“It’s not just Windows boxes in the $1K Club anymore. Apple, despite its reputation as a provider of premium products at premium prices (with premium hype), makes a desktop machine, the eMac, that costs significantly less than its long-necked flat-screen iMacs. Like the iMac, the eMac runs on a G4 PowerPC processor, but it uses a built-in 17-inch C.R.T. monitor,” J.D. Biersdorfer writes for the New York Times.
“Once relegated to the education market, the eMac is gaining attention as an affordable all-in-one system for Apple fans. In fact, Apple upgraded its eMac line last week, boosting the G4 processor to 1.25 gigahertz in its $999 model (with a DVD burner and an 80-gigabyte hard drive) and in its $799 edition (with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive and a 40-gigabyte hard drive). Both models come with 256 megabytes of memory and a 32-megabyte ATI Radeon 9200 video card and now have U.S.B. 2.0 ports (standard on most new PC’s but late to arrive on Macs) mixed in with those iPod-friendly FireWire ports that also make connecting a digital camcorder a breeze,” Biersdorfer writes.
“The eMac comes with Mac OS X 10.3, Apple’s elegant yet simple operating system, and the company’s iLife ’04 suite: the self-explanatory iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD and the newcomer GarageBand, which lets you cook up personal audio compositions till the cows boogie home. There’s no free Microsoft ride here, but you do get AppleWorks, the Macintosh word-processing and spreadsheet software that will let you save files in PC-compatible formats, and a 30-day test drive of Microsoft Office for the Mac. World Book Encyclopedia 2004, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 and Quicken 2004 for Mac add to the onboard software selection,” Biersdorfer writes.
“The eMac was by far the easiest to set up of all the machines I tried out – power cord, keyboard, mouse and network cable, and you’re all plugged in. (Not that a PC setup is hard anymore, since with most systems you get a color poster and colored-coded cables to guide you.) Software compatibility is still the Mac’s Achilles’ heel, however, as many programs are still Windows-only and gamers often face a frustrating lag until popular titles get ported over from their PC versions,” Biersdorfer writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Two points to be made here: 1) If you want to play games, get a PlayStation and you’ll have a better time, and 2) There are currently over 18,000 Macintosh applications and software titles, so even if you find a piece of Windows-only software, odds are high that there is a Mac title that will do the same or a better job for you. Click here to browse over 18,000 Mac software applications (including games!). Bonus 3rd point: If you are a Windows user thinking about adding a Mac to your computing arsenal, DO IT! You can thank us later.
Dave
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Two Macs and one of them is Pro. Good
Ah Yes, The affordable, Yet crappy eMac..dont iPiss your eMoney away…
“If you want games, buy a playstation”… How old and retarted is that? Games started out on the computer, and You’ve a huge graphics card industry lead by ATI and nVidia. They turn proffits almost every quarter, and all they do are 3d accelerators. Rageous is right. There’s nothing that compares to a Keyboard/Mouse control scheme.
That’s like asking “why put a cd player in your car. If you want to listen to music, get an iPod.” Gaming is the largest growing section of the entertainment industry, and the computer part of it is a decent size.
Games do Matter.
Buy a playstation? C�mon, MDN, you guys got your head in the sand or are getting old.
Try out the new “Far Cry” on your PC….wow! what graphics, what a game engine, whata game.
Gaming on a PC is not just playing on your own TV like Playstation – it is the whole internet, broadband,worldwide gaming community.
It�s a whole new world that you have not obviously discovered.
Kind of like thinking why get Rollerblades when the old 4 wheel rollerskates work fine…or who needs CDs when my 8-track stereo is still making playing the Peter Frampton Live album real goood…
Old Macs
Yes I too am using a “old Mac, A 350MHz G4, one of the orginals, with 350 ram. I keep trying to find a reason to update but like you said it just keeps ticking and is plenty fast enough.
Ford:
Why would you switch to a Mac? Well, until you try one, you just will never understand. Mac’s OS X is extremely elegant and better than anything Microsuck will rush out its doors (including your XP).
As for learning a new computer, this one’s not a tough one to use. I learned OS X in about a day after being used to Mac’s old operating system (which is really a whole lot different than this one). It’s not tough because it’s designed to be easy.
For example, when I upgraded to DSL it took me � literally � 5 minutes (if that) on my iMac. Friend of mine upgraded to DSL also (same company, same setup instructions.) on his Windows machine. Not only did he not get on to the connection � it royally screwed up his computer and he had to spend hours trying to fix it. Remember: SAME COMPANY, SAME INSTALLER.
The same goes for just about everything. OSX is designed to be extremely easy to use yet it’s so powerful that the real techie users can do a lot of stuff under the hood.
