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dotdotdot said:
Because the eMac may be the worst computer to buy for your money now.

I have seen 20" CRTS for under $100, so a Mac mini and a 20" CRT = $600, $700 if you want the one comparable to the eMac.

You save about $100 - and who doesnt have a spare keyboard/mouse in their house? And a small, USB mouse can go for about $20 and a keyboard for about $30 and you've saved money already for the same deal as the new eMacs.

The only thing is the video card in the eMac is much better now... Rev. B mac mini will fix that.

I honestly can't see the eMac around by 2006.

Plus, the eMac still uses the White/Black Apple logo, its an OLD computer design and a pretty bad computer to buy now. Plus, if you want it to be USABLE you'll need to up the RAM...

With the eMac if the monitor goes, the computer goes as well. With the Mac mini, if the monitor goes, then "Hell yeah! I'm getting a 23" Cinema Display!!!"

The eMac is, however, very valuable for students... no wait, the iMac is - smaller for a dorm, etc.

Basically, the eMac is becoming more and more obsolete each day.

The pimped out Mini equal to the $999 eMac is like this:

$599 (Mini) + $100 (Superdrive) + $75 (RAM) + $58 (Apple Pro Keyboard and Mouse) + $75 (Cheap monitor) = $907

The eMac has a better graphics card, faster superdrive, cheaper expandibility with RAM, and a faster HD. The eMac has its place IMHO. If you like AIO designs as well which some people do.

I have an eMac because I bought the one in my signature last May. There was no way in hell I would have bought an iMac for the price. I would have bought the $1799 17" iMac G4 (I had the money.), but I could not convince myself to buy that for the price versus performance even though I still drool over buying one because it is simply stunning. I ended up with the $799 eMac and am quite happy.

That said, I would, today, buy a Mac Mini with the 20" ACD and upgrade the Mini and keep the monitor. :)
 
dotdotdot said:
Plus, the eMac still uses the White/Black Apple logo, its an OLD computer design and a pretty bad computer to buy now.

What do you mean, White/Black Apple logo? :confused:

The eMac is a great computer. Fast, powerful, etc. Great for kids who you don't want to have worry about sticking their fingers into an LCD. The eMac is a nice computer for a nice price, and if it gets a G5, even a 1.6 GHz G5, it will be very nice. And the CRT is better than some LCDs out there, so don't say that is a bad thing. Only issue-- it is loud. But you can fix that pretty easily... just change fans, and you are set!
 
dotdotdot said:
Because the eMac may be the worst computer to buy for your money now.

I have seen 20" CRTS for under $100, so a Mac mini and a 20" CRT = $600, $700 if you want the one comparable to the eMac.

You save about $100 - and who doesnt have a spare keyboard/mouse in their house? And a small, USB mouse can go for about $20 and a keyboard for about $30 and you've saved money already for the same deal as the new eMacs.

The only thing is the video card in the eMac is much better now....

actually, going by the specs, the basic mini is probably the "worst computer to buy" at the moment....not that it's a bad machine

you have to go for the upgrade model of the mini before you match the specs of the specs of the basic emac, at least as far as cpu speed and HD size

and a lot of people DON'T have that extra mouse and keyboard sitting around.......and dont forget to add the price of stereo speakers for your mini because it only comes with a single speaker whiile the emac has stereo

by the time you've added the cost of the upgrade model of the mini, keyboard, mouse, a monitor and speakers you're paying basically the same as the basic emac.....and if you're buying a cheap crt monitor, well, there goes the space saving argument for the smaller mini

but still the emac offers things you cant even add to your mini; a better video card, a second firewire port, a third usb port, there are two ram slots instead of the mini's one and they're defintely easier to get at, the HD is a 7200rpm drive instead of the slower drives used in the mini plus Apple will upgrade the HD to as much as 160 in the emac while the mini is only offered with 80 as a max

they're both fine machines and it's good that Apple is finally offering both an all-in-one and a byo machine at the bottom of their product line

of course the imac is better than either machine :cool:
 
plasticparadox said:
CRT perhaps. Although I would think that would be a plus to designers. I don't know much about design hardware, but I'm told that LCDs distort colours slightly.

