Replies

1. 
   ASK | Apr 20, 2004 04:13pm | #1

   Derek,

   Welcome to the 20th century?

   Enjoy.

   ASK

1. 
   Elcoholic | Apr 21, 2004 02:44am | #2

   Funny I'm thinking it's time to replace my 3 year old PIII Gateway boat anchor.  I'm itching to get a 40 gig Ipod and digitally record my 800 +/- LP's and CD's so I can take them with me where ever I go and still have room for another 200 CD's.  The problem is my 12 gig HD is running around 85-90% so I need a big drive.  I'm also want to edit, index (chapterize?) and transfer the 25 or so VHS home movie tapes to DVD so I need a DVD burner too.  I've always worked with PC's (since the XT days).  I'm told by there devotees that Imac's do the the sort of stuff I want to do very easily and it's all built in.  As in Gratis.  I understand that most Windows aps can be run on the Imac, but I'll have to pay through the nose for MS Office.  Any Imac users out there?  What am I missing?  I know just enough about computers to know I don't want to have to know anymore.   Basically I'm looking for the simplicity of a toaster.  Buy it, bring it home, plug it in and drop in a piece of bread and viola, by the time I've found the orange marmalde I've got toast. 

   BTW anybody know why toaster's go up to 6 when 3.000001 makes charcoal?John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

1. 
   PlaneWood | Apr 21, 2004 03:12am | #3

   Well, I got a P-II 266mhz puter out here in the shop and for internet surfing and email, it's just as fast as my P4 1.5 Ghz up stairs.  Of course the big thing that really helps for that is having DSL.  Both machines have 9 gig disk storage which is 2/3's unused on both.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood

1. 
   dirtstirrer | Apr 23, 2004 09:31am | #18

   Evening Mike,

   Gotta agree with you on the DSL.  I've got acess to both DSL and wireless broadband, and no matter what the wireless guy says, DSL is faster.  Of course, when your neighbor digs through the fiber optic cable and it takes 2 days to fix, the wireless is faster.  The wireless is on a 2.5 gig machine and the DSL is on a 350 MHz machine.  No idea what that means, just my observation.

   By the way, I've still got that 605 I'd like to send down.  Have a good one,Steve

2. 
   aksophie | Apr 21, 2004 05:32am | #4

   I have an iMac and love it. Mine is an older model: G3 processor, 400mHz. I've installed all the RAM that it will take. I operate system 10.2.8 but can go higher. This computer does everything that I want it to, including make coffee for me in the morning. Software is generally more expensive for the mac, but not outragous. There are fewer options, generally. I don't thing that Office is too costly, but I don't recall what I paid. I also use Vectorworks, photoshop, Illustrator, and a few others. The iphoto and itunes programs that come on the mac work really well. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased, but I am a mac person. I learned on a mac. I had a PC for a while, but I got a virus in 1999 that we thought was eliminated. When the clock turned into the year 2000, the virus activated the first time I turned it on......ate my hard-drive. (Fortunately, I had backed up everything on disks.) I junked that computer, bought the iMac and have never looked back. I use a Powerbook at home and love it also.

   PS just kidding about the coffee

3. 
   ASK | Apr 21, 2004 04:15pm | #5

   elcoholic,

   At home I have an HP 2.6 GH laptop with CD burner and DVD, with a 20 Gig Hd.

   I also have a HP desktop with the same equiptment but a 40 Gig HD.

   No DVD burner though, Next time.

   I tried to download and burn my LP's and tried several different software products.

   It isn't easy and very, very time consuming. Sound quality isn't the best.

   For ease I transfered some of the LP's to tape which made it a little easier to download, but there was a further degradation in sound quality.

   I don't have one but I my secretary has an IPod and loves it.