Why add a Mac? We don’t, as of today, April 23, have any known viruses. We don’t endure spyware or obscenes amount of pop ups. We don’t deal with overbloated programs to do little things (how well many apps are integrated into OSX would just amaze you).
Do yourself a favor. I’m sure you like that Dell. I’m sure it does everything you’d want. The question is, does it do everything you want quickly, easy, efficiently, and most importantly, faithfully and consistently? Not with Windows under the hood. No way, no how.
Now go out and try a Mac. Use a friend’s. Use one at a library or school. Go to an Apple store. Just try it.
You may like that Dell. You’ll love your Mac.
Speaking of old Macs, I used my Power Mac 6100 for 8 years before I switched to the my current iBook. I’ve upgrades, of course, but the only problem (HW) I’ve had with it was when I upgraded my HD to an after market 1GB that crashed on me, which I fixed with Norton.
The guy in the article states: “The eMac was by far the easiest to set up of all the machines I tried out – power cord, keyboard, mouse and network cable, and you’re all plugged in. (Not that a PC setup is hard anymore, since with most systems you get a color poster and colored-coded cables to guide you.) “
Yeah, right. Plugging in the cables is only the start of PC setup. After that, you have to 1) Update Windows 2) Load Anti-Virus Software 3) Update Anti-Virus Software 4) Load Anti-Spyware Software 5) Update Anti-Spyware Software 6) Load Anti-Spam Software 7) Update Anti-Spam Software 8) Load Anti-Adware Software 9) Update Anti-Adware Software 10) Update Windows Again, etc. etc. etc.
I agree with all of you, that Macs are better… but I don’t think everyone can be persuaded to make the switch in a day. Especially if you’ve been a PC since your introduction to computers.
Macs can be very confusing… Don’t say they’re perfect because they aren’t (that’s not to say they aren’t close though ~_^) I’ve seen some moderately computer savvy people shake with anger until they were taught how to do things the Mac way. It is better but it takes some getting used to, but once you do you’ll wonder how you ever did without.
Right now I don’t have a Mac, and it’s sad… But I will as soon as the Dual 3ghz G5s and new Monitors debut and guess what my Athlon 2700 will be doing? It’ll be acting as a mass storage device for my G5 and it’ll be running Linux.
Don’t bash until you try at the very least… and you Mac folk, even I to an extent, need to be nicer to those PC users. Because we don’t like it when we get picked on and vice versa. Because in the long run we’re all brothern of the geek world!
Dave H, re: overpriced iMac
If we don’t see a refresh or price drop on current models soon (e.g. next week) my bet is Apple will announce a revamped product (w/ G5) at WWDC. They may drop prices before WWDC anyway even new models are announced. Even tho’ the Powermac is overdue for an update it’s already a G5 and more reasonable priced than the iMac, which is clearly the sore spot in the product line… now even more after the eMac update. And IBM’s chip troubles might come into play, causing Apple to refresh the iMac instead of introducing new models. Any maybe that’s why they haven’t done anything with the iMac up ’til now.
If nothing’s announced next week I may get an eMac since I’m long overdue for a desktop system and can’t wait ’til WWDC. That’ll still keep me within a budget to get an iMac or Powermac later this year and my wife would get the eMac, which means she’d get a Mac faster than if she were waiting to inherit a 20″ iMac from me.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> So, we’ll make the best of the situation regardless of what Apple does.
TMAN – don’t forget that you have to be on the Internet WITHOUT protection in order to GET that protection
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Apple has caught up with the PC world in terms of gaming experience!
You can buy a $3K Dual 2GHz PowerMac to match a $1,400 Wintel/WinAMD rig.
So there…
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—-
BTW:
Are you tired of this yet? The Mac is better than a PC (in some respects), and a PC is better than the Mac (in some respects).
NEITHER…
NEITHER…
NEITHER is the perfect solution for everyone!
Apple has caught up with the PC world in terms of gaming experience!
You can buy a $3K Dual 2GHz PowerMac to match a $1,400 Wintel/WinAMD rig.
So there…
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—-
BTW:
Are you tired of this yet? The Mac is better than a PC (in some respects), and a PC is better than the Mac (in some respects).
NEITHER…
NEITHER…
NEITHER is the perfect solution for everyone!
Dorkus, when PC users are nice and objective toward a platform they – for the most – know nothing or very little and wrong about THEN Mac users who – for the most – know a lot about Windows because we cannot but be exposed to it daily cannot but shout loudly STFU.
So it is refreshing to see PC users like you honestly willing to give a try with enough open mind to realize that even if only 10% of what Mac users preach about the platform turns out to be true then the Mac experience is going to be a good one.
