[MW Forums]

These days Apple is generating more buzz than a swarm of African killer bees. Of course, we PC users can sit back and watch the hoopla about the Mac Mini and its brethren with detached interest, right? more

[dbe4411]

I know, looks don't make the computer.
Well, looks don't make a car either, yet appearance is a big factor in buying one for many people.
I have yet to see a laptop look anywhere as good as the Ti and aluminum powerbook series. And the G5 tower, although a little big for my tastes, is also very nice looking.

[j_drake]

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I'm not suggesting that you rush out and purchase a Mac. And I'm not talking about whether you should or shouldn't switch.

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I don't know why not, after reading your article you make such a good case for switching.

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Plus, PCs are perfect for tinkerers; opening the hood is usually relatively straightforward. In Mac land, most systems' cases are harder to open, and components are designed more as cohesive units than as a collection of parts.

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Getting into the case of a mini or iMac may not be as easy as it is on the G4 or G5, but then your average home user is not a tinkerer they want all of the features mention in your article, especially the components are designed more as cohesive units they do not want to think about what will happen when they sit down to use their computer, they just want it to work and

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when it comes to design innovation in the computer industry, Apple still leads the way with its classy components and solid focus on simplicity and ease of use.

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Sounds to me as if your visits to the Apple stores are having a positive affect on you, let us know when you bring that first iMac G5 home, my sister loves hers, and she too was a long time PC struggl.. I mean user.
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[Wings]

Wow, and this article was in PC World magazine? I'm really amazed that the Mac is getting such good press in the Windows news world here lately.
Wonder if Paul Thurott has read this?

[tabasco_hot]

I think Apple should be looking, and learning from PC motherboard manufacturers in more ways than they can learn from Apple. Apple is technologically behind right now again, and TS seems to think they will stay that way for another year. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Not a good sign.

[Quoth_the_Raven]

"Apple is technologically behind right now again, and TS seems to think they will stay that way for another year. Not a good sign."
How so?

[mdawson]

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And the G5 tower, although a little big for my tastes, is also very nice looking.

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Agreed. Apple really needs to look into developing a smaller version of their pro desktops. Right now of someone needs the processing power of the G5, but cannot sacrifice the desktop real estate, they are left with the iMac G5. For now, the iMac is nearly as powerful as the PowerMac line, but it lacks in the add-on/expandability areaI cannot add a National instruments data acquisition card or SATA RAID to an iMac G5.
I had just recently talked to my faculty advisor about a Mac mini for our lab because of its small form factor and the fact that when we film field tests, iMovie is a much better option than much of what we can get for the Gateways that currently occupy the lab and its free. Of course, even at $500, the cost of entry is steep just for iMovie. On the other hand the PowerMac G5 would be a great option if it had a size advantage over the Gateway towers we currently have in place. Our instrumentation lab has a traditional lab set up with all countertops and no desks, along one wall there are low counters that double as desktops. Of course these low counters simply have a few open areas large enough to allow someone to sit and work, but does not provide the type of clearance that is available under a computer table, so placing the computers under the counter is not an option.
If Apple had a desktop/small form-factor version of the PowerMac G5, I would have a chance of convincing my advisor to get some Macs in his next purchasing round. Smaller machines would leave us more work space. None of the Gateways have more than one DAQ so as long as the smaller PowerMac has one PCI slot that can accommodate a full-sized card we would be good. As to software, most of what we use on a regular basis is cross-platform: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, LabVIEW, MATLAB, etc.

[MacTechAspen]

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If Apple had a desktop/small form-factor version of the PowerMac G5

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Xserve

[mdawson]

I do not know how many times I have seen this absurd response to on this board to posts about Apple needing to market a SFF PowerMac. The XServe is not a desktop or SFF computer. It is relatively small (1U) as rack mountable servers go, but it takes up considerably more desktop real estate than any existing desktop computer and costs more than a comparable G5 tower.

[j_drake]

But the Xserve is not a desktop, which is what mdawson is looking for.
Having said that, from his description of their lab area they could install some wall mount racks
or even better above the bench area to install the Xserve, then connect their keyboard and screens as needed.
/forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[fribhey]

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In Mac land, most systems' cases are harder to open, and components are designed more as cohesive units than as a collection of parts.

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whaaaaa?
the b&w G3's through the G4 towers all have a little handle on the side, lift the handle and the case opens right up. the G5 tower has a latch on the back of the tower, lift it up and it too opens right up. no screws, no fuss. you can pretty much upgrade/add anything you want (processor, video card, sound cards, usb/firewire cards, hard drives, memory, etc, etc).
the imac G5 is very easy to open but you need to loosen up 3 tension screws and the back panel comes right off. granted you can't upgrade/add too many things on the imac but it is still easy to open, besides, it's an all in one - not meant to build on. if you want something to build on get a tower.....
PCs cases generally aren't much harder to open up but they are no way as easy to open as a mac tower!

[mdawson]

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Having said that, from his description of their lab area they could install some wall mount racks or even better above the bench area to install the Xserve, then connect their keyboard and screens as needed.

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This is not an option for us. Our lab is shared with two to three plant and soil science groups and most of the wall space in the lab have overhead cabinets or equipment racks. Any open wall areas are used for displaying posters from graduate and faculty research projects. Also, we have no need a server that we attach a keyboard and display to from time-to-time. What we do require are powerful general purpose desktops that require minimal real estate atop the counters that have the ability to interface with our NI equipment.
The RackSolutions option looks neat, but as an academic department we are hard pressed to justify purchasing and installing something that is so machine specific and would lock us into a long-term commitment to using thin servers as desktops. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that any given XServe costs more than a given PowerMac G5 with similar features nullifies the consideration from the outset.

[ronincali3002]

My G5 is under my desk...and while I understand, this is like driving around in a Ferrari with a black shroud over it...I can always peek under my desk to admire its beauty. Oh, and, I think it has to be as large as it is so it can also be as quiet as it is. As it stands right now...when I turn off or put my Mac to sleep, the sound level in the room no longer changes dramatically. With my Quicksilver G4, and all the other Macs I had in the past, including my Ti 1GHz laptop, it's like stepping into/outta a wind chamber.
Go Apple!

[hensed]

Usually in these "PC" articles there is some type of back-handed compliment, but I didn't see one this time.