Ya know, Macs aren't half bad

[WinterRain]

By no means am I going to switch to mac or anything else from linux, but after I got 8 G5 desktops for $70 bucks apiece, I think they are WAY better than windows. After seeing these all aluminum beauties, I have to admit they are engineered beautifully. I'm considering buying one of the broken ones to put PC parts in it and run linux. If I was a disgruntled windows user and not the tinkering type, I could see myself going mac.

I don't agree with some of their business practices, but I have to admit the G5 desktops are a work of art, and built like tanks. The attention to detail is amazing.

Yeah, I stepped in poop and got lucky to be able to buy these for $70 each. They have 2.0ghz dualcore/1gb ram/decent video cards/Airport, etc. I stand to make about $2000+ off of them. THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT! They are built like tanks, and weigh almost as much, but well worth the money.
http://www.desktopservers.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/B00011PYBI.jpg

Please don't let this degrade into a flame war, as I was just happy and decided to share. Mods, feel free to move this to recurring discussions immediately and lock it if it gets out of hand. (not that you need my blessings) Keep it civil please.

[Dustin2128]

By no means am I going to switch to mac or anything else from linux, but after I got 8 G5 desktops for $70 bucks apiece, I think they are WAY better than windows. After seeing these all aluminum beauties, I have to admit they are engineered beautifully. I'm considering buying one of the broken ones to put PC parts in it and run linux. If I was a disgruntled windows user and not the tinkering type, I could see myself going mac.

I don't agree with some of their business practices, but I have to admit the G5 desktops are a work of art, and built like tanks. The attention to detail is amazing.

Yeah, I stepped in poop and got lucky to be able to buy these for $70 each. They have 2.0ghz dualcore/1gb ram/decent video cards/Airport, etc. I stand to make about $2000+ off of them. THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT! They are built like tanks, and weigh almost as much, but well worth the money.
http://www.desktopservers.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/B00011PYBI.jpg

Please don't let this degrade into a flame war, as I was just happy and decided to share. Mods, feel free to move this to recurring discussions immediately and lock it if it gets out of hand. (not that you need my blessings) Keep it civil please.

I always did like the look & feel of macs, and you're lucky to have gotten so many so cheaply. I agree with you though, I dislike their business practices and 'walled garden' philosophy and I could never swap. Of course, very few variations in hardware make it quite easy to make a fully compatible linux distribution and means that they always will run more smoothly than the competition, every component being designed from the ground up to work with the hardware provided. Of course, variety is a good thing, but it sure makes a mess when one operating system tries to run smoothly on all hardware.

[KiwiNZ]

I have just taken delivery of one.

Quad Core 3.33 GHZ,
6GB Mem
3 x 1TB Serial ATA HD
Raid card

2 x Nvidia Graphics cards

Super Drive 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Its awesome , very fast , very quiet , very cool.

[giddyup306]

It looks like something out of the movie Transformers. :)

[ElSlunko]

I <3 classic industrial engineering.

[NightwishFan]

I stick with Ubuntu because I just could not handle changing to something that offers me less rights. Even something like OSX86 would offer me less compatibility and performance I am sure. As for the hardware, I will bet it is worth it.

[bug67]

"...I'm considering buying one of the broken ones to put PC parts in it and run linux..."

I've considered doing exactly this to my rapidly aging G5. Sounds like an awesome project!

I have had various PowerPC versions of Linux running on it but, was never really satisfied. Keep us posted if you decide to mod.

[YuiDaoren]

I have always liked the G5 case design, aesthetically and mechanically.

[chriswyatt]

But their mice are still rubbish. ;)

Someone did tell me once the build quality of Macs is very good, or at least was very good anyway. I'm not sure what it's like these days.

This guy I know who used to work at a Mac store said they had really tight quality control compared to PCs, though there are many many different PC manufacturers so I wasn't really sure if this argument held up.

I still prefer the freedom that IBM-compatible PCs give over Macs, the ability to use whatever hardware you like and build from the ground up etc.

[WinterRain]

I have just taken delivery of one.

Quad Core 3.33 GHZ,
6GB Mem
3 x 1TB Serial ATA HD
Raid card

2 x Nvidia Graphics cards

Super Drive 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Its awesome , very fast , very quiet , very cool.

Did it make you drool?

[WinterRain]

I stick with Ubuntu because I just could not handle changing to something that offers me less rights. Even something like OSX86 would offer me less compatibility and performance I am sure. As for the hardware, I will bet it is worth it.

It's not about your experience. Re-read my post. I would like it if other mac/linux users chimed in. But one thing I know for sure, is that I got a GREAT deal. ;)

[NightwishFan]

Not sure I follow but enjoy your money you get. :)

[KiwiNZ]

Did it make you drool?

Its mine , a gift from my Wife :D

[Mike'sHardLinux]

WinterRain, any chance of getting a deal? :-) I have wanted one of those for a long time, and re-sale is generally ridiculous on Apple computers. I sure wish you were around this area. I'd drive over and pick it up in a heartbeat!

