No Good Options {sad}

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
My Dad is thinking about buying a new computer, but it looks more and more like he'll have to buy a PC. Not because he doesn't like or want to get a Mac but because there are no good Mac options for his budget. I've had three Macs: a Performa, a DVSE, and my current computer a 15" FP iMac. My dad uses the Performa, which is no where's near good enough for what he wants to do i.e. digital pictures and video. My brother uses the DVSE, so in the end he has no where to go to get the most out of his new digital camera. Plus I'm getting married next year and won't be around to make the iMovies my family has come to enjoy. He'll need to do it, which he wants to, but he'll need a computer to do that with. I just wish Apple had a good, viable computer for $1,000 or less with a CD-RW and DVD drive. He'd buy an Apple if there was one that would work into his budget! I wish there was something I could do to keep him using Macs but really there isn't since he can't afford to go up to a iMac or even a e-Mac. I can't give him mine since I can't afford a new one either and I'm waiting to see what comes down the road. It's just really sad and now I know how other people felt talking about their families switching to PCs.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    mrsparklemrsparkle Posts: 120member
    Quote:

    I just wish Apple had a good, viable computer for $1,000 or less with a CD-RW and DVD drive.



    Ummm. An emac with a combo drive is $999.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    brunobruinbrunobruin Posts: 552member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MrSparkle

    Ummm. An emac with a combo drive is $999.



    And a refurbished LCD iMac with combo is about $1,000 too.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    proxyproxy Posts: 232member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by imacFP

    Plus I'm getting married next year and won't be around to make the iMovies my family has come to enjoy.



    And if he goes the PC route he's going to edit in what? iMovie just kills everything else. He'll kick himself so badly if he tries to edit the family movies on anything other than iMovie. The eMac clearly suits your budget and is better value than it's ever been. Go on..talk him into doing the sensible thing.
  • Reply 4 of 12
    Well if I understand your post correctky there is at least one more question to ask than the hardware itself. Is Your father use it for editing video? Then consider iMovie, iDvd etc. That comes bundle into the price ... Does the Wintel machine have that?

    One can argue that a mac is expencive and I second that, we all prefered if they where cheaper, but what you get for the money I consider them to be a good computers.



    Anyway hope that you can convince him about the functionality of OSX.8)



    edit: oops already ...
  • Reply 5 of 12
    nebrienebrie Posts: 483member
    PCs come with MovieMaker 2 which is no iMovie but is still okay. DVD software will definately be an expense.

    Also, a firewire card. Most PCs in the price range he wants don't come with firewire. That's another $40.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    macubusmacubus Posts: 95member
    Let him buy a PC and when he realizes that the software isn't as good as on the Mac side, then he'll understand what you were trying to tell him. Sometimes you need to let people make their own mistakes.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    gargoylegargoyle Posts: 660member
    Hmmm... Go and buy your PC then...



    When you have said 5 hail BSOD's, and pressed 1000 "any" keys you can come back and buy a mac.



    I am not just saying this cos I like macs, but you have picked one of the few applications where Mac's totally annihilate the opposition in the same price range.



    G
  • Reply 8 of 12
    matt ftmatt ft Posts: 87member
    How about a referd superdrive eMac? That might make it into his budget...
  • Reply 9 of 12
    banchobancho Posts: 1,517member
    <whiningVoice>

    But peeceeees are cheaper! My time and sanity are not worth the extra cost! I need cheap! I like to be second guessed by my OS every time I click on a button or hit a key. I like my OS to be condescending to me!

    </whiningVoice>



    Sorry, I know you're not a whining bitch but the cheaper PC route is not always the way to go. I've seen a lot of co-workers buy cheap Dell's (my copmpany has a special deal with them) and still have problems doing things that I can do on my more expensive (relatively) and slower (in MHz but not actual productive time) Mac.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    I guess the monetarty value on human patience, productivity, comfort, and sanity has completely squandered down to zero. Ah well, his loss.



    You really should consider the options pointed out in this thread.



    "eMac 700MHz/128MB/40GB/Combo/56K - Refurbished $749.00"



    That leaves you a couple hundred dollars to bump the RAM and still be under your $1000 ceiling. Of course, I personally would recommend investing a little more and getting the low-end PowerMac G4. At its price, it's really a very nice machine. If you have a college student in your family, you can get



    1.25GHz PowerPC G4

    1MB L3 cache

    256MB DDR333 SDRAM

    80GB Ultra ATA drive

    Combo Drive

    ATI Radeon 9000 Pro

    Mac OS 9 boot supported



    for a mere $1,199.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    mrsparklemrsparkle Posts: 120member
    Why do the people who start these threads always seem to vanish?
  • Reply 12 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MrSparkle

    Why do the people who start these threads always seem to vanish?



    It's a pet peeve of mine, people who ask for purchasing advice and then never come back to tell us what they decided. I need closure, damn it!!
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