LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: NewerTech miniStack FireWire/USB 2.0 HD & Hub Up to 1.0TB of Performance Storage + FW/USB2 Powered Hubs - convenient & sleek 6.5" x 6.5" x 1.5" Featured: 500GB $169.99; 750GB $209.99; 1.0TB $339.99
My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted
articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things
Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your
submission to Dan Knight
.
I thought you might like to hear about my experience in trying to
purchase a bargain Mac.
This week I went to a liquidation auction in deepest Dorset (UK)
in order to purchase one of three G4 Mac's going in the auction. Two
of the three G4s were 450 MHz machines with 128 MB memory, internal
Zip drives, and a basic 15" beige monitor. The other was a 400 MHz,
64 MB machine with a basic monitor.
I got to the auction early to see how auctions work and to see how
much the multitude of PC' also at the auction were selling. Since
there were so many PCs being sold, I thought no-one would be
interested in purchasing the Macs, so I would get some ridiculously
cheap bargains! (Here in Dorset, Macs are not very popular computers
with local schools and businesses all standardized on PCs).
The auction started and some no-name PCs running at 233 MHz
selling for around £70-80. This was encouraging! Next came two
Dell dual-processor 533 MHz servers; these looked like big machines
but only sold for £375 apiece. Next up were some Compaq 450 MHz
PCs with loads of RAM and disk space and 17" monitors; these were
difficult to sell, with the best attaining £240 (the auctioneer
started bids at £200 and refused to take bids for anything
less). Then some Dell computers running at 600 MHz came up; these
were the best specified machines at the auction, but these too
reached only £275!
Finally the G4s came up for bidding. Based on the PC prices and
the general ignorance of Macs in Dorset, I had visions of buying all
three G4s really cheap, perhaps as little as £250 apiece! After
a dry description from the auctioneer, he suggested the starting bid
should be £500! There were loud gasps around the room. No-one
could believe the starting bid; whispers and disbelief abounded. How
could he suggest such a price for one of those Mac things?
Suddenly, someone accepted the bid and the price took off! 520,
540, 580, 600, 650, 680, 700. The final price was around £750 (I
did not hear the final bid, since there was so much chatter and
disbelief by the PC users around me). If you add the 10% auctioneers
payment and the 17% VAT, these were far from the bargains I had hoped
for.
The other two G4s went the same way, and I left empty handed.
Still, it was great to see the PC users learn the lesson that a
secondhand Mac is worth a lot more than a secondhand PC (especially
from the likes of Dell and Compaq).
The moral of the story?
If your company goes into receivership and you need to clear your
debts, make sure you have Macs to sell instead of PCs!
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
Recent My Turn articles
Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18.
When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
'That's Not a Computer', 07.30.
Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28.
The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
Mac of the Day: Motorola StarMax 5000, May 1997 - This second-generation Mac clone offered 603e, 604e processors.
List of the Day: The iPod List The iPod List is a forum to discuss the iPod, it's accessories, the iTunes Store, iTunes, and related topics.
October 13 in LEM history: 98: Evidence that Macs last longer - 99: A Mac is like Prozac - From home computers to a real computer - 00: Tradeoffs for OS X beta - 03: iBook failures - 05: The 2005 iMac G5 value equation - Email on your iPod - OS X on 4 dual-core CPUs - 06: The legendary Apple Extended Keyboard - Stinky old iBook smells like sweat - Apple's climb back to success
Best Mac Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,799; new, $1,949 after rebate; 2.8 4-core, $2,099 shipped; 8-core, $2,599 shipped; 3.0 $3,399 shipped; 3.2, $4,099 shipped.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Used 14" WallStreet G3/266 MHz, $90; Lombard G3/400 MHz, $150; Pismo G3/400 MHz, $300; 500 MHz, $350.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Refurb 500 GB Time Capsule, $249; new, $294; refurb 1 TB, $419; new, $462; AirPort Extreme Card, $39; Base Station, $159; Express, $60.
Modding Your Old Mac to Make It More Useful, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 10.09.
If your old Mac is too slow, too noisy, too plain looking, or has too little room for expansion, you might want to mod it.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $269; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz, $390; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $529.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $995; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,400 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6, $2,299; rebates on new.
Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; upgrade bundle with 10.3, $118; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited, $400.
Migrating My Law Office from Windows to Macintosh, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.08.
By switching to Leopard Server, everyone in the office will be able to move to a Mac - but which ones will best meet their needs?
Low End Mac Needs Help Moving to Joomla, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.08.
We've settled on Joomla as the content management system that should work very well for Low End Mac, but we're running stuck with templates.
All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For
price quotes and advertising information, please contact
at BackBeat Media
(646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.
Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer
5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We
recommend Firefox
for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more
secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox
than any other browser.
OWC:
