A good deed...am I nuts?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm going to take advantage of this Georgia "sales tax holiday" weekend and surprise my best friend with a new 14" iBook. This will, however, pretty much zing through my PowerBook savings. That's the ONLY "ouch" part to this.



But hell, it looks like this 15" aluminum PowerBook isn't going to come before late autumn anyway, so...



I can save it all back up again, no problem.



[Edit: too much bean spillage...I might get busted if she reads this site...]



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Yes, I'm rambling. I wanted to see what my idea/plan sounded like out loud.







    I'm pleased. Mods, close at will if you'd like. I don't care.



  • Reply 2 of 35
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    You should have just added yourself to your own buddy list in iChat, and then IMed yourself. It always works for me.
  • Reply 3 of 35
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Then people would think I'm nuts.



    Uh...hmm. I could've asked myself what I was wearing, and if I wanted to "cyber"!
  • Reply 4 of 35
    ipeonipeon Posts: 1,122member
    That must be a hell of a friend if you are whiling to sacrifice the money you have set aside for your PowerBook. What's her name?
  • Reply 5 of 35
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates



    Uh...hmm. I could've asked myself what I was wearing, and if I wanted to "cyber"!




    That is SOOO pre Y2k
  • Reply 6 of 35
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by iPeon

    That must be a hell of a friend if you are whiling to sacrifice the money you have set aside for your PowerBook. What's her name?



    It's only temporary. I'll have the funds saved back up by the time this mythical 15" aluminum PowerBook ever surfaces, I'm sure.







    I think I'm safe. I MIGHT have to go an extra month (wooo!), but hell...it's already been 2 or 3, hasn't it? Besides, there's no guarantee it'll be announced in September...we're just all assuming because it's the next big public event type of thing. Motorola could keep acting like themselves and we might never see it!







    I'd be more conflicted if this thing was actually slated to be released, say, NEXT WEEK. But as it is, it's a pretty easy thing to do. She starts school on August 18, so she would totally put it to good, legit use right away and be using it every day and night, starting next week, whereas I'm sitting here looking at rumor sites, calling my bookie in Vegas, reading tea leaves, pre-shopping for a new mouse and carrying bag...



    It's really a matter of practicality and common sense, really. Why deprive her of a cool computer when I can't get what I want for another 3 months anyway? That and I'm a hell of a guy, of course.
  • Reply 7 of 35
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    You're avoiding the question...what's her name.



    And what did she do to deserve this wonderful gift?
  • Reply 8 of 35
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    I'm going to take advantage of this Georgia "sales tax holiday" weekend and surprise my best friend with a new 14" iBook. This will, however, pretty much zing through my PowerBook savings. That's the ONLY "ouch" part to this.



    But hell, it looks like this 15" aluminum PowerBook isn't going to come before late autumn anyway, so...



    I can save it all back up again, no problem.



    [Edit: too much bean spillage...I might get busted if she reads this site...]







    Scates, you realize that you can get the 12" pb for the same price as the 14" iBook, right? I know, smaller screen, but G4 and same resolution. Something to think about...



    edit: I just realized that you're probably not getting the ed discount. Too bad. The pb is $1399 with ed discount. With no tax too boot. That's a sweet deal. If I lived in ATL, I'd hook you up with my discount.
  • Reply 9 of 35
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Yeah, I know. Still, I'm going to save well over $100 dollars (getting her an AirPort card also). She's totally eligible for the discount, but I'm not. She's in San Diego for the next week, so we couldn't do that.



    That's okay. I don't have any other connections in education that are convenient today. It's cool. And while the PowerBook is certainly cool, I know her and her usage and needs and she'd appreciate a larger-screen iBook way more than the smaller PowerBook. Surfs, writes papers, e-mails...that's pretty much what she does.



    She's going to be all over the place (home, school, parttime gig, travel, etc. and I know that the iBook is totally built to withstand some knocks. She can be a bit of a klutz, so...







