A New Life For An Older Mac
Oct 23, 2016 14:28:09 #
Oct 23, 2016 16:12:12 #
What about all the current stories of crashing windows machines? At least four of our friends have had major problems with their computers...
Oct 23, 2016 17:29:26 #
Djelibeybi wrote:
What about all the current stories of crashing windows machines? At least four of our friends have had major problems with their computers...
There are plenty of anecdotal stories about issues with Windows machines, and there are plenty of users that are computer illiterate and don't seem to grasp that computers are actually complicated machines and require a modicum of expertise to use. Apple makes fine machines, and if you prefer their OS, then God bless you and carry on. But, it will cost you substantially more for the same level of performance as a PC, will provide less options to upgrade the HW, and in my humble opinion, if properly administered, a Windows 10 machine is just as reliable/robust as a Mac. I have 3 Windows 10 machines, and they are rock solid. It's my flakey IOS-based devices that crash regularly (yes, I know that these are a different OS, but it does point out that there's nothing intrinsically superior about Apple products reliability/stability)
Oct 23, 2016 17:49:28 #
leftj
Loc: Texas
TriX wrote:
There are plenty of anecdotal stories about issues... (show quote)
Why do you have 3 windows machines and how old are they? What IOS devices do you have and why do you have them if you think they are flacky? Also so why do so many windows machine advertisements measure themselves against Macs? It's because they know that Macs are the standard to be measured against.
Oct 23, 2016 18:05:21 #
Ta for the reply.
Strangely it's the windows 10 machines that seem to be crashing. Yes the owners are as lost with the latest windows OS as I.
I was quite happy with XP; 7 & 8 were introduced at work and gave IT a lot of hassle - I'm not sure what they are running these days.
My Dell took longer and longer to boot up - when it reached over 20 minutes I shelved it except for one particular prog which isn't available for mac.
Sorry - should add I started in the dim and distant past with a dos based 8086 and progressed up the processor/OS ladder relatively happy and only got a mac after I watched a relative 'rebuild' his macbook whilst sitting on our settee watching the first LotR movie.
PS actually started with a Beeb then a Sirius - can't remember that one's OS
Strangely it's the windows 10 machines that seem to be crashing. Yes the owners are as lost with the latest windows OS as I.
I was quite happy with XP; 7 & 8 were introduced at work and gave IT a lot of hassle - I'm not sure what they are running these days.
My Dell took longer and longer to boot up - when it reached over 20 minutes I shelved it except for one particular prog which isn't available for mac.
Sorry - should add I started in the dim and distant past with a dos based 8086 and progressed up the processor/OS ladder relatively happy and only got a mac after I watched a relative 'rebuild' his macbook whilst sitting on our settee watching the first LotR movie.
PS actually started with a Beeb then a Sirius - can't remember that one's OS
Oct 23, 2016 18:08:17 #
Can you buy faster hardware for less money if you build a PC yourself? Sure. So what?
Will a Windows PC run OS X? No. (Those who use both use the Mac because they WANT TO, Windows because they HAVE TO (usually for corporate software or web site development.)
Will Windows run safely, securely, for YEARS, without any additional virus protection whatsoever? No. And before you freak out about how Macs are just as vulnerable, please know that few of us who have run Macs since the advent of OS X have ever seen a real VIRUS in the wild. Trojans and Malware, YES, but you have to let them in the back door by clicking an install button! If you trash suspicious emails, use good spam filters, sit behind a firewalled router, turn on Mac OS' firewall, keep your Microsoft Office templates LOCKED, and avoid downloading pirated software and porn, chances are extremely high that you won't run into the nasties.
I may be one of the rare birds on UHH who runs Windows AND Mac OS X and now Mac OS 10.12 on the same machine. A Mac is a PC, and will run Linux, Windows 10, and Mac OS all at the same time, if you give it enough resources (RAM, drive space, video memory). You just need Parallels Desktop.
Suffice it to say that Apple wants to sell you a new Mac every three years. Suffice it to say that many Macs can be serviced and upgraded successfully for at least seven years. After that, OEM parts are not available in the USA. At five years, they usually "orphan" it from operating system upgrades. However, my mid-2010 Mini runs Sierra better than any older OS.
If you buy a midrange or high end Mac, chances are good you can upgrade the RAM and drive(s) at a later date. I've even done that to Macs Apple says can't be upgraded. Companies like OWC, iFixIt, Crucial, Wegener Media, and others have been helping people do it for many years. If you can read and follow instructions to the letter, and have reasonably healthy fine motor skills and dexterity, you can do it yourself.
Will a Windows PC run OS X? No. (Those who use both use the Mac because they WANT TO, Windows because they HAVE TO (usually for corporate software or web site development.)
Will Windows run safely, securely, for YEARS, without any additional virus protection whatsoever? No. And before you freak out about how Macs are just as vulnerable, please know that few of us who have run Macs since the advent of OS X have ever seen a real VIRUS in the wild. Trojans and Malware, YES, but you have to let them in the back door by clicking an install button! If you trash suspicious emails, use good spam filters, sit behind a firewalled router, turn on Mac OS' firewall, keep your Microsoft Office templates LOCKED, and avoid downloading pirated software and porn, chances are extremely high that you won't run into the nasties.
I may be one of the rare birds on UHH who runs Windows AND Mac OS X and now Mac OS 10.12 on the same machine. A Mac is a PC, and will run Linux, Windows 10, and Mac OS all at the same time, if you give it enough resources (RAM, drive space, video memory). You just need Parallels Desktop.
