Saw the iBook now I am sad :(

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amartins02

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Ok, so I went to play with the iBook again today. This time I really spent some time on it. But, I realized its hard to really put a laptop to the test because the only real thing I could do there was try out Safari. Now the sad part. It seemed slow. I would click on an icon in the dock and it took like 3-5 seconds to come up. Then some of the windows were kind of small so I maxed them and they don't max all the way. On Safari I kept trying to scroll with the mousepad and kept forgetting that it doesn't have that feature. It's annoying not to have it.
So I don't now if it seemed slow because it had 256 ram or if it was the processor. Maybe I am just used to using windoze all the time. I felt a little lost. I am almost worried about buying one now. I went to a desktop and granted it may have a more powerful processor but I clicked an icon and it came right up. So then it has to be the processor right? I understand there should be some fear in switching over and jumping into something entirely new but I need to have this comp for at least another year or year and a half and don't want to be stuck with something slow or that feels slow.
My friend was with me and a die hard pc user. He doesn't understand why I would consider getting a mac. I told him about stability and pop ups and all the other stuff. He said "just get a pc, your used to it and know what your ding on it". I almost feel like there is some truth to that because I was totally lost. Is it normal for an iBook to feel sluggish like that?
 
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meltbanana314

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I think it most likely the lack of RAM that was keeping the iBook down, but there are a small minority of people who are so used to Windows that even a totally maxed out G5 seems slow.

Find an iBook with 512MB (preferably more) RAM and try it out. If it feels slow, then it's probably not for you.
 
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amartins02

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meltbanana314 said:
I think it most likely the lack of RAM that was keeping the iBook down, but there are a small minority of people who are so used to Windows that even a totally maxed out G5 seems slow.

Find an iBook with 512MB (preferably more) RAM and try it out. If it feels slow, then it's probably not for you.

Thats the thing though. All iBooks come stocked with 256 so where would I find one with 512. I was on a desktop which was hooked up to a beautiful 30 in lcd and it seemed ok. But then again thats a desktop
 

iWhat

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I think Safari is not the best way to judge the performance of Mac OS X. Since this iBook does only have 256MB that is typical for some apps to be sluggish. Most members on the forum will mostly recommend 512MB or higher of RAM for all macs. The Internet is mostly optimized for Windows not Macs, so you'll sometimes notice that Mac can't load as fast as a Windows browsers. Something else you need to consider is that Internet Explorer is built into Windows, Internet Explorer runs off of Explorer, so that is why IE launches faster. The Mac OS can be intimidating at first, but once you get use to it, you'll start to see the perks of the mac. You're not alone about feeling lost; at first I didn't even know how to restart my mac. Your friend doesn't know about Macs FOR A FACT, so I would recommend to stay on the forums and talk with us to answer your questions or concerns. You definitely have a right to be concerned about your purchase, but your small problems do have cures.

For example:

With all windows on mac os x, you need to drag the bottom hand-right corner of the window to maximize the window. The plus symbol in top left-hand doesn't usually maximize the window.

With the trackpad, most of us use an app called SideTrack. This enables scrolling on the trackpad on the left side of it, so you don't have to the cursor or a mouse with scroller.

Some of us swear that Camino is faster than the other browsers available for the mac. I am one of those people.
 
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amartins02

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OK, OK, feeling a little bit better. The IE explanation makes sense. I noticed that macs aren't entirely optimized for the internet when some text come out looking strange on the iBook when I was logging into ebay. The ram, well, I really didn't want to spend money then have to go out and spend more on ram. But if it is going to make it go faster then I guess its worth it. I have heard of sidetrack and wonder why oh why apple doesn't put the scroll feature into the iBook. Any other opinions out there? from other switchers to an iBook?
 
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I switched. I bought an iBook. I will never go back. Firefox is on Mac, its great, Safari is great. I used my Mac for 3 months with 256mb of ram before I upgraded. SideTrack is awesome. The New PowerBooks have more advanced trackpads. There is no way you'd be dissapointed if you bought a Mac. I am already planning on replacing my PC desktop with an iMac. Do it.
 

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i bought an iBook not to long ago. it was my first mac and i am totally happy with it. it's not that difficult to get used to at all. i have 512 of ram and that seems to be fine. programs still open slightly slower than on windows but it doesn't bother me. it's a solid OS and has many perks.
 
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amartins02

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Ok, I am gonna dive people. I am going into the deep end. Tomorrow I WILL go to the apple store in Boston and I WILL buy an iBook. Now only question is 12 inch for 950 or 14 in for 1300. hmm ????????
 
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amartins02

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Sorry for the double post but, I could go for the 12 in save battery power and ultra portable. Or go for the 14 get more screen and a bigger hard drive. What do you think?
 

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Be sure to visit us right away with your questions about the your new iBook. We want this to be a smooth transition for you as possible, so you won't regret anything about buy an iBook. Have an Apple employee step you through Panther, so you can take better advantage of its features, because if don't know about them, you'll never know to ask us about them.

Edit: Oh well too late, you're gone.
 
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pstauff

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RAM will make a big difference. I bought some RAM for my iBook before it even was delivered. I definitely don't see the delay in launching applications that you saw.
 
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amartins02 said:
Sorry for the double post but, I could go for the 12 in save battery power and ultra portable. Or go for the 14 get more screen and a bigger hard drive. What do you think?

