Questions....please help....

pbrules

Hi everyone,



I have been reading these forums everyday and I'm about to buy a new 15" Powerbook with 100GB HD and 128MB Video Card. I've been to the Apple store a few times to test drive the powerbook. Doing so raised a few questions for me:



1. My hands are kind of big and whenever I'm typing, it seems that my palm always hits the trackpad. I have a Dell right now and the pad isn't too big so I never hit it. (I'm not a big trackpad fan, I'll be using a mouse.) Does anyone else with big hands have trouble with this?



2. How hard is it to install RAM by yourself?



3. Are there any websites with forums, besides this one, where I can go to get FAQs about MAC OS X stuff? I'll probably end up spamming questions here when I buy it.



4. I love to test software before I purchase them, is there a Kazza type program? And no, I don't download music, I believe it's morally wrong to not pay someone who worked hard for it. Even if it's companies because they pay people who work there and they have to feed their families.



5. My current laptop's screen size is 1600x1200 and I love it. It's definately not too small as some people complain. How good is the resolution on the 15"? Will I be able to see as much as I can with my current resolution or close to it?



Thanks for all your help. I'll probably post more questions as they come up.



-PBRules

pbrules

Also more questions....



After I buy this powerbook, I will be keeping it for a long time, will the future applications (if they're 64-bit optimized) be good to run on this current machine?



And most importantly, will I get Apple logo stickers? 8)





-PBRules

nguyenhm16

Quote:

Originally posted by PBRules

Also more questions....



After I buy this powerbook, I will be keeping it for a long time, will the future applications (if they're 64-bit optimized) be good to run on this current machine?



And most importantly, will I get Apple logo stickers? 8)





-PBRules

It's a 32bit CPU. I would doubt that 64 bit applications would come out any time soon. Tiger is still a 32bit OS (well, more of a hybrid, but most of the , even if it can run 64bit apps.



Every Mac I've bought in recent memory has a sheet.

pbrules

Also, one more question:



Is there a program like DeadAIM for MAC because I need tabbed IMing.







-PBRules

nguyenhm16

Quote:

Originally posted by PBRules

Also, one more question:



Is there a program like DeadAIM for MAC because I need tabbed IMing.







-PBRules

I think Adium does tabbed IMs, but I turned it off b/c I hate it.

pbrules

Cool. I just looked at it. It's looks great. Anyone else have opinions on the rest of my questions?





-PBRules

amorph

Quote:

Originally posted by PBRules

Hi everyone,



I have been reading these forums everyday and I'm about to buy a new 15" Powerbook with 100GB HD and 128MB Video Card. I've been to the Apple store a few times to test drive the powerbook. Doing so raised a few questions for me:



1. My hands are kind of big and whenever I'm typing, it seems that my palm always hits the trackpad. I have a Dell right now and the pad isn't too big so I never hit it. (I'm not a big trackpad fan, I'll be using a mouse.) Does anyone else with big hands have trouble with this?

I've only played with my brother's PowerBook, but I believe there's an option to disable the trackpad when you're typing on the keyboard. Can a PB user confirm that?

Quote:

2. How hard is it to install RAM by yourself?

It isn't. There's a door on the bottom. Pop it off, and there are the RAM slots.

Quote:

3. Are there any websites with forums, besides this one, where I can go to get FAQs about MAC OS X stuff? I'll probably end up spamming questions here when I buy it.

And how. You're welcome to post questions here, of course, but you might want to start with OS X FAQ.com. There are almost too many others to list...

Quote:

4. I love to test software before I purchase them, is there a Kazza type program? And no, I don't download music, I believe it's morally wrong to not pay someone who worked hard for it. Even if it's companies because they pay people who work there and they have to feed their families.

There are, and you can find 'em if you look for 'em. I'd suggest looking to see if the vendor has a trial version first. Most Mac software companies do, and they frequently give you 30 days or so to play with their app, which is more than enough.

Quote:

5. My current laptop's screen size is 1600x1200 and I love it. It's definately not too small as some people complain. How good is the resolution on the 15"? Will I be able to see as much as I can with my current resolution or close to it?

The resolution on the 15" PB is 1280 x 854, to keep people from complaining that everything is too small. It's still pretty generous, as you'll find that OS X doesn't require as much real estate as Windows does. For instance, there isn't a menubar under every window... If you do find it limiting, you can consider the big 17" PB or get a monitor to use with your PB.

kickaha

Big hands: I also have large hands, and don't have a problem with this in general. I type with my wrists mostly off the surface though, so your mileage may differ. There is a checkbox in the System Preferences for the Trackpad that lets you 'disable while typing', which works pretty well. It ignores spurious hits on the trackpad if you're actively using the keyboard.



RAM: Look on the bottom of the laptop, and you'll see a little panel with screws. The RAM is under there. Very easy.



FAQ: www.macosxhints.com is a good site, and please, feel free to blast away with questions in here, but in the future, place them over in the Genius Bar forum. We're a pretty helpful crowd for the most part.



P2P: yup, there are plenty of such apps.



Resolution: well, since you've played with it, only you can say if it's acceptable to you, but I find the 1280x854 to be quite roomy.



64bit: SO not a problem, don't worry about it. 64bit isn't going to do squat for 95% of the population anyway, and if you don't know if you're in the 5%, you're not.



Stickers: Of course! Every Mac comes with two Apple logo stickers.





DAMMIT! AMORPH! Man, that *NEVER* happens.

pbrules

YAYYYY. Cool. I'll be going to my Apple store to look at it further. Thanks for the replies. Also, with the palm on trackpad, most of the time, I rest my hands on the laptop itself, so is there anyway to just turn of the trackpad or is that a bad idea? My test drive of software don't last more that 15days so I'll just get teh trial versions anyway. I can stick those new Apple stickers on my water bottle now and show off. Should I upgrade to 1gig RAM now or wait to see if I need it? Also, does Apple stick in 2x256 sticks or one 512 and there's an extra slot for more? Oh, you can move this thread whereever you see fit. I thought this was the best place since I'm kind of asking for buying advice.





-PBRules

amorph

Quote:

Originally posted by PBRules

YAYYYY. Cool. I'll be going to my Apple store to look at it further. Thanks for the replies. Also, with the palm on trackpad, most of the time, I rest my hands on the laptop itself, so is there anyway to just turn of the trackpad or is that a bad idea?

Just check the checkbox that turns off the trackpad while you're typing, and that should take care of it.

Quote:

Should I upgrade to 1gig RAM now or wait to see if I need it?

Depends on how much money you have burning a hole in your pocket. If you're planning on putting in more than 512MB, definitely do it yourself, just to avoid Apple's markup.

Quote:

Also, does Apple stick in 2x256 sticks or one 512 and there's an extra slot for more?

It's 1 512MB stick.

pbrules

Cool. Thanks. Any recommendations on the manufacturer of RAM? Crucial? If it's good price, I'll probably buy the stick. Now that I know there's something like DeadAIM on Mac, I can switch happily. 8)