After 5 years of longing...I might finally get an iBook! ^_^

Previously my life has required me to keep a PC around...but now that my PC laptop has proved it's mass instability and I am n a position of business starter and college student I cannot afford **** like this so I have decided I need a backup system and I've wanted a 12" iBook for something like the past 5 years and now the specs on them are just too juicy to pass up! I need to run office and DreamWeaver though, which fortunately can both be goten with my student discount for $350=) Now, I have been kind of out of the Mac loop for a while. I need to re-learn the basics and more advanced things. I am pretty tech smart and have played with Mac's before, but never fully owned one...so I just have a few Q's and such.

Like what is going to be different than windows? I notice a lack of icons...so where do I go to find all ym normal programs? Can I make icons on the desktop? Are things named differently? and if so, how so?

Are simple keyboard shortcuts the same? (ctrl+b=bold font ctrl+v=paste, etc...)

I use AIM a lot for file transfers, can I still do that?

Hopefully I can still use mozilla? or does Safari have tabs by chance?

For anyone that uses a 12" iBook is the screen enough to do web design and such? Or do you find it too small? And how is the sharpness? Can things be resized if I find them too big/too small?

I am probably going to have 1.5GB, and an 80GB HDD in my iBook. The 1.5GB wil help with web design and multi-tasking lots of stuff, true? or false?

What is real life battery life going to be like while running deamweaver and a few other apps?

Lastly, what kind of software is pre-instaleld with iLife? (like which kind of apps, etc...). And is garage band pre-installed on it? I assume so since you can only buy expansion packs for it...is garage band easy to learn? I want to fool with it a bit haha. Also, for anyone that uses DM or MS Word/Office, are the programs any different? (I know DM is slightly diff but not too much). Like in apearance, sKB shortcuts, looks, etc...?

That's about it for now, if you have any other tips and tricks to through in or things I should be aware of, please feel free to add them! Thanks a million! =)

I really hope this works out...I can't wait^_^

P.S. (are there any old, old, members of the old techtv Mac forums here?)

Shortcuts: Most are very similar, except when you would use ctrl, you use cmd instead.

AIM: yes, you can use AIM for mac, which sucks. or, ichat is installed with OS X, and I love it. or, there are several other 3rd party programs to do it.

There are several browsers for mac, including Firefox. Personally, I just use Safari though. And yes, it has tabs.

Ram: True. The more ram, the better. 1GB is probably fine for what you would do, but the more the better for multitasking. If you use photoshop a fair amount, I wouldn't go less than 1 GB. I would reccomend buying your ram from a third party and installing it yourself, however. It is very easy to install, and you will save a lot of money buying elsewhere. (apple overcharges for ram)

Differences between Windows and OS X:
-No start menu, you use the "dock" instead.
-Easier to connect to wireless internet
-Less crashes
-Crashes don't bring down the whole system, just one program
-Easier to install programs
-Better performance for media editing
-no viruses
-a million other better things

I love the dock over the start menu and cluttered desktop. As for the screen, I have the 12 inch ibook and I love the size. My desktop unit is a 15 inch laptop and I really do prefer the 12 inch ibook screen (granted I work mostly with it on my lap.)

bone

Thanks...I already know about most of those things..like no viruses...and way better stability, which is why I am going Apple finally^_^ I am gonna put 1Gb of my own outsie RAM in for $125 since Apple wants $300 for it...I really want a 100GB HDD but it costs an extra $100 dang it...when you use your student discount can you still get that $100 rebate for a new printer? Cause idk if my current printer will work with my iBook=/

Also, I need to use Office, but some guy on the site said that the new one is coming out, is that true? I seriously need it RIGHT NOW tho so I guess I am screwed=/

Basically everything is the same then right? cept things are now in my dock and I use the cmd key.

More answers appreciated=)

Bones, I guess we'll have the same setup! I want my 15" PC laptop to be my home PC and such and my iBook to be my backup/school comp. I have a feeling I'll use my iBook a lot more since it's the same size as my school books tho ^_^ hehe Can you only have one window open that covers the whole screen? Or can you have say a word doc open with 1 or 2 IM windows beside it?

