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My mama needs a Mac

A

adamgreenwell

macrumors newbie
Original poster
K, so I want to get my mom a Mac for Christmas, but I don't know which one to get. I'm torn between an eMac and an iMac. For as much as my mom uses a computer, even a low-end iMac is a little overkill. I was thinking of going with the low-end eMac, but I don't personally know anyone that has one and I have never seen one other than at CompUSA. Are they not that popular for a reason?

Even though my mom's computer usage doesn't go beyond Word and Hotmail, would an iMac be a better choice or would an eMac suffice?

Which ever one I decide to get, where should I get it? I know I can get a military discount from Apple's website, but does it apply to their retail stores as well? Are there any other retailers that can beat my discount?
 
Aww, you sound like such a nice son! 🙂

I don't see any reason not to consider an eMac for your mom. They're definetely good machines, and I think an eMac would work perfectly for the tasks you've described.

It doesn't seem like your mom would notice things like the processor speed or amount of memory, so based on that alone, I'd say go for a nice eMac. The iMac, I think, has a better form factor just because it takes up less space ... but in this case, I wouldn't case a decision on that.

You asked about prices ... Amazon has had some good deals on Apple computers lately. Depending where you live, you might not have to pay tax ... that will save you quite a bit right there. Here's a few links ...

eMac - $750 after rebate
(1.25 GHz, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Optical Combo, 17" Flat CRT)

iMac - $1250 after rebate
(1.60 GHz PowerPC G5, 256 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive)
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Well first off getting an iMac is an overkill and you would be sending ectra money that you could be doing more usefull things with. A lowend emac or a used one will be the best for her. Emac are pretty good, i did not use one my else but i know a friend who dose and he likes them.

An eMac is made for internet/surfing, word and that kinds of things, why waste extra money?

Not sure about the discount.
 
an eMac is the best option, but you could get an iMac G4 in ebay, it's a nice machine and pretty cheap as well, what about an iMac G4 800 MHz, 15", combo drive, cheap and looks good.
 
AmigoMac said:
an eMac is the best option, but you could get an iMac G4 in ebay, it's a nice machine and pretty cheap as well, what about an iMac G4 800 MHz, 15", combo drive, cheap and looks good.
Click to expand...

I would go with an older G4 iMac if I could find one NIB for about the same price as a new eMac. I doubt I could find a deal like this, but I would prefer the form factor over the eMac's. In the end though, I'm glad I was thinking the right thing by leaning towards the eMac. As mentioned earlier, an iMac would probably be overkill seeing as my mom has been using a 400 mhz Pentium 2 since the begining of time (or at least it seems that way).

One thing that really told me that she needs a Mac was when I tried to install her old Canon S300 printer on her P2 machine. She desperately needed to print something for work and after about an hour of hunting down driver updates, BIOS updates, and 3 USB cables, I finally said forget it and told her to e-mail me what she needed printed and I'd print if off my PB. To demonstrate how easy my Mac is, I told my mom to install the printer. She looked at me like I had a third ear. Reluctantly, she plugged in the printer and said "what next". I told her to hit the "print" button. She said "that's it". When I told her it was, I thought she was going cry tears of joy because she actually got something to work correctly with a computer.
 
My sister bought an eMac since all she wanted to do was occasional surfing and Word. She's very happy with it although she doesn't use it daily (sometimes I wonder that we're related!).

My mother had an old PC and didn't use it often since it was in a room she didn't use otherwise particularly and using it meant waiting for it to boot up and connect so she only checked mail and went online when she'd built up enough of a list of things to do that made it worthwhile.

She didn't like the eMac's look. I thought about an iMac G5 for her but it would have been overkill so she bought an iBook (and will have a wireless network next time I go home to set it up) since she figured that she'd use it more. So far, that's been true.
 
I second the iBook recommendation. My mum has one too and loves being able to use it whereever she wants in the apartment. Wlan is just nice to have.
Especially now the iBooks are a great value.
 
If your mom is not a *mobile* person, I would go with the iMac G4... it looks awesome, your mom will thank you. but if she does care about writing everywhere I agree (I didn't think about it) with the iBook option, but the question: will she like the keyboard?
 
I have an eMac, and it is a great machine and I'm sure it would be well suited for your mother, however I would DEFINITELY recommend upgrading the amount of RAM. The only reason not to go with an eMac would be if she needs a smaller desk footprint. Those eMacs are a little deep. 😱
 
nosen said:
The only reason not to go with an eMac would be if she needs a smaller desk footprint. Those eMacs are a little deep. 😱
Click to expand...

Yeah... and if you feel happy with your mac you can't hug the eMac completely 🙁 😉
 
My suggestion would be to go for the iMac G5. It would take up less space on the desk. The LCD would be easier on her eyes. After all she is your Mom and she deserves the best.
 
If you do decide on the eMac you should visit Apple's Special Deals page. Go to http://store.apple.com and look for the big red SALE tag. There are good deals on refurbished eMacs. You get a full warranty but sometimes you get a machine that looks less than brand new. Other times you get a machine that looks totally brand new.

You can get the combo drive eMac for $650 on there. Awesome deal.

If space is an issue go with an iMac G4 or an iBook G4. The iMac G4's design is still an eye catcher. And with enough RAM (over 512mb) any of these machines will be very good performers for your mom.

So if budget is the main concern go eMac. If you'd like the same machine with more style, try to find an iMac G4. If you want a middle ground go with an iBook.
 
Even if your mother isn't a poweruser up the ram to 512mb (from a 3rd party it should cost ≈$50)..
My mother never closes down apps, she only closes the window and the she thinks that the app is closed.. I've told her that probably a zillion times, and she is complaining that things is running slow..
 
cluthz said:
Even if your mother isn't a poweruser up the ram to 512mb (from a 3rd party it should cost ≈$50)..
My mother never closes down apps, she only closes the window and the she thinks that the app is closed.. I've told her that probably a zillion times, and she is complaining that things is running slow..
Click to expand...

I want to get my Mom and her boyfriend on a Mac. Last night she IM'd me about "adDestroyer" running in the corner of the screen, and popping up asking her to pay for it. I tried to step her through Adaware, Add/Remove Programs, and terminating the process with the Task Manager, but she had no luck. I know a Mac would let them do what they need to do without problems. Her boyfriend is also trying to use Kazaa to get single songs, and I told him how great iTunes would be for him. I went to download it for them, and realized they have Windows ME, which iTunes won't run on...

Anyway, these cheap eMacs look like a great deal, but I'm worried that they will do what you spoke about, just close a window and think the app is closed. I don't want to intruduce more problems than they already have by putting them on a new OS.
 
ocellnuri said:
I don't want to intruduce more problems than they already have by putting them on a new OS.
Click to expand...

You will be doing them a big favour by putting them on a new OS.

Showing somone how to 'quit' programs is not difficult...
 
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