How-To Geek

You can get a PC cheaper than a Mac, obviously. Other than the Mac Mini, Apple does not exactly make a "budget" system and the Mac Mini is not budget when it comes to the parts included. While this is a good thing, because no Mac will seem like the hardware is not enough to run the OS, it puts a burden on the average consumer, especially those accustomed to paying PC prices.

*As a side question, does anyone know where to if Apple lists detailed specs or has a detailed configuration on their website?*

I know that PC companies do make expensive computers, but PC companies also make cheaper computers (by cheap I am referring to the $400.00-$600.00 price range). It is possible to get a good computer from a PC company for the cheaper prices.

The Mac Pro would be very nice to have, but it is understandably as expensive as it is, and somewhat of an overkill.

The Mac Mini is nice, but it doesn't seem appealing, although I am willing to hear input about the Mac Mini.

The iMac is appealing, but the only thing I do not like is everything is built into the iMac (preventing me from opening the case and upgrading anything if necessary).

The MacBook is also appealing, but the only thing I do not like is it has a single button trackpad (I know the command button and the ability to plug in a mouse, but I like having the actual right click when on the go).

I do want a Mac, but as a PC user the "Mac Universe" is "like Greek" to me. So I do need educated on the "Mac Universe". I would prefer to have a Mac at a PC price, so if there is a Mac wholesaler, or a used and reputable Mac store that would be helpful. This may be impossible, but I would prefer to Mac to be a Leopard series Mac as well.

If anyone needs me to further explain anything, just ask. If I am incorrect in anything about the Mac, please correct me.

Thanks in advance.

I have used OS X, but not Leopard. The rental service sounds like a good idea, except I live in a rural area, so that might not be possible. I will check though. Honestly, I want a Mac to play with and actually try to learn the operating system. I had only used Macs occasionally when I was in school, because 99% of the time, if I was on a computer, I was either using Windows or Linux. Referring to my previous Mac post:
http://www.howtogeek.com/forum.....replies=13
I would be the most happy being able to install OS X on a PC computer, but I don't want to get bricked by an update.

The comic was funny and just verified what I thought about Macs. I want to find some justification for Macs not being upgrade friendly, but I simply can't (except for the fact that Apple makes more money by doing so). The only justification I can see is this: When I was in school, we have a few HP or Dell's (I can't remember) that were the all-in-one model, in the library to save desk space. The all-in-one model is good for schools and businesses, but I think for personal use, a tower is convenient, for upgrading purposes. The Mac Pro is a tower, but overkill.

Back on topic though, I would like to learn OS X as it is one of the three major operating systems, and while I may never write a program in or for OS X, it is a personal goal to at least learn the OS.

From my brief experience, there are a few things that I do not like about Mac, but I understand these are biased opinions as they relate to a function which operates differently on Windows and Linux.
I do not like the default one button mouse, but am happy that the OS supports multi-button mice.
I do not like when clicking + in the title bar, the window does not FULLY maximize.
I do not like when clicking x in the title bar, the program does not close, the user must click the apple and click exit.
I do not like not having a quick list of all the installed programs (like the start menu in XP).

*Note* Some of my dislikes may have options to change, as I have never used OS X for extended periods of time.

@jmcguire

Thanks for the tutorial idea. In Leopard (possibly Tiger as well, I honestly don't remember) you can set a Mouse preference to allow right-click by placing two fingers on the trackpad and then clicking. Once you get used to it (a couple of days), it just becomes natural.

You can pick up a used Mac on Craigslist pretty cheap. It'll likely be a G4 (if you want to get a really inexpensive one) and probably won't come w/ Leopard (or run it very quickly) but you'll at least be able to determine if OS X/Mac is something you're interested in.

I've got two Mac Minis, both are Intel core 2 duo, one is a 1.86 with 1GB ram and the other is a 2.0 with 2GB ram (although the hard drive died, I'm in the process of replacing it... future article topic)

As a serial system tweaker, it drives me crazy that so many things in OS X just can't be changed... you either do things Apple's way, or you install Linux on it.

1) I hate the top bar/dock configuration because I rarely use menus so it's a waste to have a whole bar for that, and the dock instead of a taskbar drives me crazy.
2) You absolutely cannot put Firefox into full-screen mode, which was very frustrating since I like to do that on my second monitor.
3) If you have dual monitors and your IM window has focus you can't just click on a link in Firefox... you have to click once to "select" Firefox as the foreground application, and then click again on the link. (more annoying than you might think)
4) You can't theme it (not that I'm a themer)
5) The fonts... this is less of a gripe for me, but it's nearly impossible to adjust system fonts across the board. My grandparents were very unhappy when they figured this out on their new Mac, which they have serious trouble using because of the tiny fonts.
6) Lack of AutoHotkey. This is what did it for me... I can't live without autohotkey (not that Linux has it either)
7) Once I decided that I was sick of OS X and wanted to install Vista on it, I found out that BootCamp had expired and I would have to upgrade to Leopard... in order to run Vista on it.
8) I was worried that I would start feeling I was better than everybody else by using OS X.

Edit: Just remembered another one. It's almost impossible to make a shortcut that runs an application with command-line arguments. Sure, you can make a shell script that does it, but then you have an open terminal window that you can't use.

@ross

2) Use Safari? My mother was a saint!
4) I'm one of the few people that really just doesn't like the OS X theme very much.
6) I'll have to agree on Quicksilver... but it's still not Autohotkey.
7) Hey, you have Vista on yours!
9) That's not the point! I still can't remember that custom launcher software's name, btw.

I think it just comes down to Vista working much better for my personal workflow style. Also, that texas hold'em game is retarded. =)

I'm out of caffeine this morning. Very sad.