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s37shamus · Oct 1, 2006, 08:52 PM

I have been researching my first mac purchase and to my suprise I think I have found an affordable solution to a small problem. I have 3 children. 4, 3, and 2 years old and It is almost impossible to get anything done on the computer while they are awake.

There are a ton of old g3 imacs for sale on the internet. I know nothing about them, I am looking for 2 of them that are capable of running young childrens game software and the online games at places like nickjr.com. could i get by with 450mhz models or less or should i go higher. any advise would be welcomed

thanks

shamus

gooser · Oct 2, 2006, 12:01 AM

Originally Posted by s37shamus

I have been researching my first mac purchase and to my suprise I think I have found an affordable solution to a small problem. I have 3 children. 4, 3, and 2 years old and It is almost impossible to get anything done on the computer while they are awake.

There are a ton of old g3 imacs for sale on the internet. I know nothing about them, I am looking for 2 of them that are capable of running young childrens game software and the online games at places like nickjr.com. could i get by with 450mhz models or less or should i go higher. any advise would be welcomed

thanks

shamus

well they're definately cheap, plentiful AND rugged enough for small children. i have no idea how suitable they would be for your needs. games generally run better on faster machines. why do children this age need to be on a computer? i'm sorry, none of my business.

s37shamus · Oct 2, 2006, 12:21 AM

Hey I put it out there and actually expected a question like that. so no harm in asking, I appreciate the reply.
Well my 4 year old is the only one who can actually use it, and by that I mean click on a thomas the tank engine icon and play an educational game. he needs help with it a lot but i dont mind him trying. and the 3 year old just likes to push buttons and have whatever the four year old has. so since they are that cheap and I have the room in my office i dont see a problem with them spending a half hour or so on a computer when I'm with them and they can't be outside.

by the way i'm not talking high tech games, I mean games that use a mouse, the arrow keys and the space bar. I just don't want to get something that won't run anything like that.

thanks
shamus

gooser · Oct 2, 2006, 01:18 AM

ain't thomas cool? at least you didn't mention barney. maybe some real toddler owners will reply.

ChasingApple · Oct 2, 2006, 01:23 AM

My daughter also loves playing on the computer. She plays all her disney games on my 17" iMac G4. One of the older iMacs would be more rugged for sure

sigamy · Oct 2, 2006, 11:03 AM

The iMac G3 is probably the perfect machine for a toddler. These Macs are durable, and they run OS 9 and OS X pretty well.

I would suggest moving up to a model with a DVD-ROM drive. That way, it can double as a TV/DVD player. I know we don't want our kids just vegging in front of the computer/TV but there are times when the ease of just popping in a game or movie for them is really a big help.

Upgrade the RAM to 512MB and maybe stick with Panther (10.3). Make sure that it has OS 9 (Classic) installed and working because most EDU games run in OS 9.

Good luck and have fun.

Dave B · 04:38 PM

Oops...

Dave B · Oct 2, 2006, 04:34 PM

You should try for a iMac DV as a minimum, since they have the DVD-ROM, and also firewire.
You can get away with as little as 64 MB RAM for OS 9, or 256 MB for OS X (recommend at least
Panther, as it is much, much faster than earlier versions of OS X). If you like taking things
apart, a 7500 RPM drive will give a nice speed boost, and you will have lots of room for music, ect.
Running OS X on a 10 GB drive is cutting things pretty thin; OS X seems to like 10 GB free for virtual memory.

Check Craigslist for deals on old iMacs. I see iMac DVs all the time for less than $100,
and many of them have added RAM.