You are correct about the CRT but designers would use a CRT but with a PowerMac ;)
 
I have an eMac,

I love it, the reason I got an eMac is because I was going to school, and the iMacs were yet to be released, and I needed a computer.

Also, as I am doing a Bachelor of Arts degree, I don't actually need a powerful computer. So even though I edit videos in FCP I can't justify spending an extra 1000 dollars on a computer. (though now I can get a nicely speced iMac for 300 more than I paid for the eMac).

Were it my own money, I wouldn't buy an eMac or an iMac, I'd be getting a Powermac (which is what I'm saving for now).

All this having been said... the eMac doesn't seem slow at all. I use an iMac G5 at work all day (1.8 768 ram 250GB hd) and I don't really notice the difference in render times (I do a bit of video work here).
 
Some of the answers to this question have been utterly STUPID. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that most people probably use their comuter for Surfing and playing Games. Unless you work from home or are to unorganized to FINISH your work AT WORK and have to bring it home than most people use computers for entertainment. Personally my computer use has evolved into 100% pleasure over the years. I do NO work related crap at home anymore. So...my point is...if I use MY EMAC for 100% internet surfing and listening to iTunes etc...why would I want/need a $3000+ G5 ??? When your surfing on a Cable connection there is NOT visibly a $2300 difference in your surfing experience when you compare a $700 Emac to a $3000 G5. FOR THE MONEY the Emac in an awesome computer.
 
I've got a 700Mhz eMac upstairs, it's the family computer, my wife uses it for web, email, WP, and for a piano tutor, my daughter uses it for music and kiddie games, with the edu discount it cost bu**er-all and it's still running strong. It's got an airport card and shares the network with my 17" PowerBook, and I use it as a file server with a 250Gb lacie hanging on the FireWire.

I don't need a PM or and iMac, it sits and does it's job, which is to run OSX and let me get on with my work without having the PowerBook hijacked by the family all the time.

I might change it next year, I'll see what's about, if the eMac is still current, I'll probably get another one. Otherwise an iMac will do.

The eMac is very good value for money if you have the edu discount, but it's not the greatest looking mac ever.
 
WinterMute said:
it's not the greatest looking mac ever.


I agree, even if I have one, but one thing I have realised about myself is that how my computer looks isn't something I actively care about. The OS's functionality is what I really am hooked on lately.

(I'm a lifer BTW)
 
I have an eMac 800mhz and when I bought it the fact was a 17" screen (NOT WIDESCREEN) was a factor along with the edu price. I find the screen size better than what most people would but drawing on it the height of the screen mattered at the time.
Printing for me with the eMac what I see (on the screen) is what I get on my prints and thats a plus. It has taken me a little extra to get my iBook the same way as the eMacs screen.
It is also nice that I can use it to edit things, video, use the superdrive, Flash and so on without keeping my iBook bogged down. I due agree that the looks are well, odd but it serves what I bought it for. The only drawback as I see it was the weight of the thing (about 45-50lbs), that can make a desk cringe but many larger crts do anyway.
Over all I'm happy I bought it as I've never had one problem with it other than me not knowing OSX better at the time :)
 
dotdotdot said:
With the eMac if the monitor goes, the computer goes as well. With the Mac mini, if the monitor goes, then "Hell yeah! I'm getting a 23" Cinema Display!!!"


I love your logic. I think we all share it. :D


I've only seen and eMac ONCE outside an apple store. It was at school.
(funny story- AP music theory test, the other recording station for sight-singing broke so we used the eMac instead. She popped the CD into iTunes, and me being me, I may have goofed off on the Mac instead of practicing as hard as I should have, haha.)

Man, those eMacs... I can't stand the look of them. The monitor is too low, and CRT just bugs me. I'm so used to LCD now that the insane brightness of CRTs hurts to look at. Now, when I have to use a CRT, I either fiddle with the brightness or give up and put on sunglasses. ( I have crazy-sensitive eyes.)

