About to get a new iBook...

[JeffreyLloyd]

I have not used a mac since High School... What should I look for? Is it really as good as everyone says it is?

 

[momalle1]

Why are you going to a Mac? Personally, I would skip the iBook and get a G4 with the superdrive.

 

[Overtime_man]

Personally, I would skip the iBook and get a G4 with the superdrive.

The iBook is a G4 and you can add an optional Superdrive if you want one.

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

Yeah, mine has a superdrive

 

[Overtime_man]

Yeah, mine has a superdrive

Ah, so you already bought one? I think that you'll find OS X to be much more intuitive than Windows -- at least that was my experience. After using a Mac for several months now, I don't think I could ever go back to a Windows box.

 

[momalle1]

The iBook is a G4 and you can add an optional Superdrive if you want one.

Doh! I meant powerbook. Either way, the superdrive and iLife are great additions.

 

[osx]

I have not used a mac since High School... What should I look for? Is it really as good as everyone says it is?

does that mean you've not used OSX? You wont be dissapointed.... it's 1000 times better than Mac OS 9... very stable... say goodbye to crashes.

Kicks windows XPs butt.

I dont know much about the ibooks, but i've never heard any complaints.

 

[zoziw]

Doh! I meant powerbook. Either way, the superdrive and iLife are great additions.

The Powerbook is a G4 and while the Superdrive is a highly recommended addition, iLife comes with all consumer level macs.

I have not used a mac since High School... What should I look for? Is it really as good as everyone says it is?

I have a 12" iBook with a 1.33ghz G4 and 512 Ram and despite having a much more powerful Windows laptop I use my iBook way more (i'm using it right now).

As far as what you should look for you have two choices: less powerful 12" iBook with a combo drive or a slightly more powerful 14" iBook with a Superdrive.

If you check Apple's site you will see that you cannot buy a 12" iBook with a superdrive...even as an add-on at extra cost.

Despite that, most reviewers seem to be recommending the 12" iBook as the price/performance gap between the two favors the less expensive 12" model. Another issue is that both the 14" and 12" iBooks have a maximum screen resolution of 1024x768 and this gives the 12" iBook screen a sharper look than the 14" (compare the two at a store and you will see the difference).

If you need a superdrive you will have to go with the more expensive 14".

I am getting about 4.5 hours worth of battery life out of my iBook.

Another thing to keep in the back of your mind at the present time are strong rumours from multiple sources indicating that there will be a refresh to the lower end consumer level macs in January and these rumours are pointing to the refreshes being Intel chips and not G4's.

If you want a G4 it might be best to act now, if you would prefer an Intel chip it might be worth while to wait until after Steve Job's keynote at Macworld San Francisco on January 10, 2006 (at 9:00am just in case you think I can be objective about this)

These rumours may be completely wrong.

This site can tell you about the features of OSX, not the least of which is no viruses, spyware or other malware to worry about...again, NO viruses, spyware or malware to worry about.

iLife comes with all consumer macs and is a great software suite for the average user. Be warned that iMovieHD and iDVD pretty much require a superdrive to be used. You can get around that requirement but it isn't a very "Apple like" experience. when I say you need a superdrive I mean it, adding an external DVD burner will not help. There is a great 3rd party app called Toast which works great with external burners but iLife exists to sell Apple hardware, not 3rd party.

Appleworks is functional and can handle .doc Word files. Still, iWork is where Apple is going and it costs extra. Appleworks is included with consumer level macs and works reasonably well. MS Office is available if you need it.

There are lots of other useful things that come with macs, built is spell checker and dictionary, an encyclopedia, a few games, Quicken, etc...

They blend nicely into the OS. For instance, if I am browsing the net and come across a word I am unfamiliar with I just highlight it, right click (or ctrl-click with a one button mouse) choose "look up in dictionary" and find out what the word means.

OSX also comes with Spotlight which will search your entire computer instantly (no waiting) for whatever you are looking for. It will even find words in a .pdf document.

Personally, I find macs to be an experience that isn't replicated with other computers. From the time you first open the box to years down the road it just seems that using a mac is not like using a computer. My Windows laptop is so much more powerful than my iBook (and only cost $150 more) that it isn't even funny. Yet day after day I keep reaching for my iBook when I need to do something other than play Battlefield 2.

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

Wow, thanks for all that! Yeah, the iBook I'm getting is a 14" and I did hear about the resolution issue, oh well

Anyway, thanks again! I'm going to go check out those sites!

The Powerbook is a G4 and while the Superdrive is a highly recommended addition, iLife comes with all consumer level macs.



I have a 12" iBook with a 1.33ghz G4 and 512 Ram and despite having a much more powerful Windows laptop I use my iBook way more (i'm using it right now).

