Are these things better than the old Nautilus/Universal machines. I used one rehabbing a major knee injury, but have no other experience with them. Local community center has them.
My just-turned 14yo wants to start going there. He's tall and lanky and growing like a weed.

These machines won't get you much benefit. They are nice machines, don't get me wrong, but machines will not generate athletic development. I use machine weight equipment for Lat Pulldowns. Free weights is where it's at for athletics IMO.