iMac question....

[mingle]

Hi,

I have the chance to get hold of an older iMac (600MHz/256MB/40GB/CD-RW). I've never been a Mac person (I don't like their "style over substance" attitude and rigid OS), however, I thought I'd try this one out.

But since it's a 2001-era machine, if it still useful today?

What version of the OS can I used and are freeware/shareware apps easy to get hold of?

Cheers,

Mike.

[mingle]

Thanks for the comments and responses!

Without getting into a Mac vs PC vs Linux vs amiga debate, I'd have to say that WinXP Pro is the most stable OS I've ever used.

I do all sorts of stuff on my two PCs (IBM Thinkpad R51 & HP D530S) and I've yet to come close to foobarring XP, that's despite me being a bit of a registry hacker!

I've tried Linux and it's as bloated as XP, but even more obscure and difficult to work with behind the scenes.

When I was a daily Amiga user (now I'm WinUAE only) I tried out Mac OS (8.??) on Shapeshifter and was dismayed at the way it was so difficult to actually get to grips with the OS on a low-level.

The G3 iMac I'm looking at is only going to cost me around $AUD 50, which is a bargain. I'm planning on having a bit of a tinker with it, then pass it onto my parents as their first computer - they'll just be using it for email and web-browsing. Since the Mac is supposed to be a bit less virus and spyware prone than Windows, I thought it would be a safer bet for them.

Cheers,

Mike.