Tablet PC user wanting to switch to Mac

jone

I am in a dilemma here, I have fallen completely in love with the tablet form factor, but I absolutely tire of the PC platform and all of the inherent sloppiness and problems with it. Microsoft's implementation of these "concept" OSes (Tablet and Media Center) are execrable to say the least. Great ideas, poor execution (the ctfmon.exe process is a nightmare, for one thing).



So I'm looking at Apple. I've already switched to consoles for gaming, favoring standards over trying to cram everything I do into a sloppy PC experience. And since I still needed a computer, I figured what's more standardized than a Mac? These things seem amazing for powerful productivity purposes utilizing a smart, streamlined design, and the quality control is so much more higher with everything built for the one platform (kinda like consoles). And every program I use, even the free alternatives, are available for OS X.



Anyways, I am going to miss the heck out of sitting on the couch, curled up and surfing the net on a tablet, or using ArtRage to paint. Walking through the park, still being able to instant message people with the pen (using an AirCard). And especially reading eBooks with the tablet, I can't stress how great that is. InkWell is there, why doesn't Apple make a tablet? I figure that they will eventually, and they'll do it right, so I'll deal with it and just get some other Mac for now. I can't stand the PC anymore, it took 15 years to realize that.



Because I am selling this tablet at a loss, I am looking at either an iBook or an iMac. Here is where I need advice. I very much favor mobility, but I think I favor productivity slightly more. I understand that the iMac G5 is more powerful than the iBook G4, but by how much? Keep in mind this will just be a starter Mac, something to introduce me to the platform. But I want to be able to run apps at "acceptable" speed, and I'm already seeing software requiring 1.2Ghz G4s minimum, which concerns me.



The iBook is a staggeringly phenomenal deal at $884 on Amazon with that rebate, and I'd have a lot of cash to spend on accessories and software, whereas the iMac would eat up all my cash right from the start. But I'm concerned about performance, and also the lower 1024x768 resolution not being good enough. But will the iBook with accessories be a good starter Mac, or shouuld I go for the iMac?



Thanks, for any advice. Oh, and hi, I'm new here...Apple, if you're reading this: MAKE A TABLET

a_greer

Hate to say it, but you are late...Apple already played in that sandbox...It was called the newton, I think I can speak for most of ai when I say that I would love to see a newton run osx, but I doubt we ever eill, The pda thing is fadeing fast ands, honestly the tablet pc thing hasn't been a particular success.



As a fellow soon-to-be "switcher" and poe' azz student, I feel your pain, I have it narrowd down to the ibook+accessories (ram, applecare, case, mouse) or a G5 tower and some cheap ram.

robin hood

Sorry to correct you, but a PDA is not the same as a tablet PC.



Jon, as far as what will better suit your needs, it is hard to say as I do not know what you will be using your computer for. I own several Mac's, including a 20" iMac G5, and I have to say I was blown away by the display. It's nice to have two large browser alongside each other, and working in Photoshop is absolultely fantastic!



On the other hand, if you need a portable computer, the iBook is a good deal, especially as it now comes with a wireless card included. I have one, and I use it every day. I have also found the hardware to be very reliable -- even though I have bought an iBook 3 times, since the first blueberry iBook many years ago, I have never seen any kind of flakey hardware (I mention that as a reviewer on Amazon reported flakey hardware, but from what I've seen he just got a bad apple).



Maybe if we know more about what you will be using this computer for, we'd be able to come up with recommendations?

robin hood

By the way, as far as using things like AIM on the go, how about getting a Palm Tungsten T3? I am currently waiting for one myself.

shallowthroat

My Advice would be to go with iMac G5.



Even though Apple just refreshed the iBook line, they are still sort of underpowered. They aren't that bad, but the graphics cards in them aren't powerful enough to run all the cool new Core Image stuff that will be coming in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. This will be, I believe, somewhat similar to how some macs couldn't run Quartz Extreme, which wasn't the end of the world, but did reduce overall performance and general awesomeness that is Mac OS X.



I don't know about you, but if I shopping for a new computer, I would be looking for one that will last the longest without speanding the most money. The iBook certainly won't last that long if it can't even take full advantage of an operating system coming out in (probably) less than 6 months.



Alternatively, you could go for a 12" powerbook, which have quite a bit more power, but you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the sweet amazon.com rebate, plus they are likely to be refreshed soon.



All signs point to iMac G5.



and welcome.

jone

Thanks everyone, still trying to pawn this tablet off which gives me more time to think.



I will be using the computer as an introduction to the Mac world, a more powerful Mac down the road is most likely a definite possibility. I am a little spoiled by mobility, so I think the iBook would be the best choice. Very cheap, specs are close to a PowerBook these days, and I could go ahead and build my software library. I want to get into some production eventually and would need power, but right now a "consumer" experience is all I'm really after.



What is Core Image? And how, besides Pixel Shader 2.0, is the GeForce FX 5200 any better than the Radeon 9200? I always felt the 9200 was a little faster, at least in the PC world. But then, why would Apple make their own OS unable to fully operate on their newest line of machines, that just seems silly and I can't see it happening...



For gaming, I have switched to consoles and found a better experience there, FPS and all. I might build a legacy PC for some of the older stuff that never hit console (Thief, System Shock). But I am not looking at a Mac for entertainment purposes, just productivity and communication. Although the Mac does have some of the older ones I want...NOLF2, AVP1&2, does anyone know where in the world I could get the Mac version of System Shock 1?



