The pros of an iMac???

Millionaire

If you can afford it, and want to make your son happy, then buy it.

I used to have an iMac my thoughts...

Looks Great
Intuitive fast OS
iLife Suite is excellent
Nice Keyboard
Nice Screen
Runs whisper quiet, sometimes couldn't even tell it was on.
Ready to go straight out the box.

Cons:

Expensive for what Spec can be had for the price.
Hated the Mouse.
Some Compatibility issues which resulted me having to run Windows on it.
Won't do anything that a cheaper Windows machine won't do.

CoolHotCold

I'll just weigh in on some points mentioned.

Operating systems have brand loyalty, it all depends on who you ask, granted Mac fan boys are more vocal and have a stronger central figurehead (SJ). Its the same for Anti Virus programs, different people will say different things because one program may do what one user is wanting while the other doesn't, or the;ve had bad experiences, its the same with hard drives, some people swear by Seagate while others swear by Hitachi. The point is its all subjective and depends who you ask.

For Macs being for those who don't know anything, I use a variety of OS's and I use a Mac to SSH into my linux server and administrate it from the terminal, and to be honest I'm not exactly sure Mac's being easy is a bad thing, is it a bad thing you don't need to customize drivers for the Apple hardware? is it a bad thing Apple focus their energy on making the best User Interface available.

I'll deviate for a moment, Apple released their iPad 2 on March the 2nd, for those who have watched it http://brainparade.com/blog/2011/03/video-from-ipad-2-launch-ipad-for-autism-education/ Its a 2 minute video and it's quite heartwarming, "Were not curing Autism, but we're helping"

For those saying you can build a cheaper system, yes I don't doubt you can create a cheaper desktop system. But Apple doesn't use desktop components, their iMacs use Laptop style components which bumps the price up untold, yes they have a great margin on them (about 20 to 40%) but its all a case of economics, you charge what people will pay. (Perceived Value = Perceived Benefits - Perceived Costs) and Apple are the PR company to shout about the Benefits of a Mac.

shegirl

CoolHotCold wrote: »

I'll just weigh in on some points mentioned.

Operating systems have brand loyalty, it all depends on who you ask, granted Mac fan boys are more vocal and have a stronger central figurehead (SJ). Its the same for Anti Virus programs, different people will say different things because one program may do what one user is wanting while the other doesn't, or the;ve had bad experiences, its the same with hard drives, some people swear by Seagate while others swear by Hitachi. The point is its all subjective and depends who you ask.

For Macs being for those who don't know anything, I use a variety of OS's and I use a Mac to SSH into my linux server and administrate it from the terminal, and to be honest I'm not exactly sure Mac's being easy is a bad thing, is it a bad thing you don't need to customize drivers for the Apple hardware? is it a bad thing Apple focus their energy on making the best User Interface available.

I'll deviate for a moment, Apple released their iPad 2 on March the 2nd, for those who have watched it http://brainparade.com/blog/2011/03/video-from-ipad-2-launch-ipad-for-autism-education/ Its a 2 minute video and it's quite heartwarming, "Were not curing Autism, but we're helping"

For those saying you can build a cheaper system, yes I don't doubt you can create a cheaper desktop system. But Apple doesn't use desktop components, their iMacs use Laptop style components which bumps the price up untold, yes they have a great margin on them (about 20 to 40%) but its all a case of economics, you charge what people will pay. (Perceived Value = Perceived Benefits - Perceived Costs) and Apple are the PR company to shout about the Benefits of a Mac.

That's just given me an idea for when I manage to get him back into school (took him out in october as they were useless -despite it being a special school- and that is something that is portable and could help him a great deal)

ian2211

23n1th wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Apple obviously told you that! They over charge their customers for under powered hardware running over hyped software

under powered but still outperforms a windows machine of a higher spec.
Overhyped software? I hardly think the unix kernel that osX is built on is overhyped.

ian2211

BackOnTrack wrote: »

PC's have more software available, are better for learning how to programme,

Very strange comment from someone who has obviously never programmed objective C on a Mac.

I would say a Mac is the ideal platform for programming, Mac app store iPhone, iPod and iPad apps are where you can make yourself a few quid

Lokolo

DatabaseError wrote: »

Did you actually read the thread..or just the title?

The family already has PCs. The kid already has, seemingly obsessive knowledge of windows and linux based systems, the only thing "missing" is a mac.
I'd never, under normal circumstances suggest £1k for a mac is justified ( i know it's a cut-down shiny PC with an idiot-proof OS), but I think this is a special case. The OPs question shouldn't evoke the usual "it's shiny" or "it doesn't get viruses" or *spit* "it just works" responses, followed by derision by the fanbois on the other side of the fence (which is where I try not to stand, but sometimes fail...but I do keep on trying). The OP has already made the decision, she just needs some positive strokes to help her justify it, and, as shown, there are many things to recommend a mac (I like the keyboards, and the displays).

