12"/14" iBook G4.

[Game™]

I'm heavily considering this as my next computer.

The thing's I need to use the computer for are:


Homework
Web Design
Graphical Design


I'm just wondering if it's worth buying, I'm tired of using XP with all of it's messed up stuff.

Should I or not?

[nobody]

I'd be a little more careful before switching. All of XP's messed up stuff really isn't the greatest reason to switch. You'll probably have just as many problems with a mac. I'd consider it more, not saying you shouldn't switch, just put more thought into it.

[T-O]

G4 is a powerfull machine would be good for all those things...

But yes like xxviii said. Yes XP is mssed up... But.. Maybe SP2 will fix it :) The whole community is hoping, that's for sure. :P

[Game™]

I've thought about it and it is a different step. If I do get an iBook it'll be around September/October. Hopefully, SP2 will be released before that. :)

[kirupa]

SP2 will primarily be security fixes and IE updates. SP2 has been pushed back a few weeks to June/July. XP Reloaded is rumored to be released toward the end of the year, and that is supposed to give XP a lot of newer features.

[APDesign]

A properly set up XP should remove / fix / improve any "messed up stuff" whatever that is.

edit: Ok, that was mean, I appologize... but I would agree with the above stated, you should put some more thought into it, have you used a mac before? Frankly they aren't all they are cracked up to be in my opinion, the macs at my school (yes they are OS X) are far far far worse than my properly tweaked/set-up PC with XP.

[McGiver]

maybe this can help you:
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=5176

I thought about getting a 12"/14" iBook G4 too, quite a long time.
but since I got all the software for PC, I think I will get an IBM thinkpad instead.
http://www.studentenrabatt.ch/ has really good prices.

[Game™]

I played around with a 14" today, there **** cheap. $1699. But, I noticed that the trackpad wasn't working very accurately.

[McGiver]

well, they ARE f'kin cheap, but you will have to buy the whole software you are using again.
so for 500 Dollars more you can get the top IBM thinkpad which is even smaller faster and uses the same software as my other pcs.

I guess this is some kind of personality question.
Are you more pc or mac?

[Game™]

See, I'm going to be switching from desktop to laptop, and I really want to buy a Mac, and start using those. At the moment, I'm looking for a cheap computer, that can do alot, I don't want to spend more than $1800 in Canadian.

[McGiver]

Oh, i thought you were talking about US dollar (the 1699$)
Well, better calculate the price for rebuying the whole software for Mac
because as far as I know Windows versions of Flash, photoshop,... don't work on macs and vice versa.

Since there is no real alternative (laptops in this price region (if you mean 1699 canadian dollars) are in most cases are cheap huge plastic boxes) get the mac
will work fine as long as you don't expect too much.

[Game™]

I agree the iBook's are the best for there price range, the only thing that comes close are Compaq's, and I've had a history with them. Does anyone here actually own a iBook G4?

[RussianBeer]

iBook's are the best for there price range
What? They are rediculously expensive! I find you can always get a dell thats better and cheaper.
I used it at work and I just don't like it, there is nothing special about it. Plus, before I had a mouse, one button on trackpad pissed me off.

[Game™]

I actually liked the one button on the trackpad, but the trackpad itself wasn't very accurate.

[MTsoul]

I've thought about getting an iBook for some time now too..

Are Macs (OS wise) better than windows? People say they are faster, more stable.. and all other good things. I tried one out at a store, and it took about 2 minutes quitting a program.

And is it easy to switch from windows/pc/2mouse-buttons to macs? They are so.. "out there".. i'd spend an hour trying to figure out how to right click.

PS. If mac are like this: http://members.cox.net/clyqz/macs.html - then.. what's the point? :P

[McGiver]

sorry, but the dell laptops at that price region just s*ck :(
a friend of mine got a dell inspiron notebook for 1350€
and it was
-big (very thick, if I buy a laptop, I don't want to carry a huge thing like that with me)
-heavy
-loud
-low quality case (a lot of space in the keys,)

its only advance was that it was very fast.

