Okay...I need answers for a non techy type person who is barely computer literate. I mean I know how to turn it on and get on the net and do some basic stuff but the technical jargon and "special" stuff is not interesting enough for me to invest time in.

Owned several PC's - you know the story. After looking at forums like this, visiting a CompUSA store, and buying a few books, I think I'm ready to leave PC's for good and go with a one source computer. So help me out with some advice. We need a computer for fun/educational stuff for the kids, Word processing for my wife and myself, and net surfing for me.

1) 350 or DV 400 or DV 400 SE

Is'nt the DVD a souped up CDROM? By this I mean better quality video and speed. We can't keep four VCR's on the right time here so the question is what else would we do with this thing other than watch BugLife and DVD's for the kids from Blockbuster. With three kids under 12 I don't expect to be producing movies around here. Would I be better off getting the 350 with upgraded RAM for games both on and off the net?

2) How do you go about getting and installing additional RAM on a 350 iMac? Is this something I can do? Remember if it doesn't eat gas and I can't use wrenches I can screw it up. Our neighborhood just got access to the new upgraded DSL (msp?) and one advice giver said I might need more than 32 RAM for some games and to take advantage of this quicker speed.

3) Tell me about the Virtual PC thing. I have tons of old software on CD's for the kids that I would like to keep using...Toy Story, math/spell stuff etc. Is this as easy as they make it sound?

4) What do the firewire ports do? Is this only for the movie stuff or is this necessary for digital camera use. We might get one of these down the road.

Thanks in advance for your help and don't make me look too dumb with your answers, I do well enough at that on my own.

Thanks again

[slboett]

OK. Here's the deal - how much can you afford or do you want to spend?
The iMac 350 has a CD-ROM and as such only plays CD's (music and data).
The iMac DV or DV SE has a DVD drive which plays CDs like the above and DVD movies! It's very cool, I must say.
The DV series also has FireWire - a high-speed interface that is set to share if not replace SCSI as the transfer protocol of choice for data on Macs (and maybe PCs). You can connect DV movie cameras, digital still cameras, and now CD-R's, scanners, hard drives, etc.
It's similar to USB in that it is easy to connect and the system can be "hot" when devices are plugged in (or out).
The difference between the 350 and 400Mhz chips is small, but the advantages of the DV series is great (IMO). You get DVD, FireWire, more RAM (SE) and slightly faster processor, and larger hard drive. You can add up to 512MB for the DVs.
I just got a DV SE for Xmas and I must say I love it! I have not had any of the issues some are posting (DVD sync issues, sleep issues, etc.)
I use BW/400 G3s and G4/450s at work so I'm jaded. That shows how much I think of the DV SE.
If you can swing it, get the DV SE - it looks cool as all getout and performs very well. My 7 and 14 year-olds love it too! Great family computer.

Scott

[slider]

Hey there. Well I can't tell you anything about Virtual PC, don't have it. I understand you not wanting to throw out your old PC software and I hope someone can answer that question for you. The DV model comes with 64MB of ram, this would probably be enough for you as the 10GB hard drive. If you can use Windoze this should be an easy transition for you, very easy and simple interface. Oh, I would also not get anything less that the DV, because although you may not have a lot of interest in computers you kids might just get into it. Firewire allows you to add more than a digital camera, you can add another hard drive it you find that you need more room down the road. Plus companies are coming out with new stuff all the time, Epson for example is suppose to be coming out with a firewire printer. Enjoy.

[billybob]

The bottom of the line imac (350) and the middle one both come with 64 megs of ram, which should be enough for you. It doesnt sound like youre going to be doing any ram-intensive stuff. Plus Apple has made it much much easier to upgrade ram in the new imacs. You shouldn't have a problem if you plan to upgrade in the future. The middle one also comes with a 10gig harddrive. By the middle one, I mean the iMac DV. I have the DV Special Edition, which is much cooler than the DV cuz it has a 13gig drive and 128 megs of ram, which I shouldn't have to upgrade from for a long time. It also comes in the cool graphite see-through color.

Virtual PC is a really good program, but not the fastest. However, if you're going to be using it for "older" programs, it should work fine.

