Little Endian said:
400Mhz may be enough for basic web browsing and email but even for web browsing a 400Mhz machine running OSX trying to visit complex sites with heavy Java Script or Flash will bog down. Have you tried dealing with large PDF files on a 400MHZ machine? I would say dealing with PDF's is a very normal average joe kind of thing. How about dealing with an iphoto library of 2000 pics? oh and forget about gaming, forget about isight. Encoding CDs into itunes with already 2500 plus songson a 400Mhz machine? Have fun. Converting files,Virtual PC, Divx Playback etc etc.. all these things are withing the range of normal Consumer Computing. You don't need to be a pro to benefit from increased speed. I remember when I had a 400 MHz G3 encoding an hour long CD took like 20 minutes on a new G5 it takes less than 2 minutes. I could go on and on with just everyday examples but really saying that a 400Mhz machine is good enough for 95% of the population is nuts maybe more like just 20% of the populations who have no real interest in computers and just want to check email but even then they could benefit from a faster machine.
A Faster Computer does make a difference and it does make sense. Buying a fast machine is not like buying a fast expensive car. A faster Computer actually does let you do more and explore and take advantage of techonolgies that one otherwise would have forgone, it allows users to get more done in less time a faster machine will also last longer before needing to be replaced. While on the other hand a Fast and expensive car will really do no good at all as it will still take the same amount of time to get to point A to point B unless you are at the Race Track.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JFreak
actually even a single 400MHz is enough for most people. you know, all the regular joes out there who replace their computer when the old one doesn't work anymore. it's not a speed contest with the imac at all - it's all about making it easier for regular joe to use it.
i have such a 400MHz G3 imac sitting on a kitchen table, and it's far more powerful than my wife needs for regular web surfing and emailing. way more powerful for that. she never complains about it being too slow - the only thing she ever has had a complaint about it was to get rid of the ethernet cable, so i put in an airport card. see? it's not about what cpu is inside and how many bounces does it take for safari to open. if it works, it works. if it some day doesn't work anymore, then she has a need for a new one. not before
now...
those people who think they are some kind of design/audio/video professionals and cannot afford a powermac, they are the people who complain about imac being too slow. the only people. and they cannot see the real problem: it all comes down to money - theirs - and the fact that they cannot buy the tool they claim they need. for god's sake, if you are a pro, then get a pro tool for it. you can get money from a bank and being such a pro you think you are, the money comes back very fast.
i have a G4 powerbook because i need more power than the trusty old G3 imac can provide. and i use that power daily to the point that i wonder why the bottom of the thing hasn't melted yet. i don't however complain about imac speed.
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He's talking about most people and then you add : Large PDF files , Isight and Gaming ...iPhoto with 2000 pics, Virtual PC... you're getting out of range...
I know a man who really wants to run Photoshop in his old Pentium II and doesn't bother about speed, is crazy, with the money he has been giving away to me and other guys for repairing his PC and system... (GOD, he is running XP there) ,,, he could have already a nice G5 with the nice 30" ... abit off topic but I still have fun everytime I say him about macs and he doesn't want to hear me, he loves his machine... one of this days I'll stop bothering me about him... but yeah, most people don't know about speed, just if it does what they want, no matter how slow... then it's nice and even ROCKS!!!
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