Help Choosin A Mac

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wantamac

Guest
Hey, this is my first post. Basically im getting rid of my windows pc and switching to mac but im stuck on which one to get! I mainly use it for surfin the web, chatin on msn listenin to me tunes on itunes and some work on word but i could use the apple equivalent. I dont really need a massive hard drive because i have an external one and i use my ipod to store files on aswell. Im only looking to spend around £700-£800. My first ideas is a 12" iBook because i REALLY like the design and it will be great for at home because i have a 802.11g network which it will hopefully work with! So do i go with an iBook, mac mini, emac or strech my limit and get a g5 imac?

Oh and just a couple of questions!

1) Can i open word and excel files?
2) How easy will it be for me to make the switch? as in how easy is it to get to grips with OSX and the computer in general?
3) will i be able to use msn and if so is it much different to the windows edition?
4) one last question, how long will the battery on the iBook last??

Thanks in advance for any replies! :headphone
 
OP
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jn4jenny

Guest
You don't sound like a hardcore graphics design guy, so the truth is that you should probably get the least powerful iBook that you can buy and drop as much additional RAM into it as you can afford. With Macs, having maximum RAM is a much bigger deal than having high processor speed. Think about getting your RAM somewhere besides Apple, though--they really gouge you for RAM upgrades.

Any of the Macs you're talking about will work with an 802.11g network, and all of them will work wirelessly if you have an Airport Extreme card in there.

Your questions:
1. You can open Word and Excel files several ways. One is to buy Microsoft Office v.X or the newer Microsoft Office 2004 (try the student version if you're eligible, or try Ebay). You could also download Open Office (www.openoffice.org) which is an open source version of Word and Excel that is completely free and is designed to function as close to Microsoft Office as possible.

2. OS X will feel awkward to you at first. I highly advise you to either find a Mac-owning buddy to spend about an hour with you and show you the ropes, or get "Mac OS X: The Manual That Should Have Been in the Box" at the library, or look up one of the many online Mac OS X "new switcher" tutorials.

3. MSN Messenger has some differences. Read about people's complaints with it here: http://r-james.myby.co.uk/messenger/

4. Battery life varies drastically with usage. In general, as with Windows laptops, the sales guy will quote you a longer battery life than you'll get in practice. Running a wireless connection through Airport Extreme, running on maximum LCD brightness, opening and closing programs over and over, and playing mp3's will all eat into your battery time. I'll leave it to the iBook people on here to quote you an actual number.
 
OP
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jessica

Guest
Hands down grab the ibook. You are the target user in many cases.
The switch? Give yourself about 2 hours the first day and you'll be saying WINDOWS WHO?

I get 3 hours, screen on bright bright and running about 4 apps one being photoshop the rest is ichat, web, itunes, excel and or word. I have gotten 3.5. This is on a powerbook 1.67 128vid 512mb ram.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 13" | MacBook Pro 13" | Mac Mini 2GHz C2D
i love my iBook. i am sitting at home right now using a neighbors wireless connection, and sometimes my own, watching tv. I would suggest getting M$ office for mac as it is just easier to use with the winduhs version. it did not take me very long to get use to OS X. spend some time playing with it. if you have any problems, search the forums and if you cant find the answer, then post your question.
 

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