- Switch
to Macintosh.
- For
PC users, this is the most significant
upgrade option available. Instead of working
for your PC, let a Mac work for you; you'll
never look back - except to wonder why you
waited.
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- Before
you buy a computer - new or used - here are a
few basic considerations.....
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- External
Links:
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- Get
a Mac!
- Getting
started with the Mac
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New Macintosh computers:- The Apple
store has nothing but the very latest, greatest,
state-of-the-art machines for sale; the only question is
which type and which model is best for you. Pay attention
to the Operating System that comes with your new Mac, and
review software upgrades that may be necessary to run
your existing software with the newest MacOS. While nCity
is not a retail outlet, we can certainly help you select
a model to best serve your needs, and we might be able to
save you some money in the process.
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- Notebook
machines. If you _must_ have a notebook, and nothing
else will do, Apple has a wide range of models available,
but consider this: The very qualities that make laptops
attractive (mobility, compact size) also make them
vulnerable to loss, theft and damage. Buying a new
notebook computer - any notebook computer from any
manufacturer - might be the only time that adding an
extended warranty is worthwhile, and we recommend doing
so.
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- Desktop
Macs range from the high-end Mac Pro tower to the
diminutive Mac Mini. Expansion capabilities and raw power
makes the Mac Pro an excellent choice for those doing
video editing, photography, graphic and web design, for
sound studios, web hosting and all sorts of heavy
lifting. The Mac Mini should be attractive to those
switching from a PC who wish to use their existing
flat-panel display and USB peripherals. But, for most
people, an iMac might be the perfect compromise and most
cost-effective option; iMacs are sleek, compact, and have
plenty of power.
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- Used
Macs are available that go back eight, ten, even
twenty years; Macs generally face obsolescence long
before they fail, and while there are plenty of cheap,
still-working, old Macs on the market, these are best
avoided unless you really want to purchase a museum
piece. When shopping for a used machine, look at the
newest type and model you can afford, especially if you
plan to connect to the internet. Make sure it can run a
current Operating System, includes bootable OS install
CDs or DVDs, and has a recent processor; other specs
(RAM, hard drive) can be upgraded later, if necessary.
Very old machines (6 years +) may still be functional,
but might be so old as to lack modern ports and current
capabilities that will leave it stuck in a past
decade.
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- Port types
and capabilities:
- Apple's
FireWire, available on Macs for many years, is now
an industry standard (aka IEEE-1394 in PC-speak) for
connecting cameras, external drives and other devices
which require high speed and bandwidth to transfer large
quantities of data. FireWire is a must, preferably 800
but 400 will do. FireWire should be used for external
backup and has the additional benefit of allowing startup
from an external device.
- DVI-I
(dual link) video ports are standard equipment on all
current Macs. These combine both analog and digital video
output for maximum versatility when connecting a second
monitor, projector or other device having a DVI or VGA
port.
- Gigabit
Ethernet offers super high-speed networking
capability, much faster than any internet service you are
likely to encounter. Also standard on the
Mac.
- USB
connects printers, input devices and other gadgets. USB 1
is okay, USB 2 is much faster. A USB 2 port will allow
connection of USB 1 devices, but USB 1 is USB 1
only.
- Expansion
capacity. Tower machines include card slots for
serious power users (PCI and PCIX slots, along with
optional Fibre Channel), two or four hard drive bays, and
will support a boatload of RAM. Desktop and notebook
machines have somewhat more limited expansion options.
You can never have too much RAM, tho, so be sure to check
memory specs and consider adding memory to whatever
machine you select.
- Other
major considerations:
- Processor
power. Minor differences in processor "speeds" are
not nearly as important as processor design, efficiency
and throughput. The more modern the processor, the longer
it will take before a computer faces obsolescence. If
considering a used machine, make sure it has a reasonably
current processor capable of running a modern Operating
System.
- Longevity.
All points above contribute to a machine's useful
longevity, as do top-quality components, materials, and
workmanship. Towers typically outlive other designs due
to expansion options, easy serviceability, sturdy
construction, and the fact that they are stationary. On
the other extreme, the shortest lived machines are
typically notebooks which often suffer accidental damage,
spills, exposure to humidity and condensation,
temperature extremes, rough handling and
theft.
- Available
software. Most professional programs are
cross-platform these days, but the Mac can also take
advantage of additional, specialized applications in
areas of graphics, audio and video that are not available
on PCs - including a stellar lineup of application
programs from Apple. If buying a new Mac, take advantage
of the opportunity to upgrade your application programs
to their latest versions, or consider switching to
easier, more advanced programs. Used machines might
include a pile of software, but ignore any installed
applications that do not include the original
installation disks and/or cannot be properly
licensed.
