Need a Mac on a budget? Go retro
By Triston McIntyre
One of the top reasons people won’t commit to switching to Macs is price. Though Mac technology isn’t any more expensive than Windows-based technology when considering long-term value, here are a few great ways to break into the Mac world without buying a brand spanking new iMac or Macbook.
First, its important to note that Macs, unlike Windows-based machines, do not depreciate at fast rates. The reason for this is Macs have longer lasting value and performance than their Windows-based competitors.
Why does that matter a hill of beans? Simply put, it matters because you can buy an older Mac in great condition that will run the Tiger or even Leopard with little to no upgrading required. You don’t have to buy that new iMac just to go Mac.
The most important part in finding an older machine to start your life as a Mac user is to pick a machine that will run any version of OS X. If you choose a machine that goes with OS 9, you might find yourself running back to Windows, because OS 9 is not impressive, and doesn’t demonstrate the simplicity and beauty of OS X.
If you’re looking for a portable solution, you can go as far back as the Power Book G3 or the iBook for platforms for running OS X. To give you an example, there are PowerBook G3’s going for under $70 on Ebay right now. Granted, you won’t get some of the nifty additions of Blu-tooth or iSight in an older model, but you can wet your feet in the pool of Apple technology.
For desktop solutions, there are so many options you might not be able to choose; what’s great for you who are looking to switch is that many of the desktop solutions are completely compatible with your current monitors.
Some machines that will run OS X now include: iMac, Power Mac, the “Cube”, the Mac Mini, and the Mac Pro. My personal favorite of any of these is the Power Mac Cube G4, which is incredibly small and compact, but easy to upgrade and really quite versatile. You can pick up a cube loaded with OS X for under $100 on eBay. Also, upgrading the Cube could get you a fast little machine for only a couple hundred dollars altogether.
There you have it: there are plenty of older Apple machines in great condition that will run OS X for as low as under $100. Now that you can’t complain about price, what’s stopping you from trying out an Apple Mac?
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November 18th, 2007
Who the hell said MAC has better performance???
November 19th, 2007
I bought a G3 on ebay last March for about 100 dollars, stuck a couple extra sticks of RAM in there along with a bigger hard drive and a USB 2 card and it is better than the PC I built three years prior!