On Oct 29, 2010, at 9:49 PM, Dan wrote: > Back in the PPC days, we "considered" buying AppleCare because it often never > got used. These days, I will not sell or recommend ANY x86 based Mac without > it.
My Intel iMac has given me much less trouble than my iBook G4, and my father's MacBook has lasted much longer than his iBook. From my experience Intel Macs have been much more reliable than PowerPC models, though I attribute that to the constant refining and improvement of the designs, not which chip the computers use. I must say, though, that PowerPC laptops were much more usable, with removable batteries, PC cards, and a huge amount of ports. Now the side of the 17" MacBook Pro looks like an Ice iBook G3, very simple in comparison to the side of the 17" PowerBook G4. Sure, the new one may have more USB ports, but I'd rather have FireWire 400, S-Video, a real DVI port, and a PC card port any day (and, while I think dial-up should have been vanquished a decade ago, it is nice to have a modem for when I'm somewhere that doesn't have real internet, or if I need to send a fax). And, of course, PowerPC computers had much better names. "MacBook" sounds like what a Dell hacked to run OS X should be called, and Mac Pro is even more uninspired. PowerBook was one of the best product names of all time and I still can't believe that Apple just abandoned it for such an awful name, plus now the grid that Steve Jobs made such a big deal over no longer works (sure Mac Pro and MacBook Pro match, but what is iMac doing there?). PowerPC will always be my favorite, but when even the newest models are four years old (with designs that are five years old), they are quickly becoming unusable for many purposes. Most modern video sites like Netflix and Hulu won't even run properly, if at all, on PowerPC. At least it looks like my PowerBook G4 will still serve me well as a secondary laptop for a while longer, but the days of being able to use a PowerPC computer as a primary desktop in the modern world are over. Steven -- You received this message because you are a member of the iMac Group, a group for those using Apple iMacs and eMacs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to imaclist@googlegroups.com To leave this group, send email to imaclist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/imaclist
