New to MAC. Questions about buying ibook.

monstroseanmonstrosean
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Hi All,

I have been a PC user for over 13 years now, and I am going to check out the other side. I plan on getting the 14" ibook after work tonight at the apple store. Is there anything that I should look out for, before making this purchase. I'm a little nervous.



All I am going to be using the ibook for is some photo editing, surfing, watching DVDs on the road, and logging into the network, at work, remotely. Any reason why the 14" ibook would not work for me?



Thanks in advance for any help,



Sean

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    mpmoriartympmoriarty Posts: 289member
    I have a 14" iBook G4 and love it. It handles all that I throw at it. Photo editing, making movies, web design, wireless networking, etc.



    This iBook is my first Mac ever and let me tell you that I can't believe how well this system handles multitasking.



    Just some advice, make sure you max the ram out on the iBook. Mac OS X loves ram and the more you have the better.



    Mike
  • Reply 2 of 18
    monstroseanmonstrosean Posts: 8member
    Mike, thanks for the info. I feel more reasured about my purchase now.



    About the ram? Do I have to get it from apple, or can I get the same quality ram somewhere else?



    Sean
  • Reply 3 of 18
    robin hoodrobin hood Posts: 513member
    You don't have to get the RAM from Apple. You can save a lot of money by doing it yourself, and it isn't difficult. If you are unsure about quality, I recommend Crucial:

    http://www.crucial.com/



    They take the guesswork out of finding quality RAM. And no, I don't work for them.



    I recommend taking your iBook to 512 MB, or more if you can afford to do that. The only other thing? Consider the 12" iBook as well. It has the same screen resolution, and also has a DVD drive. Finally, it is smaller and lighter. Just take a look at both at the store, and decide which you feel more comfortable with.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    Get the Superdrive (if its in your budget) rather than a Combo + external DVD burner.



    3rd party DVD burners aren't as seamless as 'officially blessed' Apple ones.

    You can use an external burner, but the internal one is less hassle.

    (Some of the video tools are happier with Superdrive than 3rd party ones).



    I'd also recommend having a look at a .Mac account (might be a special bundle $).

    Webspace and email at Apple, but it also makes picture slide show/web page upload a piece of cake, and comes with Backup software and a few other goodies.



    Buy Applecare near the end of the 1st year warranty to extend it to 3 yrs.

    Laptop replacement costs are insane deductible (screens are >$700), so the $300 is well worth it as a preventative measure, but you don't need it right away since the warranty gets you through the 1st year.



    Hope this helps.
  • Reply 5 of 18
    robin hoodrobin hood Posts: 513member
    I'm very happy with the combo drive. On the rare occasion that I burn a DVD, I do that on my desktop computer. Don't get something unless you need it.



    Regarding the extended warranty, I have owned 3 iBook's since they were originally launched years ago, and never did I have even the smallest hardware issue. Considering the relatively low cost of the iBook, coupled with its pretty sturdy build (I have dropped mine), I personally would not spend money on an extended warranty. Look at it this way... If your iBook does break after the warranty expires, just spend $999 on a new one, as your old one will hardly be worth much more than $300 by that time anyhow.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    monstroseanmonstrosean Posts: 8member
    Thanks for all of the input. I ended up having to order one. The ones that they have in the apple store, don't have the Blue Tooth built in. So I ordered the 14" ibook with .mac, and internal blue tooth. I will get some more RAM from crucial, at a later date. I really liked the size of the 12" but, I need the extra real estate of the larger screen. Hopefully I will come in by Friday, so I can get to know it over the weekend.



    Thanks again for the help,

    Sean
  • Reply 7 of 18
    robin hoodrobin hood Posts: 513member
    Congrats on your purchase!