The 14" model has a larger battery...it'll actually last longer than the 12"
 
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Jordan

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amartins02 said:
Sorry for the double post but, I could go for the 12 in save battery power and ultra portable. Or go for the 14 get more screen and a bigger hard drive. What do you think?

Hello there,

It's funny, I had exactly the same response as you did when I was in the pre-purchase stage of my iBook. I was in the Apple store here in Germany like every second day. I thought, man, this computer seems a little slow for the money and I didn't like that the windows didn't maximize to the entire screen size etc. I also thought that I wanted the 14 inch but could not afford it.

I bought the 12 inch and couldn't be happier. The iBook is one sexy functional machine. I no not feel that it is slow in any way and I can surf just as fast as most others on various machines.

Give it a try - there really isn't much of a learning curve and there are many places like this forum with knowledgeable and friendly people.

Worst case scenario, sell your iBook if you don't like it. They have great resale values and there are always lots of people looking to buy slightly used.

I have has zero problems with pop-ups or viruses to date. however, my iBook could potentially cause relationship difficulties with my partner because I am on this darn thing way too much.

Last words, throw in some more RAM (at least 256 more) and you may as well get the 60 gig HD (30 is way too little). Other than that, you are set.

Looking forward to hearing your decision.

Jordan
 
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amartins02

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Hey guys, sorry went to sleep after that last post. I have been thinking about which one to get. I am thinking I wouldn't mind having a bigger screen but, I have been using a 12 in for last 6 months and have gotten used to it. I am also on some money constraints as well. So with my student discount I can get a 12in iBook for 950 and tax it will be about 1000. I got 920 for my old comp so basically I am out 80 dollars. I am thinking just get the 14 in for 1200 but after tax it would be close to 1270. I am thinking I could do it but I would have to start coming pretty close to the limit on a few cards of mine. Unless they have an open box for like 1100 or something.
I did have a concern about the 30 g hard drive. But I am not really storing alot of stuff and I guess I could just save the money now and later if I wanted to I could just stick a new one in there. Thats what I will probably do. Thanks guys for all your help, especially iWhat. I will post back today with some pics, hehehe. I know this is off topic but, if anyone hasn't tried a tivo yet you should. The reason I say that is two fold. I genuinely love it and also I need one more referral to get an iPod. It would make a great addition lol. Anyways, if someone just got one within the last 2 months or is thinking of it I will paypal you 25 for the referral. Thanks guys I will be back around 3-5 to post pics.
 
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nbn22385

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Regarding the original post, it could be possible that safari was not running on the iBook, and was running on the other computer (just had no windows open). When an app is open in the dock, but has no windows open, it should open much faster because the app is already loaded.
 
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iDVFH.

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The only thing that really used to get me was when a website was loading slower than usual that ugly black with multi-colored dots would show up where a picture would be loading! But it hardly ever does that anymore..
 
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FWIW

I recently wanted to consolidate my 2 laptops and 2 PCs into one laptop. I picked up a refurb g3/900 ibook a bit over a year ago, and recently had the logic board failure that plagues the g3 ibooks. I wanted my mac back, and decided to consolidate onto a 1.2ghz iBook g4 12" 1.25 gig RAM. That's what I'm using right now.

My old main desktop was an AMD Athlon 64 3500, 2 gig RAM, 120gig eide, 18.3 gig SCSI 15k, FX5900 video. A very fast machine.

So far, my main desktop is gone. I'm cannibalizing the 120 gig HDD, and have my DVD+/-RW in an external enclosure already (burnt my movies to DVDs).

I'm not going to lie and say the ibook is in the same leauge as the PC I had, but it's no slouch. I think the main thing that causes the small pause in startup on apps you mention is the speed of the hard disk on iBooks - and indeed most laptops. Most of them have 4200 RPM drives, compared to 7200 RPM drives that are standard on most desktop PCs. Getting a PC laptop you'd be in the same situation. I have 2 PC laptops, one is my own the other is a company laptop, and they are no faster than my iBook as far as I can tell.

So far I've been able to watch a Realplayer movie, expand a 2 gig file with stuffit, browse the web and run xchat simultaneously with no problematic slowdown. In fact, while not faster than my desktop, it is somewhat smoother - ie, i dont have one app that suddenly hogs the whole machine, everything slows down fairly evenly if the ibook doesnt have enough power for it all.

This is a considerable step up compared to my g3/900. The 900 was ok, but i considered it too slow for this 'typical' multitasking senario. The new iBooks handle it just fine.

I'm also running it on a 17" LCD at 1280x1024 with screen spanning doctor. I got the 12" because I want to take it with me on motorcycle trips, where size and weight are a priority.

-Lonerider
 
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iCara

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Maybe it was just the connection? Edited to add maybe not. I didn't read about Icons coming up slow.

I've had my iBook for two weeks now and love it. It's my first and I already know I'll never own a PC again. You'll love it if you get it :)
 
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I would go for the 1.33 14" version. Its the one i got and I love it. I have a few friends with a 12 and they wish the got mine after they use it. The 12 is okay if you have another Mac to use, but as your only computer it gets old fast.
 
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pstauff

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Why do you say that? I have a 12 and I love it. I also have a 15" HP laptop and a Dell desktop. Since I got the iBook, I only use the iBook, except for burning DVDs on the desktop.

Acill said:
I would go for the 1.33 14" version. Its the one i got and I love it. I have a few friends with a 12 and they wish the got mine after they use it. The 12 is okay if you have another Mac to use, but as your only computer it gets old fast.
 

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