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<blockquote data-quote="jn4jenny" data-source="post: 104049"><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>Your questions:</p><p>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 (<a href="http://www.openoffice.org" target="_blank">www.openoffice.org</a>) 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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>3. MSN Messenger has some differences. Read about people's complaints with it here: <a href="http://r-james.myby.co.uk/messenger/" target="_blank">http://r-james.myby.co.uk/messenger/</a></p><p></p><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jn4jenny, post: 104049"] 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 ([url]www.openoffice.org[/url]) 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: [url]http://r-james.myby.co.uk/messenger/[/url] 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. [/QUOTE]
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