THere's a 500 dollar difference between the "worst" imac and the "best." I opted for the best just because it has a little more of everything. But I would just get the "worst" one, the 350, if I were you, unless you're well off and 500 dollars doesn't make much of a difference to you. They're all great computers.

bmc,

I was in your position a few months ago and opted for the 350Mhz iMac for home use for probably pretty similar to your variety of applications, and also have kids who use it; a few reflections as follows, take them for what they're worth:

1. Don't skimp on RAM. 128MB is minimum for running OS9 effectively. The OS alone is currently hogging 61MB on my unit running only a 75Kb screensaver, IE 4.5, and a modest number of fonts and extensions.

2. I have no use for DVD on a computer at this time. I'll watch movies on my unit connected to my TV.

3. Though firewire connectivity someday will be the standard, peripherals are, IMHO, currently too expensive and limited in available choices.

4. Consider getting a USB hub.

5. I have problems using my USB 100MB Zip drive to its full extent due to some frustrating problems with Iomega Tools and OS9.

6. The internal iMac modem has less-than-stellar performance. I'm envious of your DSL availability, and would gear up for that kind of connection if I could.

7. Many adults have problems with the hockey puck mouse but it's just the right size for kids.

Disclosure: Obviously I'm not a power user and many on this board will have differences with these comments depending on their intended use patterns. All in all, the 350 is easy to use and reasonably priced. I'm happy.

It is a vast improvement over my old Quadra 650 that I have been kicking along with only a Daystar 601PPC card upgrade since 1993.

Regards,

MK


350Mhz, 128MB RAM, Iomega 100USB, VST floppy, Keyspan serial port adapter, Virtual Memory off

[rich82fox]

for just a bit more money you get a lot more from the iMac DV.

I've been researching for about a year now into converting from PC to an iMac.

And the iMac DV is a very good choice.

good luck

[slider]

61MB of ram for your OS, that just ain't right. Do you have your virtual memory turned on?

Anyways, an after thought after reading some of these post, for an external drive I would consider the Imation Superdisk. I have both that and the Iomaga Zip, and although the Superdisk (SD) seems to take a little longer to transfer files I have found that it is much easier to use and have never had any problems with it unlike the Zip. Plus you're going to need a floppy disk drive if any of that old software is on a 3 1/2. The SD reads both 1.44MB and 120MB disks.

[tadd]

As you read these paragraphs keep looking at this line: This is Tadd's 2 cents. This is Tadd's 2 cents. This is Tadd's 2 cents.

Now.

I'd go for the iMac Blueberry 350Mhz and not the higher end models.

The reasons for this are:

Playing DVDs on the Mac is neet and cool but not all that useful. Most people have a TV set that is bigger than 14". A DVD player costs under $200 and plugs into a real TV. The DVD drive on the iMac DV is not any better than the CDROM for anything EXCEPT DVDs. It won't help you in any noticable way for dealing with CDs.

Hard disk: The hard disk space on the Blueberry model is plenty big.

RAM:
Even on the DV version you'll want to upgrade the memory so that's no great advantage. Upgrading the RAM is something you could get talked through on the telephone or with excellent pictures and a step by step. Even my mother could do it if she were still alive. There are local user groups too and one of them will do it if you bring your iMac and new RAM chip (buy it from www.crucial.com, painless and reasonably priced) to a meeting. I recommend getting a 128M RAM chip for $180 or so or a 64M RAM chip for $90 or so.

Firewire is useful for adding peripherals that cost a significant fraction of the cost of the iMac. Personally I'd skip on the firewire and wait. If you have an overwhelming need to spend $800 on something that HAS to have firewire, you'll probably be buying a 2nd Macintosh first anyway. So, be cheap at this time. USB will do for anything that isn't video speeds.

As far as MSWindows running on the iMac. I don't personally think that this is all so easy compared to running Mac programs on the iMac. It's probably easier than SOME of the things you do on the MSWindows machine. For instance, restoring the MSWindows operating system after it gets corrupted (often times people bring their MSWindows machines to the dealer for that). On the Mac such operations can be talked through over the phone the first time and done by oneself thereafter.
I'd keep ahold of your MSWindows machine and use it for the old software. Don't spend any MORE money on it but keep it around.

USB and hubs. I don't think that Hubs are all that useful. It's just so easy to plug in and unplug the accessory one is using. I have a Kodak digital camera, a joystick, a memory card reader, and a CDROM recorder, as well as the iMac keyboard and mouse. I never leave the Kodak plugged in of course. The memory card reader doesn't come out until I need to transfer stuff from the card. The CDROM recorder stays secured in it's nice carrying case it came with. The joystick plugs into one of the iMac keyboard's extra ports and the mouse plugs into the other. That leaves an empty port on the iMac itself. No problem.

What I'm saying is that you can go off and spend $1000 on the computer, maybe another $100 on memory, and feel pretty comfortable with your purchase. Keep the MSWindows machine around until it breaks or until you get enough stuff on the Mac to not bother with MSWindows any more.

If you HAVE to have one in pink or green or whatever, THEN spend the extra $300. haha.

Have a great time with it and welcome home!


------------------
Tadd Torborg

[Misha]

Definately go with the iMac 350 and add either 64 or 128 MB of RAM (an extra $75-$150 or so). Installation is a piece of cake... one giant screw on the back of the iMac that your turn with a quarter, and all you have to do is pop it in there. You won't have a problem.

As far as Virtual PC goes, it's a Windows emulator that lets you run Windows on top of the Mac OS. It doesn't run it as fast as the Mac OS, of course, but with an iMac 350 and 128 or 196 total MB of RAM, you should be able to get performance on par with a Pentium 150 or 166 which should be more than adequate to run your children's software.

You'll also probably want a printer. Go with the Epson 740 for $100-$150 after rebate. You'll love it.

Otherwise you should be set... all told, you're looking at maybe $1200-$1350 for the above set up which will more than suit your needs.

One more thing... get DSL. You'll love the speed and won't regret the cost (probably about $50/month).

[Misha]

Btw, don't buy the RAM from Apple; they mark it up significantly. Instead, search for the lowest price at www.ramseeker.com. You're looking for PC100 SDRAM.

[seventray]

I agree with most here. I recently (at Christmas) switched over from Wintel to an iMac DV SE. I feel that you would be quite satisfied, rather ecstatic, with an iMac 350. My suggestions are quite similar to all those above, just kind of a mix and match. I would defenitely increase RAM, but only up it 64 megs. That suggestion reflects the assumption that the games you referred to did not include Quake and Unreal. If so, pick up the 128 megs.

Buy the Epson 740i as a printer. Best printer I have owned and you can now get them for $99 with a rebate.

If you don't need to carry files all over the place, forget the Zip and SuperDisk. You will rarely use them anyway.

Finally keep the windows machine until you find better programs for the iMac that your children enjoy.

These are merely my suggestions based on what type user you described yourself as. The DSL - I don't even want to talk about that since I'm still only connected at 48,0000. I'm just jealous. Good luck and it will be the best $1200 total you have ever spent.

I will also suggest a 350 iMac with at least 128MB of RAM. That is, if you are planning to upgrade it after 2 years or so. RAM for iMacs go for about $100 for a 64MB chip, $170 for a 128MB chip and $330 for a 256MB chip. Installation is a breeze, don't worry. Go to www. ramjet.com for the best prices.
The Epson 740i is a really good choice for about $150, probably a bit less. There are several other printers from Epson and HP for less than $200. Look for one with USB.
Get a USB hub if you are planning to connect more than two other devices at the same time, besides the keyboard and the mouse.
I can't tell about VirtualPC but have been using Softwindows - a similar program- for about three years. I think is faster -10% or so- than VirtualPC. It's OK for running even Office, Internet, etc., but not for CPU-intensive programs and games like Half-life or Quake3. You'll need to have 128MB at least to run it properly. Buy VirtualPC since it gets more updates than Softwindows and the company behind it is very serious about development on the mac.
I must admit that I consider myself a power user and have a PBG3 233, a PB5300cs, a iMacDV and a G4/450, and planning on buying a RevA imac, the original bondi imac.
I agree with almost everything said by Tadd and Misha.
make the switch. You'll never regret it or your money back!!

[lehman]

i say for you go for the imac dv. That way you hard drive would be big enough to format for both Mac and Windows. Plus you might get surprised if you ever start using iMovie. It has got to be one of the best pieces of software ever bundled on a computer.

Either iMac or iMac DV, I would upgrade the RAM to at least 128

[lehman]

i say for you go for the imac dv. That way you hard drive would be big enough to format for both Mac and Windows. Plus you might get surprised if you ever start using iMovie. It has got to be one of the best pieces of software ever bundled on a computer.

Either iMac or iMac DV, I would upgrade the RAM to at least 128