I think it's time to switch

I had the same reservation you did about the Macbook's keyboard. It doesn't look very comfortable from the pictures. However, once I got my hands on one, it's been an amazing experience. The keyboard is perfectly spaced for my above average sized hands and the keys have an amazing tactile feel to them.

Overall, the Macbook has been a pleasant experience. Having owned the Macbook for less than 3 weeks I'm already annoyed with how Windows XP works. I've been messing around with Vista and it's nothing compared to Mac OS X. It pretty much looks like a dressed up version of XP with a few enhancements here or there. Mac OS X is just a joy to use. Like you, I became annoyed with computers because I spent more time fixing them than using them. The Macbook ignited the passion for computers that I had thought to have lost forever.

13 inches seems to be just perfect, especially since the resolution on the screen is really good. I wanted something light and portable, and this fits my needs just perfectly.

As for your choice between a G4 and a Macbook Pro, I would HIGHLY suggest getting the Intel based laptop for several reasons. One, the G4 is dated technology. The processor had been sitting in the Powerbooks for years without significant change. It would only make sense to get one if you were on a very tight budget but still wanted a Mac laptop. Second reason ties into the first. The Intel based Macs are MUCH faster than their G4 predecessors. It was the one thing Apple kept touting about their switch, the significant speed upgrades. So doesn't make sense to get a G4 based Powerbook when you want to future-proof your machine.

I suggest going to either your local Apple store or an electronics store that stocks Apple hardware. Check out the Macbooks and the Macbook Pros. Get a feel for how they work. Mess around in Mac OS X a bit. When I did this, I didn't like the keyboard on the Macbook Pros. They felt mushy and cramped, very unlike their smaller brethren. Oh, and unless you plan on gaming or editing some serious video, you really won't need graphics horsepower. Though I personally hate integrated graphics as wel, the tradeoff in size and battery life was well worth it.

And finally, the rumor mill has it that Apple will be releasing a 12" Macbook Pro sometime soon. So if you really want better graphics and you like the Pro feel better, you can get one in a smaller size. Though personally I find 13.3" screens much better than 12" screens. That extra inch makes a huge difference on something as small as a notebook.

Welp, I did it. Shipping tomorrow should be a 2.0GHz MacBook Pro. It's the refurbished special I mentioned in a previous post. I bought it for $1270 (with tax, shipped). Not a bad price IMO.

I have to say, this is the most excited I've been about a new computer in quite awhile. I'm sure I'll have a million questions for you guys as I get acquainted with all things Mac.

Anyone want to buy a very lightly used Dell Inspiron 700m with about a year and a half of the factory warranty remaining?? Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux 6.10 preinstalled. LOL!

cwa107 said:

Welp, I did it. Shipping tomorrow should be a 2.0GHz MacBook Pro. It's the refurbished special I mentioned in a previous post. I bought it for $1270 (with tax, shipped). Not a bad price IMO.

I have to say, this is the most excited I've been about a new computer in quite awhile. I'm sure I'll have a million questions for you guys as I get acquainted with all things Mac.

Anyone want to buy a very lightly used Dell Inspiron 700m with about a year and a half of the factory warranty remaining?? Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux 6.10 preinstalled. LOL!

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Congrats on the new purchase, and welcome! You'll love it, I promise.

nukemm said:

Congrats on the new purchase, and welcome! You'll love it, I promise.

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I know it, I'm totally stoked. I'll be sure to update you on first impressions and some of the trials and tribulations!

I just want to reiterate what a great board you guys have here. There's a ton of friendly people on here and I've learned quite a bit just searching around for tidbits. I hope to be able to contribute as much if not more than what I've already learned here as my experience grows.... can't wait!

novicew said:

Apparently there is a rumor about a 12" MBP in other websites including this one. But I wouldn't go and buy it until I know that there are no major issues.

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I didnt think this would happen, if it does and there are no issues. I will get one right away, and nivida graphics wow.

Just wondering what you guys think. I got the macbook 1.83Ghz Core duo refurb for $789 CAD. Is this a pretty descent deal? (Works out to about $680 USD) Thanks.

Oh, this is my first mac....i've seen the light and I am converting to mac. I'll be buying a 20" imac core2duo in Jan.

biggpopa said:

Just wondering what you guys think. I got the macbook 1.83Ghz Core duo refurb for $789 CAD. Is this a pretty descent deal? (Works out to about $680 USD) Thanks.

Oh, this is my first mac....i've seen the light and I am converting to mac. I'll be buying a 20" imac core2duo in Jan.

