[ime_NY]

~hey

so my brother's selling his loaded dell (3.2 GHZ/ 2 gigs ram/ 400 gig HD) that is not even a year old. He plans on buying either an iMac G5 or a used powermac G4 (and customize it to resemble his dell specs) as his main computer, especially for his music recordings. If he makes a smooth transition, then he plans to buy the iBook model i have.

I've been searching all the Mac specialty sites (Powermax, welovemacs, etc...) and even ebay. I believe his heart is set on purchasing a used machine. so my questions are:
1.) has anyone here bought their macs from a used website? if so, where, and how do you rate your experience?
2.) how can he protect himself to make that no one has planted something in the comp that can be used against him? and where would such evil software reside in (applications?)
3.) considering that the seller does not wipe out the contents before shipping, how would my brother go about deleting certificates and other things on the Keychain? (I know this question is better suited for the Genius Bar)....

I tried to convince him to get a new G5 iMac, since the price dipped this week. O well.

thanks in advance!

[Robo]

The 17" G5 Mac was actually discontinued today. That means that he might be able to find it for real cheap.

(And I bought it three months ago, to the day...damn.)

[LudwigVan]

Originally Posted by ime_NY I tried to convince him to get a new G5 iMac, since the price dipped this week. O well.

Not only did the price dip, but Amazon's been throwing another +$100 discount on top of that. You may want to check it out.

[Sony]

memory is more expensive

I purchased a powerbook on ebay, it works beautifully. I have had it for over a year now with no problems. I would suggest that if your brother insists on purchasing a used machine that he makes sure that the original installation disk also comes with his purchase. When he recieves the machine, do a full format and fresh install of the OS. This should rid the machine of any files left over from the old user as well as any compromising software. When he goes through the menu to do the fresh install, there is an option to wipe the disc completely before installation of the original software, if he is really concerned and has some free time he could take that route. Any reputable seller will include the original installation disc, do not buy from one that does not. Good luck!