just bought a powerbook 12"

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I just purchased a powerbook 12" for school. I got the superdrive and 768mb ram. I also opted for apple care. it came out to almost exactly $1800 w/ the education discount, etc. I couldn't wait for the rumored Intel machines, so I went for it now. I had the money and I had a need, so why not.



This is my first mac and my first laptop. I'm wondering what i should opt to purchase that will help my experience. I'm going to be using it as my main computer, bringing it everywhere on campus, etc. I'll be using it to view movies, use AIM, do photo work with my negatives, word process, internet, etc. It'll basically do everything your basic college student needs a computer for. So, what would you get to accompany this? I know I'll need speakers (which ones?), as well as a wireless mouse/keyboard for when it's on my desk in my dorm room. I'll probably use an external monitor then too. Is there any sort of docking station that this stuff can be connected to so the constant transition is more efficient?



Any other suggestions for this first time laptop/mac owner?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    vox barbaravox barbara Posts: 2,021member
    Congratulation and welcome to the world of

    Apple Macintosh.



    People at AI love to hear news about, well,

    people who switched or just got a new Mac.

    Share your experience.



    Regarding speakers:

    Everything JBL and Altec Lansing is worth a

    look (and hearing)



    Particularly if you consider an iPod purchase,

    you might find a build in "iPod Dock" useful.

    The sound is amazing compared to the

    seize of said audio units.



    Another option is BOSE, but they settled

    in another price range.
  • Reply 2 of 25
    I have an ipod. I picked it up from freeipods.com, which was nice. So yeah, what do I have to deal with as far as converting all that from PC to Mac? What about bringing my songs from PC to Mac?



    I like the HK soundsticks, but they're expensive. Worth it? Can I connected them directly to the powerbook, or do I need an external soundcard?
  • Reply 3 of 25
    vox barbaravox barbara Posts: 2,021member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by timf0ran

    I have an ipod. I picked it up from freeipods.com, which was nice. So yeah, what do I have to deal with as far as converting all that from PC to Mac? What about bringing my songs from PC to Mac?





    I am not a PC guy. However, I believe the easiest thing

    is to copy all your mp3's onto an external. Set up your

    Mac (and iTunes), import all your tunes from within iTunes.

    That should do the trick.



    Quote:

    Originally posted by timf0ran

    I like the HK soundsticks, but they're expensive. Worth it? Can I connected them directly to the powerbook, or do I need an external soundcard?



    Yeah i forgot to mention HK. Yes you can connect them

    directly to the powerbook's audio out. AL, JBL, HK they all

    active (build in amplifier) speakers.

    A nice setup would be soundsticks connected to an

    Airport Express station.
  • Reply 4 of 25
    danmacmandanmacman Posts: 773member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by timf0ran

    I have an ipod. I picked it up from freeipods.com, which was nice. So yeah, what do I have to deal with as far as converting all that from PC to Mac? What about bringing my songs from PC to Mac?



    Enable disk mode on the iPod on your PC. Drag your music library onto the iPod disk. Connect to your Mac and copy content to desired directory. Hopefully your music will all fit onto the iPod disk, otherwise you'll have to get a larger portable disk, burn them, or an even easier solution would be to get a crossover cable and just download them to your Mac from the PC via network connection.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    timf0rantimf0ran Posts: 17member
    i may just get a crossover cable to do the trick. that way i can move a lot of other files i have, too. do i need to format the ipod again, or what?
  • Reply 6 of 25
    ijerryijerry Posts: 615member
    Congrats on your new purchase. Transitions, a common theme as of late. At any rate, what will you need....You should probably get Office if you are in school. I also bought iWork because you can then have some beautiful layouts for some of your papers. Speakers are a personal choice, but I chose Altec Lansings, though Bose does make some nice small ones now for a reasonable price.



    As for a Docking station. If you don't want to constantly re-connect all of your cables, then you can try out Bookendz. They work real well, and I think that is kind of what you are looking for.



    That is about it I think. Have fun with your new machine!
  • Reply 7 of 25
    timf0rantimf0ran Posts: 17member
    Yeah, BookEndz is exactly what im looking for. Im planning on buying office in a little bit, after I get acquainted with everything. Thanks for the help.
  • Reply 8 of 25
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by timf0ran

    i may just get a crossover cable to do the trick. that way i can move a lot of other files i have, too. do i need to format the ipod again, or what?