@ MTsoul:
Macs are definately NOT FASTER than pcs
probably more stable (I don't have much experience concerning that) but I guess they are more stable since most macanians say they are.
but my windowns XP runs quite stable for me too.
what is more stable would be programs running on it since they always get the same settings on a mac. (but I had no problems with that lately on my PC too)

what people like about apple is probably:
+they look cute :love:
+perhaps better case quality
+they don't use microsoft products
+Mac users can pretend to be something better :D (sorry, that's just my impression :P )

I guess people buy macs because it's something special, individual
Maybe some of the mac users can come over and name some more advances.
I didn't find any (that's why I am still PC user)

I will get my half priced IBM top laptop and be happy with that :love:

[λ]

sorry, but the dell laptops at that price region just s*ck :(
a friend of mine got a dell inspiron notebook for 1350€
and it was
-big (very thick, if I buy a laptop, I don't want to carry a huge thing like that with me)
-heavy
-loud
-low quality case (a lot of space in the keys,)

its only advance was that it was very fast.

@ MTsoul:
Macs are definately NOT FASTER than pcs
probably more stable (I don't have much experience concerning that) but I guess they are more stable since most macanians say they are.
but my windowns XP runs quite stable for me too.
what is more stable would be programs running on it since they always get the same settings on a mac. (but I had no problems with that lately on my PC too)

what people like about apple is probably:
+they look cute :love:
+perhaps better case quality
+they don't use microsoft products
+Mac users can pretend to be something better :D (sorry, that's just my impression :P )

I guess people buy macs because it's something special, individual
Maybe some of the mac users can come over and name some more advances.
I didn't find any (that's why I am still PC user)

I will get my half priced IBM top laptop and be happy with that :love:

they are more secure definitely.. under Windows you run as the equivalent of root all the time, whereas under Mac/linux you run as a nobody most of the time and only switch to root to do things like install programs.

Macs are awesome.. I mean, come on.. its got all the MM/Adobe progs of windoze together with the general Unix coolness of Linux (it installs GCC by default ;))

[m@aslanprojects]

MTsoul, Im using a 15' g4 powerbook,
OSX is so much better than any windows system, it is so much faster and more stable than windows. as for that video link, i must admit the things he was saying are true about OS9 but OSX is completely different, ive used mac for 5 years and now is a **** good time to buy one. and its very easy to switch, and i use a two button mouse on my mac, no installation, just plugged it in.
my only critisism is that Mac OSX takes longer to start up than windows, but thats it.

[Game™]

I started up the iBook at the local store, and it took about a minute or a few seconds more, but it was fine.

m@aslanprojects, have you gone through any problems with your PowerBook?

[xMetal]

I've been using Macs for about 12 years, and can safely say that they do work, are high quality machines and are price competitive when you look at actual features that are built-in. yes, you can certainly get a cheaper PC, but will that cheaper PC have gigabit ethernet, built-in 802.11g, DVD writer drives, firewire, USB, etc? Probably not. Once you start to option up that PC, you'll find the prices much closer.

There is nothing you can't do on a Mac, and many things are made much easier due to the high quality of the Apple software. I use a PowerBook G4 17" for my professional work, and in any one day I might do 3D animation, video editing, pro DVD authoring, Flash development, graphics work, audio editing and more. On a desktop machine all of these things would be even faster, and I certainly get plenty done even on my "slow" laptop.

Mac OS X is an excellent OS. It is very stable, quite safe from viruses, fast (maybe not on initial viewing of how fast the windows pop-up, but once you learn the system it is very efficient), excellent to look at and has a multitude of niceties that you will learn to appreciate over time.

Things like how long it takes to start up are almost irrelevant. I restart my powerbook maybe once a week, if that. When I'm done for the day, I close it and it goes to sleep. When I need to work again, I open the lid and it's ready to run before I get the lid all the way up. I've had the OS crash maybe 3 times in the last 2 years (and I install a hell of a lot of software/freeware).

