End Of Microsoft

[Mystic]

What is the Dell Mini 10? I don't know anything about it. How is it able to run Mac OS X?

According to an article I read in MaximumPC Magazine certain components are required to run Mac OS X. For example, you have to use Intel and not AMD chips. And only certain motherboards work. It is not that special computer components are required for a Mac. Everyday components will work. But certain components need to be used and not other components. And a Mac does not use the BIOS setup of a Windows computer. That was the reason for the EF-IX device.

As long as the right components are used and if you can somehow setup the Mac O/S to run you could probably build a desktop computer running the Mac OS X for a few hundred dollars. Depending on how powerful you wanted for the computer to be maybe it would cost something like $1500.00 to build one as powerful as a Mac Pro.

When that device became available I considered having a computer built that would run Mac OS X and Windows 7 (on separate hard drives). I am glad now I did not do that because according to what I have heard that device was a rip-off.

Building the computer is not the hard part. You have to be able to get Mac OS X up and running and Apple has deliberately made that difficult. But according to what I have heard some ten bucks worth of gear makes it all possible.

 

[Mystic]

At this time I can still see a Mac being useful for certain things. At 7.5% market share (in the USA) and 4% worldwide a Mac is still less of a target. So a Mac would be useful for email and exploring areas of the internet you were not familiar with. If the computer got infected with something you could just reinstall the O/S easily. I would still run an antivirus program on the Mac, not just for its protection but the protection of my Windows computer.

But Macs are just too expensive. Even the Mac Mini, if it is still being built, is pretty expensive. It might be better to try and buy a used Mac somewhere.

For a business, a Mac server is probably much easier to set up than other types and it would be useful for a small business. A smart businessman could probably set it up himself.

But Macs have become too expensive to use on an everyday basis. For example, my old copy of Photoshop CS3 runs just fine on my Windows 7 computer. I did not buy the upgrade to Photoshop CS4. Don't try to run a Mac version of Photoshop CS3 on a Mac OS 10.6 'Snow Leopard' computer.

Another example-Nikon has pretty much decided apparently to not try to update the software for its Nikon film scanners to run on the latest versions of the Mac OS X. My dedicated Nikon film scanner still runs on my Windows 7 computer.

Another example-they apparently managed to get Epson photo printers running on Mac OS 10.6. You have to jump through some hoops to do it.

Too much hassle when just about everything runs on Windows 7. Less hassle and less expense. Of course, for some wealthy people the Mac has become a kind of status symbol.

 

[labman]

If you have the money, why not? Many people are quite happy to pay a premium for quality. Works out of the box, secure, and tech service without the Linux geeks command line lectures.

 

[Mystic]

Yes, a Mac server probably is not such a bad idea for a small business. According to a British security firm Linux servers are attacked more often than any other type of server. Probably Linux servers need to be set up perfectly for security. The Mac server would probably be a lot easier. But it would be expensive.

But the Mac used to be famous as a computer used for computer graphics and I think Windows computers can fill that role more cheaply today and with better software and hardware compatibility.

I used to get MacZone and MacConnection catalogues in the mail all the time. I was in for a shock one day when Windows work station computers were being advertised in one of these. These were Mac oriented catalogues understand. Really a Windows work station computer for doing computer graphics makes more sense nowadays.

You will see a lot of Mac Computers on TV shows. No doubt Apple is paying so that Macs are frequently seen on TV.

 

[Mystic]

Dang labman, you became a member a few days after me and you have about 4000 more posts than me! I thought I posted a lot!

 

[Mystic]

We became members almost the same time. There were only about 1100 or so members back in those days. Now there are more than 30,000 members!

 

[labman]

Originally Posted By: Mystic
Dang labman, you became a member a few days after me and you have about 4000 more posts than me! I thought I posted a lot!


Some people have a life. I see people that joined this year and already have 2000 posts.

 

[Mystic]

Well, I apparently am posting at a rate of about 680 posts a year. I just hope I am posting worthwhile stuff of interest to people here.

Still one of the best websites going, don't you think?