs longer than intended. Those extra long inputs can be crafted to actually contain executable malicious program code. A very bad thing. The idiots I was referring to are the programmers that left such a problem in their code.
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