ibook g4 user - one year later......

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i have had my 12 inch ibook g4 for about a year now and wanted to detail my experience with my mac during this period.

i have never owned or really spent time using a mac prior to getting an ibook. the reason why i got an ibook was because i wanted to take advantage of wireless internet in my house and i like the notion of having a portable computer. i also wanted to get a computer i could carry around when i go to school. i was looking at the toshiba a70 which had the 15 inch widescreen lcd and some of the dell models like the 1150 which was very well priced but heavy and kinda ugly. my friend who is a mac user recommended my an ibook because of his love for the operating system ease of use and the size of the 12 inch ibook.

my friends who were windows users recommended i stick with pc simply because of the availability of software as well as price. the ibook during the summer of 2004 was expensive as it did not include the airport card at that time. basically i held off from getting a laptop that summer until the fall came along. apple decides to drop their price of the ibooks and include airport express. i went to the mac store near my place to take a look at the ibook and i was not impressed with the brightness of the lcd. i felt it was not as bright as the toshiba and dell computers i was looking at.

i was getting real confused and didn't know which way to go. should i cough up a couple hundred dollars more for a toshiba or go for a dell?? i ended up going with the ibook because i realized weight was an important factor for me as well as the fact the only competitor for the ibook in it's price range was the dell 700m. however, the dell 700m was still about 300 dollars more than the ibook. i bit the bullet and ordered my ibook. i customized my ibook to have a 60 gig hard drive and went to a computer store and bought a stick of 512mb kingson ram.

initial impression:
sharp looking laptop and i found the OS did a good job with font smoothing and rendering of jpegs. i just found that everything seemed to look "nicer" on a mac and i think it has something to do with the operating system, please forgive me cuz i'm not an technical wiz. i found that it was very easy to adjust the settings and set up programs on Mac OS X versus Windows XP. if i had to describe it, mac os x is dummy proof. i liked that a lot and i am fairly experienced with microsoft windows. i did find my ibook sluggish and not as zippy as a windows machine and ic an still say that till this day. however i do find that OS X is more stable where i can open up a whole bunch of programs but the computer will not operate sluggishly like my P4 desktop. one thing i have to note is that when i use my ibook on highest performance it makes a huge difference in speed compared to automatic and battery saver. so for those who have never adjusted their power settings, try it out especially when ur hooked up to a plug at home.

i like the ilife software that comes with my computer and it is an excellent package that symbolizes mac quality. i find the programs for mac are well designed and easy to use. a big plus for any user like me who likes simplicity.

i have been using my windows xp desktop and have to admit it would be hard for me to use windows now that i have used mac. i am not saying this as a mac fanatic but coming from a person who uses computers for word processing, internet and managing my digital files like jpegs and mp3s.

i will say that a mac is a good investment because i feel that i can use my laptop because the software does not get outdated as fast as windows software does. just look at all the people still using old mac machines compared to users using old windows machines.

verdict:

recommend it 100%

now i will admit that macs do cost significantly more than a windows machine. if all you do is word process and surf the web, heck you can use a very inexpensive pc and i wouldn't blame you if could not justify buying a mac. as a person like myself who can justify spending more because i do use a computer a lot, i will strongly state that both systems, windows or mac, do the job. it's a matter of preference. however, hopefully with intel chips coming into upcoming mac computers, prices may drop a bit more to make them more competitive.
 
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Very nice write up. Informative. I like it when people write things like this 6 months or a year down the road as opposed to writing one the day you get it out of the box. I think you have more perspective and are better able to judge what it does well and not so well and what it does well for you and what you'd like it to do better.
I guess I like reading up on how much people are enjoying their products. More please!
 
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excellent write up. i am glad to hear that you love your mac. that is the way i felt when i bought my ibook. i had a little buyers remorse after the first couple of months. i have found myself only using pc's at work after i got used to my ibook. all the mac haters at work get mad when i mention that i dont have to worry about viruses as much as they do.
 
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thanks for the responses. i think it's good to keep people up to date in helping them decide to switch. i'm not a hardcore mac lover and i admit that pc's offer better pricing but i love the simplicity of using a mac. one quote i remember someone gave describing using a mac was that things just work and you spend less time tinkering with things. i just came back from a friend's house and his dad was having problems with internet explorer. i just don't have problems like that anymore. i think at the very least people should give mac a try if they want to deal with no headaches. i am happy i don't have to do anymore security updates or worry about spyware.

next computer i want is an imac 20 inch!!!!!
 