Around here, G5's in the aluminum case are, at the cheapest, $$275 (1.6 GHz, single proc). And, those are usually damaged in some way.

[WinterRain]

WinterRain, any chance of getting a deal? :-) I have wanted one of those for a long time, and re-sale is generally ridiculous on Apple computers. I sure wish you were around this area. I'd drive over and pick it up in a heartbeat!

Around here, G5's in the aluminum case are, at the cheapest, $$275 (1.6 GHz, single proc). And, those are usually damaged in some way.
I feel your pain. Luckily, the place I go to didn't realize their potential. I'll gladly take them off your hands. All day, every day.

I havn't switched over to mac or anything, but I make money off of what sells. And I know Mac is hot.

[piju]

unite we stand, divide we fall

[undecim]

That's how it starts. First, you say "it's not so bad, all my friends do it", then you try it once, and before you know it... http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

[WinterRain]

Its mine , a gift from my Wife :D

Nice. I'm sure you're a happy computer user.

[witeshark17]

Yeah Macs are rather cool; the G5 towers are quite impressive... :popcorn:

[bigsmitty64]

That's how it starts. First, you say "it's not so bad, all my friends do it", then you try it once, and before you know it... http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

Clicked Link:
I think I just peed a little bit!

[Timmer1240]

I wish I could just run across 1 for 70 bucks you got a sweet deal!I always wanted to get a mac but couldnt afford one we got 3 pcs already I figure linux is the next best thing!

[v1ad]

Its mine , a gift from my Wife :D


O... can i borrow your wife?

[amitabhishek]

Its mine , a gift from my Wife :D

Lucky you! I am still awaiting a gift ;).

[WinterRain]

I wish I could just run across 1 for 70 bucks you got a sweet deal!I always wanted to get a mac but couldnt afford one we got 3 pcs already I figure linux is the next best thing!

No, linux isn't the next best thing, linux is THE best thing. I can enjoy mac and windows now and then, but for my serious stuff I only use linux based OS's.

[Johnsie]

A mac is just an over-priced pc in a white case. You can usually get a more powerful and better looking pc for alot less.

[quinnten83]

Yeah Macs are rather cool; the G5 towers are quite impressive... :popcorn:

I find them too heavy, but I like the macbooks though. Just the regular macbooks, the pro series looks too stuck up!

[KiwiNZ]

A mac is just an over-priced pc in a white case. You can usually get a more powerful and better looking pc for alot less.

Yeah, all your cheap rubbish PC's are to this standard inside :rolleyes:

[szymon_g]

A mac is just an over-priced pc in a white case. You can usually get a more powerful and better looking pc for alot less.

ok, show me something with aluminium case, 14 inch screen (1440x900), switchable graphics (nvidia and intel), 9 hours of battery life- *fully* working under Linux- yes, fully (including switchable graphics- afaik 'desktop linux' still cannot use that useful feature). And remember- on MacOSX you still can use a lot of linux application (as long as they are written properly)
about look- some people like it, some don't.

[Warpnow]

I wouldn't buy a mac, but...I wouldn't buy any desktop prebuilt. Period, end of story. All OEMs use shoddy components, overcharge, and just don't make a machine to fit the masses, not you.

Personally, I dislike OSX as well. To be honest, not sure if its better or worse than windows. I'd prefer run windows than OSX, because I can run windows legally on hardware I build. I might like OSX more if it didn't have to be jerry rigged to run on non-apple hardware.

[NightwishFan]

including switchable graphics- afaik 'desktop linux' still cannot use that useful feature
I believe 2.6.34 can do this. :) Granted you need to restart X first.
http://kernelnewbies.org/LinuxChanges#head-5c0a6ff5325bae07a1d5ff12b0c33b89f2128173

[NightwishFan]

double post

[imgx64]

I don't understand some responses in this thread. Just because Apple bundles the hardware and Mac OS X together and sells these Macs as an alternative to PCs doesn't mean you should do that too ;). If you like the Apple hardware, then by all means get it and install Linux on it. I don't see any difference between that and buying an HP and installing Linux on it.

Personally, I find Apple hardware too overpriced for my taste, and I'm not alone in that. But other people don't mind paying a premium for the extra polish. As for Mac OS X, I'm not interested; They don't want people to install it on anything but their hardware, so be it.

[szymon_g]

I believe 2.6.34 can do this. :) Granted you need to restart X first.

great. i just have to close all opened windows, save all documents. yeah, linux's hardware support is so great ](*,)

[NightwishFan]

The framework is in place if you want to improve it feel free the code is there. At least I can legally install Ubuntu on whatever computer I want.

Edit: Yes I was aware of the limitation and did not try to hide it. :)

[Johnsie]

All that stuff works just fine on a PC with Windows. Nvidia and ATI make native windows drivers...

If you dislike Windows then it comes down to a software preference rather than a hardware preference. You can get better hardware much cheaper than buying it off Apple.