In your opinion, what is the Greateat Mac of All Time?

[PizzaGod]

The one I had the most fun with and used the most was the Pismo. Easy to tear down, easy to work on, good keyboard feel, and a fine looking machine.

I miss laptops like that.

[jdc]

There is no greatest of all time... unless I could combine several.

mid 2010 27" iMac can take up to 32 GB of ram, takes but a few minutes to install.

[Winston]

My vote goes to the unibody aluminum MacBook Pros. If I had to pick one, the 2012, since it has USB 3.0.

- Solid design
Strong case, few problems with things like hinges, display cable, or getting squished easily in a case, backpack, etc.

- Very upgradable
Relatively easy to swap the hard drive, relatively easy to add memory (although earlier models typically limited to 8 GB), can replace the CD/DVD drive with a second hard drive.

- Ports
Ethernet, Mini-displayport, FireWire 800, USB, SD card slot
2011 models add Thunderbolt, and 2012 adds USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.0

- MagSafe power connector
Still the standard.

- Decent keyboard
While not quite as good as what some earlier Mac laptops had (my 12" Aluminum G4 PowerBook, for example), by comparison with many other Macs, the keyboard is quite good.

- Longevity
I'm using a 2010 MBP to type this, on El Capitan 10.11.6. I think this one can go up to High Sierra. The 2012 can go to Mavericks. I do not feel any need to upgrade the Mac to be able to do anything I want.

The first unibody MBPs, introduced in 2008 (15" & 17"; 13" in 2009), came with Mac OS 10.5, and can run 10.11. The 2012 models came with Mac OS 10.7 and can run Mavericks 10.14.

About the only thing missing was an upgrade from 802.11n WiFi to 802.11ac, and the Retina display.


So, if usability is the criteria, Unibody MacBook Pros.

But I acknowledge that the G3 iMac was revolutionary, so might better deserve a "Greatest Mac" title. The Mac Plus was also pretty neat, but was an evolution. (I still sort of wish I'd upgraded my 512K Mac to a Plus when the upgrade was available.)


Good luck.

- Winston

[cbelt3]

My SE/30 lasted the longest, and was the most upgraded....
Upgrade #1- More RAM.
Upgrade #2- Radius Pivot monitor and card
Upgrade #3- Daystar 68040 card and RAM


but my G4 Sawtooth is giving it a run for it's money. It's still running... hiding in the basement...

[p8712]

Runner Up: PowerMac 8500.

My Dad bought it for me shortly after my Mom passed away because she wanted me to have a computer.

It's a $4500+ doorstop, but I ain't ever getting rid of it.

I'll never give up my first cube for similar reasons.

[btfc]

The beige G-3's treated me pretty good, and so did my Mid 2012 MBP.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

SE/30.

It was the last mostly pure model that didn't have designed in limitations.

[rz]

I never had one personally, but the SE/30 should be high on the list. Sawtooth G4 mentioned above was definitely the easiest Mac to upgrade that I ever had. But I agree that the "GOAT" would have to be the original iMac. They were so unlike anything else at the time, and it seemed like everyone wanted one.

[ka jowct]

I’d pick the 2010 Mac Pro; with the 9600 next.

[Buzz]

Through the early years, Mac evolution provided incredible jumps in performance and productivity. The Plus opened up the business world to Macs, so mega props there, but the Greatest Mac, was not a Mac itself; I'm going w/ the LaserWriter and its legacy. Frankly, since the middle to end of the C2D era, not much perceptible change has occurred for most user tasks, Evolution (if you can call it that) has been with bloatware OS and iOS integration.
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