Mac help

FlaPoolman

I have an older Mac running the OSX 10.3.9 software and need to upgrade to 10.4. Research shows that it is no longer made and I've read stories of blackmarket discs crashing computers (being fairly ignorant about computers thats the one that scares me) Also read that it has to be the retail version (black disc) as opposed to the one that comes with the computer (grey disc) Anyone here have one for sale or rent?

Carolina Q

Pat, this help?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1338?viewlocale=en_US

Never mind... I just read the paragraph at the bottom of the page. Looks like you can't get there from here.

FlaPoolman

I've seen that but if you look at the bottom 10.4 is not a downloadable upgrade and will only work with the "retail" version of the disc. From what I've read upgrading to 10.4 is the only way to get flash 10 which is what photobucket and you tube are using now.
Thanks Michael

Carolina Q

Yeah, I misread your question. Other than ebay, I don't know where you can find the retail disk, but you have to be careful buying from unknowns.

Now... don't get so far behind!!!! That said, I'm still at Leopard. :laugh:

stike

where is tweev when we need him?

Carolina Q

I think he's helping steve. questions about a hot dog cook, I think. Or short ribs.

Pat... working on it, bud. You have email.

FlaPoolman

Buying from someone like him is what scares me

Hillbilly-Hightech

Hi,

Just curious - why wouldn't you just get the "latest & greatest" that is out there? It's only like $30...

FlaPoolman

It won't work unless you have intel which they put in the next year. 10.4 is the highest I can go on this machine.

CBBQ

Pat,
You can try ebay. I've bought disc there that were new, legal and could be registered. When the compaies move on they dump the outdated discs to buyers that sell them at places like ebay.

FlaPoolman

Thanks, I've seen them on ebay anywhere from $80 to $300 and being a computer dumba$$ I've been a little hesitant and thought I would try here. I heard when they went with intel apple bought back all the retail versions of the discs from the dealers.

Hillbilly-Hightech

If you're forced to pay $300 for an outdated Operating System, my advice to would be to just get a new machine. Even paying $80 is way too much for an OS that isn't even supported anymore...

For not much more than the $300 price, you can have a brand new machine with the latest OS, faster processor, more RAM, etc.

Not to sound combative - but sounds like you're just trying to put lipstick on a pig here. You're gonna end up putting more time, effort, and money into an outdated machine & an outdated OS than what it is worth.

RAM is incredibly cheap right now, and you can get a mid-level Intel "I" processor, which would still be light years beyond your machine in terms of speed, upgradability, and also, from the sounds of things, I'd bet you can increase your hard drive space immensely, perhaps 10-fold.

Take a look around at some flyers - not sure if you have a Fry's or a Costco type place around where you are, but oftentimes they have sales where you can get a decent brand new machine for like $400-600.

That would be the path I'd take, rather than pouring money into an outdated system... just my $0.02 :P

HTH,
Rob

FlaPoolman

Thanks Rob, I did price new Mac's today and may go that route but the only reason to upgrade was just to get flash 10. My current machine in 7 years has never froze up or needed to be rebooted but I'm limited without the Flash 10, Sucks because I have 70% free space and no other complaints or problems.

Hillbilly-Hightech

Pat,

Well, sounds like you've definitely gotten your $$'s worth out of that old machine!! Sounds like it's been a good workhorse for ya, but like most everything else in life, there comes a time where we must move on :P

Sort of like an old pair of shoes - they may still fit well, they may still be the most comfortable ones you have, but if they look like they came out of a 70's disco movie, ya may not wanna wear them out in public (especially to a nice restaurant with the missus)

Oh, and ya never said anything about getting a new Mac - yeah, $800 is not gonna get you even close to a new Mac... unless ya wanna get an Ipad

Macs can run Windows quite easily, but a little known fact is that, since Macs are Intel based now - a PC can run a Mac OS too!! However, it immediately voids the warranty of the Mac OS (and if I remember correctly, is illegal as per the End User License Agreement, or EULA). However, it CAN be done - there's even steps online how to do it - those PCs that have been converted to run Mac OS are called "Hackintosh's" :woohoo:

Though, doing it is NOT for the faint of heart, as it takes a high level of computer knowledge, and if you're saying you don't have such a level, I'd definitely NOT try it or else ya may end up w/ an expensive paper weight

FlaPoolman

I'm not getting rid of my old shoes :laugh: The newer mac will run $1200 and if I do get it I'll still keep this one and look for a disc for under $50. The flashplayer is the only problem and if I wasn't on the forum I probably never would have noticed,, well it does affect videos on FB but I don't go there much. I'll keep my eyes open and one will pop up sometime.

