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The time to buy a new computer is NEVER

Christofuh

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Thought about getting the new Vista. Turns out it has major issues with Divx, Quicktime, VLC and Gawd knows what other freeware progs. Above and beyond its 150-plus documented warts discovered so far.
Vista requires quite a bit of memory, so figure 2GB of RAM just for that. Now I have a fair # of peripherals I'm gonna need to hook up. No idea whether : a) combined they won't suck the life outta the ram; b) be recognized by the new OS to begin with.
Over in the MAC land they've got this new all-in-one iMac thing. Something tells me, however, that if any one major component were to take a shi'ite it'd drag down everything with it. Their towers start @ $2500 which isn't what I'm looking to drop; particularly for the kind of goods they're throwing in.
The new Leopard OS is sheduled for 10-07 release. Trouble is, I don't have a clue if my peripherals will work with it. On top of that, despite having this seemingly wall-to-wall China-assembled product, Apple doesn't seem too anxious to pass along the savings )))))
So what the fick should I buy ?
musicboohoo[1].gif
 

nioh

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iMac.

The new iMac is quite nice, especially since it comes in such a tiny little package. OSX should be able to recognize and let you use your peripherals without hassle, unless they're Windows-only. If something brakes (hardware), well, it doesn't really matter what kind of OS you're on.. or where you bought it - you still need to replace it.
 

DNW

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I'm running a dual boot of Vista and XP Pro. Get a machine built fast enough for Vista (i.e. Core 2 Duo, 2-3GB of ram, decent graphics card), then spend a hundred bucks on a copy of XP Pro. You'll have a decent machine and you can start migrating to Vista gradually. My usage now is probably 95% XP and 5% Vista. Even though I don't see this ratio changing significantly in the near future, it doesn't hurt to have both.
 

briancl

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If you are going to stick to PC's, you have to consider a desktop system either highly upgradeable or disposable. If you just want something that will just run everything decently, then I'd suggest lurking around some good deal sites (boddit, fatwallet, slickdeals, etc), and just snatch up a ridiculously cheap system from Dell or HP. Once it's outlived its usefulness, you can just replace it and not worry about it. The other option is going with something more customized and a lot more expensive, but you can upgrade as you go along. I think the cheaper way is disposable.

Also, a lot of this depends on your usage. If you are just a normal user with normal needs, then the Mac will probably suit your needs. Even if they are a bit more expensive initially, they retain their value a lot better than PC's.

Have you considered going with a laptop? Less horsepower for your dollar, but still probably enough for average tasks.

One last thing.. I think Apple are running some pretty good deals right now (due to impending release of Leopard), so you might want to cash in on the deal, and you can always buy a copy of Leopard when it comes out. The cost will likely be lower than today's discount.
 

Mute

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First version of an OS without even a service pack. What do you expect? I never switch OS until at least the second service pack.
 

bachbeet

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From what I keep reading, Vista has been the biggest bust. For one thing, I read that Vista is not backward compatible for a LOT of programs. Stupid. Why would I EVER switch to Vista?! XP has been just great. I think Alienware offers XP instead of Vista as an option. You might consider their PC which is supposed to be an excellent system.
 

Connemara

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Originally Posted by bachbeet
From what I keep reading, Vista has been the biggest bust. For one thing, I read that Vista is not backward compatible for a LOT of programs. Stupid. Why would I EVER switch to Vista?! XP has been just great. I think Alienware offers XP instead of Vista as an option. You might consider their PC which is supposed to be an excellent system.

Alienware is a complete and total ripoff. I can build their setups for half the price, easy. The markup on Alienwares (and most of the high-end boutique firms) is ridiculous.
 

Edward Appleby

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I just got a new XPS M1710 laptop with Vista and I love it. Just feels cleaner and zippier than XP ever did to me- I think this is probably because it utilizes dual core processors much more effectively.

I haven't had any compatability issues yet, and I like to mess around with my PC and do somewhat sketchy, unsupported types of things. However, I haven't really had a chance to try installing some of my older games yet. The older share/freeware I mostly abandon when I get a new PC. One of the things I like about a new computer is the clean slate.
 

bachbeet

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Conne: So, if I need a new PC in the future, I'll know who to call.
 

dapperdude

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There's also Linux. It runs on old hardware, and a lot of the newer distributions are pretty easy to install. Just stick in the install CD and choose the standard options. It's fine for web surfing, simple word processing stuff (using OpenOffice), etc. One area it typically falls short is multimedia. A lot of that stuff has to be installed separately, so watching videos and listening to music might not work out of the box.
 

Christofuh

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The floor kid ( a curious type, thank Gawd ) over @ Apple store shows me a few minute long video footage - shot in his back yard - that was captured onto their demo iMac's HD.
Then using pre-installed proprietary software proceeds to do the following:
adds a random sountrack ( from his music folder ) ;
shortens it so as to match the running time of the video;
adds a random still photo in the beginning;
types up and inserts rolling credits;
then - just to screw around - finishes by adding 30 sec of unrelated video to the back end
BAM, whole thing took less than 3 minutes
bounce2.gif
Now you're free to either burn it or post to youtube.
Oh, and accomplished with 5 other programs simultaeously running on that floor iMac.
By the time you wrapped up similiar project ( using 3rd party extra cost program ) on PC, Jesus would probably be back
plain.gif
 

visionology

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I'm on the edge of a new computer need (built mine 3 years ago with a couple upgrades since then) and have been thinking about the Vista vs. XP thing myself.

First I use Windows 2000 still so I've decided that if I can use it for this long with no issues, Windows XP will still be a viable O/S for a long while still, at least for the next 3 or 4 years. By then it will be time for another upgrade. I'm just starting to find now that some vendors aren't supporting Windows 2000 any more. Also Vista offers no real performance issues, has a lot of bugs, and is a resource hog, something I can live without.

I am also considering getting an Apple Laptop as well for testing purposes and as a second computer. Some may say just get an Apple and do a dual O/S but the laptop would be nice for presentations.

Buying anything first year usually isn't a smart thing, especially with electronics and cars.
 

ghulkhan

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imac
nothing will go to **** so you dont have to worry about it dragging down the whole computer
 

Tokyo Slim

In Time Out
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Originally Posted by Christofuh
By the time you wrapped up similiar project ( using 3rd party extra cost program ) on PC, Jesus would probably be back
plain.gif


It's called Windows Movie Maker. It comes free with Windows. You are welcome.
 

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