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[Matlock]

This is an offshoot to the "$1000 soakin'" thread...If they force an equivalent value replacement, I'm tempted to get an apple laptop (iBook, as I've heard the powerbook line's prone to dents/bending) instead...

Anyway, th' questions.

*How good is Windows emulation in the Mac environ? I'd only be using it for Office, really, as I don't want to re-pay for software on another system.
*How much heat/noise does it throw out? My last two laptops were desktop replacements, and loud as hell. I'm wanting to find a smaller, more portable-friendly solution.
*How's battery life?
*How hard is it to adjust to the Mac environ? I've only used it a couple of times, but thought it was similar enough to win95-XP that I could work it.
*Are installs much different in procedure, both with hardware and software? Do macs support plug n play and auto-find drivers, or would I have to track them down? How do you install/uninstall software?
*How stable is the OS?
*If the OS does bugger up, how easy is it to repair?

Thanks beforehand.

 

[Hitokage]

*How much heat/noise does it throw out? My last two laptops were desktop replacements, and loud as hell. I'm wanting to find a smaller, more portable-friendly solution.

I haven't had one on my lap, but the iBook I touched felt rather warm. Macs are generally far quieter than any PC you could build cheaply without making huge performance sacrifices.

*How hard is it to adjust to the Mac environ? I've only used it a couple of times, but thought it was similar enough to win95-XP that I could work it.

There are a few nonobvious changes like Home/End* that you'll have to get used to, but nothing more complicated. Learn how to drag/drop stuff and use Expose and you're set.

*Are installs much different in procedure, both with hardware and software? Do macs support plug n play and auto-find drivers, or would I have to track them down? How do you install/uninstall software?

To install a program, you do one of the following:

A) Run Installer
B) Copy program to the Applications folder.

*How stable is the OS?

I've only found one way to reliably lock up Tiger, everything else is easily Force Quit-able.


** The Home/End keys apply to the scrollbar, not your text cursor. Use apple with arrow keys to move to the beginning or end of a line, and option with left/right to move words at a time.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

First off, I haven't had too many problems with the Powerbooks getting dented, but the can get scratched and scuffed. Newer generations are much better on this though. Of course, you can't get one for $1000.

*How good is Windows emulation in the Mac environ? I'd only be using it for Office, really, as I don't want to re-pay for software on another system.

Virtual PC isn't bad, although it does run slow. I know it costs a couple of hundred bucks, but Office 2004 for Mac is a hell of a program, and is worth the money. Still, Windows Office should run fairly decently under Virtual PC.

*How much heat/noise does it throw out? My last two laptops were desktop replacements, and loud as hell. I'm wanting to find a smaller, more portable-friendly solution.

Heat isn't a major issue. Not any more so than any other laptop. Not always true in the past, but under control now days. Mac laptops are very quiet.

*How's battery life?

Battery life is good. Just using the laptop, without wifi or excessive drive use, than five hours isn't out of the realm. Normal use, 3 to 4 hours easily.

*How hard is it to adjust to the Mac environ? I've only used it a couple of times, but thought it was similar enough to win95-XP that I could work it.

There will be an adjustment period. OS X is different from Windows, but with a bit of time, you'll see how everything works, and probably discover that most things are easier, and more intuitive than in Windows. But come in with an open mind. A lot of Windows users who don't like Mac's, have too many pre-conceived notions about how things are suppose to work just because thats how they are in Windows. I use both platforms, and like both, but OS X is more elegant and intuitive. Period.

*Are installs much different in procedure, both with hardware and software? Do macs support plug n play and auto-find drivers, or would I have to track them down? How do you install/uninstall software?

As mentioned already, you either run an installer, or simply drag and drop the program to install. Hardware is pretty much auto-detect. Windows stole the whole Plug-n-Play thing from the Mac, which has always done a good job with driver support

*How stable is the OS?

Very stable. It's built on a Unix core. I've used OS X since it's early days, and I can honestly say that I've never had my computer lock-up completely. I have issues with certain programs from time to time, usually ones from Microsoft. Internet Explorer for the Mac is particularly troublesome for me.

*If the OS does bugger up, how easy is it to repair?

Very easy to repair. The OS CD's have a Disk Tool on them that you can use when you boot from the CD, which will repair a number of problems, and should you need to reinstall, it's very easy, straightforward, and intuitive. It'll even archive your data for you.