Don't let anyone tell you that macs are "more expensive", or toys, or that there is no software for them. That's all bunk, plain and simple. If the mac does what you need, and you appreciate the amount of thought put into their design, you cannot go wrong.

[DDD]

Just going to drop my my .02. I use both actually up to this very minute. I have a 17in powerbook that I unfortunately use almost exclusively as a test machine since it was to expensive to get all my proggys in their mac counterpart. But I muyst say my XP machines run flawlessly. It is all in how you take care of them. And I must admit also that my MAC runs flawlessly too. The only diff is that the mac looks cooler. When I ride the bart and crack open my HP laptop (2.6 60gb) I dont get many stares. But when I crack open the MAC. I get a bunch of stares. I think that MACS are more like status symbols. This MAC vs PC thing is crap. After all it is not the tool but the artist who uses the tool. There is nothing I can do on a MAC that I cant on a PC. Actually some of my software is not available on MAC soit is the opposite for me.

It is all preference, one is not better than the other. It is all in your mind. The disdain for Bill because he has stormed the computer world I think makes folks dream up these scenarios. My Alienware has not crashed yet, so for the person who said their MAC crashed 3 times in the last 2 years. Thats 3 more times than my Alienware. So does that make it better? Of course not. Keep in mind that PC's outnuber MAC's by such a large number you are bound to hear about the problems and crashes and what have you. I mean my grandmother has a PC. and I am always fixing her CPU. Does that mean her PC sucks? No just mean these machines often find their way into homes of people who do not particularly know much about PC's. Now if a person has a MAC. 9 times out of 10 this person will be very much computer literate because you basically have to be.

So my point is there is no resolution to these threads. And most who comment dont actually use both. You always have this guy who has used nothing but MACs for 15 years bashing PC's.....get reall people.

[m@aslanprojects]

Hey sunny,
I havent had any problems with my powerbook, (Last of the 1ghz titaniums) very rarely crashes, Microsoft office sometimes crashes (lmao) but if anything does crash on a mac it never freezes or ****s up other apps in the background.
oh yeah the ibooks and powerbooks have recently been updated, faster than ever now. remember the processor speeds mean nothing. My 1ghz runs everything faster and more efficiently than any pc ive used. Flash does tend to run a bit faster on a good pc, but thats it.
DDD said that his xp machines work fine IF you look after them, sod looking after a computer, with a mac you can just delete apps no uninstalling sh|t. and DDD saying you have to be a computer pro or something to work a Mac is crap. Mac are much easier to use. And DDD i do use both PCs and Macs, my first pc was a 286 and ive used every single windows OS since V3.1, ive been using macs since the crappy beige towers running OS7 or older.
And Macs are now (with OSX) much better than PC's! unless you a gamer of course LOL

[m@aslanprojects]

Conclusion...
Get a MAC you'll never look back!

[radioxromance]

Now if a person has a MAC. 9 times out of 10 this person will be very much computer literate because you basically have to be.I know m@aslanprojects addressed this, but, where do you get this idea? In my opinion, mac users are so much more computer illiterate, simply because, from what I can tell, a mac is basically a machine that you just take out of it's box and it's ready to go. I think that may have been a selling point (back in the days when good ol' days when the commercials featured Jeff Goldblum. Granted, PC's aren't all that complicated and also usually come ready to go, but to an average person, for some reason I think they get confused and distraught over the amount of wires and such on a PC; mac has basically none. To me the machines seem sort of just a backwards windows; not too hard to use once you get the lil quirks; but (and this is opinion) most people with macs are probably not all that computer literate.

[DDD]

lol...got one....got 2 matter of fact. Lets put it this way. When some old granny goes to Best Buy for a computer...More than likely she will get a PC. Most people that know about and buy macs are computer saavy (and I actually got this info from a friend who is a marketing director for Apple, and he showed me the profile for their sales targets. Most PC's end up in the hands of people who got it just because, basically the un-experienced user..). I think this PC vs MAC thing is a figment of peoples imagination. After all I have both and have always had both. I really dont have problems out of either. And never have. And the professional environments I have been in very rarely do you here complaints. But when the number of PC's are so wide spread of course you will hear about the probs and of course people will try to hack them. No sense in trying to hack a mack when 1.2% of the population has them. I bet if it was the other way around people would be bashing MAC's. I am tired of all the fan-boys who dont have much to talk about, so they dream up these awful PC experiences and these wonderful MAC experiences. Give me a break...get a life people, it is all in your mind.