As far as what you should look for you have two choices: less powerful 12" iBook with a combo drive or a slightly more powerful 14" iBook with a Superdrive.

If you check Apple's site you will see that you cannot buy a 12" iBook with a superdrive...even as an add-on at extra cost.

Despite that, most reviewers seem to be recommending the 12" iBook as the price/performance gap between the two favors the less expensive 12" model. Another issue is that both the 14" and 12" iBooks have a maximum screen resolution of 1024x768 and this gives the 12" iBook screen a sharper look than the 14" (compare the two at a store and you will see the difference).

If you need a superdrive you will have to go with the more expensive 14".

I am getting about 4.5 hours worth of battery life out of my iBook.

Another thing to keep in the back of your mind at the present time are strong rumours from multiple sources indicating that there will be a refresh to the lower end consumer level macs in January and these rumours are pointing to the refreshes being Intel chips and not G4's.

If you want a G4 it might be best to act now, if you would prefer an Intel chip it might be worth while to wait until after Steve Job's keynote at Macworld San Francisco on January 10, 2006 (at 9:00am just in case you think I can be objective about this)

These rumours may be completely wrong.

This site can tell you about the features of OSX, not the least of which is no viruses, spyware or other malware to worry about...again, NO viruses, spyware or malware to worry about.

iLife comes with all consumer macs and is a great software suite for the average user. Be warned that iMovieHD and iDVD pretty much require a superdrive to be used. You can get around that requirement but it isn't a very "Apple like" experience. when I say you need a superdrive I mean it, adding an external DVD burner will not help. There is a great 3rd party app called Toast which works great with external burners but iLife exists to sell Apple hardware, not 3rd party.

Appleworks is functional and can handle .doc Word files. Still, iWork is where Apple is going and it costs extra. Appleworks is included with consumer level macs and works reasonably well. MS Office is available if you need it.

There are lots of other useful things that come with macs, built is spell checker and dictionary, an encyclopedia, a few games, Quicken, etc...

They blend nicely into the OS. For instance, if I am browsing the net and come across a word I am unfamiliar with I just highlight it, right click (or ctrl-click with a one button mouse) choose "look up in dictionary" and find out what the word means.

OSX also comes with Spotlight which will search your entire computer instantly (no waiting) for whatever you are looking for. It will even find words in a .pdf document.

Personally, I find macs to be an experience that isn't replicated with other computers. From the time you first open the box to years down the road it just seems that using a mac is not like using a computer. My Windows laptop is so much more powerful than my iBook (and only cost $150 more) that it isn't even funny. Yet day after day I keep reaching for my iBook when I need to do something other than play Battlefield 2.

 

[Quantum_Man]

I just purchased an iMac G5 17" a few days ago and it's my first Mac ever. I have used PCs all my life and so I am still getting used to the Mac way of doing things, but it's going along smoothly. I have used Macs in school so it's not like it's totally new. I am LOVING OSX Tiger and all the cool things it can do. I love how the whole computer fits inside the space of an LCD monitor. And I love how it can run my audio editing software a gazillion times better than my very good PC. I am selling my PC actually along with all of my games, as I have given up PC gaming. So here's another convert saying Macs rule and Windows drools!

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

Does it run MP3s? What about WinAmp? What MP3 player do you use?

 

[zoziw]

I use iTunes for MP3 files. I do not know if Winamp has a mac version.

 

[Overtime_man]

I just purchased an iMac G5 17" a few days ago and it's my first Mac ever. I have used PCs all my life and so I am still getting used to the Mac way of doing things, but it's going along smoothly. I have used Macs in school so it's not like it's totally new. I am LOVING OSX Tiger and all the cool things it can do. I love how the whole computer fits inside the space of an LCD monitor. And I love how it can run my audio editing software a gazillion times better than my very good PC. I am selling my PC actually along with all of my games, as I have given up PC gaming. So here's another convert saying Macs rule and Windows drools!

Good to hear that you're liking your new Mac. I've got the same model, iMac G5 17", 2GHz with 512 MB of RAM. It's by far the best computer I've ever had, and it's my first Mac after going through 5 or 6 Windows boxes.

 

[Overtime_man]

Does it run MP3s? What about WinAmp? What MP3 player do you use?

I think that WinAmp is Windows only, hence the name. I use iTunes on the Mac, and am pretty satisfied with it. If you have an iPod, the integration is seamless, and the iTunes music store is the best on the web in my opinion. I'm not much for the idea of "renting" music like Yahoo offers.

Of course there are other MP3 players for the Mac, so if iTunes doesn't suit you, a quick search should turn up a slew of options.