Mac Mini vs iBook

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urbandryad

Guest
I'm at a crossroads now, and I'm kind of torn still over which of these to get! :confused:

On the one hand, I've loved and always wanted an iBook for my own. Getting an iBook would mean I'd be buying one with a 12" screen inexpensively second hand, but it might also mean that only the OS software is installed, or not included at all. (OS software comes cheap lately, so I'm not too concerned about that)

Now, out with the Mac Mini. Its small, and cute, and afforable, around the same price I'm planning to spend for the iBook second hand, but it would mean its a desk top, I'd need a keyboard and mouse for it, (have the mouse) BUT I could get a bigger monitor for it seperately, maybe cheaply, or maybe even free if I had a willing friend with a spare CRT display. :eek:

So, you can see I'm torn? I've always wanted an iBook, would die for one actually, but a Mini is nice and a bit more affordable since it includes the apps I need. :(

I love the smileys btw.

:alien: :confused: :eek:neye: :mac:
 
OP
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theforks

Guest
urbandryad said:
So, you can see I'm torn? I've always wanted an iBook, would die for one actually, but a Mini is nice and a bit more affordable since it includes the apps I need. :(

Hey! I was in the same boat!

Anyway, i had to decide that a few weeks ago and went for the iBook. 1.2ghz/256MB/30GB/Airport Extreme/iLife05. They randomly have these on apple store and its a refurb but it comes with a one year warranty.

Im a PC user looking for his first mac. And the reason i chose the ibook over the Mac Mini was because of portability. When i first saw the mini, like many others, i thought "hey, i can take that anywhere". But then i opened my eyes and said "wait, i can take an ibook anywhere too. AND its got a built in screen". So logic caused me to spend the extra $350 and get an ibook. My logic was wrong.

Anyway, heres MY quick pro/con on them.

Mac Mini
+Beautiful
+I want to learn mac without investing much
+DVI has many future implementations. HDTV's have DVI so thats neat.
-As tiny as it is, its not portable if it has no screen
-Laptop hard drive means s-l-o-w


iBook 12"
+Very affordable if you buy the refurb
+Great size/screen
+Comfortable keyboard
+Battery life is great
+The sleep light breathes... so cool
-Trackpad features are severely outdated
-Trackpad has zero texture so it will get very slick after a few weeks
-White is great for store displays but ugly (IMO) at home
-Gets dirty FAST
-Its probably 6months away from being replaced by a new model
-Singlebutton touchpad is rediculous and it has caused me to consider my experience with macs a complete failure.

and BTW. Im paying apple $100 so i can return my ibook back. isnt that nice of them?

i swear its a nice notebook for experienced mac users but i just cant dumb myself down to relearn one button mice. Its just silly. Sure, on a desktop then just kick that mouse down the street and get a new one. But on a notebook then its "use our one button mouse or go to ****". Well, im not using that one button trackpad so off i go...
 
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Your Mac's Specs
iBook G4 1.2 1.25Gig RAM Emac 1.42Ghz 1GB RAM
Hey,

I bought a G3/900 ibook a bit over a year ago, when I started thinking about switching. Something you should be aware of with iBooks, they have a problem with both the logic board and an inverter cable that is weak where it goes through the hinges. Basically, if you go out of warranty and one of these goes out, you'll either have to risk getting into your book and repairing the cable ($20 cable - EXTREMELY hard & dangerous to get into the ibook to repair this), or possibly needing a new logic board (~$500).

This is not just me, these 2 problems are VERY well known. From what I can tell the problems are not as severe on G4 iBooks, but they do still exist. It may just not be as bad yet because the G4 iBooks are relatively new.

For me, it simply wasnt worth it when my logic board failed. For some 15 years I've had a laptop of one kind or another, and this is the 1st one I've had fail disasterously in that time (had CDs and floppies go bad, but nothing major before). I expected better from Apple, gives me a bit of a bitter taste for iBooks. Until they re-engineer the iBooks, I won't be buying another one (trying to decide on a replacement now). I'd have to rec the Mac Mini instead. Or, better yet, check out smalldog.com and see what they have in the way of iMac G4s if you might need a monitor. Their prices are quite good, they have a 1yr warranty on refurbished systems and a good reputation in the Mac community.

-Lonerider
 

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