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In consideration of some of the prices I've seen in my shopping, this sounds like an awesome deal. You can't touch a decent used G4 PowerBook for any less than $650.

cwa107 said:

In consideration of some of the prices I've seen in my shopping, this sounds like an awesome deal. You can't touch a decent used G4 PowerBook for any less than $650.

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I'm glad to hear that. I had friends telling me that I could buy a new windows based laptop for that much, but I've really taken a liking to the mac, and when I saw this deal, I had to jump on it.

cwa107 said:

Welp, I did it. Shipping tomorrow should be a 2.0GHz MacBook Pro. It's the refurbished special I mentioned in a previous post. I bought it for $1270 (with tax, shipped). Not a bad price IMO.

I have to say, this is the most excited I've been about a new computer in quite awhile. I'm sure I'll have a million questions for you guys as I get acquainted with all things Mac.

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Congrats, been playing with mine solid for 3 days now. Installed few programs, already up to 40 Gigs of space used (this is way more than a new windows machine with comparable programs installed).

Have tried parallels already - can't play DVD's, in OS X or in XP while Parallels is running (This is an issue documented by Parallels). Mack the Ripper and others are by no means equal to the task of available win programs. Downloaded boot camp and printed instruction last nite, but have not installed it yet - prob not until next weekend.

Have set up video conferencing with the kid already (got him the 20" iMAC - he's in diff city). That's pretty cool.

To others who have been asking the question about installing XP, you will need a copy of XP that is not running on another machine to continue using it, because it will have to be authenticated. You're existing copy (mine is OEM) will install in Parallels. Have been told you need retail version (OEM will not work) in Boot Camp, will let you know for sure in couple days.

bobtomay said:

Congrats, been playing with mine solid for 3 days now. Installed few programs, already up to 40 Gigs of space used (this is way more than a new windows machine with comparable programs installed).

Have tried parallels already - can't play DVD's, in OS X or in XP while Parallels is running (This is an issue documented by Parallels). Mack the Ripper and others are by no means equal to the task of available win programs. Downloaded boot camp and printed instruction last nite, but have not installed it yet - prob not until next weekend.

Have set up video conferencing with the kid already (got him the 20" iMAC - he's in diff city). That's pretty cool.

To others who have been asking the question about installing XP, you will need a copy of XP that is not running on another machine to continue using it, because it will have to be authenticated. You're existing copy (mine is OEM) will install in Parallels. Have been told you need retail version (OEM will not work) in Boot Camp, will let you know for sure in couple days.

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Mine came today. I am less than impressed with a couple of things. In particular, the screen is not stellar compared with my Inspiron 700m. The viewing angle is fairly narrow before it starts to fade - and even when you're looking at it straight on, there is a discernable difference in lighting at the sides of the screen.

I have a trial version of Parallels installed and am currently installing XP as I write this. I can't believe how quickly I'm eating up disk space. My 700m also has an 80GB drive and I have a ton of stuff installed on it. I think I'm eating up around 30GB of space - and that's with an installation of Ubuntu on it.

I was thinking about running Bootcamp, but am holding off for right now just to see how well Parallels runs Windows. It would certainly be more convenient to just open it in a window and run it that way.

By the way, what's up with the Delete key? I read someone else mention that it can work "both ways". How does one do that?

cwa107 said:

Mine came today. I am less than impressed with a couple of things. In particular, the screen is not stellar compared with my Inspiron 700m. The viewing angle is fairly narrow before it starts to fade - and even when you're looking at it straight on, there is a discernable difference in lighting at the sides of the screen.

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I've used mine for watching movies/television in largish crowds with no complaints. The screen is at least as good (if not better) than the screens on my Dell XPS and HP notebooks.

I have a trial version of Parallels installed and am currently installing XP as I write this. I can't believe how quickly I'm eating up disk space. My 700m also has an 80GB drive and I have a ton of stuff installed on it. I think I'm eating up around 30GB of space - and that's with an installation of Ubuntu on it.

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Your Mac came with a ton of applications that you may not need or want. You have trial versions of all four Office 2004 apps (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Entourage), demos for both iWork apps (that's about 1.3G), the iLife suite, built in mail & browser, calendar & address book, plus 2-3G worth of foreign language support.

Also, how much hard drive space did you give Parallels? That hard drive space is dedicated just as if it was one big file (which it is, actually). So if you gave your Parallels "machine" 16G of hard drive space, that's 16G of hard drive space you've used up.

I was thinking about running Bootcamp, but am holding off for right now just to see how well Parallels runs Windows. It would certainly be more convenient to just open it in a window and run it that way.