Thanks beforehand.

You're Welcome!

 

[Matlock]

I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

First off, I haven't had too many problems with the Powerbooks getting dented, but the can get scratched and scuffed. Newer generations are much better on this though. Of course, you can't get one for $1000.

Well, the LCD is what they're quoting $1000 repair on, the laptop's initial value was $1650, tho.

Thanks for the rest people.

 

[Hitokage]

A lot of Windows users who don't like Mac's, have too many pre-conceived notions about how things are suppose to work just because thats how they are in Windows.

This is true. I was confused when I first tried installing Firefox because I didn't expect I could simply drag and drop it in place.

 

[fugimax]

Here we go..

*How good is Windows emulation in the Mac environ? I'd only be using it for Office, really, as I don't want to re-pay for software on another system.

You'll need to use Virtual PC for this...which you'll have to buy. It's about the same price as Office itself. Are you a student? If so, you can get Office cheap.

*How much heat/noise does it throw out? My last two laptops were desktop replacements, and loud as hell. I'm wanting to find a smaller, more portable-friendly solution.

Noise? Almost none unless it gets hot and the fan kicks on...and even then, way quieter than those beasty Dells. As for heat, it gets warm definitely, but as a PowerBook user I have to say it's much cooler than the PBs. It won't bother you if that's the question. The only way it gets hot is if you keep the bottom insulated (setting it on a blanket, for example).

*How's battery life?

3-4 hours depending on what you use. (Airport, HD access, screen brightness, etc.)

*How hard is it to adjust to the Mac environ? I've only used it a couple of times, but thought it was similar enough to win95-XP that I could work it.

Give yourself a week and you're good. Well worth the time.

*Are installs much different in procedure, both with hardware and software? Do macs support plug n play and auto-find drivers, or would I have to track them down? How do you install/uninstall software?

When you use a Mac you'll never mess with drivers after initial install (if there are even any then). It's not like Windows at all in that you never ever worry about drivers and conflicts and blah blah blah..

As for installs you just drag and drop apps. So to install firefox, you'd download it, the disk image of it would mount on your desktop, then you'd drag the FireFox app to your Applications folder. That's it.

*How stable is the OS?

Funny question coming from a Windows users. I've used Mac OS X for 5 years now and have had about 15-20 hard crashes. And that was when I was messing with MATLAB and was sucking up 2GB physical + 4GB virtual memory and just borked the kernel a lot.

*If the OS does bugger up, how easy is it to repair

Depends. The apple discussion forums are a good place to find fixes...but I can't say my Macs have ever "buggered up" to the point where I had to do more than repair some permissions (using Disk Utility...takes about 2minutes). If something does go wrong, you can do an "Arhcive and Install" and retain all your settings/files/applications, but you get a fresh OS install.

 

[Deku Tree]

I'm about to get a new Apple Desktop and a new Apple Laptop. But I'm waiting until the end of the month. They may announce new stuff at or around this apple expo in Paris next week.

I'm waiting till the end of the month because sometimes they announce new stuff a week after an expo, or so my IT guy tells me.

 

[tedtropy]

While not totally related, I have moments of weakness where I toss around the idea of just outright selling my PC stuff and getting one of the LCD-based iMacs. I have a pretty nice PC, it's just I think I run benchmarks on the thing more than I do any kind of actual gaming and I just want something very self-contained and aesthetically pleasing. I have a PC-based laptop that I do 90% of my stuff on while my PC remains turned off. I don't need anything too powerful, but I know having to acclimate myself to OS X after years of working with particular PC apps would be abit of an initial pain. Mainly I think I just want to try something new.

 

[Matlock]

Guess I'm going to have to look into the purchase of Office For Mac through someone else's student discount...or otherwise acquiring it from a friend.

Oh yeah...and I'm guessing here, but a Mac should be able to auto-detect and connect easily to any shitty wireless router, right?

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Guess I'm going to have to look into the purchase of Office For Mac through someone else's student discount...or otherwise acquiring it from a friend.

Oh yeah...and I'm guessing here, but a Mac should be able to auto-detect and connect easily to any shitty wireless router, right?

Yeah, get a student version of Office on the cheap, and you'll be set.