[radioxromance]

hahaha
well since you actually have a source, I will change my mind and believe what you said, as I was basically looking at it with nothing more than opinion
But... there is one thing. In my town, and as far as I can tell, all the elementary-high schools use macs. I think it has to do with price and maybe getting a cut for being a school. But this brings up a point: if all these schools have macs, they are having a LOT of them, and then the students use them, learn them, and go out and buy them... correct? Of course, nowadays most familes own a PC or Mac to begin with (hopefully). So maybe it doesn't influence them that much.

[m@aslanprojects]

hey, just coz macs are easier to use doesnt make the user illiterate, why is it that most of the best designers use macs? you CAN take a mac out of its box turn it and there you go, but whys this a bad thing? Mac haters are usually just people who dont want to be associated with the few rich ideots who just buy macs coz theyre pretty, which is fine, but it doesnt matter what your opinion is, Macs are better design machines.
DDD... Fan-boys??? lmao. Ive been using pcs forever and still do, I havent dreamt up all the problems and anoying traits of windows. I see them on a weekly basis. maybe every pc ive ever owned and used is crap???

[m@aslanprojects]

watch this Windows demo from CNN...

http://www.kontrabandcontent.co.uk/graphics/movies/gates.mov

[dropkick]

that was from a pre-release of 98 :sigh:

[kirupa]

If macs had more than 2% of the market share, they would be a good choice. Seems like most people besides designer types won't have much need for them :)

It all depends on the user really. I've used PCs for over a decade now, and with XP, I have had no problems at all. I occassionally use linux to appease the communist dictator within me and the professors who can't write programs for other OS'es, but over all, PCs are great for a non-designer type like me hehe.

[DDD]

True K
And I bet when that happens we will start hearing of the problems and ineffeciencies. MACS are aimed at the computer saavy. That is how they stay alive. They would never be able to compete with PC's if they were not aimed at the special niche that they are aimed. Heck they would be come a PC...lol


lol....I am one of the great designers and I use PC....lol. There is nothing that cannot be done on either system. This is my point. Neither is better than the other. Each has its finer points but all in all if you trash your system it will act up...period. My alienware kicks the crap out of my friends G5, which is why he is always trying to get me to trade. And I cannot tell you why most designers do use them. Honestly it is like 50 50 between the designers I know. ANd all top designers use both...

[Game™]

I think that more than likely a new computer user will buy a PC because there more used, and more than likely they can ask somebody close for help, because almost everybody has one. I like Mac's because of there sleek design, and looks, and I can say the price. The iBook is the cheapest laptop I can find for that price, with those specificatations.
If/when I get the iBook, I will do a side by side review of XP vs and Panther, that is if, I get one.

[radioxromance]

well, as far as desigining and a/v go, yah macs rock. I wanna buy a mac to get back into video editing, that stuffs awesome. But why being a designer does that make you mroe computer literate? Maybe we have different definitions of literacy... I think of it as being one (in computers at least) that can make their way around the computer and not need someone to tell them how to do something. Being able to do major things, even if its some printed instructions for changing the registry.
In macs, well I've never been able to get really 'behind the scenes' on there, cause at schools they were always locked up and i just didn't care enough. But it seems to me, just being a designer doesn't make you computer literate. Maybe well versed in your field, maybe hip and whatnot, but not exactly a tech specialist. BUUUT this is all pretty much opinion, if you can tell me otherwise (truthfully ;) ) I would believe it.

[DDD]

Computer Literate and being a tech is different. If you were applying for a job as a computer tech you would not just tell them you are "computer literate". SInce that is a general and vague term. And honestly does not say much. So being literate and a tech are no where near the same.