    And yeah, I thought about the 12" (for me, I wouldn't mind). This person has so-so vision and I honestly think (no, I KNOW) that the 12" would drive her nuts. Plus, she's got a 14" on her four-year-old Gateway, so I don't want to go "backwards". She's totally used to 14" at 1024x768, and OS X at that size resolution is going to look 200 times nicer than Windows ME.







    Coolest thing? Her Gateway has no CD-R, no Ethernet, no FireWire, no built-in modem, 16-bit color, Windows ME, some sticky/useless keys, weighs about 8 pounds or so, has piss-poor battery (literally like 50 minutes or so), has to stick in a card in the side to have wireless or modem (ugh!), 64MB RAM, a dinky hard drive (6GB I believe). Total 1998 barebones PC laptop, you know?



    Compare all that to what she's getting on the iBook (combo drive, Ethernet, FireWire, 32MB graphics, Jaguar, AirPort, good battery, we'll max the RAM to 640MB, 40GB hard drive, and FINALLY access to iTunes and the online music store...plus all the other goodies you get as a modern, OS X-using Mac person: the iApps, Sherlock, iCal, Safari, etc. She'll dig 'em all).







    Actually, she's no stranger to the platform (she's used mine over the years and loves my current iMac w/ OS X. For someone not a full-fledged, "official" Mac user, she boogies around it pretty well, so I know she'll adapt right away. We'll shuttle her documents and photos over and put them in the right spots. She's got an HP 5550 inkjet that is OS X compatible (I use it with my iMac) and a 100MB USB Zip Drive, so there's nothing, peripheral-wise, she doesn't already own that she can't keep using. Nothing gets tossed out or becomes "useless".



    Several of her friends have iPods and she's a HUGE music freak with a pretty honkin' CD collection (Diana Krall to The Smiths to Willie Nelson to Count Basie...and all points in between), so she's finally be able to join in the fun of iTunes, iPods, custom mix CDs, using the Apple music store and buying those "gotta have it now!" songs for .99, etc.







    There is no downside.



    Satch: the name is secret, but she's my best friend and has been for a good 14-plus years. Through thick and thin, the good and the bad, as they say. Just a gift to say "thanks for everything and welcome home" and "now you've got something a little more modern, rugged and powerful to use starting this semester".



    Everyone wins, the way I see it.
  • Reply 10 of 35
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    Yeah, I know. Still, I'm going to save well over $100 dollars (getting her an AirPort card also). She's totally eligible for the discount, but I'm not. She's in San Diego for the next week, so we couldn't do that.



    That's okay. I don't have any other connections in education that are convenient today.




    Too bad. I understand the reasoning, I guess. Are you sure you don't know anyone in ed? Because there's also the "buy a bundle" deal where you can get $200 back if you buy an iBook and an iPod. So, you could either spend $1499 for the iBook or spend $1399 + $300 - $200 = $1499 and get her a 10 gig iPod too. Not a bad deal.



    Someone on AI must be in ATL and have and ed discount. Hell, swing by Athens today and I'll loan you my id.
  • Reply 11 of 35
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Well, I'm leaving here in about 15 minutes (about a 90 minute drive, give or take) and I'll be there by 11am EST. Any AI members in the vicinity with an education ID wants to meet me there, I'll be the goofball in khaki painters pants, NB shoes and a black shirt and short dark hair (and lotsa stubble...haven't shaved in 4 days!).







    Help me save a few hundred bucks and I'll gladly buy you lunch and drinks.



  • Reply 12 of 35
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Why a 14"? Twelve inches is better for your friend. Wow, that sounded pretty bad, didn't it?
  • Reply 13 of 35
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Try actually reading his posts, he's already explained it.
  • Reply 14 of 35
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    THANK you, M...



    Scroll up and read a bit, Placebo.



    BTW, just got back. Got it and the card. The joint was CRAMMED full of people. Items up to $1500 were exempt from sales tax (they rang the iBook and AirPort card on two tickets so I wouldn't exceed the $1500 threshold).







