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Linux out, Mac in, advice wanted

I’ve grown weary of reinstalling Windows 2000 on my father-in-law’s computer, so I reformatted and installed Mandrake 9.2.

I’ve had problems before using Linux as a desktop system (starting around July 10 here), but this time I figured it would work. After all, my problems in the past had to do with trying to get the desktop up to Windows’ level of application functionality, but my father-in-law uses his computer only for browsing. So, with just one application to worry about, Linux should provide the stability at which Windows curls its painted lip.

Mandrake 9.2 installed like a dream. It really couldn’t be much easier. It detected all the hardware, even the sound card and printer. Mandrake has done a fabulous job with this.

But once you’re up and browsing, you notice little things. For example, Mozilla needs the Flash plugin loaded. That’s reasonable. And the installation process is pretty straightforward. Except that two hours later, it still wasn’t working. The Flash files are installed in the (seemingly) right directory. But still every time Mozilla comes to a page with Flash on it, it pops up a notice that Flash needs to be installed. This is exactly the sort of unexpected error message that puts my father on the hot line to sys admin (= me).

After installing Flash, before launching Mozilla has started asking the user to select a profile. I could set this to “Don’t ask again,” but Mozilla (latest version, by the way) doesn’t record the new profile I created 8-10 times last night. (I believed I screwed this up by initially telling Flash to install itself only for one user rather than system wide.)

I spent about three hours last night trying to get the system to be able to play any form of video file. No luck. Too hard for the likes of me.

So, putting Linux on my father-in-law’s machine seemed like a really good idea. After all, he’s already a Linux user because he has Tivo. But I think it’s going to generate as many support calls as Windows.

(Oh, and did I mention that I’ve already had to reinstall Mandrake because a set of options mysteriously vanished from the KDE desktop and I couldn’t figure out how to get them back?)

So, yes, he should get a Mac. Given his needs — browsing via a broadband connection — what is the best bargain (new or used) for him? And is there any way he can keep using the 15″ flat screen he currently has instead of buying a new one? (Have I mentioned that price matters?)

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18 Responses to “Linux out, Mac in, advice wanted”

  1. For cheap, his best bet is an eMac; they start @ $799. Unfortunately, his 15″ lcd wouln’t be much use there since the eMac has a built-in CRT.

    If he really wants to use his 15″ flat screen, the cheapest Mac without a built-in display is the 1.6 GHz G5 at $1799.

  2. I’m just a (happy) mac newbie but I think you should look for an used Powermac G4. Now that the G5 is out there should be a good availability of them on the secondhand market and they’re known to be affordable and durable machines. And you’ll save the 15 lcd.

  3. You probably want to consider a PowerMac G4 400MHz. Smalldog Electronics has a couple of them, as does MacResQ

    If you go this route, you’ll be able to use your father’s LCD monitor, assuming it’s not a digital interface (most of the inexpensive ones are not). The G4 (Gigabit ethernet vintage) shipped with an ATI Rage 128 video card with a VGA connector in addition to an Apple ADC connector. It only has 16MB of VRAM, so it won’t support Quartz Extreme, but that’s not a really big deal for web browsing.

    If your father’s computer used a USB keyboard and mouse, those could be used on the Mac, and his HD could be installed as well.

    You will definitely want to (probably have to, I don’t know if these ship with OSs) buy Panther and at least 512MB of RAM. A 400MHz G4 will work just fine for browsing the web and most other day-to-day tasks.

    By the time you add shipping, Panther and RAM, I’m going to guess you’re in the $700.00 range.

    Because most of my family uses Macs, I bought my parents an eMac to replace their iMac and an iSight camera so they could use iChat AV. You probably have to experience using iChat AV yourself to appreciate what a tremendous boon it is. I talk to my parents more now than I have at any time since I left home. Two of my brothers are also Mac users, and one of them provides tech support to my parents by way of Apple Remote Desktop. They’re near Syracuse and he’s in the Hudson Valley, but he’s able to log onto their machine and install software updates, and help them figure out what’s going on on the rare occasion when they’re having problems.

    An eMac is slightly more expensive at $800.00 for for the lowest end model, but you would gain a 1GHz G4, faster bus, bigger HD (but you couldn’t use your fathers unless perhaps you cared to put it into a Firewire enclosure), Panther pre-installed, AppleWorks (decent word processing, spreadsheet, database and graphics), and a Combo-drive so your father could burn CDs or watch DVDs if he cared to.

    The eMac has an external VGA connector that you could connect your father’s LCD monitor. Out of the box, the eMac only supports video-mirroring, you see the same thing on both screens. But there’s a firmware hack, if you’re feeling adventuresome, that will allow you to do monitor-spanning and so your father would have two displays to work with.

    The eMac also ships with a 32MB video card, so you’ll be able to take advantage of Quartz Extreme, although that’s not that big a deal for your father.

    Apple usually offers free shipping, but you have to pay sales tax. Amazon may offer free shipping, you’ll have to check, and they typically don’t charge sales tax. Amazon may be the best deal, but when I bought mine for my parents they specifically denied free shipping. That may have changed.