   ASK

1. 
   Elcoholic | Apr 21, 2004 07:33pm | #6

   I've recorded 3 or 4 LP's with MusicMatch JukeBox, just because it came w/ the CD burner.  As far as the recording went I had good results on the 3 LP's  that I bought new and kept surgically clean.  I always bought a lined sleave w/ each new LP, had highend turntable/arm/cartridges (low tracking force+high compliance+clean=low wear).  I had a little trouble getting the track detection to work right with a copy of Beggar's Banquet I got from a neighbor.  The surface noise was the culprit, so I had to do the corresponding digital tracks manually.  Hopefully I will be able to find some good filtering software for the noise.  Playback of the CD's on my AV system and in the cars was surprising good, especially compared to cassette.  The new computer will have to have a great sound card with a coaxial digital or F/O output so I can use it as a source for the AV system.  Your problems may have more to do with the LP condition than the software.  Columbia spent big bucks years ago trying to develop a turntable that read LP's with a laser.  The effort ultimately failed because the required LP quality/cleanliness required a clean room environment for reliability.

   One lunatic-fringe trick to get a decent recording off of a crappy LP is to lightly mist it with water before playing it one last time.  The water will dampen the surface noise but at the same time cool the stylus contact point and prevent the vinyl from melting and self-lubricating so the groove pretty much get plowed.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

1. 
   Calendyr | Apr 21, 2004 08:28pm | #7

   Well I worked in a computer shop for 10 years, this is my cup of tea so if you need any advice feel free to ask.  I might be able to return the favor for all the good advice I have received here so far ;)

   For all of you who have slower computers, unless it is a brand name like IBM, CompaQ or anything like it, it is possible to upgrade without changing the whole thing. 

   For instance if you have a P3, you could easilly change the basic system to upgrade to an Althon 2 GHz for just 200-300$.  Need to be a clone though, brand names like you to buy new computers so they do not allow this. 

   I like to keep my computer up to date by changing a piece or 2 every year.  I remove the weakest link and upgrade to something better.  This doesn't hurt as much as having to pay for a new computer every few years.

2. 
   Tao | Apr 21, 2004 10:41pm | #8

   I just put together a computer for my stepdaughter.  I used an old monitor, keyboard and printer, plus a decent extra hard drive I had on hand, but new mainboard, memory, CPU, and video card.  Good audio and USB2, etc. on mainboard. Had to buy a new case with an ATX power supply to go with the mainboard, and a new OS because windows 98 wouldn't work with the new MB and video drivers.

   I have a good source for parts, but when I figure my time in, I would have been smarter to buy one with similar specs for less than $300, with windows XP bundled in. 

   Michael R.

   Edited 4/21/2004 3:45 pm ET by Woodwiz

3. 
   Mackwood | Apr 22, 2004 12:04am | #10

   I've had the privilege (HA!) of using five different computers over the past ten years and hated them all!!  Some folks seem emotionally equiped to deal with #%^@#(*& crashes and (*&^)# error codes and ^$***^#% junk that just will not do what it's advertised to do; make our lives easier.  I am not!!  The stuff just irritates the hell out of me!  Too many options; too many whistles and bells that don't quite work.    

   The next one (after we extricate ourselves from our business) will be a Mac.  I've heard many say they're more human friendly.  If that one doesn't make me a happy camper, it will be the last.

   I'm really a pretty easy person to please, just don't get me started about how great computers are. LOL   Wish you all the most fun and productivity with yours!!

   Regards,

   Mack (not Mac, yet) "WISH IN ONE HAND, #### IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"

4. 
   Jeff | Apr 22, 2004 02:06pm | #13

   I suppose I should do the same.

   Do you think I should upgrade the 5 in drives to 3 1/2 in on my Apple IIe.

   Jeff

5. 
   theRev | Apr 23, 2004 02:33am | #14

   ha ha ha. That's what I love about macs. You can have an old one and still be quite functional. With a pc...... well, as above posts say, questionable if it's functional when it's first booted up.

   Needless to say, I'm a mac person. Still crunching along on my Blue and White G3. Thinking of changing the processor soon to a g4.