- Bootable
System install disks. Included with all new Macs (of
course), they are absolutely necessary and should always
remain with the machine they were made for, regardless of
age. Among these discs is a hardware test disc specific
to each machine model. If you buy a used machine, make
sure System and hardware test discs are included with
purchase.
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- Reciprocity
Failure:
- This term
originates in photography and refers to the point at
which film and paper stops responding to increased
exposure. Computers experience a kind of reciprocity
failure, too; when they become so old and outdated that
the cost of upgrading to modern standards can exceed cost
of replacement. Countless updates and upgrades are
available for Operating System, memory and storage
capacity, addition of new port types (PCI cards) and even
processor upgrades, but at some point replacing the
entire system becomes more cost effective. Reciprocity
failure is a moving target, depending on machine's use
and age, but replacement is always an option, especially
for machines lacking modern ports and OS
protocols.
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- CPU
upgrades:
- Rule of thumb
(one of many) is to avoid being more than two or three
processors behind the times, with an Operating System
version as up-to-date as possible. There are also certain
thresholds that tend to complicate matters; these may
force the issue, and our fearless leaders at Apple have
recently decided to cross a few of these:
- Bandwidth.
Significant processor changes, such as twin/quad
processors with 64-bit data paths, require all sorts of
changes downstream in order to take advantage of such
improvements. (64-bit Macs are still backwards-compatible
with older 32-bit OSX programs.)
- Operating
System. Early OSX versions 10.0-10.2 are best avoided;
use Panther (10.3.9) on very old G4s, Tiger (10.4.11) on
newer G4s and G5s, and Leopard (10.5.x) on Intel Macs
(see details and a bit of history below).
- 64-bit
multi-core Intel processors represent a _huge_ change on
a variety of levels. Problem is, upgrading across major
thresholds cannot be done in small, incremental steps;
such upgrades require major Operating System changes in
addition to costly application updates, simultaneous with
the new hardware.
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- Operating
System History:
- Minor
Operating System updates have always appeared
periodically, along with major new System versions from
Apple, typically every six months or so. In the early
days, the MacOS was never referred to by version number
or name, it was simply a part of the Mac. (The first
MacOS to be widely referenced by number was System
6.) Some monumental changes arrived with System
upgrades, and the move from System 6 to System 7
was the first monumental change. A threshold being
crossed back then was a volume format change from MFS to
HFS. A small but vocal group of System 6 supporters
rallied in favor of 6 (with MultiFinder) and were
accommodated for a time with special versions of
software, including System 6.0.5, then System 6.0.8.....
while "the rest of us" rushed to welcome a new (and still
free!), "Rock Solid" System 7. The last of System 7 was
version 7.6.1 which included a number of internet
utilities.
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- OS8.0
was rushed to market in 1996-1997 and was the first MacOS
that Mac users had to buy; up until OS8, Operating
System software from Apple had always been free. Some say
OS8 was used by Apple to end the short existence of
Macintosh clones licensed to run System 7, including
clones from Motorola, Power Computing, UMAX, Daystar and
a few others. OS8.0 was actually System 7.7 before
being renamed; the next _real_ MacOS revision came a few
months later.
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- OS8.1
introduced HFS+ (also known as extended) format. The HFS+
format allowed better storage capacity using smaller
block size, among other improvements, but it also meant
that the older HFS format had become
incompatible.
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- OS9
introduced countless improvements and new technologies.
OS9 flawlessly runs software going all the way back to
early System 7 applications, and these programs were
accommodated under "Classic Mode" for over eight years
until release of OS10.5 in 2007.
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- OSX 10.0
(Cheetah), 10.1 (Puma), and 10.2 (Jaguar), the first
(unpolished) releases of OSX introduced more than a few
monumental changes, but these Systems were slow, clunky,
and unfinished. Best to upgrade past 10.2 to Panther 10.3
or later.
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- Panther
10.3 is still reasonably current and is considered
the earliest full-featured version of OSX. Supports
legacy software with OS9 Classic Mode.
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- Tiger
10.4 happily runs on single and dual-processor G4s
and G5s. Classic Mode is still supported but requires
manual installation of OS9.2.2 from the Tiger DVD. Some
late G4 machines and all G5s that shipped with Tiger
installed cannot startup with, or install, Panther or
earlier OSX Systems.
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- Leopard
10.5 is the only choice for Intel-powered machines.
While many G4s and G5s can run Leopard (check Leopard's
system requirements), it has a lot of overhead that
pre-Intel Macs cannot use; as a result, G4s and G5s might
run Leopard 10.5 somewhat slower than they run Panther or
Tiger.
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