Apple has a great implementation of wireless networking. They've been doing it longer than Windows. Very easy to use and configure. OS X even has an on screen indicator of signal strength.

 

[EGM92]

1. Virtual PC on a Ibook is horrible... the more MHz processor the BETTER. It's not the great it's laggy and a bit buggy sometimes on my 17" Powerbook with 1GB of DDR ram and 1.5ghz G4. My girlfriends G4 1.3ghz Ibook has problems sometimes locking up when she uses office.

2. Heat is only an issue when you're doing a lot of intensive work, ie: video editing, encoding,etc. My Powerbook isn't loud... but it gets hot when I do a lot of work on it, the fan isn't always on so it's not noisy.

3. Battery life is an issue with Ibooks/Powerbooks. On apple site they say normal usage will give you what 2-4 hours or something? well normal usage is not including anything other then surfing the net I guess cause I get 2 hours on average with Airport card off. Thats another thing Wi-fi will KILL your battery. The more processor you use the shorter the battery life, the fans also kill battery and so do Superdrives...

4. It's not that hard actually, it will take a bit of getting used to like there's little to no "installations" it just drag and drop into the applications folder. It took me about 4 months before I got used to the MAC enviroment just cause of the damn one buttoned mouse. Problem with MAC's is that OSX, you'll get everything installed and you'll be asking yourself,"whats next?" which was the case for all my Mac friends.

5. Read #4, some installs do have an installation process which requires you to do more then just drag and drop the progarm icon into the dock or folder. Hardware on a mac? Imac's don't bother too much hassle just to install new ram, Mac minis are a bit easier but still wouldn't trust myself. Powermacs are really the only MACs that are hardware installation friendly cause it's a Tower case. As for the laptops, you open it you void your warrenty. Mac do have a sort of P&P, you can input a memory stick/Ipod/mp3/media etc and it will detect it and load an icon onto the desktop. Some mice/keyboards require drivers, like my MX1000 wont run on my PB or Imac without the drivers from logtiech. A lot of PC hardware isn't supports on MAC OSX, for example my webcam a Logtiech Quickcam Silver Zoom, it required hacked drivers and is VERY buggy, it's like OSX was built to accept only iSight which is Apples own webcam. Unistalling software is VERY easy.. highlight the file and drag it into the trash can, to complete the uninstall empty the can lol. To remove devices from the desktop ie: memory sticks, mp3 player etc, you have to eject it by clicking and holding the device onto and "ejecting" it into the trash can. If you don't do this you can cause your make to lockup.

6. OSX is Stable, just as much as windows is stable, I've had just as much crashes on OSX as I have in Windows cause of driver conflicts. But I prefere to use Ubuntu Linux when I'm donig something VERY important, never had a single crash with that.

7. Repairing the OS is very simple, input the OSX cd and restart and it will take you to the installation, once there click the parition/drive and use the repair options.

I've been a MAC user for 3 years and a Windows user for 7 I still prefere Windows cause I've "Mastered" the interface and to me it's more friendly then OSX. The one button mice is a pain on MACs luckily after soooo many years apple finally released the Mighty Mouse... the first 2 button mouse for MAC's lol. It will take you some time to get used to it if you've never spent a lot of time with OSX, I suggest going to an Apple store and palying around with the display models and don't get fooled by the flashy effects

Hope this helps,

 

[fugimax]

Oh yeah...and I'm guessing here, but a Mac should be able to auto-detect and connect easily to any shitty wireless router, right?

Managing WiFi connection in OS X is 100x easier than Windows. I couldn't believe how hard it was to get wifi working in Windows when you use more than one access-point. It's all completely invisible to you in OS X...setting up it in Windows is such a pain.

 

[Particle Physicist]

There will be an adjustment period. OS X is different from Windows, but with a bit of time, you'll see how everything works, and probably discover that most things are easier, and more intuitive than in Windows. But come in with an open mind. A lot of Windows users who don't like Mac's, have too many pre-conceived notions about how things are suppose to work just because thats how they are in Windows. I use both platforms, and like both, but OS X is more elegant and intuitive. Period.

my current powerbook is my first mac.. and i absolutely love it. things were a bit confusing at first.. but after my little adjustment period, i find OSX to be much much more intuitive than XP..

 

[ckohler]

Before I made the switch my first question was also "how well does Virtual PC run?". The truth is it's sluggish, cumbersome but usable.

