Is this a "good" mac?

That sounds like a 2005/06 Mac. it’s acceptable, but only if you’re doing the basics. It’s going to be slow with video and things like that. you might want to up the RAM to at least a gig, preferably two if that model allows that.

what is your typical usage – email, document editing, surf the web?

thats what i use! i love it, getting a little outdated now, but mine still runs like a dream

email, web surfing, the usual, but I do work A LOT in photoshop, which is why I was worried.

Good Macs? LOL

If you do a lot of image editing, you might want something a little more modern.

Apple tends to be ruthless when it comes to shutting out their older hardware from software upgrades. Therefore, I wouldn’t go for a PPC mac if I were you. If you look at games, already many require you to be running Intel. Expect other software to follow soon.

@hiphiphopflipflapflop :: 10.6 is already Intel only.

The 15” G4 1.67 is a 2005 model. It can expand to a maximum of 2 Gb it is still current as far as Apple support goes, not vintage, it has dual display capability, a single expansion slot (type I or II) Firewire, built in Bluetooth, and it has the SuperDrive DVD R/W etc.

It cost US$1999.00 new and they seem to sell here (Australia) for around five hundred dollars with all accessories and software. That would be about $400 US.

They are not a bad system, about equivalent to a three GHz Pentium in performance. You can expand the RAM and drop any SATA drive into it.

I would not buy a non-Intel Mac. A lot of software already requires Intel, and the G4 is at least 3 major steps behind the current Intel Core 2 Duo machines. You can probably find a first generation Macbook or MacBook Pro for not a whole lot more and they’ll last you a lot longer.

Thank you everyone for your help, you’ve confirmed what I have been thinking myself, I think I will go with a new mac with a college discount.

Sounds like you’ve decided, but I also wanted to add that you won’t want this one if you do Photoshop, as the newest version of Photoshop won’t run on a G4— it requires G5 or Intel.

That sounds like my old G4 powerbook (except ihad the 12 inch)... i LOVED that thing and upgraded the ram… the only reason i traded up was for the isight camera and a larger screen size. Other than that i LOVED my G4. I am however glad to have traded up.. this MBP is like a dream right out of the box.

Old & slow. Won’t run much current software.

That is my exact computer…I bought in 2005 and it was awesome, but it’s getting slow. If your buying used, you could still get a could deal on the first gen macbook’s i’m sure. I wouldn’t go that far back and get a powerbook. I’m about ready to upgrade myself so let us know what you decide!