    The eMac originally had some video problems. My parents’ is the series just previous to this latest one, and they’ve used it daily for more than six months now with no problems. I’m comfortable Apple resolved whatever that design issue was.

    If it were me, I’d spring for the eMac because my time is worth money too, and I’d spend the least amount of time getting a decent system for a reasonable price by buying an eMac from either Apple or Amazon.

  4. Forgot to mention, you’ll still need to buy 512MB of RAM for the eMac. Apple usually charges a premium, I’d buy RAM from a vendor like DMS or Crucial.

  5. Okay, last post. I just checked the specs page for the eMac, and the VGA connector is the “mini” which is probably what’s used on the iBooks. It says the adapter is “optional,” so that’s an additional expense if you wanted to try the monitor-spanning hack. It’s $19.00 in the “Accessories” section down below the batteries. Probably not something you need to worry about right away.

  6. David,
    I’d also like to suggest a used G4 400 or 450. With 512 MB, this is an excellent machine for your father.
    Also, a Mac will probably not reduce your sysadmin calls, but it will change them: my 63 year old mom uses Macs for about 10 Years now (after I’ve had it with her PC…), and she always manages to come up with new things she’d like to do and have them explained. But at least the fixing is a thing of the past. She now has a G4 Powerbook, Airport, a Postscript Laser Printer and other geeky stuff – go figure ;)

  7. David,

    A quick look on ebay shows that recent model G4s haven’t lost that much in value, so if you go used, do go with the 400Mhz version or something else that’s depreciated a bit more.

    Also, though the G5 is the new hot thing, Apple does in fact still sell G4s – they start at $1300 though.

  8. David,

    Check out refurbished offerings from Small Dog.

    http://www.smalldog.com

    Jock

  9. Let me second (third?) Dave and Jock’s recommendations of Small Dog — they’re real human beings with real voices, just as though they had read your books. They’re reliable, candid, and helpful. They’re in NH. And they’d probably be pleased to have you as a customer (though they can’t sell you a new machine online; they can over-the-counter).

  10. I’m boggled. Your fatherinlaw seems to be able to muck up 2 OSsystems? Just browsing? What gives?

    I have win2000 installed on a desktop and 3 notebooks, and have nevr had to reinstall it it.

    My wife — knows naught about computers — has win98 running on a cheapo whitebox computer, and she uses it for mostly browsing and email and I’ve never had to reinstall it.

    Maybe you might spend some time with yr fatherinlaw and find out what he’s doing to crash systems. What makes you think an Mac is going to be immune from his blunders?

    (Most likely he’s downloading or installing stuff he’s shouldn’t. Or opening every email that comes his way.)

  11. My father in law is the least adventurous browser you’ve met. He does nothing that requires typing except replying to emails. He installs no software.

    If you’ve never had to reinstall Win2000, I suspect you are in a group way at the edge of the bell curve. Congratulations.

    I had to reinstall Linux before my father-in-law ever got his hands on it. KDE and GNOME are, in my experience, highly unstable, difficult to administer desktops.

  12. Just a note to reinforce the general idea about getting a G4:

    Disdainful of many Mac users’ apparent religious fervour, I stuck with Wintel machines for many years – I fancied Linux desktops but felt secure in my (entirely useless, non-transferrable) “keeping Wintel machines alive” skills.

    But after Panther, there was really no going back. It’s the first thing I have seen that remotes deserves the name OS.

    I am convinced this would give you the best enjoyment/support calls ratio via a vis your father-in-law.

  13. Hey, speaking of linux on the desktop, what are your thoughts on efforts like this:

    http://linux.dell.com/blog

  14. If you want to forgo the Mac here is a suggestion. Install win98se, then run 98lite from http://www.litepc.com/. It allows you to replace explorer with a stable one, and then remove IE, and the rest of the junk. Then install ultimate boot disk and tweaks from http://www.startdisk.com/ in which provide easy recoveries and reinstalls without reformat. Then install irfanview and plugins from http://www.irfanview.com/ to handle most of the audio visual file. Then use mozilla or netscape( my choice) as the browser and email client. This should give both of you what you want. Then your choice of antivirus and firewall. I am currently configuring netscape on Mandrake and it is not fun. Most of netscapes/mozilla’s instructions are wrong and some searching on the web to get the right way to get the browser to except the plugins. Also I found that sun java releases a lesser version for linux and there are problems with some sites. Linux isn’t for everyone, but niether is XP, it took me forever to convince XP pro to automatically dial-up when netscape was turned on. Of course I was surprised that M$ allowed a foreign browser to be installed in the first place.

  15. I’d second the eMac suggestion, though an iBook may be a sensible option – I believe the new ones support an external screen as an extra.
    Any way he can qualify for the educational discount?

  16. Pick up a used PowerMac G4 on eBay (500MHz+ would be an honest starting point for Panther). These should all be able to use your Father-in-Law’s keyboard, mouse and monitor (and perhaps even his hard drive). Buy a copy of Panther, and you should be all set.

    If you want fewer support calls, remove everything but Mail and Safari from his Dock.

    You should be able to pick all of this up for around $400. Best of luck.

  17. Have you fixed it yet?

    http://www.hdtv-info.org

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