Trust me and save yourself a lot of headache by forgetting about Virtual PC. Just spend a little extra time finding some good Mac alternatives to all the PC programs you use. You'll be surprised what's out there. In fact, many of my Mac apps (Unison, Adium, Toast for example) are way better than the PC counterparts I used to use.

 

[Hitokage]

Managing WiFi connection in OS X is 100x easier than Windows. I couldn't believe how hard it was to get wifi working in Windows when you use more than one access-point. It's all completely invisible to you in OS X...setting up it in Windows is such a pain.

Haha, yeah, when setting up my sister's Mac Mini it simply asked me the network name and password... and it connected. After going through so much hassle setting it up beforehand on windows boxes, I was floored. IPP Printers are also easier to set up.

 

[Particle Physicist]

The one button mice is a pain on MACs luckily after soooo many years apple finally released the Mighty Mouse... the first 2 button mouse for MAC's lol. It will take you some time to get used to it if you've never spent a lot of time with OSX, I suggest going to an Apple store and palying around with the display models and don't get fooled by the flashy effects

Hope this helps,

OSX has always supported two button mouses.. ive been using a logitech mini mouse on my laptop since i purchased it..

 

[Jill Sandwich]

Me and the missus became mac owners last year after years of Wintel, and she has an iBook G4 1Ghz so:

*How good is Windows emulation in the Mac environ? I'd only be using it for Office, really, as I don't want to re-pay for software on another system.

Don't know about Windows emu, but I use Mac Office 2004 and it's just as useful as the windows version. Though I don't use Entourage at all, rather I rely on Mail and iCal.

*How much heat/noise does it throw out? My last two laptops were desktop replacements, and loud as hell. I'm wanting to find a smaller, more portable-friendly solution.

It's extremely quiet, you don't know it's turned on until you hear any disc access, and it goes for ages before being too warm, like hours.

*How's battery life?

CD/DVD drive use brings it down a lot, but without that we've got over 5 hours on the iBook.

*How hard is it to adjust to the Mac environ? I've only used it a couple of times, but thought it was similar enough to win95-XP that I could work it.

It's strange to say, but OSX is a lot more 'fun' to use than windows. It doesn't take long to adjust. The main things that got me were closing the app window doesnt close the app, you have to do it via the menu or Apple key + Q. Also get used to your app windows not being 'maximized.' I thought that would bug me but I'm used to it now. Exposé helps a lot. System Prefs is a lovely Control Panel, Spotlight is fantastic for finding things quickly. The only thing I want from Windows is to be able to have a 'thumbnail' view for my pictures. The Dock can be moved, shrank or hidden if it pisses you off. The drag and drop implementation is great on a mac.

*Are installs much different in procedure, both with hardware and software? Do macs support plug n play and auto-find drivers, or would I have to track them down? How do you install/uninstall software?

See above poster's answers - it really is plug n play. To uninstall a prog, drag its icon into the trash. There's no registry to get junked up with DLLs in OSX.

*How stable is the OS?

Very, it hasn't crashed once since I got my pooter. Apps have crashed or froze, but you can always Force Quit them (and they DO quit, unlike the endless clicking of End Now in Task Manager when a win app mutates)

My lady since getting her iBook has become a total iWhore, she says she'd never switch back to PC, ever!

 

[Hitokage]

OSX has always supported two button mouses.. ive been using a logitech mini mouse on my laptop since i purchased it..

Control+Click also works, and often times click-and-hold too.

 

[EGM92]

OSX has always supported two button mouses.. ive been using a logitech mini mouse on my laptop since i purchased it..

Yea I know I can use other mice with it, I've been using my MX1000 for the last 2 years on my MAC's, but it's a pain switching mice all the time from PC to laptop to MAC etc. So I broke down and started to use the stock apple mouse and man it was HORRIBLE. It may look stylish and cool but if you have big hands click is a bit tricky cause there's not actual finger button.

Matlock if you do get a MAC you a standard PC mouse will save you a lot of time.

 

[Matlock]

Another couple of things--I'm only looking to use it for work and personal use, nothing in the way of heavy production. I rarely do audio editing, photoshop sporadically, and only fix anigifs in imageready on occasion.

Matlock if you do get a MAC you a standard PC mouse will save you a lot of time.

