Mac or PC for 11yr old?

[Zool]

Get a PC, unless you need something Mac specfic or money is no object.

Why? I completely disagree.

I could find you 10 Core2 PC's right now with more ram that are $600 less.

Again, if money is no object get the Mac.

Do you even read what I write or skim for something thats an apparent slight against Apple Almighty or his son Steven Jobs? Mac zealots are easily riled up.

FYI you can run OS 10.4 on a Core2 PC if you have an ATI card.

[]{ilr]3]

BS. They are not twice as expensive. Maybe 10%. And that is all put right back into your pocket in bundled software, quality of user-experience, and build quality.

Who would want to spend 1000 on a 2" thick machine with a lower dpi display, less intelligently laid out ports, crappy keyboard, etc. when they can spend an extra 100 bucks and get a far superior product?

You could drive a new kia or a 3 year old honda civic for the same price. Which would you choose?

I dont know where you can buy Mac Books, but I imagine they are all relatively priced

Starting at $1100

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=7B723640&node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook

Just over $600 for a dang nice laptop

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107003

I get kinda pissed at my school system when I see all the Macs in the Elementary building. But it turns out they are basically dontated. Kinda like the tobacco industry handing out smokes in the cafeteria. All PCs in the High School thank god. If you want something to keep track of your IPOD songs I am sure a Mac is great. But I would prefer that they teach kids how to work in the real world.

Yes, I realize I am being a buthole about this, :P

[GBRulz]

The company I work for has gone 100% mac about 2 years ago. Slowly, they are finally getting them to us out in the field, but I'm looking for a macbook pro for myself.

Why I don't like Dell is because of their lousy service and "support". I guess that's just my philosophy in general though...if I get bad service from somewhere, they will never get a penny of my business ever again.

ya know Guiness, there are pros and cons to each decision, but i'd go the mac route. On their website, say you are a teacher or a student and you'll get $200 off. Not that I've ever done that or anything....

[Partial]

Get a PC, unless you need something Mac specfic or money is no object.

Why? I completely disagree.

I could find you 10 Core2 PC's right now with more ram that are $600 less.

Again, if money is no object get the Mac.

Do you even read what I write or skim for something thats an apparent slight against Apple Almighty or his son Steven Jobs? Mac zealots are easily riled up.

FYI you can run OS 10.4 on a Core2 PC if you have an ATI card.

Illegally for one. Secondly, yes, if you want a piece of shit computer than spend the 600 dollars. Again, I could buy a kia or a honda civic. I may pay more for the Civic but I am making a much better decision in terms of resale value, total cost of ownership, and enjoying the experience much, much more.

You get what you pay for.

[]{ilr]3]

Get a PC, unless you need something Mac specfic or money is no object.

Why? I completely disagree.

I could find you 10 Core2 PC's right now with more ram that are $600 less.

Again, if money is no object get the Mac.

Do you even read what I write or skim for something thats an apparent slight against Apple Almighty or his son Steven Jobs? Mac zealots are easily riled up.

FYI you can run OS 10.4 on a Core2 PC if you have an ATI card.

Illegally for one. Secondly, yes, if you want a piece of shit computer than spend the 600 dollars. Again, I could buy a kia or a honda civic. I may pay more for the Civic but I am making a much better decision in terms of resale value, total cost of ownership, and enjoying the experience much, much more.

You get what you pay for.

I love my $600 laptop. Its great and It well worth the money.

I recently passed on buying a used 2003 Honda civic, Toyota corolla and bought a Chevy cavilver all with 50000 miles on them. I paid 7000 less for the chevy. I know the others would last longer and are better quality. But I by far got the beter deal on the chevy. For now and in the long run. By far a better deal. I could by anouther car just like it and still spend less money.

Just because your paying a lot of money doenst mean your getting the best deal

[MJZiggy]

I spent not much more than I would have otherwise, shopped hard and came up with a car that I absolutely LOVE, will keep until it croaks (which will be a long time) and wouldn't trade for anything. If there is a comparable way to go about computer buying, then that's clearly what you should do. Get what you're gonna love looking at every day.

[Guiness]

Lots of thoughts here - and nerves have been touched, as expected

Here's my take:

BS. They are not twice as expensive. Maybe 10%. And that is all put right back into your pocket in bundled software, quality of user-experience, and build quality.

Sorry Partial, but Killer and CW are right here. Even comparing a new Windows machine to a used Macbook, I'm looking at $600 vs $1000. Having said that, I'm not concerned about that much money - I just want what's best for him. And it doesn't bother me to buy used - case in point, I drive a 6yr old VW as opposed to a new Chevy I could've gotten for the same money :P

Which brings me to Zool's comment - it's not that money is no object, but this much money doesn't matter. Looks like you're saying you'd go with the Mac.

