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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
iBook or Powerbook
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<blockquote data-quote="NMRJock" data-source="post: 18901"><p>I can share a bit of personal experience. I got my Powerbook about a week and a half ago. I switched from a whole slew of Windows machines (95,me,2000). I got the 12" Powerbook and I haven't regretted the smaller screen size. I like being able to pull the plug and take it with me to the atrium. I did get the BT wireless KB and Mouse. I bought them so that I would have a number pad and no extra cords. There have been worth it for the coolness factor alone.</p><p></p><p>1. The Powerbook is better than the iBook (naturally). Whether or not it's worth the extra money is debatable. If you're not going to be doing hard computation on it and you don't want BT and the other gadgets that come standard with the PB, then I think that the iBook is the way to go. For me it was a matter of the Powerbook only being $150-200 more than the iBook by the time I loaded them up the way I wanted them. That and I like the form factor of the PB much better.</p><p></p><p>2. I don't know that I've 'learned' OS X in the couple of weeks that I've had my PB. But this was pretty much my first experience with a Mac and it's been pleasant. The learning curve just isn't very high.</p><p></p><p>3. Well, that is a matter of preference. My officemate has a 15" PB that she ordered a couple of days after I ordered mine. She has more screen real-estate. Mine is more portable. If cost is a factor, then the 12" is also considerably cheaper. I actually planned to buy a display when I bought mine, but I've been pretty satisfied with the 12" screen so far.</p><p></p><p>4. I have never used VirtualPC, but I've heard that it's not very good.</p><p></p><p>5. If I were buying a desktop, I would have gotten another PC. But shopping for PC laptops is a frustrating affair (and I've had 4 or 5 of them). My previous laptop was garbage and quality PC laptops are very expensive. I decided that a Unix based PB was the way to go for me. It meshes well with the Unix work we do around here and I get it in a solidly built, user friendly laptop.</p><p></p><p>6. I've never used XP. But being Unix based is a big plus for me. I think there are also ways that the PCs are better than the Macs though. For the casual user that doesn't play a lot of games, I think that OS X is a fantastic operating system though.</p><p></p><p>7. If you're going to live on campus and are provided with 100 megabit ethernet, then you may not want to worry too much about the Airport Extreme, as it will cut your connection speed by a factor of two. That said, I have four megabit cable modem in my home and do use my wireless card there. If you want to go wireless I would suggest getting the card installed in the machine by Apple. I'm sure that their base station works fine, but there are cheaper solutions out there if you can set it up yourself. It works exceptionally well with my Linksys router. </p><p></p><p>8. Mac knows that they have a tiny marketshare and that to do well they need to lure PC owners away from Microsoft. It seems to me that they've done everything that they can to make the transition as smooth as possible. I was shocked at how quickly I was able to decommission my old laptop. I figured that I would be running the two side-by-side for weeks before I put it to bed.</p><p></p><p>~Paul</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="NMRJock, post: 18901"] I can share a bit of personal experience. I got my Powerbook about a week and a half ago. I switched from a whole slew of Windows machines (95,me,2000). I got the 12" Powerbook and I haven't regretted the smaller screen size. I like being able to pull the plug and take it with me to the atrium. I did get the BT wireless KB and Mouse. I bought them so that I would have a number pad and no extra cords. There have been worth it for the coolness factor alone. 1. The Powerbook is better than the iBook (naturally). Whether or not it's worth the extra money is debatable. If you're not going to be doing hard computation on it and you don't want BT and the other gadgets that come standard with the PB, then I think that the iBook is the way to go. For me it was a matter of the Powerbook only being $150-200 more than the iBook by the time I loaded them up the way I wanted them. That and I like the form factor of the PB much better. 2. I don't know that I've 'learned' OS X in the couple of weeks that I've had my PB. But this was pretty much my first experience with a Mac and it's been pleasant. The learning curve just isn't very high. 3. Well, that is a matter of preference. My officemate has a 15" PB that she ordered a couple of days after I ordered mine. She has more screen real-estate. Mine is more portable. If cost is a factor, then the 12" is also considerably cheaper. I actually planned to buy a display when I bought mine, but I've been pretty satisfied with the 12" screen so far. 4. I have never used VirtualPC, but I've heard that it's not very good. 5. If I were buying a desktop, I would have gotten another PC. But shopping for PC laptops is a frustrating affair (and I've had 4 or 5 of them). My previous laptop was garbage and quality PC laptops are very expensive. I decided that a Unix based PB was the way to go for me. It meshes well with the Unix work we do around here and I get it in a solidly built, user friendly laptop. 6. I've never used XP. But being Unix based is a big plus for me. I think there are also ways that the PCs are better than the Macs though. For the casual user that doesn't play a lot of games, I think that OS X is a fantastic operating system though. 7. If you're going to live on campus and are provided with 100 megabit ethernet, then you may not want to worry too much about the Airport Extreme, as it will cut your connection speed by a factor of two. That said, I have four megabit cable modem in my home and do use my wireless card there. If you want to go wireless I would suggest getting the card installed in the machine by Apple. I'm sure that their base station works fine, but there are cheaper solutions out there if you can set it up yourself. It works exceptionally well with my Linksys router. 8. Mac knows that they have a tiny marketshare and that to do well they need to lure PC owners away from Microsoft. It seems to me that they've done everything that they can to make the transition as smooth as possible. I was shocked at how quickly I was able to decommission my old laptop. I figured that I would be running the two side-by-side for weeks before I put it to bed. ~Paul [/QUOTE]
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