Wouldn't have it any other way, since the MX700 ain't gonna go to waste.

 

[Triumph]

Another couple of things--I'm only looking to use it for work and personal use, nothing in the way of heavy production. I rarely do audio editing, photoshop sporadically, and only fix anigifs in imageready on occasion.

Then you certainly don't need a powerbook. Get the 14 inch ibook. It's what I was going to get until I had to start paying back my student loans(I can't believe I forgot when my last deferrment ran out). It's $1299 so you may have to throw down a little more, but it comes with a Superdrive standard(dvd/cd rw) and 512mb of RAM.

 

[Deku Tree]

Wouldn't have it any other way, since the MX700 ain't gonna go to waste.

 

[Hitokage]

Yea I know I can use other mice with it, I've been using my MX1000 for the last 2 years on my MAC's, but it's a pain switching mice all the time from PC to laptop to MAC etc. So I broke down and started to use the stock apple mouse and man it was HORRIBLE. It may look stylish and cool but if you have big hands click is a bit tricky cause there's not actual finger button.

USE YOUR FINGERTIPS. Seriously, I have big hands too. Just hold the sides and click it as if there were a finger button. Not that I'm saying it's great and all, but as one-button mice go it's not bad at all.

Deku Tree: Top-mounted trackballs, on the other hand, were invented by the devil. Get a thumbball.

 

[Thraktor]

Typing this on a 12" Powerbook that I've recently switched to from a Windows-based desktop. As most people have pointed out, battery life is good (I get 4+ hrs with heavy WiFi usage), OS is very intuitive and stable, and the machine is very quiet and rather cool. I'd also like to point out the size and weight of what I'm currently typing on, a standard laptop now feels like a pack of bricks has just landed on my lap, and, given how much I have to bring it in and out of college, it really helps that the machine is this portable.

WiFi is also so easy to hook up that it's actually quite scary. First time I booted up the machine it came up with a little message saying "Home" network detected, and asking me for the password, and that was it. Spending weeks trying to get that wireless router working with the various PCs in my house, it was very refreshing to see it didn't need any of the sort of fiddly setup I was expecting. It is to be noted, though, that the Powerbooks (for what reason I don't know) don't seem to get as good WiFi coverage as iBooks. There are spots in my house that I don't get a bit of coverage on this, but my brother's G3 iBook get's a next to perfect network connection.

Also, your point about going iBook instead of Powerbook due to dents/bending seems quite foreign to me, as this thing seems sturdy as a brick, and hasn't lost a bit of it's shine since I got it. Granted, the Titanium series of Powerbooks had big problems with the hinges, but that's all since been fixed, and the newest models are just as rugged as the iBook.

Like you, I was also planning on getting a mouse to use with my new lappie (wasn't looking forward to single-button trackpad), but after only a few days of two-finger scrolling, and realising how little ctrl-click (the equivalent of right-click) is needed on OSX, I'm actually happier the way I am now, so I'd very much advise giving mouseless operation a go for a few days to see if it works for you.

 

[mrkgoo]

Hey, just thought I'd add my two cents:

I made "the switch' (as Apple-fanatics call it) April this year. Now I'm not a huge computer buff - I'd say I know of things, rather than about. I was concerend if I'd get used to the Mac environment, or just get annoyed because it didn't work like windows. As many have said before, your adoption to the system depends on any preconceived notions you bring with you.

I'm loving it. I bought a PowerBook as a replacement for my desktop (noteworthy, though, I was going from a PII, 233, so anything would've felt like an upgrade, though I do use PCs at work), and now will probably never consider getting a PC again.

I did go and get a 3-button scrollwheel mouse, but when I was travelling for a month without it, and just using the one button trackpad, I actually started to understand the one-button environment, and hotkeys. It felt natural. I would'nt say it was any easier or more efficient, but there were certainly no problems. A lot of things, like the right-click contextual menus in MacOSX are there, but I found myself not needing them as much as on Windows, since I mostly used them for cut and paste functions (which I now use the equivalent of ctrl-X,c,V etc). Many contextual functions for things on the menu bar and Dock seemed to be also assigned to click-and-hold as well.

