trying out soon - need some advice

ecarionecarion
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
i'll be honest. Ever since i have owned a computer, which now is for 11 years, i have used windows, without compromise or anything. Just "good old" windows. Since i've gotten a partner who'se whole family uses Mac though...i've been forced to use it sometimes too. That was about 5 months ago.



For about 4 weeks, i've thought about trying a mac out. I love apples design, OSX Panther, the stability of the system, smoothness etc. Needless to say, i want to try out something different than windows. And i'd like it to be a mac, since i've come to love it.



My partner has a desktop G4. iMac. Myself, i don't want another desktop computer and i'm thinking about buying a 12.1 inch powerbook, with upgraded RAM to 512mb to make it a little faster. I'm going to use it for some music listening, video editing, normal internet and chatting and i guess also some playing games. I want a computer which is portable, good for traveling and easy to use. With minimum system crashes. Which mac seems to have.



I'm asking for some tips. Since i'm not going to buy it before summer, should i wait for new generation of laptops? Should i get a bigger hd than the one included? Pros and Cons? Should i get a complete different mac? everything would be helpful, since i am quite the beginner on this subject .



(And i hope i won't get smacks by everyone here now because my usage of windows, maybe i'll switch completely if i love my own mac as much as i may do )

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    I have the 12". It's very nice. If you want to save some money get the iBook. Also don't buy your RAM upgrade from Apple. Over priced.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    ecarionecarion Posts: 5member
    well..yeah. I guess i could save money by buying an ibook instead of the powerbook, but i want some performance. What is the difference in that between the ibook and the powerbook? Significant? Noticable by using the applications, like photoshop etc?
  • Reply 3 of 5
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ecarion

    well..yeah. I guess i could save money by buying an ibook instead of the powerbook, but i want some performance. What is the difference in that between the ibook and the powerbook? Significant? Noticable by using the applications, like photoshop etc?



    Your best bet is gonna be to go to your local computer retailer (preferably an Apple Store if you have them in your area) but if you don't, a CompUSA would work great too, but I don't know where you're from so I'm not sure what's in your area.



    Try out the computers, get a feel for what you like and don't like about them. Pick them up, play around with the apps. Try, just try to make that sucker crash, it can't be done



    The iBook will be a bit slower than the PB, but not by much. Right now you can't beat the value of the iBook, but if you don't need the computer till this summer, test out the PBs, test out the iBooks see what you like and don't like, than wait till they are both speedbumped and than make the final choice.



    Glad you've decided to make the switch, hope your Mac makes you as happy as mine do Good luck, any more questions, feel free to pick our brains



    And welcome to AI, hope you enjoy your stay
  • Reply 4 of 5
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    near the end of summer i will hopefully be getting a portable to go along with my desktop, and i'm pretty settled on the 12 inch powerbook. the 15 inch is too big considering i wont be doing any video editing, and exposé, along with desktop manager (a virtual desktop program) make screen real estate a non-issue anyways. definately upgrade the ram to at least 512, but try to get as much as the wallet can handle.



    if youre going to do a lot of video editing, i think you should consider the 15 incher, but a 12 inch will be able to handle the job--it will just be a little trickier to navigate the timeline and browser windows. do not go with an ibook if you want performance!



    i'm glad youre considering 'the switch!' i think you will be pleasantly surprised by OS X's stability, security, and ease of use. once you get a hang of the basic interface, you'll discover new things everyday that will speed up your workflow (keyboard shortcuts ), and you'll be customizing things left and right.



    keep the questions coming!
  • Reply 5 of 5
    ecarionecarion Posts: 5member
    thanks for the warm welcome and the answers to the questions .



    As for your information, i currently live in a very small village in Sweden, the closest apple store of any kind is about 300 km away from here. But until summer, i'll be moving to a city, and that may be where i will try out different things in the store then.



    Thanks for the tip about video editing, i may do it some at least. I hope they'll lower the prices on the 15 inches a little then because it looks really good (yeah, they all do ) and i will be buying the best hardware i can afford. I've also read about the heating issue of the 12", but..i don't think that'd bother me very much. As long as the noise of the laptop isn't as loud as my pc (*glares down at his roaring pc*), i'm fine .



    And about OS X stability and everything...my girlfriend keeps lecturing me about it and smiles whenever i talk about Windows Xp, and i have to say i understand her now. Got my computer another nasty virus this evening and was considering to sell it and buy a mac instead . I am already pleasantly surprised by the whole OS.



    About the ibook and PB, i think i've decided to buy a PB, since i actually want the preformance it seems to give. I do some image and video editing, and also a little gaming. So i believe, with my very minimum knowlegde, that a PB would do a good job.





    Another question then. The RAM issue. I've watched the prices for RAM now, and 256 MB seems a little low to me. Would an upgrade to 512 do significant things to the speed of everything?
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