Potential Convert?

I am in the market for a new laptop. I used to be a Microsoft Certified Sysytems Engineer (MCSE) and know alot about pc's. I am liking the idea of a mac because I realized I do mostly assignments for school and not much else on my laptop. I do like the stability of the mac. Although, I do have one fear, or a few. It seems like new converts are having trouble like one poster talking about a mouse seeming jittery and a poster said play with mouse settings until it feels right. Another, thread involved using different browsers and having some as backup in case a page doesn't load properly. Well, question is, am I going to be spending a lot of time trying to figure it out? I mean I like the simplicity of macs yetr it seems to me that I shouldnt have to worry about a page loading properly of messing with the mouse settings. I am starting to second guess myself but still leaning more towards macs. Can I get some honest advice and objective opinions about some of my concerns. Oh, and I am looking at the iBook 14 inch. Thanks everyone.

I have a review of my iBook on Amazon.com...I really cant send a link to it on here, cause there are multiple reviews on each page. I prefer to use the trackpad on my iBook, I like to sit in various positions around my house, when Im out and about, on vacation, etc. Using a mouse makes it hard to use a notebook as a true portable. I have become quite proficient in using the trackpad in a few short months, I can select, click and drag different programs with ease. The Mac OSX is incredibly intuitive and easy to use, and honestly, not that different than Windows. Its like being used to going to McDonalds, and then deciding to go to Wendy's instead. Its the same basic concept, just better. I have the 12" iBook, I think its great, the 14" is the same except obviously it has a bigger screen. 95% of people who convert smile the entire process, dont let a few people who have troubles intimidate you. I hope this helps, dont be hesitant to ask anymore questions, thats what this community is for.

I was a long-time PC user and tech-support person. After W2K, things got easier for PC users. A well-managed Windows system is as trouble-free as any Mac. I like the fact that you have more choices with Windows, but on the flip side, I like (and hate) the tight hardware-control of a Mac. They each have their strong and weak points.

I saw my iBook at compusa and just loved the physical design and Mac OSX. I decided to try it. Later I bought a G5. There are some really great and thoughtful features in OSX. They have eliminated some of the little annoyances that you find in Windows. I almost didn't get the iBook because of the feature-less trackpad with one button. I decided I could live with an external mouse. Then I discovered "Sidetrack", a shareware utility that adds scrolling and a multitude of customization features.

The good points are that Mac OSX is stable and has some different and interesting features.

Many features, like installing and uninstalling software are made easier.

There is a fair amount of software available for Mac. More than I expected. Don't think that your only choices are the bundled apps you get from Apple.

Learning to work with OSX was fun for me, but like most people, I think it's fun to learn anything new. I still have to use PCs at work, but that's old hat now.

I love my 2 Macs so far. I just have to figure out how to get rid of some of my PCs now.

Thanks rof the replies everyone, I appreciate it. I do have an AMD system at home, as a desktop, and don't think I could do without a PC at all because it is so engained in our society. I went to CompUSA as well and saw the iBook. I think I am used to PC laptops because although the thing looks great, I was looking around and was thinking "Where are all the programs?". I realize now that all I really do on my laptop is surf the net doing research, bills, word, powerpoint, you know, normal school related assignments. So then I thought, well everything is right there that I do need, iDVD, Safari, Mail, iTunes, etc. I do like the fact that I can run open source programs like Star Office because mac is Unix based (correct me if I am wrong). I have also checked around and on this forum that there are also peer to peer programs as well which is great. Now will I notice a difference a difference in speed? I know another thread mentioned that his iBook was really slow and that he changed his settings to maximum performance. But, how is a 1.33 mhz compared to a 1.3 centrino for example? I looked all over the internet and can't really find a comparison table. The Apple guy at CompUSA said to double or triple the processor and that is the comparison for the speed of all competitors. Is that true? Thanks everyone! Everyone on here seems pretty cool about helping newbies, and are patient, and really enthusiastic about their macs. Thanks again.

I find my 1.2GHz iBook adequate for all of my tasks including light photo-editing. I would highly recommend getting a 7200rpm hard drive. The hard drive seems to be the bottleneck as long as you have >512MB ram.

You can try many different free programs. For browsers, try Firefox, Camino or Shiira. For Office try Neooffice (beta) or Open Office (runs on X11).

I also favor firefox. i would say doubling the G4 processor to compare with AMD and intel chips would be pretty close. Centrinos are rated differently too though, so I'd say a Centrino and a G4 are rated equally.

I agree that a Centrino is close to a G4 in terms of Speed, not quite 1:1 but close...

Aptmunich said:

I agree that a Centrino is close to a G4 in terms of Speed, not quite 1:1 but close...

