Is it worth the wait?

kholdstare101kholdstare101
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Im thinking about ordering a 12-inch ibook for christmas decked out with 1gb of ram and all. but now since the 13 inch widescreen intel ibook is coming out prob apr-may, what do you guys think i should do? should i wait it out or should i just get the g4 ibook come x-mas? i just want something that will last a few years and be able to do the tasks i want done while im on the road (which is nothing high end or pro, just basic consumer stuff).
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 31
    kmok1kmok1 Posts: 63member
    1GB of ram is a very good idea. Max it out. Same with the HD.



    An iBook would look fabulous underneath your tree. :-)



    We'll never know when the 13" will arrive since it is a rumor. If you need the iBook, I suggest that you get it and use it. Apple will support it for several yrs to come.



    PS: If you are in the States, wait for the Thanksgiving sale. ;-)
  • Reply 2 of 31
    kholdstare101kholdstare101 Posts: 12member
    ok, thanks a ton. The fact that apple might not support it later was what really worried me. i want it to last me through school or at least 4 or so years. Thats why im getting it loaded. How much does the thanksgiving sale discount? is it like a 10% off on everything or what?
  • Reply 3 of 31
    dr. zoidbergdr. zoidberg Posts: 155member
    i just want to say - for the records - that i have some of my friends who have / had an ibook, and none of them were ever fully satisfied with it (most of 'em have upgraded to a powerbook in the meantime).



    anyway, probably there are some happy ibook owners who want to post their opinion now. ;-)
  • Reply 4 of 31
    kholdstare101kholdstare101 Posts: 12member
    believe me, i would much rather have a 15-inch powerbook, but there are some people in the world who cant afford to $2000+ on something like that when an ibook would do the job. I just want to get the most out of my 1200 or so dollars.
  • Reply 5 of 31
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dr. zoidberg

    i just want to say - for the records - that i have some of my friends who have / had an ibook, and none of them were ever fully satisfied with it (most of 'em have upgraded to a powerbook in the meantime).



    anyway, probably there are some happy ibook owners who want to post their opinion now. ;-)



    Yeah, 12" iBook owner here (see sig.). Max out that hdd for sure. I love my iBook and I can't really imagine what the PB would actually do for my life compared to my iBook. I do have a 20" iMac G5 so it is not like it is my primary computer either. I use my iBook mainly on the road and during my travels. It does more for me than I need.



    I say, buy now if you need one and if you want one, wait 8 months and see what happens.
  • Reply 6 of 31
    kholdstare101kholdstare101 Posts: 12member
    you really think i should get the 100gb hdd? i was just thinking about getting the 40gb and buying an external 120gb or something along those lines that way i can store my music and such on there. would that be ok?



    By the way-i also have a g4 imac so the ibook wont be my primary computer either.
  • Reply 7 of 31
    kmok1kmok1 Posts: 63member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kholdstare101

    you really think i should get the 100gb hdd? i was just thinking about getting the 40gb and buying an external 120gb or something along those lines that way i can store my music and such on there. would that be ok?



    Max out the HD! In four yrs, the smallest size would be like 200 GB. Currently the OSX takes up about 20 GB. W/ apps, you will not have much room for data. Who know how much space will future OS and apps take up. Max out the HD to be safe. You can always store info on an iPod.



    And if you are keeping it for four years, get the Applecare. It is cheaper than a single repair of anything.



    Apple had signed a deal w/ Motorola to supply G4s till 2008. Therefore, I expect the same for all suppliers. If not and your iBook breaks, expect an intel version.



    Regarding the ONE-DAY Thanksgiving sale, I don't really know what the discount will be until that morning...



    If you are a student, you can get an educational discount from the Apple store also. See if there is a computer store on your campus. They would offer the ed discount also. Mix this with the Thanksgiving sale to save even more.
  • Reply 8 of 31
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dr. zoidberg

    anyway, probably there are some happy ibook owners who want to post their opinion now. ;-)



    Yep.



    I had a 15" Powerbook as my first Mac, and just before the warranty went out (no way I would have paid 300+? for measly two years) I sold it and got a 12" iBook. It's way smaller and fits in pretty much any bag. There are a few MHz less, but I don't notice a speed difference. Nor much other difference, for that matter. The price differential was almost enough to finance a 24" HD display... so I also have quite a bit more desktop space with the iBook.
  • Reply 9 of 31
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kmok1

    Max out the HD! In four yrs, the smallest size would be like 200 GB.



    That, obviously, is reason not to max out the HD initially, and instead put in a price-efficient disk and either live with it or switch to a considerably bigger disk later.



    Looking at US Apple Store, 60GB and 80GB disks are significant steps above the base 40GB (+50%, +100%), and cost is pretty reasonable ($50 per additional 20GB for both drives). They are better choices than the 100GB.



    Anyway, regardless of size, it's in the nature of a HD to be full always.



    If you need mucho storage right now, then (still) get the internal disk that has the right price, and supplement it with a big Firewire disk.
    Quote:

    And if you are keeping it for four years, get the Applecare. It is cheaper than a single repair of anything.



    It might easily prove cheaper to sell the old computer before the warranty is up and buy a new one. Especially if you get sizable discounts when buying, and you sell it to people who don't get such discounts. Or just cross your fingers and accept the price of repairs if they are needed. With some items, you can get a warranty from a 3rd party insurance company that is cheaper... wonder if this is possible with Macs?