    Bluetooth is useful in a laptop. I use mine to connect to the internet via my Nokia's built in GPRS modem. Very handy for checking email, iChat, browsing the web or even uploading some HTML pages for a client via FTP.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    northgatenorthgate Posts: 4,461member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MonstroSean

    Hi All,

    I have been a PC user for over 13 years now, and I am going to check out the other side. I plan on getting the 14" ibook after work tonight at the apple store. Is there anything that I should look out for, before making this purchase. I'm a little nervous.



    All I am going to be using the ibook for is some photo editing, surfing, watching DVDs on the road, and logging into the network, at work, remotely. Any reason why the 14" ibook would not work for me?



    Thanks in advance for any help,



    Sean



    The first thing you need to learn is it's Mac not MAC, as in Macintosh not MACintosh. Get it straight!



    How did this all caps MAC thing get started anyway? It's annoying.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    squashsquash Posts: 332member
    LOL do you like my caps. i believe they said they are new to MAC(just for you) cut the guy a little slack instead of being an @ss
  • Reply 10 of 18
    northgatenorthgate Posts: 4,461member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SQUÅSH

    LOL do you like my caps. i believe they said they are new to MAC(just for you) cut the guy a little slack instead of being an @ss



    I guess you missed my smiley winky face at the end.



    For the sarcasm impaired.
  • Reply 11 of 18
    monstroseanmonstrosean Posts: 8member
    You guys are funny. Lessen learned (Mac, not MAC), no offense taken.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    vox barbaravox barbara Posts: 2,021member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MonstroSean

    ...

    Hopefully I will come in by Friday, so I can get to know it over the weekend.





    Keep us up to date? We all love first hand experiences.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    monstroseanmonstrosean Posts: 8member
    I sure will keep you up to date. I'm sure I will have many more elementary questions. Its fun to learn something new, too.



    Sean
  • Reply 14 of 18
    dantekgeekdantekgeek Posts: 30member
    Im planning on getting my first Mac, 15" PB, after MWSF. Even though I dont have one yet, I bought "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual". This book is amazing. I dont even have a Mac of my own and I allready know all of the ins and outs of the OS. I highly reccomend this book to you, and any other future switchers. The $30 is well worth it.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    rogue27rogue27 Posts: 607member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MonstroSean

    I really liked the size of the 12" but, I need the extra real estate of the larger screen. Hopefully I will come in by Friday, so I can get to know it over the weekend.







    You do realize that you aren't getting any extra real estate on the 14" iBook because the screen resolution is the same, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy your iBook.





    BTW, the whole MAC vs. Mac thing. I think MAC started from PC users who use capital letters on PC. You are supposed to capitalize PC because it is an anagram for Personal Computer.



    However, Mac is not supposed to be all caps because it is a shortening of Macintosh. MAC is a real computer term and it stands for Machine Address Code or something like that. It's the unique number found on all ethernet devices.



    Okay, bye!
  • Reply 16 of 18
    vox barbaravox barbara Posts: 2,021member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MonstroSean

    I sure will keep you up to date. I'm sure I will have many more elementary questions. Its fun to learn something new, too.



    Sean



    You know, the dumbest question is the question which is not gonna asked
  • Reply 17 of 18
    bergzbergz Posts: 1,045member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by rogue27

    You are supposed to capitalize PC because it is an anagram for Personal Computer.



    Not to be a pedantic arse, but since this thread is pedagogical in nature for the NKOTB, I feel compelled to mention that an anagram is when you rearrange the letters in a word to form another, like MonstroSean can be reconfigured into Sanest Moron. No offense intended.



    PC is an Acronym.



    --B
  • Reply 18 of 18
    vox barbaravox barbara Posts: 2,021member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by bergz

    Not to be a pedantic arse, but since this thread is pedagogical in nature for the NKOTB, I feel compelled to mention that an anagram is when you rearrange the letters in a word to form another, like MonstroSean can be reconfigured into Sanest Moron. No offense intended.



    PC is an Acronym.



    --B



    What about CP? See PC is also an Anagram.

    Well i do not want to be perceived pedantic too, anyway



    More about anagrams click here
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