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PowerPC Mac's vs Android mini PC's

S

Sawyerrrr

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 1, 2015
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To do more than those Android sticks are able to do.

A PowerPC Mac can still be used to create and manipulate digital content like video and audio and images, it can be connected with several external peripherals like HDDs and breakout boxes, it can drive more than one display and it looks and works better than Android for some.

Anyway, welcome to MacRumors Forums and your first thread and post.
 
OneAnswer said:
To do more than those Android sticks are able to do.

A PowerPC Mac can still be used to create and manipulate digital content like video and audio and images, it can be connected with several external peripherals like HDDs and breakout boxes, it can drive more than one display and it looks and works better than Android for some.

Anyway, welcome to MacRumors Forums and your first thread and post.
Click to expand...

android has video and picture editors ...
 
Sawyerrrr said:
android has video and picture editors ...
Click to expand...

And? Do they have the capabilities of Photoshop, Media Composer, Premiere or Final Cut Studio?

And eMac is not the only PowerPC Mac out there, there are iMacs, PowerBooks, iBooks, Mac minis and PowerMacs still in daily use.
While that Android stick might suit you, it will not suit everyone still using PowerPC Macs. Everyone has different needs.
 
I'm not suggesting ANYONE buy a PowerPC Mac in 2015, so I'm assuming people who are going to use them already own them. For that reason, the #1 advantage is the price; free. Finding good use for a computer you already own makes more sense than spending money on another IMO.
 
I feel like most shouldn't go out of their way to purchase a PPC Mac these days... however, if someone already has one, it has its uses, as any older computer could (and esp. given that it's a Mac). In my case, I have many PPC Macs in my collection and have been using PPC since 2004---I myself would find it more useful to use the Macs that I have, rather than this Android machine.

If a user with a lack of knowledge on PPC Macs/old computers wanted to buy a PPC Mac to use, I would actually advise against it for reasons of practicality.
 
One important thing is that the powermac can do proper multitasking having multiple windows open etc. Android can sort of do this although not in stock android as far as I am aware. LG and Samsung have it in there flavours but i doubt this stick does. Even then it is primitive at best and no use for content creation or development.
 
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
I feel like most shouldn't go out of their way to purchase a PPC Mac these days... however, if someone already has one, it has its uses, as any older computer could (and esp. given that it's a Mac). In my case, I have many PPC Macs in my collection and have been using PPC since 2004---I myself would find it more useful to use the Macs that I have, rather than this Android machine.

If a user with a lack of knowledge on PPC Macs/old computers wanted to buy a PPC Mac to use, I would actually advise against it for reasons of practicality.
Click to expand...

Both price and practicality come into play here. Some G4 PowerMacs can be found at half the price of the Android Mini PC, and they also run a full desktop OS. A lot of older software can be found for them, for cheap, that does the same or more than the software found on the Android Mini PC.

However, if it's more important to run modern Android apps and games, then obviously the Android Mini PC is the right choice.
 
redheeler said:
Both price and practicality come into play here. Some G4 PowerMacs can be found at half the price of the Android Mini PC, and they also run a full desktop OS. A lot of older software can be found for them, for cheap, that does the same or more than the software found on the Android Mini PC.

However, if it's more important to run modern Android apps and games, then obviously the Android Mini PC is the right choice.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it really depends on what you are running on the machine. A person who knows his way around PPC Macs can do fine, unless he needs some TV media machine that can do what a PPC Mac can't. As stated, I would recommend that a new user not even deal with a PPC Mac in the first place, even though it has the advantage of a full desktop OS.
 
OneAnswer said:
And? Do they have the capabilities of Photoshop, Media Composer, Premiere or Final Cut Studio?

And eMac is not the only PowerPC Mac out there, there are iMacs, PowerBooks, iBooks, Mac minis and PowerMacs still in daily use.
While that Android stick might suit you, it will not suit everyone still using PowerPC Macs. Everyone has different needs.
Click to expand...

A highly feel like the versions of the software are about as obsolete as the hardware itself. Are you going to be able to edit media in 1920x1080 Is there even 1 designer still using a powerpc mac?
 