Yes I did read the thread actually. And my point was disagreeing with a lot of the posts.

As you've just said, a mac is there for showing things! You like the keyboard and the display!

It's practical use is extremely limited.

And who cares if they already have PCs?

I have a laptop and a desktop. Housemates all have PCs and laptops. Out of a total of 8 machines in the house, none are mac.

The OP has already said her son likes to mess around and program, so suggesting a mac, which has limited development features, its silly.

Lokolo

ian2211 wrote: »

Very strange comment from someone who has obviously never programmed objective C on a Mac.

I would say a Mac is the ideal platform for programming, Mac app store iPhone, iPod and iPad apps are where you can make yourself a few quid

Unlike a PC where you can build;

Android
Windows 7
Windows XNA
Xbox XNA

etc. very easily

This is coming from a programmer

The mac has limited features for programming. If anything, a VM machine with Mac OSX is fine. The cost of a mac for programming in obj c..... really worth it eh?

Don't get me started on the developer fee...

ian2211

Cricri wrote: »

Clearly biased.

"Macs just work": I had old P3 PCs with 256MB of RAM formatted with XP running as servers for months solid without needing a reboot.

"They are gorgeous": for the price, they should be. I've also got an ASUS 17" laptop running Win7, and it's jaw dropping, albeit I bought it for functionality rather than looks.

"Extremely stable": see first point.

"fast": all computers are fast these days. My 5 years old desktop running win7 is idling 99% of the time. The bottleneck on any computer is more likely to be the storage drives than the rest of the hardware or software.

"secure": any computer sensibly used is secure, only people I've seen having security issues is due to their own education, not their hardware/software.

"looks better": see 2nd point, and I'm not convinced it's the case against Win7, or even the latest Linux, especially if you bother customising it to your tastes.

Display: you know what, I'm trying to be objective and I'll totally give you that. Great screen. The real question is, seeing the premium you paid for it, is it worth it? I have no doubt you will say yes, but personally, there is no way I'd ever shell out so much dough for it.

Mac is the best: again, very arguable and subjective, I used a Mac once and hated it because it didn't give me full control of my machine as Windows and Linux does.

To summarise, I'd say that the main reason why people buy a Mac is as a status symbol. Just like people buying iPhones. Most of the people I know who have iPhones do not use it for multimedia or internet, but just as a phone. However, they're proud to display it on their desk despite not getting value for money. And that's a bit the point: if someone can shell out more than they should reasonably afford, that's exactly what makes the device a status symbol. I'd totally buy a Mac/iPod/iPhone myself if they were competitively priced, but they just aren't.

Biased? I used Windows at first, then got fed up of crashes system hangs and poor performance, and used Linux for years until i bought my Mac. Out of all the machines and OS's I have used my Mac is the best

An Asus with windows 7 will probably look like the ugly sister to my 27" iMac running OSx

It is fact and not opinion that unix is more stable than windows. That is why most of your web servers run Unix or Linux (which is derived from a unix kernel)

Unix and linux are naturally more secure as root privileges are needed to cause system wide damage

As I have used many Os's over the years I feel I am being objective, you hated the Mac I hate windows its a matter of choice , but as I can afford I am happy to pay extra for the better user experience. Oh and I have an iPhone that I use more for internet, word processing, spreadsheets, invoices, directions etc than making calls. It is my pocket pc that i do not like to be without

ian2211

23n1th wrote: »

It out performs windows??? Well you can't say that and expect people to just believe you, any proof you'd like to provide? Or are you just making that up?

Yes over hyped software. Not sure what unix has to do with anything. As far as I know OSX runs on a !!!!!!!ised some would say crippled BSD variant called NeXTSTEP.

BSD is unix. OSx is Apples GUI built on to a BSD kernel. In short OSx is a Unix like OS just as Linux is

ian2211

23n1th wrote: »

No its not. BSD is a unix-like operating system its not unix. Linux isn't unix either. OSX is far removed from BSD.

Still waiting for your proof that osx outperforms windows.

As I said in my above post Linux and OSx are unix like, I never once said linux is Unix

Where do you want me to start with windows? The constant crashes and system hangs the slow boot up times compared to OSx and Linux even with a fresh install, the home versions with half the features removed, the constant need to restart after updates, the need to defrag hard disks,
VISTA.

I actually think Windows 7 is ok but even after a few weeks of use it starts slowing down takes ages to boot crashes and I got so fed up my windows pc has been banished.