There were a few things I missed from the Windows enivronment, though. I missed the open windows along the bottom, so you could always easily click to a particular window at any time. I realise the Dock on Mac operates similarly, but it only has icons for the entire application, and notnecessarily windows within the app. But for the most part it works. Of course, there's Expose, but at first, I felt that it was mostly flashy and only 'good' because it filled a hole in how the environment operated. And it does to an extent. Of course, I find it invaluable now...and it does leave the Dock looking clean. I miss the right click, create .txt (though I'm sure there's something I can do about that, I just haven't looked hard enough). The biggest thing I missed was the way Windows picutre viewer on XP handled jpgs in a folder...with all the options to view them straight from the folder. It was great. Preview for Mac was kinda feeble in comparison, and iPhoto wasn't so great for actually viewing things quickl;y. However, Preview for Tiger has many of the options now, so that point has become all but moot.

As for Virtual PC, I have no idea. I have no need to run any PC applications, so no intention to get it. I mostly use my PB for internet, Office, and some unixy-type programs for work. Office 2004 for Mac is fantastic. So much better than all the Pc versions. It looks, nice, has a lots of neat features that PC versions don't have (I think), and a slightly different layout that makes everything easy to access.

Hardware-wise, it's also great. I've had very few problems hooking up peripherals (and remember, I'm not computer-savvy), including wifi, networking, cameras, external monitors. Msot of the time, it's plug and play business. Having said that, Windows Xp is pretty good with that mostly too. I'm sure drivers are required on Mac, but it's so transparent, I've never had to deal with them, even with an mp3 player that required it's own software (it seemed the application had all it needed to connect - click and drag the app...and...that was it.).

Mac Os has been pretty stable, but again, I don't really run anything too-third party. Office is about as far as I get from Apple. I've had a few bugs where I needed to restart, and a number of application crashes, but nothing was ever as devastating as a compelte system lock down that I routinely experienced on Windows at work (given, they are public Pcs, and who knows what people get up to on them).

My powerbook is very quiet, gets ocassionally warm, but nothing too bad. My PowerBook does seem a little bent, and I'm wary of the latch mechanism, but no major complaints yet.

anywya, after getting one, I've now become a diehard Apple Junkie. But I'm easily brainwashed, so....

 

[Nick]

While not totally related, I have moments of weakness where I toss around the idea of just outright selling my PC stuff and getting one of the LCD-based iMacs. I have a pretty nice PC, it's just I think I run benchmarks on the thing more than I do any kind of actual gaming and I just want something very self-contained and aesthetically pleasing. I have a PC-based laptop that I do 90% of my stuff on while my PC remains turned off. I don't need anything too powerful, but I know having to acclimate myself to OS X after years of working with particular PC apps would be abit of an initial pain. Mainly I think I just want to try something new.

Getting acclimated to Mac OSX is seriously the easiest thing ever. Ever.

If you ever decide to make the switch, you won't have a problem. Trust me.

 

[Thraktor]

Then you certainly don't need a powerbook. Get the 14 inch ibook. It's what I was going to get until I had to start paying back my student loans(I can't believe I forgot when my last deferrment ran out). It's $1299 so you may have to throw down a little more, but it comes with a Superdrive standard(dvd/cd rw) and 512mb of RAM.

Personally I don't see the point in a 14" iBook. Given that it's only got the same resolution screen as the 12", and the processor is only slighly more powerful, you can just apply upgrades to the 12" model and get pretty much the same computer in a smaller, lighter form-factor, no?

 

[Akia]

Get the 14 inch iBook. I have a 17inch PowerBook but recently I've been fooling around with my friends 14 inch iBook. I liked it alot.

It'll treat ya real nice.

 

[shantyman]

Personally I don't see the point in a 14" iBook. Given that it's only got the same resolution screen as the 12", and the processor is only slighly more powerful, you can just apply upgrades to the 12" model and get pretty much the same computer in a smaller, lighter form-factor, no?

I agree- the 12" iBook is the best value in laptops not ment for anything high end (which is what 90% of laptops are used for).

Just get OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) instead of worrying about emulating a PC. Or, you can Office for Mac, a great app.

 

[Triumph]

Personally I don't see the point in a 14" iBook. Given that it's only got the same resolution screen as the 12", and the processor is only slighly more powerful, you can just apply upgrades to the 12" model and get pretty much the same computer in a smaller, lighter form-factor, no?

