this is an honest question. i my self am a pc person. my wife on the other hand favors mac cause that is all she used in school(imac).anyway now i am looking for and older computer for my daughter.mainly to keep her off of mine. i looked at what they have on Ebay and found 2 systems in my price range for relitivly the same price i can get her a IBM 300pl 400mhz-600mhz (this is my pick , i know i can put win2k and it will work ) or i can a power mac g3 233-333 (this is wifes pic ,since this is what she will use in school aswell it can b upgraded all the to 800mhz on the same board she also says mac run faster than pc at same mhz). the only true requirements for it though are to hook to my network (preferalbly to my WIRELESS network i dont want to run more cat5) and something that will run educational software. She is only 5 so not a real gamer. it does need to easy to use, she can wiz through on xp and win2k . any advice would be aprecated -
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which would you choose, i amagine this is a biased site and that is why i am asking
- Thread starter jjtrogdon
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My only thought is that if you get the mac, your daughter may decide she doesn't 'like' the mac os, and then still ends up wanting to play on your computer b/c it has windows on it...however, i don't recommend the ibm brand for a pc, personally. Dell (circa 1999-2000) made some good computers, and gateway did too occasionally. And getting a mac, I would try to do at least 500mhz. Maybe an old iMac G3 or something...you know, in one of those [colors].
On the flip side, if it were a slower computer, it could fill up more of her time.....the cynic said cleverly....
On the flip side, if it were a slower computer, it could fill up more of her time.....the cynic said cleverly....
i guess my real question is, would a 233 ,266 suite her from the begining. a five year old atintion span is short and if it takes 20 min. for a simple game start or acts slugging she wouldnt be a very happy person.I am not in a situation were i could spend 300-400 dollars from the getgo. Aswell i remember me experience in school with the OLD apple //e i think it was called ( nightmare!!) the comadore 64 that i had at home was faster!and i KNOW my daughter would think i am Evil if i got her somthing like that regaurdless of what i get i know with in the next 2-3 years i will need to do an upgrade wether newer machine or just upgrade existing.Though i really like
grneyedjay's final comment about the advantage of a slower computer.
grneyedjay's final comment about the advantage of a slower computer.
What does your daughter's school use? Get that. K-8's generally don't use very powerful machines; they merely run edu CD's and maybe a simple word processor. That being said, I'm in education, and you might be amazed to know that the type of computer makes absolutely no difference in test scores. None. So, if it's a Mac school, get a Mac. If it's a PC school, get a Mac. 
Please don't let your child to grow up to be a slave to a third-rate OS!
Please don't let your child to grow up to be a slave to a third-rate OS!
can that mac run OS X? OS 9 is garbage...i'd rather use Windows. If you plan on upgrading the machine, get the Mac...otherwise i'd say pick whichever is cheaper, my parents had a 500 Mhz P3 and it was fine for there needs until i gave them my 933 G4.
If your looking for a budget computer, get the PC. Once you start upgrading your Mac, the cost will jump pretty high (800 mhz G4 is probably $200, OS X is $130 or $70 with edu.)...im not so sure about the PC market, but it's generally cheaper (although upgrades for that class of PC are probably non-existant). Try asking your daughter what she wants...
and if you think i'm a troll or whatever...i have the new powerbook g4 and a 2 year old quicksilver.
If your looking for a budget computer, get the PC. Once you start upgrading your Mac, the cost will jump pretty high (800 mhz G4 is probably $200, OS X is $130 or $70 with edu.)...im not so sure about the PC market, but it's generally cheaper (although upgrades for that class of PC are probably non-existant). Try asking your daughter what she wants...
uggh...the scary thing is people liked OS 9...what a pile...DO NOT GET YOUR DAUGHTER OS 9!! she'll hate you forever...i'd rather use Windows 95 than have to allocate ram to all my apps constantly...not to mention that stupid bomb screen telling me the computer is frozen. when i used OS 9 in school i had to save my project every 5 minutes for fear of it crashing and ruining everything...which happened far more often than on Windows.wide said:
and if you think i'm a troll or whatever...i have the new powerbook g4 and a 2 year old quicksilver.
