January 25, 2006
Shameless Sales Pitch
If you are bothered by crass appeals to buy things, you may want to skip over this post. I won’t mind.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to what I do on our home PC (not the laptop, but the desktop machine) and I’ve really come to question why I haven’t switched to a Mac. I used to defend my continued use of Windows by saying that I like to game on my PC, which is true. However, I find that I really don’t have time for much of that these days since I try to put out a podcast three or four evenings during the work week and still post here occasionally.
The other roadblock to Mac ownership has been money. The machine I really want now, the new 20” iMac, is $1699. That’s a lot of dough compared to the PC that can be built for that money. What draws me to the machine is not the hardware specs, but the included software, mainly iLife ’06. I need to take my podcast to the next level of professionalism if I am ever going to cross that divide to some sort of underwriting and I believe the new features in iLife can help me do that. Yes, all of the same things can be done with a Windows machine, but not without spending some real money.
So here’s my plan: sell my current PC and buy an iMac. I think my current setup (see below) would sell for the price of the entry level iMac (the 17” version) and I’ll get one of those if need be. I’ve considered asking my podcast subscribers to donate, but I can’t help feeling a little sleazy about that. I DID ask for contributions to help pay for bandwidth (as problem that still exists, but I have made some cost-saving changes), but a lot of podcasters do that so at least I’m not alone.
I will miss PC gaming, but I have more constructive things I should be doing with my time. And, for the record, X-Plane (one of the greatest flight sims ever produced), runs on OS X. So who knows!
Specs:
Antec Lifestyle II (I think) black ATX case with 380W Power Supply
AMD 3700+ Processor (San Diego core, I think)
2 GB PC3200 RAM
74GB Western Digital 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive
120GB Western Digital 7,200RPM IDE Hard Drive
NEC DVD/CD Burner (dual-layer capable)
eVGA Nvidia 6800GT Video Card 256MB RAM
SoundBlaster Audigy 2ZS Sound Card
Floppy Drive
19” Samsung 191T LCD Monitor (1280x1024 native resolution)
Everything is gently used in excellent like-new condition. Nothing has been overclocked or otherwise altered.
If you are seriously interested, please drop me a line and I’ll send photos. I’d like to get $1500 (or best offer) for the entire thing and I’d rather not sell it in pieces. I’d like to sell it to someone local, but I will ship it if need be (we will have to discuss the shipping costs, but I think it may be around $60 UPS ground to most areas).
This is not a casual PC; it’s meant to do heavy-duty work or serious gaming. I say this because some of you who are not tech-savvy will compare this to a $500 machine from Dell---there is no comparison and if you just want something to surf the web with, this is not the machine you need.
Or, if you just want to kick in a couple bucks to the cause, please visit my podcast site and click the donation link on the left. If everyone who subscribes to the ‘cast pitches in $3, I’ll be in tall cotton---as someone says.
Posted by Matthew at January 25, 2006 10:07 AMTrackBack URL for this entry:
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I *heart* mac, having 2 of them myself.
That is all. :-)
Posted by: Christy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.opaquelucidity.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 25, 2006 11:23 AM
That's a nice system Matt. I'd say it's definitely worth $1500.
I've been looking at Macs myself. I think I'm going to wait until they come out with a new Intel iBook.
Same comment as Christy. I switched to the Mac years ago and have never looked back. I too have been drooling about the new iMacs since my trusty ol' Dual 533 G4 is begining to show it's age.
iLife '06 is a great package. The fact that it comes preinstalled in iMacs is just a bonus. For seamless integration, there is nothing in the Windows universe that even comes close. Especially for $79 !. The new iPhoto is stunning. iMovie / iDVD by themselves are worth well over that price. I don't use Garage Band much but someday I hope to get Kim a MIDI player and let her go nuts. ;-)
iWeb is a nice application. The web templates are slick and really easy to use. The whole iWeb application is geared towards making a professional looking web page in minutes. It irks me that I spent all those years mucking around with HTML. :-p
A couple of gripes though. First I was surprised to find that you needed a G4 or better to install iLife 06. I have gotten so used to my trusty old iBook (867 Mhz G3) that I never realized it was so dated... LOL. (Another reason why I love Macs). Secondly, Web pages cannot be directly published to a site server, only to .Mac account. You can publish to a folder and ftp that folder to any Web Site but hey, this is Apple! I expect the world! :-p
And thirdly, the lack of Comments on the blog template really irked me. You can use third party comment software but it's not the same.
I'm still playing with it. Maybe I'll write a review for the NL someday soon.
Hash
Posted by: Hash at January 25, 2006 02:41 PM
Having recently acquired an eMac, I have to say that I absolutely love all the things that I can do with OSX and iLife '05. I just spent last weekend tearing the thing apart and installing a larger HDD, DVD RW and more memory.
So far, even though I know that I could REALLY make use of the 20" iMac myself, I was very tempted to buy one, but I really can't afford it. I mean really. But I would LOVE to have one.
A couple of things about the new mactel machines that I am thinking... first, I want whatever the new powerMac is going to be. Second, I will be waiting until the intel chips are 64-bit, and dual core, dual processor configs are available. If I am going to drop the cash, then it will be first class all the way. I like the idea of a slim profile machine, wireless and all fancy looking, but I want to be able to do some SERIOUS audio processing, and there is no point in anything less.
In the meantime, I will be maxing out my little emac as best I can. But get a mac soon, and you'll see why I don't even turn on my windows boxes anymore.
Posted by: Troy Overton at January 25, 2006 03:36 PM
Kewl Troy,
So THAT'S what Kevin meant when he told me you had a new toy!
You on 10.3 or 10.4 ?
Hash
Posted by: Hash at January 25, 2006 03:50 PM
//Secondly, Web pages cannot be directly published to a site server, only to .Mac account.//
I have a blog pal using iWeb to publish directly to his server. www.4haks.net. He's also successfully using 3rd party software to get the commments in there.
I just received my iLike 06 in the mail today and just got it installed. This should be fun!
Posted by: Christy at January 25, 2006 05:31 PM
I won't be buying your PC this time, Matt -- I'm still running the guts of your last machine! (with the exception of the Radeon 9800 that was... well, run over by a car)
Posted by: Tony at January 25, 2006 11:30 PM
What a dork.
Everyone knew I meant iLife. Though I do in fact like it very much. And probably will for all of '06.
Posted by: Christy at January 26, 2006 08:50 AM
Hash,
I am running Panther, although I need to update the thing. There's no 'net connection at home, and the install was from the 10.3.3 restore DVD's, so I have to get the updates done before I can re-install iLife '05. Im' hoping to do it this weekend.
I have also come across the nasty little screen problem, and I will need to do something to get it fixed.
Any info you have on cool freeware or other tricks would be great. I am on the fence about dropping the cash for a new iMac. I want one, but I would also like to wait until the new "PowerMac" is available with intel, and the processors are 64-bit.
Posted by: Troy Overton at January 26, 2006 09:05 AM