    But holy smoke...in all the Apple stores I've been in over the past couple of years, this was - by far - the busiest. I asked the guy "is this all due to the sales tax holiday?" and he "probably some, but to be honest most of our Saturdays can be like this".



    In the 30 or so minutes I was there, I saw three iBooks (besides mine) sold, a 17" Studio Display, 2 20" Studio Displays, 2 MDD G4 towers, an iMac/printer combo, an eMac, one guy bought two Titanium PowerBooks(!), an iPod (15GB), 2 iSight cameras, those JBL Creature speakers, lots of software and accessories (some guy was buying USB and video cables like it was going out of style...must've been outfitting a classroom or lab?).



    You gotta figure that not paying sales tax on a lot of this stuff saves a hundred or so bucks. Kinda nice to walk up and pay exactly what the ticket or price listed says!



    Anyway, very cool to see all the activity. They set a 15" PowerBook in between the two iMacs used as cash registers to help with the overflow and I stood in line for nearly 10 minutes, just waiting to check out. Dollies were being wheeled out with the goodies pretty much nonstop, it seemed!



    Oh, and there were about TWENTY (maybe more?) employees! I've never seen more than 10-12, tops. They're all wearing bright orange T-shirts with a white Apple logo and the word "Camp" on it (some promo they're doing if you buy a Mac for your kid they provide free training ("summer camp" they call it). So it was VERY easy to pick out the employees...looked like traffic pylons with bluejeans.



  • Reply 15 of 35
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    I want to be your friend P.
  • Reply 16 of 35
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    Yeah, the Camp thing is something they're doing for kids. My little brother is enrolled in it at the Walnut Creek store.
  • Reply 17 of 35
    serranoserrano Posts: 1,806member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    Why a 14"? Twelve inches is better for your friend. Wow, that sounded pretty bad, didn't it?



    You don't want to bottom out.



    Hey scates, you're still avoiding the issue. Her name, and the reason for your generosity. Your life is your life though, I'm not going to prod, you deserve your privacy - but I think we can all imagine.



    Enjoy the gift of giving.
  • Reply 18 of 35
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Bump/update



    Well, she flipped out (in a good way).



    I also got her a 15GB iPod and unveiled it first and she was like "uh, no way...I can't take that...that's expensive!"



    And I said "well, you're really going to crap when you see this..." and pulled out the iBook box.







    She loved it. TOTALLY surprised/shocked and thrilled. She starts back to school next Monday, so it worked out great.



    It shipped with 10.2.4, so we went on, got the updates and she's totally current. I also got an AirPort Card for her, popped it in and it immediately found the wireless signal in her apartment (she has a Microsoft Wi-Fi thing she used with her Gateway). She's been online since about 15 minutes after we got it out of the box.



    Last night, she started encoding her CDs and will eventually be putting stuff on her iPod.



    I downloaded and installed (actually, she did...I supervised) the drivers for her HP deskjet 5550 printer. We shuttled all her personal stuff (papers, pictures, writing, etc.) from her Gateway to her Mac.



    She ordered a 512MB DIMM and it'll be here tomorrow, as well as the student-discounted version of Office v.X.



    She's about as set to go as a person can get. She's already taking quite well to OS X and the "Mac way" of doing stuff. She loves it!







    It was good.



    Oh yeah: I had a black Kensington Saddlebag laptop case sitting empty in my closet from when I briefly owned a tangerine iBook. I brought it over and guess what? A PERFECT fit (the 14" iBook slides into the holder part with not even 1/4" to spare of wasted space!







    So it all went the way it should...
  • Reply 19 of 35
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    Damn, Paul! An iPod too? You are, as you said, one hell of a guy.
  • Reply 20 of 35
    Paul: I sincerely admire your altruism. That would hold true even if there were ulterior motives that you were hiding from us, like her name. You're an inspiration!



    Maybe I should buy that new kitchen for my wife and myself instead of lusting after a Rev.B 12-inch PowerBook. By the time I would have saved enough money again I would probably be able to buy a 12-inch PowerBook G5. How cool would that be?



    Cold Turkey

    (aka Escher)
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