    Warranties are overrated, really. Few things have such a high profit margin for the seller than an average product warranty.
  • Reply 10 of 31
    kholdstare101kholdstare101 Posts: 12member
    See, the thing is, i dont need a ton of hard drive space now. i have about 10gb of music and the rest is pretty much applications or word files and pictures, which i dont have a whole lot of. about how much memory does 10.4 and ilife take up? because other than that, i probably have maybe a max. of 20gb of other stuff. so i was just thinking of getting an external drive for most of the stuff. do you think that this wouldnt be a wise idea in the long run?



    also, would it be that hard to add a new internal hard drive later on, in say a year or 2?
  • Reply 11 of 31
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    That changes things. Since you don't need much capacity at all until maybe a year, this would be a great opportunity to go with the base disk, and upgrade later. A fast disk makes the computer significantly faster overall. Something like 100GB, 7200rpm might be affordable in a year.
  • Reply 12 of 31
    kholdstare101kholdstare101 Posts: 12member
    are they that hard to install? im thinking about just getting the 80gb because if the OS takes up 20gb then with the basic hard drive id only have about 20gb left. then if i put my stuff on it it will be pretty full, maybe only 5gb remaining. which would make the computer run really slow right?
  • Reply 13 of 31
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kholdstare101

    are they that hard to install? im thinking about just getting the 80gb because if the OS takes up 20gb then with the basic hard drive id only have about 20gb left. then if i put my stuff on it it will be pretty full, maybe only 5gb remaining. which would make the computer run really slow right?



    They are a TOTAL NIGHTMARE to install. Freekn' screws EVERYWHERE! Take our advice, get a larger HDD than 40 GB.
  • Reply 14 of 31
    kmok1kmok1 Posts: 63member
    80GB looks better than the 100GB.



    It is a pain in the ass everytime you hook up an external drive to your iBook. Also, everytime you plug-and-unplug your ext drive, you are wearing out the USB port (or Firewire). These are two reasons I rather have all my data in one place.



    Note that openning your iBook will void your warranty...



    And backup your stuff!
  • Reply 15 of 31
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kmok1

    Max out the HD! In four yrs, the smallest size would be like 200 GB. Currently the OSX takes up about 2 GB.



    Fixed that for you.
  • Reply 16 of 31
    kmok1kmok1 Posts: 63member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    Fixed that for you.



    When I bought my Powerbook, I got it with a 60GB HD. At initial start, the OS (Panther) + apps took up about 20GB. That is where I got my number. Of course I can delete stuff that I don't need...



    Now that I have about 20GB of music and data, I wish I got a bigger HD too...
  • Reply 17 of 31
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kmok1

    When I bought my Powerbook, I got it with a 60GB HD. At initial start, the OS (Panther) + apps took up about 20GB. That is where I got my number. Of course I can delete stuff that I don't need...





    That's just not possible in a default Mac OS X installation, even with the Developer Tools installed. There should be other things too.
  • Reply 18 of 31
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    That's just not possible in a default Mac OS X installation, even with the Developer Tools installed. There should be other things too.



    I'm not sure what kmok is including but I'd guess it includes the bundled iLife, the bundled iWork trial, and some of the bundled 3rd-party software...do Pro computers come with the dev tools installed? Somehow I doubt it...even with what I've listed, it's very hard to imagine it taking more than 6-7 gigs.



    When doing a fresh OS X install from a DVD sans iLife or other apps, we're looking at 2-3GBs.
  • Reply 19 of 31
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    I'm not sure what kmok is including but I'd guess it includes the bundled iLife, the bundled iWork trial, and some of the bundled 3rd-party software...do Pro computers come with the dev tools installed?





    I doubt it. The last time I bought a Powerbook (Alum.), the user had to install the Developer Tools by hand.



    Quote:



    Somehow I doubt it...even with what I've listed, it's very hard to imagine it taking more than 6-7 gigs.



    When doing a fresh OS X install from a DVD sans iLife or other apps, we're looking at 2-3GBs.



    Exactly. When I upgraded my Powerbook to Panther, the total with the Developer Tools was around 3-4 GB, perhaps 5-6 GB, I don't remember exactly, but certainly not more than that.
  • Reply 20 of 31
    kholdstare101kholdstare101 Posts: 12member
    ok-this is what i think im gunna do: im gunna get the 12 inch ibook with 1gb or ram (cant afford 1.5gb sadly) and the 80gb internal hdd. since the basic stuff takes up about 5 or so gb according to what you guys say, and then with my music, ill have about 20gb taken up. that leaves me with around 60gb of space. that seems like plenty to keep me going for at least a few years. Ill prob get an external hard drive too, just to back everything up and store programs that i dont use often. thanks too kmok1 with the advice about the usb port...i never thought about it wearing out from all the unplugging and plugging in but it does make a lot of sense. does that sound like a good and long lasting plan?



    Update: i just sumed up the price on the apple store. with government discount (my dad's in the military) it came out to $1,127.00. if i wait till thanksgiving to order it, that should cancel out the tax with the thanksgiving discount. Sound pretty good?
Sign In or Register to comment.