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Do you mean not one to one as in the centrino is faster? I am having a real issue here because I really want to get an iBook but, I am just worried that once I get it that I will not like it or not be satisfied with the speed. I know some people on these forums suggest that someone just get what they are used to but i really want something different. I having been reading up alot on the forums and seems to me everyone says that a pc blows away any apple yet it is dependent on what you want out of your system. I want general browsing for research and maybe downloading some torrents so I need some apps for that which I have found. I am a little worried about other comments which i have already stated. I am referring to things like trying multiple browsers because some don't load properly. I am figuring that an OS should have this worked out by now. Then again I understand that IE isn't the saint of the PC world either. I like all the freeware apps out there. I have checked out versiontracker and it looks great. I don't know. Maybe I am just getting last minute jitters but once I get it I will love it. I did go to CompUSA and try one for a bit although it is hard to really use it there as you would if you were home (especially with the apple guy breathing doen my neck). Like I said just some jitters I guess. This will have to be my laptop for a few years and i just don't want to be disappointed. Any supportive comments?

dude dont worry. in school, theres a mac mini, the 1.4ghz 512mb version. it was a new comp, so everything was installed(such as iphoto n stuff).

there i was, thinkking hey how fast is a mac? ppl say its fast, but just how fast is it? what i did was to open all the applications in the dock. and when all was open, i switched form app app withought a lag. swear to god. and its processor is just 1.4, not a 64bit DP 2.5.

so the iBook is fast enough i must say. TRY IT!

The mac 13 said:

dude dont worry. in school, theres a mac mini, the 1.4ghz 512mb version. it was a new comp, so everything was installed(such as iphoto n stuff).

there i was, thinkking hey how fast is a mac? ppl say its fast, but just how fast is it? what i did was to open all the applications in the dock. and when all was open, i switched form app app withought a lag. swear to god. and its processor is just 1.4, not a 64bit DP 2.5.

so the iBook is fast enough i must say. TRY IT!

Click to expand...

Thanks. I am a little worried and I must say it is due to the lack of education on my part. I just don't want to be caught off guard and end up with a computer that is slow. I am not going to be playing games on it really because I have a 3.0ghz desktop for that. And anyways, its almost good that way because this is for educational purposes, hehe. I guess I NEED to upgrade it to 512 at least right? I didn't want to spend anymore than I needed to. There is a 14 inch widescreen pc laptop at the store that comes with a dvd burner and 512 ram. But, its a pc and I have a dvd burner on my pc so.... It is going to come down to the amount I am going to get for my tablet on ebay. If I don't get enough then I am forced to get a pc, if i get enough then an iBook. We will see. I know the processor handles info different than pc so, can you burn a cd and do other things without lag as well? and if I am downloading huge files can I do the same , burn a disk or otherwise, without noticing the lag? thanks

I am a web developer and at work we have an all Windows environment. I also manage NT and Windows 2000 servers. At home I have a Windows network (DSL wired, and wireless) with several laptops and a Dell desktop. I also have two networked printers (Samsung Laser and a HP Photosmart 2610). I wanted a lighter and more portable laptop to use for web browsing, email and for my main iTunes management. The 12" iBook was perfect. I can browse my Windows network and print to the same printers as my Windows machines, mabye even a litttle easier. The iBook has an impressive battery life, runs cool, and is more fun than a Windows laptop.

The trackpad... get Sidetrack or iScroll2. The stock Apple trackpad driver is terrrible.

Don't the new ones have some scrolling ability now? I thought I saw something about doing certain gestures on the track pad that will equate to some user function?

ya they have double finger scrolling and the likes.......but if one downloads the sidetrack ....its the same with the other ibooks as well.

amartins02 said:

Thanks. I am a little worried and I must say it is due to the lack of education on my part. I just don't want to be caught off guard and end up with a computer that is slow. I am not going to be playing games on it really because I have a 3.0ghz desktop for that. And anyways, its almost good that way because this is for educational purposes, hehe. I guess I NEED to upgrade it to 512 at least right? I didn't want to spend anymore than I needed to. There is a 14 inch widescreen pc laptop at the store that comes with a dvd burner and 512 ram. But, its a pc and I have a dvd burner on my pc so.... It is going to come down to the amount I am going to get for my tablet on ebay. If I don't get enough then I am forced to get a pc, if i get enough then an iBook. We will see. I know the processor handles info different than pc so, can you burn a cd and do other things without lag as well? and if I am downloading huge files can I do the same , burn a disk or otherwise, without noticing the lag? thanks

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lemme assure you on something. I had a AMD athlon +3000 MP based pc running at around 1.6 Ghz and this ibook of mine runs faster than that (with similar applications on). And as far as getting the RAM topped up I think it is necessary, 512 mb is the minimum but it helps to have around 768 mb if u plan to use memory intensive software like virtual PC. I had the same pre purchase jitters and believe me the ibook has been much more than I expected. I came into the forum before I made the switch and was taken aback by the large number of problems that I came across in a ibook but then again, people with problems inquire, I won't post a thread saying how satisfied I am with my machine........get my point... And if u ain't an avid gamer (PC required ) then go for the ibook.

Apple and IBM have the lowest number of consumer complaint percentage in the market.

Yea , I hear you on the posting the problems issue. That's how you hear all the complaints but not the praises. I am looking for an iBook as we speak. I can get one for 1200.00 on apple.com. Just didn't want to spend alot. I am selling my tablet as we speak on ebay and hoping to get enough where all I need is a few hundred more to cover the rest. Some are going for 1100. I posted on another thread how one guy is willing to sell to me early for 1100.00 and I could go pick it up (he is a couple of hours away). I thought this way would be better because I could see it before buying it. My auction is only at 610.00 right now. I am sure it will go up. I am hoping. Hope for me guys and I will be a convert for sure!!!!

http://laptopmag.com/Review/Apple-14-inch-ibook-G4.htm

check this out

Cool. Thanks Maverick. Always good to see great reviews. Now if I can only get the money then maybe I will be able to relate a little better and maybe enjoy in the praising of macs