Out With the Old
I finally got rid of my 17" eMac.
She served me well for over 5 years, which is unbelievable for any computer. The disc drive finally started to go around mid December, so I decided it was finally time to upgrade. I had We Fix Macs put in a new superdrive and I gave it to a low income family from work so the eMac will still be in service.
I was going to get a 20" iMac from the store, but I found a Mac mini on craigslist for an incredibly low price. 1.83GHz Core Two Duo, 2GB RAM, etc, ready to go. I figured that with the low price of the computer itself, I could just buy a decent LCD monitor and get basically the same performance as an iMac for hundreds and hundreds of dollars cheaper.
I did a bit of research and found that the Acer P221WD was probably the best bang for my buck. I wanted something bigger than a 20", with decent enough stats and that had a nice appearance. The Acer fit the bill, and came in at only $150 from TigerDirect.
I also decided to upgrade the old desk. Don't get me wrong, I loved my desk, but the years haven't been kind to it and my chair didn't really fit in it. I thought about getting something that would match my newly redesigned living room, but a friend of mine explained to me that it's possible to have different looks in different rooms. I decided to keep my room looking clean and contemporary, so I went with the Loop Desk from Crate and Barrel. But the thing was going to take two weeks to get in, and the monitor arrived in only a few days.
So I set it up on my Roland electric piano:
And I have to admit it looked really cool. I have a ton of sheet music as pdfs on my computer, and practicing was a breeze when I just had to hit the down arrow to get to the next page. I cued up Mozart's Piano Concerto No 10 in Eb (K 365) and it was a breeze. Of course, there really wasn't room for anything else and the mousepad kept slipping off. Still, I might move my monitor back when I need to practice from time to time. It felt like a very modern way to play some very old pieces.
Finally the desk arrived, and I found out the hard way that the Loop Desk doesn't fit squarely in the back of a 2001 Jetta. Cest la vi. It was surprisingly simple to construct, but even more surprising it was very sturdy. I can stand on this thing, and I'm 175 lbs in my shorts. The desk has a massive drawer that pulls out revealing an area that one can keep peripherals, power strips, and even the mouse and keyboard on. All-in-all, I'm very happy with the set up.
This should hold me over until the next version of the Mac mini comes out some time this year, when they'll be upgrading the video card, hard drive, and probably ram.
She served me well for over 5 years, which is unbelievable for any computer. The disc drive finally started to go around mid December, so I decided it was finally time to upgrade. I had We Fix Macs put in a new superdrive and I gave it to a low income family from work so the eMac will still be in service.
I was going to get a 20" iMac from the store, but I found a Mac mini on craigslist for an incredibly low price. 1.83GHz Core Two Duo, 2GB RAM, etc, ready to go. I figured that with the low price of the computer itself, I could just buy a decent LCD monitor and get basically the same performance as an iMac for hundreds and hundreds of dollars cheaper.
I did a bit of research and found that the Acer P221WD was probably the best bang for my buck. I wanted something bigger than a 20", with decent enough stats and that had a nice appearance. The Acer fit the bill, and came in at only $150 from TigerDirect.
I also decided to upgrade the old desk. Don't get me wrong, I loved my desk, but the years haven't been kind to it and my chair didn't really fit in it. I thought about getting something that would match my newly redesigned living room, but a friend of mine explained to me that it's possible to have different looks in different rooms. I decided to keep my room looking clean and contemporary, so I went with the Loop Desk from Crate and Barrel. But the thing was going to take two weeks to get in, and the monitor arrived in only a few days.
So I set it up on my Roland electric piano:
And I have to admit it looked really cool. I have a ton of sheet music as pdfs on my computer, and practicing was a breeze when I just had to hit the down arrow to get to the next page. I cued up Mozart's Piano Concerto No 10 in Eb (K 365) and it was a breeze. Of course, there really wasn't room for anything else and the mousepad kept slipping off. Still, I might move my monitor back when I need to practice from time to time. It felt like a very modern way to play some very old pieces.
Finally the desk arrived, and I found out the hard way that the Loop Desk doesn't fit squarely in the back of a 2001 Jetta. Cest la vi. It was surprisingly simple to construct, but even more surprising it was very sturdy. I can stand on this thing, and I'm 175 lbs in my shorts. The desk has a massive drawer that pulls out revealing an area that one can keep peripherals, power strips, and even the mouse and keyboard on. All-in-all, I'm very happy with the set up.
This should hold me over until the next version of the Mac mini comes out some time this year, when they'll be upgrading the video card, hard drive, and probably ram.
Total Comments 7
Comments
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We've got an eMac as well... it doesn't get used much these days because it freezes up almost every time it gets turned on. There's still stuff on the hard drive that I need to get off of there, and once that's done, getting it refurbished and donated seems like an excellent idea.
Thanks for the inspiration!Posted 01-25-2009 at 01:29 PM by spinelust
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Sure. eMacs are surprisingly durable machines. I thought it would last maybe 3 years.
BTW, the computer + monitor was like $520. Considering it's basically all new and it's a Mac, I'm feeling pretty thrifty.Posted 01-25-2009 at 02:27 PM by Willravel
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Will, that looks awesome. I've heard good things about the Mac Mini. Good basic functionality and, as we see, a real space saver.
Is that a scotch I see in the last photo? That would round the setup out quite nicely.
When I finally give up PC gaming (if ever), my home computer will be a Mac Mini, I think.Posted 01-25-2009 at 02:46 PM by Baraka_Guru
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Yeah, I never realized how cumbersome the eMac was. The mini is almost an afterthought so far as space goes. I even thought about putting it in the drawer of the desk. The only reason I didn't was I want to make sure that I'm not making the fan work too hard.
That's Johnnie Walker Red on the right.
You may want to wait a bit before getting the mini. While everyone was wrong in expecting that the new version was coming out at MacWorld, it's still on it's way. It will have better processors, more ram, a much, much better videocard, and more hard drive options. Not only would that be better if you wanted to invest in it, but the prices on the current Mac minis will undoubtedly drop off due to demand for the newer version.Posted 01-25-2009 at 03:06 PM by Willravel
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Say, does the eMac ever command you to feed it a stray cat?
/creepyPosted 01-25-2009 at 04:54 PM by Plan9 
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It's funny you should ask:Quote:Originally Posted by CrompsinSay, does the eMac ever command you to feed it a stray cat?
/creepy
Posted 01-25-2009 at 05:25 PM by Willravel
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You never cease to amuse me, Dr. Ravel.Posted 01-25-2009 at 06:10 PM by Plan9
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