CBBQ

And rumor has it that Pat has in fact....................at LEAST once.....put lipstick on a pig. Just a rumor.

FlaPoolman

Well maybe but it'll never hold up in court :laugh: :laugh:

CBBQ

Lucky for you hearsay isn't admissible. LOL.

Carolina Q

Hillbilly-Hightech wrote:

Macs can run Windows quite easily

LOL. And he would want to do that because?? That's one of the reasons many of us BUY Macs... so we can stay as far away from Windows as possible! Yes, I have one and yes, I could install Windows. And I will... when pigs can fly. :laugh:

stike

maybe because there's comparatively less software written for the mac

i know that the software i use for my day-job won't run as fast on a mac

i have owned more macs than PCs in my life, but each has its place. ferraris are well designed, pretty, expensive, and have a subculture. but when you want to go get the groceries, you gotta sometimes use a real car :woohoo:

Hillbilly-Hightech

yes, Stike is correct. I've got a Macbook Pro that I looooove to death - but unfortunately now that I'm back in school, the CAD & 3D-Modeling classes I'm taking require software which isn't available on a Mac


Sooooo, I just got a copy of Windows XP & installed it onto my Macbook & use Bootcamp to boot up to either Windows or Mac OS.

It sucks, but that's all I can do if I want to run the software, aside from buying a Windows-based computer.... (NOOOOOOOOO)!!!! :P

FlaPoolman

What sucks is all this is just for flash 10 everything else is just fine

stike

i also run a boxx (windows7 x64) computer, which, although somewhat costly, out-computes anything available from apple. i might be able to customize a mac, but last time i looked, it was not possible to put together a computer with the same specs and performance, and certainly not for anything less than twice what i spent on my (then) top of the line boxx. just the way it is. and the ONLY thing i would gain for the extra expense is a less powerful computer and the MAC OS.

i like macs and apple, and they do many things that computers should do very well. they're very intuitive, for example. but they are overly proprietary, and convinced they know better than you do what you need or should be able to do. that said, it took til v2 for the iPhone to be able to cut and paste. all the cool stuff it could do, but cut and paste was not seen as anything important ( :huh: )

the whole flash issue is ridiculous and simply overlooked by the faithful. not supporting flash is the height of arrogance. i love their design sense, and that they lead all comers in product development, but apple's arrogance is illogical.

SkySaw

stike wrote:

i also run a boxx (windows7 x64) computer, which, although somewhat costly, out-computes anything available from apple.

This may have been the case at one time (although I doubt it), but it is certainly not true today. If you order a fairly basic 6, 8, or 12 core MacPro from Apple and buy the RAM, solid-state drive, and whatever else you want to upgrade elsewhere, your purchase price will be very close to a similarly equipped Windows box. What can out-compute a speced-out MacPro, and how? Once you count the value of your time putting the Windows box together, you may be ahead with the Mac. At the top of the market, a high-end Windows box and a high-end Mac are very close in price. Even at the lower end of the market, the quality of the components make up a substantial part of the price difference. I have a 5-yr old Macbook Pro that is still going strong.

Organization strategy is about making choices, about not being everything to everyone, and about doing different activities from your competitors. Apple is one of a few North American companies that actually has a discernable strategy, and it is obviously working. Part of their strategy involves dumping old technology that is slowing progress or that is not serving their strategic purpose. For some people it works just fine, for others it doesn't. It's not that Apple arrogantly knows better (or think they do), it's that they have a strategic direction, and are choosing to follow it. And the fact that a bunch of consumers identify with what Apple is doing and gain or perceive benefits from the products does not make people blind or stupid or religious zealots.