Now ask yourself why would you buy a MAC over a PC for video editting. I bet you are going to say "I heard it was better for this type of stuff". Truth is it is not. I can edit videos just as you can with my PC. SO why would you buy the MAC over the PC again? Preference, plain and simple. Telling you this mumbo jumbo about MACS being superior is not true. Like I said they each have their finer points but...superior. No. You are choosing a MAC out of what I call fan boy syndrome. "They look cool so they must be better", or "because I heard they were better". Not a good reason to buy something over the other. Try for yourself.

[radioxromance]

Well in all actuallity, I would buy one because it is what we used in my video editing class in high school. We used Final Cut Pro, and I don't think PC's have that. If they do, I would jsut go get an awesome PC and use that, cause I really liked that program. Or I would maybe try to find a better program. But, it was just a high school video editing class, I don't know everything. But it is definatly not fanboy syndrome; I really don't like the cutesy aspects of the mac. I think a computer is really good for what it's good for, not for how it looks. It's a plus, at times, to have a comp that is 'like whoa' (in looks), but, not a deciding factor ;)

... by the way, on a related note, how does one get into the field of being a tech? I am pretty well versed in computer knowledge, but am sure I need to know some more of it, and more solidly at that. I think I'm going to start a thread (or look for one first actually), but it jsut seems like such a neat field, tech support or something. But, I hate people and all their ignorance so much already, it may destroy me.

[DDD]

yea, see this is one of the finer points I referred to. You like FCP. Which they dont have for PC. BUt they have combustion, after effect, video toaster....a bunch of industry standard tools. So in this aspect it is a personal preference not because it is better. That is where alot of folks get it twisted. FCP does not make a MAC better, just more convenient for the user.

And I believe most folks want you to atleast have a A+ certificate among a few other certs before they will hire you. ALso some work experience will be cool.

[m@aslanprojects]

Get what youre saying DDD but Mac's are just better machines, they may not suit everyone coz they might not have the software you want, but they are more reliable, easier to use, have a better safer OS, and better hardware design.
but you are right its the artist thats important, ive seen lots of ideots with Macs creating some right old sh|te but they think theyre it coz they bought a mac.

[Game™]

So who actually owns a newer model iBook G4?

[G]

I think the ibook G4 is very expensive...you should ditch the laptop idea and go for a PC. I recently (March) made my own PC up with componenets I bought off the internet and it cost £1000 and to this day my comp is still beter than most expensive systems. Get more go for desktop.

[iloveitaly]

Hey all,
I've used macs and PC's, but now are using soley macs.
And i haver found macs to be much less quirky.My Pc's that i used to have PC's and my friends current winXP machines have weird problems that come up out of knowhere. like one day his palm wouldn't snyc, but the next day it did. one day he couldn't play JKII because the open GL wouln't work, but the next week it did work. Randomely his computer will get slower for no apperent reason. Freaky things happen for no reason. His mail wont work, his wireless is slow. It happens to my relatives all the time too. I used to have freaky stuff happen also when i had PC's.
I find macs have ALOT less if none quirky things happen. I also find Mac's more logicail to use, with everything right where you need it. In my experience Mac's have more if not equal software availability. Macs can use open source linux/unix software, they have the commercail software,and have a HUGE selection of free/shareware programs.
speed wise PC's are a little faster in most things (although macs ARE faster in video rendering and stuff like that). But i find the effiency of the mac (expose, the finder, ect) compensates for that.
PC's ARE cheaper, not doubt about that but in the long run i think price wise they even out to be the same. I.E. I am still running a g4-450 that over 5 years old.
The conclusion? Use whatever you work faster in. some people choose a pen over a pencil, some people choose a pencil over a pen. I happen to choose a mac over a PC.
P.S.
I dont own a ibook g4, i do however own a powerbook 667 and love it!

[m@aslanprojects]

iloveitaly,
it sounds like you and friends have some viruses on your pc's, adware, spyware and zombies will slow your pc down randomly, better sort that out! go here >>>
www.grc.com