I havn't heard anything about a new version of office coming out, but I wouldn't be surprised. Your mac comes with a 30 day trial of office, so that could tie you over till a new release. Apple also gives a 30 day trial of there iWork software, which can open documents made in assorted office programs. There are also some good 3rd party alternatives such as OpenOffice, which is free.

What brand and model printer do you have?

my current printer is an HP 7350 photosmart I believe....can I get mac drivers for it online?

the trial might tide me over, semester ends in about a months sooo maybe lol but umm I will need it for sure and the guy said it'd be out in 90 days...so idk...

also, in that mac buyers guid eit says iBooks can really do media editing...that sounds ridiculous since a 1.33GHz G4 and 1.4B should be more than enough for it and gfx card barely play a role when rendering light web pages and such...I should be able to run Macromedia studio on it without too much trouble right? I'll do most of my work on my PC but I still wanna do some editing on the iBook...need an FTP client too...

the battery life should be like 5 hours right? Just making sure cause if it's less than like 3 I'll need an extra bat.

To answer a few specific questions more thoroughly:

Web browsers: Yes, you can use Mozilla (what some of us lovingly like to call Seamonkey) for Mac. However, like its namesake, it is quite the dinosaur. I would highly recommend using either Safari (the default browser, and yes it has tabs) and Camino (native, open source browser, based on Gecko, the same rendering engine used by Mozilla and Firefox). Again, Firefox is also available, as well as several other open-source projects you may want to research for yourself. The problem IMO with both Mozilla and Firefox is that they're ports. Allbeit very well done ports, but ports nonetheless.

AIM file transfers - AIM for Mac is kind of like IE; it's a very outdated, and highly obvious port. It's basically appeasement, because Apple users would be pissed if AOL didn't at least PRETEND to try. That being said, iChat, the default instant messaging program that comes with OS X, is very reliable for the most part. However its interface is fairly rigid and boring, and it's not all that versatile. I would personally recommend Adium X or Proteus, and specifically Adium because it's free. I've had great luck with file transfers between AIM Windows users on it. Unfortunately, you still can't "Direct connect" properly (at least, I've had no success with it), but as stated, this doesn't stop you from doing the 'send file' function.

RAM: rs2 covered this, and you hit the nail on the head yourself anyway.

MS Office - The interface is noticeably different, and yet noticeably familiar for Mac OS X. For the most part, Microsoft did an excellent job on the Office 2004 suite. It's not even really a port. It's a native redesign for OS X. The interface is very attractive, and very "Maclike." The only bug I have noticed is the slight instability when it comes to the "Notebook" layout, which allows you to save tons of pages of notes in tables within one document, much like you would have many pages of notes in a notebook. This is extremely convenient because each tab can have its own individual date and title, so you can just go right back to it whenever you need a specific note, as opposed to having to scroll down through an extremely long text file, or clutter up a folder with 30 different notes files for the same class. like I said, though, it's somewhat unstable, so be careful if you do decide to use it, and try to save often. P.S. I doubt MS will update Office at least until Apple goes Intel. It'll be easier on them to wait.

Keyboard shortcuts - rs2 covered this quite well. Command (Apple) key replaces Control in most situations. Keep in mind also that you hold control and click to do a 'right-click.' I would just recommend getting an external mouse with two buttons and a scroll wheel, though, honestly. It's just much easier, and much more comfortable for a former Windows user.

Screen size: Something you should keep in mind is that the 12" screen has nothing to do with the space on it (unless you're old/have bad eyesight). The screen resolution is all that matters. The native (and max) screen resolution on the iBook 12" and 14" is 1024x768. I have a 14" myself and I get along just fine using web browsers, iTunes, Word, Adium, and Photoshop all open at the same time. It's not really any trouble to click back and forth between the windows. Obviously I can't view a 7 MP digital photo at its full size, but I've never been inconvenienced for lack of screen space. Also there's a wonderful feature you may have heard of called Expose that was implemented in Panther (10.3; the current OS we're on now is 10.4). Expose allows you to use keyboard shortcuts (by default F9-F11) to either show all the Windows at once (in scaled-down mode; the windows dash apart from each other, and you can see them all at once and click on which one you want to focus on), Focus on one window, or take all the windows off the screen to view the desktop.