Mark

stike

quick check shows apple offers max (2) 2.93 Intel Xeons, a max memory of 32g, and a max of two 1g video cards.

without any extra drives or RAID, it's a $11k computer

at Boxx Technologies (not just a 'box'), the same configuration is $2k cheaper. and that configuration is on the low-end of what BOXX offers in their top of the line rig. 96G RAM anyone?

FWIW i didn't say that Apple fans were zealots or nuts. especially since i have actually owned more apple products than PC in my life.

but my work computer (by Boxx Technologies, with a ridiculous warranty ) can't be matched in price or spec by anything apple offers.

when i have had issues due to a W7 upgrade, the guy walked me through a bunch of non-warranty stuff, and sent me an optical drive next-morning-air delivery when i said it wasn't working right. told me not to bother sending the old one.

apple is great. they just can't offer me product that does what i need it to do in my day job

SkySaw

Buying a high end Mac involves more than going to the Apple store and clicking on the most expensive option for everything. If Boxx Technologies had an online store, I'm sure I could outfit a $12,000 idiot box by doing the same thing.

The fastest chip for the Macpro is the 6 core at 3.33ghz, not 2.93.

Apple charges too much for Ram - so many buyers get the base ram on their machine from Apple and then buy from a third party. OWC claims that the recent Macpros can take 64gb of ram, not 32.

You can also get two 1.5gb video cards from OWC for a Macpro, so it's not limited to 1gb.

I guess it's possible that your needs are so highly specialized that it is not possible to outfit a Macpro to do what your software requires, but it seems highly unlikely. I bet that a tech nerd like the kind of guy who works at Boxx could spec a Mac that would be able to do whatever your Boxx box does.

SkySaw

stike wrote:

FWIW i didn't say that Apple fans were zealots or nuts. especially since i have actually owned more
apple products than PC in my life.

I thought that you were referring to Apple customers as 'the faithful' here, and just began to generalize about the stuff I read about Apple customers everywhere now:

stike wrote:

the whole flash issue is ridiculous and simply overlooked by the faithful.

There is a lot of thoughtless BS out there that Apple's success is founded on mysticism and marketing wizardry. And yet this thread is originally about Pat's desire to keep using his 7yr-old Mac. The last pc I had became practically useless after 2 years.

stike

Boxx has an online configuration guide.
all i did was configure what apple was calling their pro machine at it's top prformance specs. if they have other stuff available, they opught to actually mention that to those who go there looking to buy it and looking to configure a high end machine.

if they can add stuff that's not normally available, or do a custom rig, that doesn't disprove my point. actually, helps prove it.

i'm saying that dollar for dollar, equal specs, equal performance, apples are more expensive. that has never NOT been the case.

added style, and the OS are what people are paying the extra for.

i'm not trying to get into a pissing contest, i'm just saying i would buy an apple tomorrow if they had one that could do what my computer does, for the SAME PRICE.

they do not

SkySaw

If you really are interested in looking at a Mac Pro, then you could consider researching the idea a bit more (not intended as a snarky comment). I think your price assumptions are out-dated (again, not intended to be snarky).

Buying a machine with the following specs at Boxx costs $12,965:
2 x 6-core chips at 3.33Ghz
48Gb RAM
1GB video card
256 GB solid-state drive
1TB hard-drive

The following machine bought at the Apple store, using the 12-core option and adding only the 1GB video card, and then upgrading it at OWC (who fully warranty their upgrades) costs $11,000.
2 x 6-core chips at 3.33Ghz (upgraded at OWC)
64GB RAM
1GB video card
240 GB solid-state drive
1TB hard-drive

You can see there are very slight differences between these machines, and the Apple costs $2,000 LESS. I don't know what specific needs someone who does a lot of 3D rendering, etc. like you might have, but I do know that there are lots of Mac Pro owners who also do lots of 3D rendering and complex photo layering and video work, so these machines are capable of doing these types of tasks.

Mark