    If you are asking if you have to reformat your ipod to work with your mac if it was working with your pc, the answer is no.



    I bought an HP ipod and left it formatted for a pc so I can work off of it at home on my mac and at work on my PC.
  • Reply 9 of 25
    makkemakke Posts: 16member
    Hi, I recently bought an Apple Powerbook 12" as well, and moved my music from my PC laptop to the Apple without a single problem.



    This document gives detailed information on how to do it:



    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173an
  • Reply 10 of 25
    The things I'd recommend getting (in no particular order) are:



    1. A good case for carrying around your powerbook. I have a timbuk2 commuter, but there a number of manufacturers that make very nice cases (waterford, shaun jackson are the ones that come to mind, but there are many more). You want to make sure you protect your investment.



    2. a screen protector like one from radtech or owc that lays over your keyboard so when you close it, the oils from the keyboard don't get on the screen



    3. radtech wild eeps - these are little rubber feet that stick on the edges of your screen to make it more even and secure when you latch/close your laptop - not sure if you need these as much with the albooks, but I got them for my tibook.



    4. an extra adapter (if you don't want to keep unplugging and plugging into your bookendz) for when you're using your laptop on campus or in the library. I'm not sure if it's necessary to get an apple one or if a generic on will do cause I never got an extra adapter - I mainly use it at home, and when I got out, I just unplug and bring the adapter with me.



    A word of advice (and you might already know this or you might use your laptop this way anyways). Try to run your laptop off battery only at least once a week - I learned the hard way that leaving it in plugged in all the time shortens the effective life of the battery.



    Good luck and HAVE FUN!
  • Reply 11 of 25
    wingnutwingnut Posts: 197member
    If you already have a good stereo, then I suggest getting Airport Express and use Airtunes to play your songs on it. You might want to get yourself some good headphones for everywhere else. A lot less wires that way.
  • Reply 12 of 25
    speakers... speakers are nice for music and such, also movies... i have soundworks speakers.. havnt seen them around though, recently... but tehy're nice, w/ the subwolfer really gives better sound to the music and/or movies then the ones on the laptop do...
  • Reply 13 of 25
    argeliusargelius Posts: 309member
    I am getting ready to order more RAM for my brand-spanking new 15" PowerBook.



    I am wondering if I should order 512 MB for a total of1 GB, or go ahead and get a 1GB chip for a total of 1.5 GB.



    Other than email, word processing, surfing, and digital photo editing, I won't be doing any heavily graphics-intensive work (i.e no movie making, games, or driving large external monitors).



    For my use is1 GB enough, or should I just get a 1 GB chip and make it a total of 1.5?
  • Reply 14 of 25
    if your not going to do extensive big work such as movies, games, programming, ect... then 512mb-1GB is enough... even if your not going to do programming, 512 is plenty, but some people like 1GB, and if you want 1GB, go for it... i think that'd be perfect for what your going and youll also save some money w/ buying the 1GB rather then buying 1.5GB of ram..
  • Reply 15 of 25
    argeliusargelius Posts: 309member
    Excellent. Thanks for your thoughts.



    Anyone have a recommended place to go online for Memory?
  • Reply 16 of 25
    timf0rantimf0ran Posts: 17member
    crucial?



    does crucial make memory for macs?
  • Reply 17 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by timf0ran

    crucial?



    does crucial make memory for macs?




    im not sure.. im sure you can google it and find places..
  • Reply 18 of 25
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by timf0ran

    crucial?



    does crucial make memory for macs?




    Yes. They are the only place I shop for my ram.
  • Reply 19 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by timf0ran

    crucial?



    does crucial make memory for macs?




    Yes, I got a 1GB module (from the UK store) for my 12" PB earlier this week .
  • Reply 20 of 25
    timf0rantimf0ran Posts: 17member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by aplnub

    Yes. They are the only place I shop for my ram.



    thats where I got my ram for when I built my desktop a few years back.



    GUESS WHAT?! MY POWERBOOK JUST ARRIVED!! I have to eat breakfast then play with it all day.
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