   I have a pc sitting next to my mac for occasional use, but it always leaves me scratching my head. Kind of like using a tool from HF as opposed to a Snap-on.

   scott

4. 
   CL | Apr 21, 2004 11:47pm | #9

   I have a 800mhz emac, which is the same configuration as the original imac - speakers, cpu, and monitor in one box. It is the best computer I have owned yet. In the old days, Macintosh users were outcasts of the computing world, always a step behind in terms of compatibility, software availability, accessories, etc. , but in recent years that has totally changed. The newer OS X has proven to be virtually uncrashable, and I have never had a virus in ten years of owning Macs, nor have I ever set up any type of virus protection or firewall. I actually bought a Dell last year because it seemed like such a good deal - what a POS that thing turned out to be. I could not believe how much time I had to spend maintaining the Windows system to keep it functioning correctly. Also I found that even though the processor speed was twice what mine is, it was much slower. I confirmed this when a friend of mine bought a top of the line HP, which cost almost twice what mine did, but it is still slower running the same applications, even with his 3ghz pentium 4. I really blow his away in photoshop, or editing digital photos or dvd's. Two weeks after he bought it, it's already out of commision with a virus that he can't figure out how to get rid of. He's wishing he had taken my advice.

   PS even if you decide to keep your PC, the ipod is one thing I guarantee you won't be able to live without after you've had it a few days.

1. 
   EdHarrison | Apr 22, 2004 07:05am | #11

   Cl,

   I've got a 350 Mghz Imac with as much memory as it will hold and I like it. I haven't got around to upgrading to to OS X, yet, because I know the old OS 9 so well. Occasionally I produce small programs with RealBasic but I don't have time to do complicated ones. I like the idea that you should be able to write some of your own personalized software for your computer - that was one of the original ideas with personal computers.

   I agree that Windows is always a d*** science project but I do have a windows laptop (never connect to the internet).

   I almost bought an eMac once and I backed off because someone said the fan was noisy. Is that your experience? If it weren't for that complaint, at one time the eMac was probably the best deal in computers.

   Ed

1. 
   CL | Apr 22, 2004 09:27am | #12

   I can't say i've ever noticed the fan. There are great deals to be had on Apple factory reconditioned units from http://www.smalldog.com These are direct from Apple with full warranty and no cosmetic problems whatsoever. You really owe it to yourself to upgrade to OS X though, it's a very major improvement over OS 9, and it comes with it's own collection of applications that work together seamlessly - a mail program, web browser, photo editing, digital music, dvd editing, etc.

2. 
   theRev | Apr 23, 2004 02:35am | #15

   "In the old days, Macintosh users were outcasts of the computing world, always a step behind in terms of compatibility, software availability, accessories, etc. , but in recent years that has totally changed."

   But always a step ahead in design and speed.

   scott

5. 
   forestgirl | Apr 23, 2004 02:42am | #16

   re:  Gateway --- let me know if it needs a home after the newbie arrives.  Also, check out the Sony Viao (sp?) that has the DVD burner and special software package.  Looks pretty good at a curosry glance

   re:  toaster ---  because if you never, ever clean the inside (guts), you'll eventually need 4 and 5 and 6!!  ROFL!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

6. 
   paretsky | Apr 23, 2004 03:29am | #17

   Hi. Cookstalk reader and occasional Knots lurker, here.

   Most windows apps won't work on a Mac right out of the box. You need to have something like VirtualPC (a Winblows emulator). That's where the big cost is, not in MS Office per se.

   I'm working on a Mac Powerbook right now (the Titanium model from a few years ago, 633 Mhz G4 processor) and am very pleased with it. The new iMacs should work well for video editing. Of course, the more powerful the machine, the faster the video will process for writing onto the DVD, so if you plan on doing a lot going forward, you might want to look at the G5s instead.There are 10 kinds of people: those who understand binary, and those who don't.