Media editing: Yes, you can do it. I do, and mine is maxed out at 1.28 GB, whereas you can have 1.5.

Battery life: This all depends. What you mentioned, using Dreamwaver and such, if you're running it along with multiple apps, you could probably get as much as three hours if you play your cards right. A BIG tip I have for you is: turn the brightness down as low as you can possibly bear it. I do this, and I get up to seven hours and twenty minutes battery life using just Word, and about 6:15 using Word, Adium, Mail, and a Web browser. And I have the 14", which obviously gets less than the 12". Do not bother with an extra battery. You can't switch them out during sleep mode; once the battery is out, the iBook dies. If you want this "switchout" feature, you need a Powerbook. In all honesty, though, if I'm going to be near a restaurant or the corner of a classroom even, I'll just bring my mouse and my power adapter (which winds up very neatly) in the same little neoprene pouch and toss it in my messenger bag. I never notice the extra weight.

applelaptops said:

my current printer is an HP 7350 photosmart I believe....can I get mac drivers for it online?

the trial might tide me over, semester ends in about a months sooo maybe lol but umm I will need it for sure and the guy said it'd be out in 90 days...so idk...

also, in that mac buyers guid eit says iBooks can really do media editing...that sounds ridiculous since a 1.33GHz G4 and 1.4B should be more than enough for it and gfx card barely play a role when rendering light web pages and such...I should be able to run Macromedia studio on it without too much trouble right? I'll do most of my work on my PC but I still wanna do some editing on the iBook...need an FTP client too...

the battery life should be like 5 hours right? Just making sure cause if it's less than like 3 I'll need an extra bat.

Click to expand...

I said light media editing, because a Powerbook, Mac Mini, or other mac will beat it for editing. My powerbook runs photoshop filters and 3d renders in illustrator around 3 times as fast as my friend's iBook for example. For video and audio editing, it is also much faster. The iBook is certainly capable of editing graphics and handling web design. It's just that compared to the other models, it is less speedy.

Macromedia Studio should run fine on it.

There are several FTP clients available for free, there is even a dashboard widget to do it. You can check versiontracker.com or macupdate.com for software listings. Apple also has a listing of software. Or, you can connect to FTP over safari.

Meyvn, tahnks for the reply! I too have a emssanger bag I want to be able to toss my iBook into. I use an older version of AIM as it is so that probably doesn't matter too much. If safari has tabs then I'll use Safari, all I care about is the tabs. I am also looking forward to never dealing with IE...*happily sighs* ^_^

as I said before I only wanna do light editing on my iBook. The majority of it will be used for web searches, SEO apps, and of course IM's and Word. So hopefully battery life will be up there. I mostly have a some 3 hour classes I need to take notes throughout which I am worried about but currently I must lug around my PC laptop, which while light still requires a seperate bag and such...so yeah...

as for screen size, my eyesight actually is fairly bad=/ tho it's corrected obviously...

And of course the iBook will be slower, I just thought the guide made it sound like it would hardly be possible which weirded me out. Sorry for the confusion.

Sounds good so far...I am incredibly psyched about getting my new iBook! ^_^

Don't use AIM for file transfers... it takes WAY too long, and too many things go wrong when transferring b/w Mac and PC. I would register at a free hosting site like FileFront, which is really for gaming files, but as long as you're not distributing X-rated or illegal (read copy-righted music/movies/etc.) then you can use it for anything. If you don't want to register, try www.yousendit.com

That isn't gonna work...my friend and I have a setup. I get all my music from him over aim and he won't work around me so yeah...w/e...

