Some advice please...

[Seeker]

Hello everyone,

I've been a PC user all my life. Pretty advanced. But also incredibly frustrated with the perennial instability and the general lack of positive computing experience as a whole.

Definitely considering switching. Can't afford a PB, thinking of an 12in Ibook. Like the portability f/r.

Well aware of the MHz Myth, but still would an 800MHz G4 Ibook, 640 DDR SDRAM, 60GB HD, ISight and ,Mac be enough to fit my purposes?

I'm a student with a tight budget but will definitely be very much into the 'digital lifestyle' with music, photos, videos, online stuff, but not much gaming. I'm looking for smoothness, rock-solid stability, and ease of use.

Any advice from the die-hard mac converts out there?

esp. since I heard in June, stuff will prob get better. very afraid that if I get it now I'll only be getting somthing tt gets obsolete practically immediately (like how the 12in ibook occupies the lower end of processor specs). can't afford to wait though. need some time to get used to it b4 school.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Graphite]

yea that should work fine... but make sure you know what your doing with buying .Mac (like if u have a use for it)... i think its useless.

 

[supenguin]

12 ibook

From what you said about what you're doing with a Mac, a G4 ibook would be great. I bought a g3 ibook 12" a little over a week ago. Itunes is great, the dvd player is smooth. I've seen some people on the forums do photoshop and video editing on it. A nice added bonus, Warcraft III and Unreal Tournament 2003 both work very nicely if I turn down the detail level a bit. Everything works except the very latest first-person shooters. Oh yeah, what the other guys said, make sure the software you use runs on Mac too.

Not sure if you've looked at the difference sizes - I switched from a PC with a 19" CRT to an ibook with a 12" screen. I thought it was going to seem really small and run it hooked up to a monitor whenever I'm home. Actually I like the 12" better. Airport card and surf the web, chat, balance checkbook, whatever from the couch. I'd imagine it would also be great for taking notes on in class. Although classmates drooling over it may be a bit distracting ;-)

On a sidenote, not sure if you're into this, but if you buy a new Mac, you get GarageBand which lets you create music. Also, mine came pre-installed with Quicken 2003. I was planning on buying Quicken anyway, so this was a nice surprise. Still haven't figured out 100% for sure if its a full or demo version.

One last thing - definitely max out the RAM!

 

[Fomer]

Hello everyone,

Welcome to mac-forums. Enjoy your stay.

I've been a PC user all my life. Pretty advanced. But also incredibly frustrated with the perennial instability and the general lack of positive computing experience as a whole.

I was the same way a year ago, still to this day I make my side money fixing those machines. I know the os inside out... which saddens me.

Definitely considering switching. Can't afford a PB, thinking of an 12in Ibook. Like the portability f/r.

I own a powerbook and love it but 7/10 of the people who post wanting advice about switching I say go with the Ibook because they are blown away by the metal of the pb or think the very minimal upgardes are worth it... its not worth it. The Ibook is an amazing machine.( as is the pb) but a 12' is perfect for a college student. And the Ibook is great because the powerbook has a screen shutting problem and could def come open being thrown in a bag all the time.

Well aware of the MHz Myth, but still would an 800MHz G4 Ibook, 640 DDR SDRAM, 60GB HD, ISight and ,Mac be enough to fit my purposes?

Yes. The ram is a good amount. So is everything. I am with Graphite.... .mac is useless.

I'm a student with a tight budget but will definitely be very much into the 'digital lifestyle' with music, photos, videos, online stuff, but not much gaming. I'm looking for smoothness, rock-solid stability, and ease of use.

Well your looking into the right computer company!

Any advice from the die-hard mac converts out there?

Do it... leave the blue screen of heart ache behind.

esp. since I heard in June, stuff will prob get better. very afraid that if I get it now I'll only be getting somthing tt gets obsolete practically immediately (like how the 12in ibook occupies the lower end of processor specs). can't afford to wait though. need some time to get used to it b4 school.

Ibook just had an upgrade (personally don't see one coming again until Q4. Upgrades wouldn't be worth waiting for. The Ibook has no major problems that need fixed. They would mostly be facelift like effects, and the Ibook in its current state looks amazing. 100 mhz isnt that big of a deal if they added it. They wouldn't go over the hd or ram you have. Any software can be bought. I wouldn't worry about it all. Go ahead and get it, learn it, and enjoy it!

 

[StarManta]

.Mac may or may not be useless... it gives you some space to host a website, and a nice iCal feature that lets you post, for example, your work schedule online. Probably useless to most people.... but I want it. I'm poor.

 

[Seeker]

Thanks!

Thanks everyone! I'm convinced now. Will surely get it in June. =)

 

[TylerMoney]

You won't be dissapointed. I have had my powerbook for three months now....almost....and man...it's nice....you'll be albe to do pretty much anything you need to with the G4 ibook. The powerbooks do more than you need. I can run photoshope, illustrator, inDesign, etc..with no problems...the only problem I really have...is screen size....I'm use to a desktop with at least a 17" screen...so moving to 12" has been a bit of a hassle..though not really...and that has nothing to do with mac....so yeah...get and enjoy....