Suffice it to say that Apple wants to sell you a new Mac every three years. Suffice it to say that many Macs can be serviced and upgraded successfully for at least seven years. After that, OEM parts are not available in the USA. At five years, they usually "orphan" it from operating system upgrades. However, my mid-2010 Mini runs Sierra better than any older OS.
If you buy a midrange or high end Mac, chances are good you can upgrade the RAM and drive(s) at a later date. I've even done that to Macs Apple says can't be upgraded. Companies like OWC, iFixIt, Crucial, Wegener Media, and others have been helping people do it for many years. If you can read and follow instructions to the letter, and have reasonably healthy fine motor skills and dexterity, you can do it yourself.
Oct 23, 2016 19:08:44 #
leftj wrote:
Why do you have 3 windows machines and how old are they? What IOS devices do you have and why do you have them if you think they are flacky? Also so why do so many windows machine advertisements measure themselves against Macs? It's because they know that Macs are the standard to be measured against.
I have a total of 8 computers, 2 iPads and 2 iPhones. 3 are Windows 10 machines - 1 desktop that is 4 years old and started as a Windows 7 machine, and 2 laptops, both 2-3 years old that also started as Windows 7. All 3 were upgraded to 10 with zero issues (but I took the appropriate precautions of making sure the OS patches, drivers and aps were up-to-date before upgrading). The other 4 are running XP because they have too little memory to move to 7 or 10. They run dedicated tasks such as satellite tracking and antenna control, media server and digital data decoding where XP is adequate - the oldest is probably close to 10 years old. I have NEVER had a virus, trojan or Bot attack or lost any data, primarily because I practice "safe computing" and use appropriate backup/DR.
I also have a 21" IMac, which is dog-slow, but which I am planning to upgrade memory and SSD. I am also considering upgrading the CPU from the dual core, but am hesitating because of bad reports concerning this mod from others. I like the convenience of the IPads primarily because of their portability and the ease of sharing photos and music with both our IPhones, Apple TV, and the parents of our grandchildren. I also like the quality of the packaging and the ease of backup/restoration form ICloud and their music consolidation/sharing ap. On the downside, IOS (including the latest version) periodically crashes aps like Safari, which can be maddening. This occurs on both IPads and IPhones, although they are different gens. In short, the convenience of the SW aps outweighs the pain of the OS instability, and I have a substantial investment in them.
I can't comment on the Windows advertisements you mention, but since there are roughly 8x the number of Windows machines in service as Macs (glad to post references if you wish), then the ads must be effective 😀.
Frankly, I don't understand why the platform is such a "religious" issue with some. A computer professional would likely advise you to pick the application/SW first, and then pick the appropriate/best HW to run it on.
Oct 23, 2016 23:06:21 #
WessoJPEG wrote:
Mine is a laptop can I have a new hard drive installed on it?
I'm quite sure you can.
Oct 24, 2016 07:30:29 #
Wow - I thought I was bad - macbook pro, elderly powerbook and dell laptop - I won't mention the ipad 2 and kobo!
Oct 24, 2016 08:02:53 #
TriX wrote:
I have a total of 8 computers, 2 iPads and 2 iPhon... (show quote)
Are you running iOS 10.0.2 on the iPads and iPhones? That release is very stable. The four of us here have had a lot fewer issues since upgrading from iOS 9.x.
macOS 10.12.x should help speed up your iMac. So will an SSD and 8-16GB RAM. Even a 7200 RPM hard drive will speed up I/O by 33% over the base 5400 RPM drive.
I'd skip the processor upgrade, unless you have the right tools. Most of them are soldered, now.
Oct 24, 2016 10:28:08 #
Oct 24, 2016 11:35:57 #
burkphoto wrote:
Are you running iOS 10.0.2 on the iPads and iPhones? That release is very stable. The four of us here have had a lot fewer issues since upgrading from iOS 9.x.
macOS 10.12.x should help speed up your iMac. So will an SSD and 8-16GB RAM. Even a 7200 RPM hard drive will speed up I/O by 33% over the base 5400 RPM drive.
I'd skip the processor upgrade, unless you have the right tools. Most of them are soldered, now.
macOS 10.12.x should help speed up your iMac. So will an SSD and 8-16GB RAM. Even a 7200 RPM hard drive will speed up I/O by 33% over the base 5400 RPM drive.
I'd skip the processor upgrade, unless you have the right tools. Most of them are soldered, now.
Thanks Bill.
I'm at 10.0.2, the latest rev, and it seems a little better. Oddly, it occurs more often on my wife's IPad which is a gen earlier than mine, even though we're at the same rev. Usually an ap like Safari or Facebook or mail just closes unexpectedly, usually no big deal, but if you've just written a paragraph and haven't sent it yet, it can be pretty maddening. As I've said though, the convenience of sharing photos and music and the seamless ICloud backup/restore (which I've had to use twice) is compelling enough that I have no plans to change.
The IMac (21.5") has a dual core I3 processor and only 8GB. I've ordered 8GB more and will add an SSD. I've never disassembled it, but the online instructions are pretty clear. Not sure until I get inside if there's enough room for both a conventional HD + an SSD, which would be ideal, and if so, I'll opt for a higher speed drive. The processor is a conundrum. Some docs suggest that there was an I5 upgrade option, and some people have done the swap (they are pin-for-pin compatible if you choose the correct version). Some have been successful and some not. There's also the issue of higher power dissipation and heat. They are hopefully socketed (I'll know when I get in). My son, who teaches photography, post processing and graphic design, brought me this machine, loaded with LR and Photoshop, in the hope of converting me, and I'd like to give it a fair try
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