While it is physically possible to put a superdrive into a 12 inch ibook, it's not an option on Apple's website. I looked into it and the larger hd, faster processor and superdrive standard are what sold me on the 14 inch ibook. Er, that is they were GOING to sell me.

 

[Thraktor]

Yeah, I hadn't noticed that Superdrive isn't an option on 12" models, but the extra hard-drive space would only put you back an extra €56 (Irish Apple Store) which isn't really too much to worry about. Although, I suppose it depends on what you're using it for, I wouldn't really have much use of a SuperDrive, you see, while portability would be very important, so I conceed that there are some circumstances where a 14" may be a better buy.

 

[Deku Tree]

Just get OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) instead of worrying about emulating a PC. Or, you can Office for Mac, a great app.

Is OpenOffice a good app these days? Last time I checked on it, a few years ago it was terrible...

 

[EGM92]

USE YOUR FINGERTIPS. Seriously, I have big hands too. Just hold the sides and click it as if there were a finger button. Not that I'm saying it's great and all, but as one-button mice go it's not bad at all.

Deku Tree: Top-mounted trackballs, on the other hand, were invented by the devil. Get a thumbball.

umm if you have big hands and are able to hold it comfortably that way then I must have HUGE hands... If I hold it by the two little white sides with my fingertips I can fit at least another 1 1/2 Apple Mice in that space, it's horrible. I have friends who won't even touch a PC after using a MAC but damn they all agree it's a horrible mouse and they all bought MS/Logitech mice cause 90% of those mice are more ergonomically correct then the Apple mice.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I have large hands, and have no problems with the Apple Mouse. Now, I hated the hockey puck mouse that came with the first few generations of iMac's, but I have no problems with the newer mice. Haven't tried the Might Mouse yet. Your hands must be HUGE EGM! :lol Oh, and the only people I've seen have problems with the Apple mouse were very uncoordinated and just couldn't get the whole "there is no button, the whole mouse is a button concept."

It should be noted that there aren't a lot of games for the Mac. At least relative to the stuff that comes out on PC. Most of the big titles get ported however. Just thought I'd point that out in case you like to game on your PC.

BTW, it's not a MAC, it's a Mac. As in Macintosh. You know, like the Apple? I never see Mac users use all caps, but I see plenty of people who use other platforms spell it that way for some reason.

 

[Particle Physicist]

Control+Click also works, and often times click-and-hold too.

yeah. i do that when im too lazy to pull out my mouse.. its pretty second nature by now.


btw. check your pm Matlock.

 

[Macam]

This is an offshoot to the "$1000 soakin'" thread...If they force an equivalent value replacement, I'm tempted to get an apple laptop (iBook, as I've heard the powerbook line's prone to dents/bending) instead...

Anyway, th' questions.

*How good is Windows emulation in the Mac environ? I'd only be using it for Office, really, as I don't want to re-pay for software on another system.
*How much heat/noise does it throw out? My last two laptops were desktop replacements, and loud as hell. I'm wanting to find a smaller, more portable-friendly solution.
*How's battery life?
*How hard is it to adjust to the Mac environ? I've only used it a couple of times, but thought it was similar enough to win95-XP that I could work it.
*Are installs much different in procedure, both with hardware and software? Do macs support plug n play and auto-find drivers, or would I have to track them down? How do you install/uninstall software?
*How stable is the OS?
*If the OS does bugger up, how easy is it to repair?

Thanks beforehand.

I think most everyone answered your Qs, but I'll just dabble on these a bit.

One, as noted, I'd forego Virtual PC; if you can't acquire Office, let me know. Being the perpetual student that I am, I can probably land it for $15 and save you some expense. That said, if you know any students, just check if you a local university or community college has a Microsoft deal and you can score their software for less than a $20.

Heat isn't much of an issue unless you do intensive work or something mechancially active like rip a CD, heat and noise never really is much of an issue. Battery life is around 3 hours on average for me, but I'm an intensive user who always uses WiFi. Forget drivers, installs, and adjustment; this stuff is so pathetically easy you won't bat an eye.

Stability is fantastic; I've had perhaps 2 kernal panics ever, and anytime I ever had to do an OS re-install, it was completely optional and intentional on my part and never took more than an hour tops.

 

[Matlock]

:lol I forgot about OpenOffice, which is what I use on my mom's PC. It's servicable, but the real thing's much better.