I am pissed, the Apple stor coudln't put a larger HDD in my iBook, *****es...my iBook better be here by Saturday! Which means, btw, that I ordered it! yay! Only got an 80GB HDD though, oh wells, good enough! So yay! I am so excited! Where do you guys recommend ordering RAM from? There's some nice stuff from a seller on pricewatch that has Apple RAM, 1GB for $125 I am looking at.

Hmm, would I be ok with 1GB of RAM cause another 512MB is only $47 as opposed to $125 for the 1GB stick. Would another 512MB above 1Gb be very useful?

get an external HD if you need it badly, i think someone posted a link on how you can make one on your own..
my ibook is only 40GB on its own..but i use my 20GB ipod and i use an external 100GB hard disk..

sirune said:

get an external HD if you need it badly, i think someone posted a link on how you can make one on your own..
my ibook is only 40GB on its own..but i use my 20GB ipod and i use an external 100GB hard disk..

Click to expand...

I am not going through all that hassle...I have a 100GB external HDD for sharing between my laptops and backing up but the more stoarage the merrier!

Now about the RAM tho...it's not always the more RAM the merrier...1GB has traditionally been about as merry as one can get unless as part of a rendering farm or CS source server...

btw, how do you get regular files onto your iPod? I have a 20GB one as well that I could use, haha

haha.. after i tell you this you'll wonder why you even asked..its that easy
just open your itunes with your ipod mounted already.
in ipod preferences, tick enable disk use.
and everything will fall into place, you'll see an ipod on your desktop. drag and drop as you would normally.
i'm with you on the ram..only after reading this thread do i realise that i need more ram..

haha ok...well...I went ahead and ordered an extra 512MB stick. I figure if 1GB isn't enough then I can always upgrade later. However, at the moment I have other expenses and such and saving $80 will help me out=) How much RAM do you have? lol

EDIT: Holy effing! is this correct??!?! it takes them FIVE DAYS to ship my iBook out??!?!!? estimated shipped by the 21st!!?!??! wth!?!?! Someone tell me they're KIDDING and it'll ship in lik one day!

my ram..
the initial ibook configuration..i got my ibook with the same tech specs as the one being put up in apple's website- 512mb
reason for not upgrading it at first
1) i thought it would be enough- which i just realise i don't
2) didn't want to push my luck with my dad

sirune said:

my ram..
the initial ibook configuration..i got my ibook with the same tech specs as the one being put up in apple's website- 512mb
reason for not upgrading it at first
1) i thought it would be enough- which i just realise i don't
2) didn't want to push my luck with my dad

Click to expand...

haha those are good reasons...well ok the first one not so much=P but yeah...lol dude, get anoter 512 stick, they're nly $47 off of coast memory (do a search for 1GB Apple iBook" and they'll come up, once you're there you can get a 512MB stick. Pretty sweet if you ask me=) My lil iBook is gonna pack quite a punch IMO.

Btw, what is the eject key combo for ejecting CD/DVD's? And how do you open tabs in safari?

To eject CDs or DVDs, just drag them from the desktop into the trash. Or, the powerbooks have an eject button above the delete button, not sure about iBooks.

To open new tabs, type cmd+t or go to File>New Tab
Tabs must first be turned on in preferences

On the iBook, the F12 button is set by default as the "eject" button. It has an eject symbol on it. Just so you know, Macs are more RAM-hungry than PCs, and they tend to not like relinquish RAM even after you shut the programs using it down. The thinking behind this of course is, 'Oh, he'll probably open the program again later and this will speed that process up.' However, this often translates into difficulties when you want to say, run Photoshop for awhile, then close it and run iMovie or Garageband later. Obviously, 1 GB is still a lot of RAM, but it's not nearly as much as it would be on a PC. 1.5 GB isn't "overkill" by any means if you're doing any kind of video, image, or even audio editing. ****, it even helps if you just like to run a bunch of smaller programs at once.

Ah I forget to enable tabs in Safari...it should be auto IMO.

Meyvn...where were you last night??? I ordered 512MB so I'll have 1GB...if I need the ful 1.5 I can always upgrade...or is it important enough to immediately send back the RAM and get the 1GB stick?