I guess it's looking like iBook for now, maybe sell it and get an iMac when Tiger hits so I don't have to buy another OS in 6 months. If I could get an affordable portable phone that did unlimited AIM, MSN, Yahoo, web browsing, and email there wouldn't be a debate..



Edit: Oh, does anyone know if there are Mac drivers available for bluetooth phones to be able to use them to get online?

jone

Another thing that concerns me are these problems I'm hearing about different revisions of iMacs. Would it be safe to buy one right now?

robin hood

I have not seen any problems with the iMac G5. The one I got myself has been running perfectly, and I also talked to my local Apple reseller. They have not seen any issues, even though they have sold well over 50 iMac G5's thus far.



I would not be concerned at all.



The real question is whether you will be better off with an iBook or an iMac. And to be honest, if you are not going to do that much hardcore stuff and do not need a 17+ LCD display, it will be just fine. At $999 as I mentioned, the value for what you get is amazing, and the 1.2GHz G4 processor is powerful in its own right. The other neat thing is the battery life -- 6 hours. Yes it is less in the real world, but in my experience I still get around 5 hours of non-stop use, which is pretty darned good in my book.

robin hood

Whichever computer you get, the one thing I can not recommend strongly enough is to upgrade the RAM: upgrading from the standard 256 MB will not only help when running resource-hungry applications like Photoshop, it will even make standard applications faster. You know, stuff like iLife, Mail and Safari. I recommend 512 MB as the bare minimum for a great user experience, and actually prefer 1 GB or more. I work a lot in Photoshop, and tend to keep at least 10-20 apps (or more) running at the same time, so it helps with that.



You can save a lot of money by doing the RAM upgrade yourself, instead of getting it from the Apple store (for example, I got a 1 GB RAM upgrade for my iMac G5 for $138, where it would have cost me I think twice as much had I ordered the upgrade from the store). If you've ever opened a computer, you should find this very easy to do. Just remember to get high quality RAM.

jone

I just went ahead and got an iMac G5 17in superdrive wireless everything, after finding a cell phone that does IM/email/real web browsing/etc for on the go.



I have to say that I am pretty disappointed with the quality control so far, I expected much, much higher from Apple. I've never experienced a computer that buzzes and whines so loud in my life, and there are dead pixels on the screen along with uneven backlighting. Where are the deep blacks, the impressive viewing angles? I thought Apple had the best LCDs in the industry? I can't watch a DVD without all the shiny blacks, dead pixels, and loud fans irritating the heck out of me. And the speakers sound very bad, not even acceptable for the average joe. I will end on a positive note though, the onboard sound is absolutely fantastic on headphones, I don't think even the best consumer sound cards on a PC can match this.



The OS is interesting in its useability, but doesn't seem better per se, just different. However, I like being able to not worry about anything and just getting down to business, much like a console in that regard which I greatly appreciate. And it sure is pretty, but that is a superficial reason to be using a computer.



I'm still not sure about this yet. But then honestly, I can't think of anything better. I always get disappointed with computers. I'll see how a replacement goes.

robin hood

Buzzes and whines, uneven backlighting and dead pixels? That doesn't sound right.



While I have heard of a small number of cases where there were issues with the fans buzzing, which were subsequently resolved very professionally by Apple, I have not seen this myself. All the iMac G5's I have seen personally have also not had a single dead pixel (where my Samsung 19" flat panel has at least 4), nor have I seen the uneven backlighting. I live in Ireland though, so perhaps we didn't get any bad batches here, but it does sound like somethin isn't right with your iMac if it is having those problems.

jone

I hope that that's true, I'm praying on a flawless replacement. I really want to like this.



I purchased it in the US from MacMall, they had the wireless bundle and 512 ram ready to ship.

ender

My girlfriend got a 20" iMac recently and it has no dead pixels and is absolutely silent. I'd talk to someone about getting that fixed/replaced.



-Ender

jone

Got my replacement, screen quality is perfect and everything seems fine. The fan still has the same whine to it (I am in a completely silent room), but from calling Apple tech support, they insisted that this is considered normal so far, and are still looking into it. I suppose this is the sacrifice I make for having a G5 processor. It's not horrible, but under intensive load it can be distracting. The built-in speakers are not fantastic, but I really shouldn't have expected them to be.



Now that I am more used to this platform, I have to say that it would be hard going back. Everything just works. I really, really like the logic that went into every facet of the design, and how it is a controlled environment. If Apple ever makes a tablet, I will be all over it in a second. I've made no concessions, everything from gaming to obscure productivity apps are here.



Few things though. Is OS9 included with every Mac? On my first one, I could not run any legacy apps because the system said it could not find the OS9 environment. Now with this replacement (which seems to be formatted differently), OS9 is there and the operation of these legacy apps are transparent.



And why is Safari so dog-slow? More complex websites are a joke, and the fan is going nuts just from the animated smileys on this reply page. Just typing and deleting text is very, very sluggish. I don't understand. I hope they are commited to making this browser better.



Edit: With the BT mouse, the pointer disappears sometimes too.

mcq

Quote:

Originally posted by JonE



And why is Safari so dog-slow? More complex websites are a joke, and the fan is going nuts just from the animated smileys on this reply page. Just typing and deleting text is very, very sluggish. I don't understand. I hope they are commited to making this browser better.

They're certainly committed, but it has slowdowns with animated gifs and flash.



You could try a G5 optimized Firefox and see how that works for you:

http://homepage.mac.com/thenonsuch/firefox/

dglow

JonE: you won't be able to curl up on a couch, but using this Wacom tablet is currently the closest you can get to an OS X-based tablet. In fact, this is exactly the same touch screen that drives every Tablet PC.