Man, when is Apple going to ditch the eMac? It doesn't really fit with the aesthetics of the rest of the line.. maybe if they kind of converted it into an incredibly low-end iMac (with LCD!) and managed to keep the same price point... maybe call it the WeeMac or somethin. :)
It sticks out like a sore thumb, next to the sweet, sweet lines of the PowerMac G5, iMac, and of course, my baby PowerBook.
 
azrussell132 said:
Some of the answers to this question have been utterly STUPID. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that most people probably use their comuter for Surfing and playing Games. Unless you work from home or are to unorganized to FINISH your work AT WORK and have to bring it home than most people use computers for entertainment. Personally my computer use has evolved into 100% pleasure over the years. I do NO work related crap at home anymore. So...my point is...if I use MY EMAC for 100% internet surfing and listening to iTunes etc...why would I want/need a $3000+ G5 ??? When your surfing on a Cable connection there is NOT visibly a $2300 difference in your surfing experience when you compare a $700 Emac to a $3000 G5. FOR THE MONEY the Emac in an awesome computer.

Not everyone on these forums works the hourly wage down at the local Walmart, thanks. While you may not need to use a computer at your job, others here like myself work on a yearly salary.

I'm glad that when you go home and take that blue vest off, you can devote your downtime to "100% internet surfing and listening to iTunes etc...". I think it's super that you've found a way to fill the deadtime till you're on shift again.

As for me, well I happen to like my job. I can leave my school after I'm done my classes, go home, and design some posters or download some clip-art for my papers while I'm listening to iTunes and having a coffee.

But yes, I agree that "FOR THE MONEY the Emac in an awesome computer."
 
sjpetry said:
Plus the Mac Mini is faster.

Do you have any information to back up this claim? Looking at the specs, I would have to say the 1.42Ghz eMac would easily beat the Mini in performance. I would think the better graphics card and faster HD would make a big difference in day to day operation.
 
katie ta achoo said:
I love your logic. I think we all share it. :D


I've only seen and eMac ONCE outside an apple store. It was at school.
(funny story- AP music theory test, the other recording station for sight-singing broke so we used the eMac instead. She popped the CD into iTunes, and me being me, I may have goofed off on the Mac instead of practicing as hard as I should have, haha.)

Man, those eMacs... I can't stand the look of them. The monitor is too low, and CRT just bugs me. I'm so used to LCD now that the insane brightness of CRTs hurts to look at. Now, when I have to use a CRT, I either fiddle with the brightness or give up and put on sunglasses. ( I have crazy-sensitive eyes.)

Man, when is Apple going to ditch the eMac? It doesn't really fit with the aesthetics of the rest of the line.. maybe if they kind of converted it into an incredibly low-end iMac (with LCD!) and managed to keep the same price point... maybe call it the WeeMac or somethin. :)
It sticks out like a sore thumb, next to the sweet, sweet lines of the PowerMac G5, iMac, and of course, my baby PowerBook.

My CRT was always a lot darker than my LCD. I also decided to switch to LCDs but since I haven´t much space, but now I miss the accuracy of the CRTs when doing Photoshop.
 
plasticparadox said:
Not everyone on these forums works the hourly wage down at the local Walmart, thanks. While you may not need to use a computer at your job, others here like myself work on a yearly salary.

I'm glad that when you go home and take that blue vest off, you can devote your downtime to "100% internet surfing and listening to iTunes etc...". I think it's super that you've found a way to fill the deadtime till you're on shift again.

As for me, well I happen to like my job. I can leave my school after I'm done my classes, go home, and design some posters or download some clip-art for my papers while I'm listening to iTunes and having a coffee.

But yes, I agree that "FOR THE MONEY the Emac in an awesome computer."