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The only reason I can think of to use Bootcamp is if you have applications that will not run under Parallels (like Direct3D games).

By the way, what's up with the Delete key? I read someone else mention that it can work "both ways". How does one do that?

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delete = backspace
fn + delete = forward erase

ToddG said:

I've used mine for watching movies/television in largish crowds with no complaints. The screen is at least as good (if not better) than the screens on my Dell XPS and HP notebooks.

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The 700m just has an awesome screen. It's one of the best I've ever seen on a laptop. You can look at it from just about any angle and it's crystal clear. I think it's just that my expectations are set too high. This screen is on-par with most of the widescreen laptops I've seen.

Your Mac came with a ton of applications that you may not need or want. You have trial versions of all four Office 2004 apps (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Entourage), demos for both iWork apps (that's about 1.3G), the iLife suite, built in mail & browser, calendar & address book, plus 2-3G worth of foreign language support.

Also, how much hard drive space did you give Parallels? That hard drive space is dedicated just as if it was one big file (which it is, actually). So if you gave your Parallels "machine" 16G of hard drive space, that's 16G of hard drive space you've used up.

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I realize there's a ton of stuff installed in addition, Parallels creates a virtual drive that also takes up a ton of space. I'm not complaining, it's just using up more space than I was expecting with just a factory install.

The only reason I can think of to use Bootcamp is if you have applications that will not run under Parallels (like Direct3D games).

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I was thinking along the same lines. I'll probably wait on Bootcamp until I can get a larger drive in this thing. Does OSX use the ext3 file system like other flavors of *NIX? Can I use a standard drive imaging program (like Ghost) to clone to another drive?

delete = backspace
fn + delete = forward erase

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Makes sense, thanks.

It just seems like a lot of space is being used with a factory install, but you're looking at it from a Windows perspective. A factory Windows laptop will use at most 4 or 5 gigs of space and even then, most of that is just junk you'll get rid of right away. Windows itself is maybe a gig install.

With a factory Mac, it isn't the OS taking up all that space, it's all the extras that come along with it. Like Todd said, you can get rid of about 3 or 4 gigs just by removing the extra language packs. You have fully functional Office suites along with a host of other applications via iLife. If you installed two office suites, a photo editor, a movie editor and authoring program, and a music composing program that came with 2 gigs of sample files, I'm sure you would have the same space issues on your PC laptop.

So it may seem like a lot of your space is being taken up out of the box, but you have to remember that Apple just saved you the trouble of installing that sort of software yourself.

OK, so I've had a full day more or less to mess around with my MacBook Pro. It's been an interesting day to say the least. I thought I'd share some of my initial impressions. I've already mentioned a couple of my dislikes, but so far, my experience has been mostly positive.

Overall, I like the design of this system. Unlike most Windows notebooks, it seems very well constructed and thoughtful in its design. The keyboard is very good and although I haven't seen it light up yet, I can't wait to take advantage of that feature. I am surprised at how some of the keys are truncated in size so as to conserve space. That seems a bit unnecessary as there is plenty of real estate to go around. In a notebook this big, it makes me think that function is taking a backseat to form. But that's just a little niggle.

I'm surprised that there are so few lights in general. I'd like to see the power button have a glowing LED to let you know it's turned on. I'd also like to see a disk activity light as well as link lights at the Ethernet port for troubleshooting purposes. Again, I'm sure this is to keep in-line with Apple's design philosophy, but it makes me feel like I'm flying blind. In a legacy-free design, I'd also like to see some more USB ports, although I understand you can always use a hub, there's plenty of unused space and I don't understand why they don't take full advantage of it.

I was surprised to find myself needing to bring up context-menus on a regular basis. I always thought Apple didn't give the Mac a second mouse button because you didn't really need it. The truth is, you really do! There are some things you simply can't access by any other means. I'm already tired of having to hold the CTRL key down and click.

I feel like all I'm doing is complaining, but there's a lot to like here too. The built-in iSight camera is awesome, I love the latch and slot-loading Superdrive. The MagSafe power adapter is really neat and flexible - and it's plenty long too when using the optional AC cord. The case feels very HQ and typing is extremely comfortable. I also like how cool this thing runs. I was expecting it to be extremely warm based on some of the comments I've seen floating around the net. There people need to use a modern Windows laptop to know what HOT is!! I love the shortcut buttons and their corresponding on-screen displays. These actually work exactly the way they're supposed to which can't be said for Windows laptops when they only work after the OS loads fully or if you have special drivers installed.

Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention - Apple gave me a little Christmas present and sent the unit to me with 1GB of RAM. The specs on their website listed it as 512MB. Sweet.. that was one of the first things I thought I'd have to buy!

OS X is exactly what I was expecting. Fast, efficient and easy to use. The effects and transitions are super-cool. Front Row made my co-worker's jaw drop when I showed him it for the first time. Installing software is a breeze - even OpenOffice installed with little fuss (although I had to install X11, no big deal). I have Office 2004 for Mac on order through my company's Microsoft Home-Use Program ($20 for any version of Office, including Office for Mac).

I ran Software updates and found that my installation and firmware was a little behind the times. It took a little while, but that's all set now.

Having a fair, working knowledge of Linux, I'm pretty comfortable with the shell and am pleased that Apple didn't try to dumb it down. Anyone who knows Linux will feel right at home.

So, without writing a novel, I have to say that I'm pleased with my purchase. I did install XP via Parallels, but I have found no reason thus far to actually use it. So, in summary, I am very, very pleased with my purchase. Most of the complaints I have are very minor. Any new computer is going to have its own eccentricities, you just have to get used to them.

Is it just me or do these things eat batteries for breakfast? I've been sitting here with only Firefox open for about ten minutes now - screen brightness down at its lowest setting and power management set to max battery. I'm already down at 88% remaining, down from 100% just a few minutes ago. Do you think my battery is defective?

Can't seem to figure out how to do multiple quotes - so I'll do it the lazy way.

Mouse -
I can't live without the right click menu it seems - so 2nd addon was a bluetooth mouse, the one carried in most of the stores around here - Kingston - does not have very good reviews on Amazon, had finally settled on getting the Mighty Mouse - found out at the store that for the right click to function, you have to lift your other finger off of the mouse or it may just give you a regular click since it is pressure sensitive - ended up with the Logitech V270, works pretty good, haven't seen any issue with lag yet, decent size for sitting on the arm of my recliner, battery powered, can't speak to life length yet, but I keep forgetting to turn it off and it's been on for 3 days straight.

Software Updates -
Only use the Software update function at this time. Apples web site has not been updated to show the most current items available in relation to the Core2Duo. My firmware versions were numbered lower than the most current versions shown on Apples site, but found out they start the numbering convention over again. I would have updated without calling, but the versions of firmware they were showing had come out even prior to Intel releasing the Core2Duo.

Battery -
Can't speak comparatively, as this is my first laptop. Seems to go down fast at first, but have worked with battery only a couple times, just browsing, downloading and installing programs and had it last for around 3 hours - didn't time it specifically.

OK, found out the solution for one mouse button. I was toying around in keyboard/mouse settings under system preferences and didn't notice it earlier. There is a setting to tap the touch pad with two fingers for a right-click. It works great and now I'm not missing the second mouse button. That solves one annoying problem! BTW, I love the two-finger scrolling!

yeah, the two-finger tap is great.

two finger universal scroll is really slick too!

cwa107 said:

OK, found out the solution for one mouse button. I was toying around in keyboard/mouse settings under system preferences and didn't notice it earlier. There is a setting to tap the touch pad with two fingers for a right-click. It works great and now I'm not missing the second mouse button. That solves one annoying problem! BTW, I love the two-finger scrolling!

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Thanks a lot, great tip. I got my macbook today, and I love it. The right click thing was bothering me. I think I'm going to be getting rid of some of my PCs now. The thing I love about mac is that it just works. I feel so much happier just using this instead of that piece of crap Windows. Does anyone know of a way to do the third click?? Like when you click with a scroll wheel? Because on my PC, that would open up a firefox link in a new tab... its much quicker than right clicking it and scrolling to open in new tab. If not, Ill probably be buying a new mouse anyway

Welcome to Mac-Forums, 12991! Enjoy your stay and make yourself comfy! :girl:

12991 said:

Does anyone know of a way to do the third click?? Like when you click with a scroll wheel? Because on my PC, that would open up a firefox link in a new tab... its much quicker than right clicking it and scrolling to open in new tab. If not, Ill probably be buying a new mouse anyway

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The scroll wheel clicks we are use to with advanced mice in XP are typically a part of the software function supplied by manufacturer and not a part of the OS. Am brand new to Mac myself so haven't gotten around to looking for that functionality yet. Have bought a Logitech bluetooth mouse which typically have great additional functionality in XP with their software, but they do not provide any software (at least for this mouse) for Mac OS X. The two items it will not do in OS X are the scroll click and the side to side scroll.