12-06-2007, 02:14 PM

Hey Guys,

I used to be into Macs years ago when I was in high school and early in college. Then I got an internship with a programming company and had to switch over to PC. I decided I wanted to get a Mac but since I own two PC's I didn't want to spend a lot of money on one. I found a good deal on an ibook on Ebay and ordered it, the specs are as follows:

800mhz G3 processor
256 MB of RAM
30 GB HDD
100 mhz Bus speed
ATI Mobile Radeon w/ 32MB RAM
CD Drive
OS x 10.4 Tiger Pre-Installed
Airport Extreme card Pre-Installed

The laptop hasn't arrived yet but here are questions. First, I would like to upgrade the RAM, I think this model maxes out at 640 MB and my assumption is that Apple laptops use the same RAM modules and regular notebooks so I can probably find out what module I need and get it at Best Buy. I am assuming since the system is running OS X 10.4 the RAM upgrade will be rather crucial.

The major downside to this unit is that it does not have a DVD drive. Can I purchase an external USB DVD Drive for it so that if I wanted to watch DVD's or even upgrade the OS it would be possible?

In your opinion is this a decent notebook, albeit outdated, but will it be functional for web surfing and some photoshop apps? I got it for under $200 so I didn't have to spend too much. From what I have heard Macs stand the test of time and go obsolete much slower then PC's.

02-03-2008, 08:59 PM

i am thinking about purchasing the same ibook because of the price. i have never used a mac before so that's why i want a cheaper one to see how i like it before i take the big plunge and spent a lot of money. is this a good choice?