How did walmart enter into this thread? I don't even fricking SHOP at Walmart. But I do realize a good value when I see one. As I tell my buddy across the street from me with his new $3000 PM & $500 flat screen..."yes your system is nice and yes your system is faster...but it's NOT $2800 faster". Boy this sure pisses him off.
:)
 
katie ta achoo said:
I love your logic. I think we all share it. :D


I've only seen and eMac ONCE outside an apple store. It was at school.
(funny story- AP music theory test, the other recording station for sight-singing broke so we used the eMac instead. She popped the CD into iTunes, and me being me, I may have goofed off on the Mac instead of practicing as hard as I should have, haha.)

Man, those eMacs... I can't stand the look of them. The monitor is too low, and CRT just bugs me. I'm so used to LCD now that the insane brightness of CRTs hurts to look at. Now, when I have to use a CRT, I either fiddle with the brightness or give up and put on sunglasses. ( I have crazy-sensitive eyes.)

Man, when is Apple going to ditch the eMac? It doesn't really fit with the aesthetics of the rest of the line.. maybe if they kind of converted it into an incredibly low-end iMac (with LCD!) and managed to keep the same price point... maybe call it the WeeMac or somethin. :)
It sticks out like a sore thumb, next to the sweet, sweet lines of the PowerMac G5, iMac, and of course, my baby PowerBook.

Doesn't fit into the aesthetics of the rest of the line? Do the words iBook iMac and Mac Mini ring a bell???? All use the same white acrylic. I think it fits in quit well.
 
eMac

I bought my first mac a year ago. It was an eMac G4 1.25/Superdrive. Fabulous machine. Weighs a ton tho. Picture was sharp and really crisp. Now that I have an iMac, and having compared both of them, I like the iMac's performance but still prefer the clarity in the eMac. LCD vs CRT.

Lots of my friends still swear by CRTs but LCDs are catching up.

All in all, it is a matter a budget and preference.
 
i'd like to see the emac made to look like the imac G4, and the same price as the emac is now. I think the whole emac is a good idea but should be redone. A low cost, all-in-one,computer running on osx, sounds good to me, its just the eMac, has a problem in its design, its to old-looking. The eMac is strong ( hard to tip over) and at schools that counts as something. A G5 eMac looking like a G4 iMac would rock.
 
zap2 said:
A G5 eMac looking like a G4 iMac would rock.
I think it´s called iMac G5. :p

BenAKL, I like what you said and maybe the eMac is just perfect as my second computer. :D
 
WinterMute said:
The eMac is very good value for money if you have the edu discount, but it's not the greatest looking mac ever.

Heck, just buy them off of eBay and overclock. Cheapest 1.5 GHz G4 ever!

And it doesn't look as good as the G4 iMac or the PowerBook, but honestly, it isn't too shabby. Especially compared to a number of PCs out there... the eMac isn't the best, but it isn't the worst. What it is supposed to be, nice and cheap and decently powerful.

I've recommended people to buy them as their first Mac due to the AIO design (easy to set up), power (1.42 GHz), and wide array of ports. If they don't like it, they only loose $50 because Macs hold their value so well, eMacs too because of their durability/upgradability (for the pros) options.
 
plasticparadox said:
CRT perhaps. Although I would think that would be a plus to designers. I don't know much about design hardware, but I'm told that LCDs distort colours slightly.

I would agree. LCDs are not reliable in my experience when it comes to color. I have a PowerMac with an NEC CRT monitor and an iBook. The differences between the two are huge. The eMac is good for someone just starting out because it's cheap-I wish they were around when I started. BUT-the eMac is just too limited when it comes to upgrades to make it practical for a professional. It really is intended for educational purposes.
 
dotdotdot said:
Because the eMac may be the worst computer to buy for your money now.

NO!
I'm in edu, and the eMac was made for us, not the general public. Apple made them available after enough folks pitched a fit. Apple has 8-packs where the eMac costs $499.00 each. I have a few hundred and they are excellent machines. True, it has a CRT, but the students only use it perhaps a few hours a day.
So schools, where taxpayers money is being used, can use a pretty nice Mac for a huge savings over the iMac or even the Mini.
 
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