Sawyerrrr said:
A highly feel like the versions of the software are about as obsolete as the hardware itself. Are you going to be able to edit media in 1920x1080 Is there even 1 designer still using a powerpc mac?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can edit media in 1080p if you use an editing codec. I edited 576i footage on a 2004 iBook, why shouldn't a PowerMac not be able to do the same with ten times the computational power of my iBook?

I do not know, if there is one designer left, but I have seen enough of those machines still in use for other needs. And HD hasn't arrived on the whole planet yet, a lot of countries still produce in SD.

And that Android sticky is not made for designers. It is made for consumers.

What was your agenda again?
 
Sawyerrrr said:
A highly feel like the versions of the software are about as obsolete as the hardware itself. Are you going to be able to edit media in 1920x1080 Is there even 1 designer still using a powerpc mac?
Click to expand...

Up until 6 months ago I was a self employed graphic designer and all my work was done on PowerPC (a G5). Editing 1080p video is possible but with modern video formats, PowerPC would be a poor choice if that's what you do professionally - an Android stick would be an even poorer choice!
 
Since I use my PowerPC Macs to mostly write on, there is little chance my G4 devices will ever be obsolete in my life. I don't need any more features in Microsoft Office. But since I have no trouble with Photoshop, Final Cut or any web browsing (including YouTube and other media sites), I highly doubt a designer will have huge issues using a PowerPC Mac for their work as long as they understood the software.

Android for me would be a downgrade. And pointless.
 
roadbloc said:
Since I use my PowerPC Macs to mostly write on, there is little chance my G4 devices will ever be obsolete in my life. I don't need any more features in Microsoft Office. But since I have no trouble with Photoshop, Final Cut or any web browsing (including YouTube and other media sites), I highly doubt a designer will have huge issues using a PowerPC Mac for their work as long as they understood the software.

Android for me would be a downgrade. And pointless.
Click to expand...

Nobody is making the argument that android is a better platform for "design" but as a general purpose machine
 
TBH, most computers are more useful than Android devices, be them PowerPC or not, since they're much more versatile, there's more support for them, they've been around for much longer, they have much more applications available for them, et cetera. But it really just depends on what your needs are.
 
Sawyerrrr said:
Nobody is making the argument that android is a better platform for "design" but as a general purpose machine
Click to expand...

Sawyerrrr said:
A highly feel like the versions of the software are about as obsolete as the hardware itself. Are you going to be able to edit media in 1920x1080 Is there even 1 designer still using a powerpc mac?
Click to expand...

Now I am confused. Let's jump the gun. What is your point here?
 
hellothere231 said:
TBH, most computers are more useful than Android devices, be them PowerPC or not, since they're much more versatile, there's more support for them, they've been around for much longer, they have much more applications available for them, et cetera. But it really just depends on what your needs are.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure a android pc xan load a youtube video in 1080p fastwe and have betterb playback than a ppc mac
 
Sawyerrrr said:
I'm pretty sure a android pc xan load a youtube video in 1080p fastwe and have betterb playback than a ppc mac
Click to expand...

I get the impression that PPC macs and desktop computers of a similar vintage have keyboards that are easier to type on.
 
Sawyerrrr said:
A highly feel like the versions of the software are about as obsolete as the hardware itself. Are you going to be able to edit media in 1920x1080 Is there even 1 designer still using a powerpc mac?
Click to expand...

I know quite a few.

In fact, my aunt owns and operates a high volume print shop. They primarily do offset litho(i.e. typical runs of several thousand copies) but are also set up to do one-off large format work on paper/vinyl/whatever other media the customer desires. I think that their large format printer prints off 5' wide rolls of whatever.

All of their front-end design work is still done on G5s. They get the job done just fine.

I do a little bit of photography work myself, and my G4 Quicksilver has zero issues with any files I throw at it. I'm often working with scans off medium format film, which 2 1/2" square and scanned at 4000dpi, or about 10,000x10,000 pixels. It takes the scan software a couple of minutes to "render" the scan(i.e. put together multiple passes) but once the file is done I can load it into Photoshop and pretty much anything I do happens instantaneously.
 
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