[Guiness]

Geez, you shouldn't have mentioned the educational discount! Now I'm annoyed.

At the US store, with an educational discount, the entry level Macbook is $999. Canadian store, no educational discount available, $1249!!! With our dollar higher, the difference is pretty close to $300. What a crock.

Hmmmmm, I'm thinking $300 pays for a chunk of a trip to GB. Maybe I need to drive down and pick one up from some friendly PR'er

[Zool]

Get a PC, unless you need something Mac specfic or money is no object.

Why? I completely disagree.

I could find you 10 Core2 PC's right now with more ram that are $600 less.

Again, if money is no object get the Mac.

Do you even read what I write or skim for something thats an apparent slight against Apple Almighty or his son Steven Jobs? Mac zealots are easily riled up.

FYI you can run OS 10.4 on a Core2 PC if you have an ATI card.

Illegally for one. Secondly, yes, if you want a piece of shit computer than spend the 600 dollars. Again, I could buy a kia or a honda civic. I may pay more for the Civic but I am making a much better decision in terms of resale value, total cost of ownership, and enjoying the experience much, much more.

You get what you pay for.

It is of course sacrilege to speak bad about the All Mighty Fruit-tastic, but here goes.

My first 2 Mac's were SHIT. I had a G3 tower and then a mirror-door G4. Both had hardware issues, but I'm sure you can explain that away too. I've had just as many hardware issues with my Macs and PC's.

And no you dont always get what you pay for. My G5 has been rock solid, but the G3 and G4 were far from it.

Give up Partial, I know of what I speak as much as you do, except I'm old, crotchety and have a ton of time on my hands.

[Guiness]

Ok, if I decide to go the used Mac route, what's acceptable hardware? I've seen a couple of 933Mhz G4's running 10.4 for around $500. Is this still a useable platform, or would you stay away from it because of the architecture change?

[Zool]

My G4 1Ghz is kinda slow with 10.4 and 2g of RAM. Its usable, but not like i want it to be.

10.2 ran pretty well on it, but thats pretty outdated now.

1.6 would be my recommendation, but if you can afford the Core2's, they run light years faster than the G4's and G5's.

[Partial]

Ok, if I decide to go the used Mac route, what's acceptable hardware? I've seen a couple of 933Mhz G4's running 10.4 for around $500. Is this still a useable platform, or would you stay away from it because of the architecture change?

I'd stick with a MacBook. If it has 512 ram in it, put in an additional 1gb stick.

Check craigslist.com

[3irty1]

Partial can attest that I am not a Mac fan by any means but I'd too recommend a Macintosh for any kids first computer. They do hold their value quite well, are durable for the most part and there is value in learning the OS even though calling it a marketable skill is a stretch. From my experience kids tend to trash Windows PC's in a matter of days with spyware and viruses. This is a bullet you definitely want to dodge.

[Partial]

Partial can attest that I am not a Mac fan by any means but I'd too recommend a Macintosh for any kids first computer. They do hold their value quite well, are durable for the most part and there is value in learning the OS even though calling it a marketable skill is a stretch. From my experience kids tend to trash Windows PC's in a matter of days with spyware and viruses. This is a bullet you definitely want to dodge.

Not to mention if you were to get a PC, I would recommend locating an OS disc an doing a clean install. Too much junk comes pre-installed and boots up with the machine, making them slow as can be often times.

Keep in mind, on the new MacBooks they just increased the amount of ram that is shared with the integrated graphics from 64mb to 255mb. That means you might want to get some more ram.

[Zool]

Partial can attest that I am not a Mac fan by any means but I'd too recommend a Macintosh for any kids first computer. They do hold their value quite well, are durable for the most part and there is value in learning the OS even though calling it a marketable skill is a stretch. From my experience kids tend to trash Windows PC's in a matter of days with spyware and viruses. This is a bullet you definitely want to dodge.

Not to mention if you were to get a PC, I would recommend locating an OS disc an doing a clean install. Too much junk comes pre-installed and boots up with the machine, making them slow as can be often times.

Keep in mind, on the new MacBooks they just increased the amount of ram that is shared with the integrated graphics from 64mb to 255mb. That means you might want to get some more ram.

I still say 2g is what you should have for 10.4 and especially for 10.5. My friend got a McBook Core2 and its fast, tho it runs too warm to really use on your lap. Its faster than my Dual G5 by quite a bit, but a few apps still dont run right yet. The Intel extensions just arent finished. A year from now the G5 will be a dinosaur.