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Mace said:
I like it when people write things like this 6 months or a year down the road as opposed to writing one the day you get it out of the box. I think you have more perspective and are better able to judge what it does well and not so well and what it does well for you and what you'd like it to do better.
Exactly. I personally don't like to see "switchers". By that, I mean people who totally give up one OS for the other. If you have used Windows all your life, and want to get a Mac, then get a Mac. DO NOT get rid of your Windows machine, though. The same can be said for the opposite situation. The reason is, they are completely different OS environments. Yes, they can do many of the same things, but each does it in a different way. Some things you can't do at all on the other OS. This is why so many "switchers" get frustrated. They want the new machine to do exactly what the old machine did, in the exact same manner as the old machine did. They constantly look for a "Mac version or equivalent" of a certain Windows program. They have trouble grasping the simple concept that they are not using Windows anymore if they got rid of the old machine, then they should stop trying to make the Mac act like a Windows machine. If there is something that they really liked about Windows or how Windows performed a certain task, then keep the old machine and just do that task on it. Yes, there are similar apps on Mac, that give similar results. But the process is going to be different. Some people cannot accept this and get extremely confused and upset and frustrated and begin to regret getting the Mac in the first place. This is where research and needs come into play. You must first define what you want to do with your computer. Then, see if your current system does what you want it to do in an adequate fashion. If it does, then there is no need to change it. This is not to say you can't get a Mac, but realize that you have no just cause to replace the system you currently have if it is perfoming to your standards. Some "switchers" look to Macs as a great saviour of sorts, that will rescue them from any Windows maladies or pitfalls they encounter. This can be true to an extent, but with a new OS comes new frustrations. This, coupled with their train of thought being stuck on how things are done Windows-style, makes for a much more difficult time.
So, to sum up:
1.) Before anyone makes a decision to get a Mac (or Windows system if you are Mac user), find out what you use your computer for and decide if your current system does this.
2.) If your current system does not do what you want it to do, research your alternatives first. Don't just flippantly dump one problem for a host of new ones. Try a Mac out first at the store, see if a friend has one, use this vast well of knowledge we call the internet to get more information on them, etc...
3.) If you do decide to get the Mac, realize this very important fact.....

You are not using Windows, so don't try to make the Mac act like Windows.

You will need to realize that you need to find the Macintosh way to complete your task, not the Windows way.

And that would be the best advice I could give any potential Mac buyer.

:black:
 
D

DigitalN.

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I definately agree with the above poster, I tried to "switch" and until I went and got my PC back, I hated it. after a while, I finally stopped using my PC at all, so I sold it off again. switching is harder, but going from XP to OSX is very easy if you still have windows around for a little support.
 
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radarbob

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i realized weight was an important factor for me as well as the fact the only competitor for the ibook in it's price range was the dell 700m.
You were very wise to compare apples to apples (pun intended :mac: ).
i will say that a mac is a good investment because i feel that i can use my laptop because the software does not get outdated as fast as windows software does. just look at all the people still using old mac machines compared to users using old windows machines.
My 17 years of Macintosh experience confirms this. Mac simply has a longer useful life than PCs. Historically, Macintosh tends to be more upgradeable and backward compatable. I'm typing this on an original Blueberry iBook running Panther (OS 10.3).

One of the programs I have (running in classic mode) is WriteNow- a word processor designed for OS 7 (that was two different kinds of CPUs ago!). The copywrite notice says 1994! And don't forget Mac OS now is really UNIX. Classic mode is a masterful piece of engineering from Apple, allowing us to use older (to a point) software.

Ask your PC buddies if they would take a 6 year old PC laptop and run XP on it. They'd think you're nuts!
 
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And that is true.

But about price. Do read this article: http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2005/01/miniapplesandoranges3/index.php

In there, it states [truly], that it would cost you 273 dollars to purchase the software included (iLife, AppleWorks, Quicken 2005, and two games). Take that from 500 dollars, and the Mac mini costs about, 227 dollars.

Keep in mind that the dell comes with a 'revolutionary' word perfect, not worth much.

Add seventy five dollars to the 227 (for a crt and keyboard/mouse), and the mac is cheaper than a dell. Not to mention it's got more ram and a better processor.

302 = Mac mini without included software, but w/ monitor and keyboard/mouse
399 = Badly specced dell with a monitor, and wordperfect software included in price.

I rest my case.
 
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iDVFH.

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I completely agree with you..except I find that when something DOES go wrong with a Mac it isn't a petty problem..it's bigger than you think..I'm on my iBook right now but it's bound to start humming soon (Failing HD). the box came from Apple for me to ship it (today), but I'm not ready to let go of my baby lol..I'll pack it up tonight )=
 
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Wow. Old forum. Anyway, from what I've heard, Apple tech support has been mixed. From experience, my stepdad's power supply in his iMac went bad. they sent a box and we had it back within 3 days; everything in order. free of charge.
 
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Good Write-Up!

I appreciate how open minded you have been. You have an excellent perspective. It is true that both Macs and PCs have their uses. Most PC users don't take the time to learn the Mac with an open mind. In my opinion, there isn't much to learn. I originally bought mine to use Adobe Streaming Media Collection and came to like the Mac, although I will probably build a cheap PC just to have one around. If I could afford an ibook, I would buy one for sure.
 

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