iMac questions.

Mike G

Mike G

Joined
Jul 15, 2000
Messages
10,027
Hiya gang.

I'm a dummy when it comes to Mac;s, so please help me out!

I'm trying to find an approximate value on a iMAC G-3/500, with 128mb of RAM, and I believe it has a DVD player aboard.

I'd also like info on how it came configured originally (This one is original, but I'm trying to get info from someone who is not a computer person, and they are no help.)

Please email me with any information.

Thank you in advance!

:)
 
C'mon, gang!

Someone out there musk know Macs pretty well!

Help please!
 
Hi Mike,
Originally posted by CODE 3
I'm a dummy when it comes to Mac;s, so please help me out!
Click to expand...
There are only 5% Mac users out there. And out of that 5%, 4 out of every five (80%) are dreadfully ashamed they use a Mac and not likely to openly talk about it.

So, unfortunately, you are asking your question to about 1% of computer users. Out of that 1%, my guess is that only a fraction of those could accurately quote the value of a used iMac.

What does all this mean for you, Mike? You have more of a chance to be simultaneously hit by a meteorite, lightening bolt, and speeding train, simultaneously bit by a King Cobra, Black Widow, and Scorpion, all while you’re having mad, passionate sex with Ellen DeGeneres! ;) :D

Ron's SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess): $350...Max.
 
LMAO!

Thanks, Ron!

As far as sex with Ellen goes, I don't think that'll happen; my tongue isn't long enough! :D ;)

I was hoping PhilL would ring in on this, but I guess I'll try to email him.
 
I'd guess that your Imac is worth about what Ron indicated in the previous post...maybe $400 if there's an Airport card in it.

As far as being embarassed about using a Mac, I dumped windoze two years ago and I have actually enjoyed using computers since that time. Macs aren't perfect, but they certainly aren't a source of embarassment.

I do some graphic work, video editing, and sound stuff on the Macs. In virtually every case, I find the job easier, better, and more reliable on a Mac. To me, even Microsoft Office is nicer on a Mac.

Everybody has their opinions, but unless Microsoft purchases Apple and closes it down, I'll never knowingly send another dollar to Redmond. (except for Office, even though my daughter works for them).

Good luck with your Imac. If you have any specific questions, drop me an email.

Mike
 
Without an original invoice. As to how it's configured now, if it has system 9.xx on it, click on the colored Apple in the top left corner, then click on System Profiler. It will tell you all you want to know about the computer's config (like if it actually has a DVD). In OS X.xx Click on the Apple in the top left corner then click "About this Mac". Then click the "More Info" button. Again, this will provide system config info.

I can't believe that you made me open my company laptop while I'm on vacation to answer this thread.

I find Mac users generally to be not only not shy about the fact that they use Macs, but more often than not are more somewhat evangelical about their choice of a superior way of computing (see MJB above). I don't get it myself. I don't see the charm in paying a premium price for fewer hardware and software choices.

It's likely that your iMac is just as it came as there's not much expandability built into an iMac to begin with. $400.00 sounds about right, although that's likely to go down as Apple recently announced that they will no longer be producing the 15" CRT based iMac at all.

jmx
 
Hi JMX,
Originally posted by jmxcpter
I find Mac users generally to be not only not shy about the fact that they use Macs, but more often than not are more somewhat evangelical about their choice of a superior way of computing (see MJB above).
Click to expand...
Though not clear in my post, you have just defined the "one percent" I referenced in that prior post. Also not well described by me is the 4% of computer users (the four out of five Mac users), is heavily populated by elementary school students (as Macs have been the "children's" computer of choice for school administrators and procurers of child-friendly school equipment...as a side note, schools across America are dumping Macs and replacing them with IBMs because school administrators want to properly prepare their students for the real world where IBM computers are nearly exclusive).

I just spent the past 5 years in Mac HELL! My previous employer gave us all geeky iMac computers. Mine was “Grape.” Others were “Tangerine,” “Lime,” and “Strawberry. Being by far the most technological person there, I was the IT Manager (in addition to all my other duties. Just imagine an IBM loyalist maintaining a Mac network! :(

All this computer jibing aside: The Mac computers I used were perfectly acceptable and did not have any noticeable weaknesses. My only complaints were their “toyish” appearance, that my Grape colored iMac crashed/locked-up at least twice a day and no reset button worked (co-workers had similar problems), the CD-Rom was the most flimsy I've seen and possessed the most violent shimmy I’ve ever experienced (producing a "whirring" sound that could be heard by those OUTSIDE my office!), and the worst mouse ever designed (a one-button perfectly circular disk...I could never keep it perfectly linear; my cursor kept drifting diagonally across the screen as the mouse disk imperceptibly rotated slightly in my hand). :(
 
Thanks, gang.

The iMac of which I speak belongs to my parents, and they are frustrated beyond belief with it. They live some distance from me, and I cannot help them with it, nor is there anyone close to them who is willing to work on it. (They live in a retirement community on the Oregon Coast) It frequently crashes on them, and my Mom recently lost all of her data that she had stored in quickbooks files, so that was the last straw.

I'm attempting to establish value so they can ebay the damn thing, and switch over to a regular PC, which I'm having built for them locally. this way, my sister, Brother, and I can be of some help when they have problems.

I really don't think macs are bad computers, but I really think they aren't designed for people in their mid 60's, who aren't very computer savvy. My Mom operated old Unix based IBM's for years as a CPA, so she's ready to go back to an IBM compatible.
 
As an IT guy myself, I have to say that the best computer hardware/software is the one you like the best moderated by what you can afford. Just my .02$
 
Originally posted by Blisshead
As an IT guy myself, I have to say that the best computer hardware/software is the one you like the best moderated by what you can afford. Just my .02$
Click to expand...
Oh, this is great! Just great! The voice of a pragmatist just when we were heating up and solidifying a foundation of emotion-based, senseless, irrational rivalry. ;) Blisshead: Do you have anything else constructive and practical to share?

When it comes to the IBM/Mac debate, I just don’t want to hear the facts! ;)
 
They're the prefect computer for non-computer people. The iMac is supposed to be the epitome of easy to use. The ads say you just pull it out of the box and plug it in and suddenly you're in computer heaven. Nothing to wire! (except for the mouse, keyboard, modem, network, god knows it's that extra connection of the monitor where most people collapse when setting up a Windows box). From Apple's adds I thought even simpletons were supposed to be able to unbox one of those wonder computers and be editing home movies and buring them to DVD rom in minutes!

(removes tounge from cheek)

What I find really laughable is that the Mac OS isn't even the Mac OS anymore, it's a unix shell! That fact continues to confound the most ardent Macheads I've spoken to. They immediately extoll as to how, with the aid of Virtual PC, they have access to ALL the software in the world. So if I understand this you're running a shell on top of the real OS, then you want to try to emulate a thouroughly modern processor evironment and run another modern OS in emulation??? Opening a modern application in VPC on a G4 500mhz feels a lot like the old 486 days to me in real world speed.

By the way, did you realize that a G4 chip is actually a SuperComputer and that core clock speed has abosolutely no effect on overall performance? (darn tongue slipped back into my cheek again)

I work on both platforms every day and I find with Apple you just pay more and get less. It seems in their newest boxes, they've finally adopted DDR memory to help open up the memory bottleneck. Unfortunately they went with DDR 266mhz, not 333mhz, 400mhz or heaven forbid, the dreaded evil Rambus memory. Oh, that's right, I forgot again, mhz really doesn't count...

jmx
 
And you say that Mac users are "evangelical"?

Yep, Macs are absolutely the worst computers and software in the world...anyone who uses them can't possibly know anything about computers or anything else for that matter.

I just hope those involved in video post-production against whom I might compete will switch over to PCs. It would make my job easier. The folks at NAB hate Macs and FCP too. And so do the folks who give out the Emmy awards.

It's all in good humor anyway,

Mike
 
Both Apple and Microsoft release new operating systems before they're ready, engage in questionable business practices and allow us to do things that simply weren't possible just a few years ago...:)

The Apple thing is a minor sore spot to me, because my boss is a Mac Evangelist. Filemaker Pro, Microsoft Office and Photoshop all run fine on windows machines and those are our mission critical apps. We're a small company and I'd like to see us use less expensive windows machines and get bigger bonus checks.

In an altruistic sense, I'd really like to just go Linux, but for me at least, I just haven't the patience to. I support both a Windows network at home and an Apple based network at work and VPNs from a couple employee's homes and the office network. We're only a small company and my primary job is sales, computers are more of a hobby. THe thought of spending enough time to convert even just my home network to Linux and get the wife and son to go along with the idea is unrealistic to me. I wouldn't have any time left to do my actual job, or surf the blade forums.

jmx
 
You might try 2 things. Run Conflict Catcher and see what it tells you or just load OSX.newest. I've found it to be very stable (of course 9.2 was also). We never had a problem with Quickbooks so I can't help there.

I've been using Macs since the skinny mac days (and I still remember carrying boxes of punchcards). I'm currently running a first gen G4 "Quicksilver" while my wife has a new Ti.

Look for used/reconditioned mac prices on the net for some benchmark on resale value. I'd say that $400 would be a fair price.
 
I find eBay very usefull when I need to get an aprox value of something, I just look up for completed items and voila! :)

Sometimes it might not work properly (the old supply and demand thingy, but usually it's very accurate)

NsB

PS: MAc user here too, nothing to be ashamed of :D
 
Dual 1ghz Quicksilver w/1.5gb RAM, 2-60gb hd running OS 10.2.5. Very sweet, very stable. i have this sitting behind a Linksys router doing ANT with the built in firewall of OS X as well. Very secure.

Hank:cool:
 
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