Nevin's Profile

Personally I am looking at using them for a number of things beyond home use, these would work great for everything from DNS servers (which generally are run on less expensive hardware anyway as DNS is redundant by nature), to small office file server as it can be locked away in a much smaller place, or locked down on the "office IT guys" desk and a KVM switch would allow him to switch to it, but not eat up a ton of space with a single processor G5 tower that is probably way over powered for most small office file serving needs. Heck I know people that have been using things like eMacs for in office web servers. Combine two of the 1.42 systems as a web + database server combo and you have a powerful but small little web application server setup for under the price of an iMac. Have even talked to someone that is looking at this for a limited time frame webcam setup, much easier to setup a Mac mini + iSight to point out a window, than trying to get an iMac or G4/G5 tower in the same location. This has not even scratched the surface of the thoughts/ideas coming to mind to use these for. People that discount the G4 as being underpowered compared to the G5 don't understand the needs of things like servers, compared to "general computer use". Heck I am considered by just about everyone that knows me to be a "power user" and my primary system is a Powerbook 12" at 867mzh w/640megs of ram, it goes with me just about everywhere, and until I upgraded to this system at the time of its release at this speed I was using a Powerbook 15" at 400mhz I ordered after seeing them revealed at Macworld back then :). So a G4 at 1.25 or 1.42 is going to cover 95%+ of the users needs out there, beyond power photoshop users (and even then the speed is not the limiting factor, but the 1gig of ram) and game players, I can't think of anything that would over power a 1.25 or 1.42. Heck there are IT shops with single 1.33ghz G4 Xserve's out there! ;) I see a huge beginning for these little guys.

I have been to the Glendale, CA store and the store in the Mall of America. Even though I know I can buy from a variety of places and of course have over the years, I found the experience in both stores great. I frequent the Mall of America store more then I probably should and in the past month I have been there 3 times (its a 70 mile one way trip) and I have left with an 12" Powerbook, a 15gig iPod and the last trip I left with an Airport Extreme base station, and AP Extreme card for the 12" Powerbook and a normal Airport card for my aging Powerbook G4/400, and an iSight after our business partner ordered via the online store a Dual G5/2ghz system, 23" Cinema Display, an iSight, and a few other things... the display and iSight have already arrived and he insisted that I get the iSight... at any rate, busy store, everytime I am in there people are leaving with purchases, generally a great share of them are big purchases (big, ie: systems + extras like iPods, and of course general one off sales of an iPod or other items..) Staff is always fast... I stop playing and look around and have staff ask if I need help... let them know I needed a 15gig iPod and a 12" Powerbook and they were back at the register with both in less then 3 minutes while other people were being checked out. I have stayed just to eavesdrop on conversations with employees and people in the store looking to buy/ask questions, and have been impressed... I have yet to have a bad experience... even took a dead Powerbook G4 power cord (transformer) in to the store, a new employee first told me i would have to do a normal service ticket, and another employee quickly spoke up and they just exchanged my dead one for a replacement off the floor in (the ones you would buy as an "extra" power supply) I was in and out in of the exchange process in under 10 minutes, while the store was packed on a busy weekend. Not bad at all.