After this long preamble, Macs can be very confusing if you try to use them as *another* Windows thinking that is the way computers work or are supposed to be. Wrong, Windows is Windows is Windows. Approach the Mac without asking it to behave like a Windows machine, learn its ways and you’ll be rewarded. Most of the times what requires going down menus and panel on Windows it is a click away on Mac or a drag&drop; operation. But it seems you realize that already, so all be fine.
Finally, the wait for the 3GHz G5 is short. Cannot say more but should not be a surprise to anyone to realize it is not *so* far away, as well as OS X 10.4 . Both are around already but not officially.
shake your bon bon, shake your bon bon
TMAN has a very good point regarding Windows setup. A colleague of mine (who is a Mac guy w/PowerBook and a Dual G5) recently bought a Compaq. I instructed him NOT to connect directly to the net w/o first installing the 50 some-odd Windows critical updates, patches, etc. and to install/update a A/V solution (download to Mac, burn to CD and install on PC). Long story short. He didn’t and was hit by W32.Welchia within a minute after connecting.
It’s a jungle out there. And the problem is exasperated by manufacturers who are shipping completely vulnerable machines from the factory with just a basic XP install.
eMac- that’s my baby- outta the box burn’n dvd’s, cd’s, got my own garage band and manage 2 website! Bill Gates aint gonna get me!
See my article on Gates at…
http://millenniafever.org/other/msid.html
“You can buy a $3K Dual 2GHz PowerMac to match a $1,400 Wintel/WinAMD rig.”
That is bullshit. A 1400$ machine won’t even get close to the speed of a dual processor machine.
>Adin Panther wrote: That is bullshit. A 1400$ machine won’t
>even get close to the speed of a dual processor machine.
Don’t get your panties in a bunch over this.
The G5 is fast for a Mac. The dual G5 is amazingly fast, yet still (in its current implementation) trails Windows boxes costing much less.
—–
One thing I hate about my fellow Mac fans, so many of us have such a poor sense of humor. If you can’t tease yourself first, lay off the Windows users or you end up making yourself look foolish (putting it lightly).
…and
While I disagree with just about anything certain resident MDN board idiots/zealots have to say about Windows, I do share their enthusiasm for future G5s and future MacOS versions.
— Mac & PC Guy
>Adin Panther wrote: That is bullshit. A 1400$ machine won’t
>even get close to the speed of a dual processor machine.
Don’t get your panties in a bunch over this.
The G5 is fast for a Mac. The dual G5 is amazingly fast, yet still (in its current implementation) trails Windows boxes costing much less.
—–
One thing I hate about my fellow Mac fans, so many of us have such a poor sense of humor. If you can’t tease yourself first, lay off the Windows users or you end up making yourself look foolish (putting it lightly).
…and
While I disagree with just about anything certain resident MDN board idiots/zealots have to say about Windows, I do share their enthusiasm for future G5s and future MacOS versions.
— Mac & PC Guy
Here’s the canned Macdiot response:
XP is trash. So many viruses/worms/trojans/glitches/leaks. If you do any computing on anything other than a Mac, you are an idiot. You will become smart if you switch and are all-of-a-sudden… intelligent.
Dell sucks. AMD is bleh. OSX is perfect. Look beyond the $100, $500, $2000 more you’ll spend on a Mac vs. PC. If you add up the numbers a certain way, the Mac is actually cheaper. I can configure a PC to cost more than a Mac if you want proof.
So FU SH Ahole PC users. We are Apple. We are Mac users. We are better. Need we say more?
—–
Keep in mind I am a Mac user just like you. Therefore, I am automatically smarter and richer than the average person. 😀
So laugh with me…
Here’s the canned Macdiot response:
XP is trash. So many viruses/worms/trojans/glitches/leaks. If you do any computing on anything other than a Mac, you are an idiot. You will become smart if you switch and are all-of-a-sudden… intelligent.
Dell sucks. AMD is bleh. OSX is perfect. Look beyond the $100, $500, $2000 more you’ll spend on a Mac vs. PC. If you add up the numbers a certain way, the Mac is actually cheaper. I can configure a PC to cost more than a Mac if you want proof.
So FU SH Ahole PC users. We are Apple. We are Mac users. We are better. Need we say more?
—–
Keep in mind I am a Mac user just like you. Therefore, I am automatically smarter and richer than the average person. 😀
So laugh with me…
Mac & PC Guy. Humour aside, Dells do suck. Big time. Anyone who still buys a Dell hasn’t done their research. My brother’s Inspiron is in for its third repair since he bought it last August. I told him to avoid Dell, but my siblings never listen.
Dave H wrote: Dells do suck.
Point taken.. bad example!
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Dave H wrote: Dells do suck.
Point taken.. bad example!
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