iBook Security, Cost & Efficiency Questions & Concerns

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Gideon

Guest
Hi everyone.

I’m currently a PC user and I’m contemplating the switch. I need to invest in a laptop next year and I’ve begun researching my options: Dell Inspiron 8600 Desktop replacement or Apple iBook G4 (GHz).

I’m in advertising sales so this will be purchased primarily as a tool to make my life easier…not more complicated. I need something that will enable me to do the following without too many headaches.

Graphic ad design
Word-processing
Spreadsheet creation
Email (at some point I’ll have a cable modem connection)
Web browsing

I also need access to Quicken or something like it and have some concerns about finding the software that I need without it costing as much as the laptop itself. I’m also concerned about the iBook’s security features…what kind of update system is available for OS X (Panther)? What are the firewalls like?

Thanks for your time and consideration. :)
 
OP
S

shadov

Guest
security

Most Unix systems have robust firewalls built in kernel. OS X uses ipfw from FreeBSD. If it is good enough for the biggest web servers out there it is good enough for you :) And you don't need to worry about viruses or spyware. (Not sure about spyware, but definately it isn't as big broblem as in Windows)

If you need additional security for your files, check out FileVault. Note that some people have had problems with it, so do a little backround study before enabling it.
 
OP
G

Gideon

Guest
Thanks for the reply. I've another question.

If I'm using Photoshop, In Design, Word, Excel, Quicken and surfing the net do I really need 1GHz? Some say that a Mac 800MHz would be more than enough to run these programs (it would also be more comfortable financially).

This is so scary! :confused:
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro | LED Cinema Display | iPhone 4 | iPad 2
I use an 800 mhz G3 iBook with all those apps and I'm fine.
 
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B

bjf123

Guest
Gideon said:
I’m also concerned about the iBook’s security features…what kind of update system is available for OS X (Panther)? What are the firewalls like?
There's a built in feature called Software Update that will look for any updates put out by Apple. As for firewalls, I've been a longtime Windows user, and even though I know the same security issues really aren't that much of a problem under OS X, I still want to know what is coming in and going out of my iMac. I use a program called Little Snitch, which functions very much like the firewalls on Windows. If a program I haven't already allowed tries to connect out, I get a pop up asking if I want to allow it. I really like that.
 
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I

ipmedia

Guest
You'll be fine with an 800 MHz system. I'm a graphic designer, using Photoshop etc as well, and it all runs fine on my system (800 MHz). Just be sure to toss in enough RAM. RAM is more important then MHz, so you'll end up saving on an 800 machine with more RAM then buying a 1GHz machine.
 

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