Choice?
Come on, there really isn't a choice? PC's are cheap enough that you can buy a nice mid-ranged Mac and a low-end PC. Or a used Mac and a new PC or a used PC and a New Mac. Microsoft even has a program called "Remote Desktop Connection" that is free. You can use your Mac monitor, mouse, and keyboard and connect to your PC on your wireless network in your house. Keep that eye sore PC out of sight. (Just doesn't work for games.)
Come on, there really isn't a choice? PC's are cheap enough that you can buy a nice mid-ranged Mac and a low-end PC. Or a used Mac and a new PC or a used PC and a New Mac. Microsoft even has a program called "Remote Desktop Connection" that is free. You can use your Mac monitor, mouse, and keyboard and connect to your PC on your wireless network in your house. Keep that eye sore PC out of sight. (Just doesn't work for games.)
Buddy, I can't even understand what you wrote exactly in your first post. You mentioned something about a G4 800MHz upgrade. You don't mean to say that an 800MHz G4 upgrade + the cost of the 233MHz Mac is the same price as the 400 -600 MHz IBM, are you? If so, the Mac is the best pick.
If its between the 400-600 MHz IBM and 233 MHz G3 Mac, get the IBM. I had/have a Windows PC with an AMN Duron 650 MHz, and I think its plenty fast for almost everything. The IBM you're talking about may be just a tad slower, that's all. Upgrading to a slightly better memory card wouldn't be too expensive for the IBM, either. I have a 64MB card in my PC that's considered crappy by todays standards, but allowed me to do many things very well.
If the 350MHz G3 Tower is available, get it. Your daughter's school uses Macs, and OSX may work on it. I just used a G4 400 MHz PowerMac tower, and it was okay running OS 10.1. The 350 GHz G3 tower will be slower, no doubt, but just up the RAM to 512MB or more, and it'll be okay.
If its between the 400-600 MHz IBM and 233 MHz G3 Mac, get the IBM. I had/have a Windows PC with an AMN Duron 650 MHz, and I think its plenty fast for almost everything. The IBM you're talking about may be just a tad slower, that's all. Upgrading to a slightly better memory card wouldn't be too expensive for the IBM, either. I have a 64MB card in my PC that's considered crappy by todays standards, but allowed me to do many things very well.
If the 350MHz G3 Tower is available, get it. Your daughter's school uses Macs, and OSX may work on it. I just used a G4 400 MHz PowerMac tower, and it was okay running OS 10.1. The 350 GHz G3 tower will be slower, no doubt, but just up the RAM to 512MB or more, and it'll be okay.
This is insane - you can pick up a good spec'ed used PC (geforce 4 mx graphics, 256mb ram, 1ghz duron/athlon) for around $200, on ebay.
I just looked now, and found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=51119&item=4133832097&rd=1
1GHz P3, 256MB RAM, 20GB HDD, CDRW, keyboard, mouse and network, all for around $200. Add a cheap CRT monitor you might have laying around, or pick one up for $10 or something, and you have a very good spec'ed PC for $200, which is probably nearly as good as the eMac which is 3 times it cost. Makes you wonder really.
OSX is nice, but don't buy really old macs. Especially to upgrade - it's stupid...
I just looked now, and found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=51119&item=4133832097&rd=1
1GHz P3, 256MB RAM, 20GB HDD, CDRW, keyboard, mouse and network, all for around $200. Add a cheap CRT monitor you might have laying around, or pick one up for $10 or something, and you have a very good spec'ed PC for $200, which is probably nearly as good as the eMac which is 3 times it cost. Makes you wonder really
.OSX is nice, but don't buy really old macs. Especially to upgrade - it's stupid...
thank you for all your help i personally thought that going pc on my bugdet was best idea acpecially since she already knows windows.I was just trying to give my wife the binifit of the doubt.though she will use mac in school i think i will just let her next computer be her choice and stick with getting a pc for now. I must say though, i do see getting a mac in the future ( just to see what the hipe is all about). again thank you all.