Buy an iBook 12"?

Someone posted almost the same question a while ago and I read it through. However, I have a solid dilemna...

I'm an old-time geezer (26 years old is old technology-wise) PC user who die-hard defended PCs until some time ago I started putting some bias in my opinions, and 'til last year when I almost bought a mac, but instead bought that laptop you see in my sig.

Now I'm here, my girlfriend would like to have a laptop too, so I'm thinking of buying a new laptop, and the idea of a mac is back

Now here are my concerns:

- I really like the iBook 12" as it is now, and its battery life of 4~5 hours really appeal to me, so I'm wondering if waiting is a good idea since I wouldn't prefer the new iBook even if it had the new intel stuff, if the battery was to loose an hour of duration, see?

- And the second thing, I'm too **** afraid of mac software, I know so much about PC software, I'm used to it and I know what to get for what situation, but on a Mac I'd be lost... And I don't seem to find much of anything useful about that on the net, would I be like alone on my deserted island with a mac?!

Okay, that said, other reasons for buying an iBook is that it seems to be built so much better than PC laptops, it'S rounded, no doors or anything, slot-load drive... why the hell aren't these criterias used with PC laptops??????

 

I suggest you wait for Intel based macs. Yes, we all know that there will be an update for the iBook soon (within a year).

In addition, about your comment of afraid to jump to the mac software -- virtual PC is your friend if you ever decide to go back.

 

Switching over is pretty painless, you are used to MS propaganda against mac it seems

 

I second waiting for Intel Macs - they'll offer better performance, an updated GPU and better battery life for the same price. Apple is also supposed to be releasing a 13.3" iBook as well.

 

okay, thanks for the comments. as for waiting, that's what everybody's saying, but are you *sure* that the intel core solo/duo will use less power than a G4 hence have better battery life? I don'T know why but I'm not convinced of that. As of general rule, it doesn't seem to be manufacturer's priority to give 5+ hours of battery life, whereas it appears crucial to me now.

And hemm... within a year, that seems a long time to me I know it may be around next corner, but... I hate not knowing!!!

RadcomTxx: well, it has nothing to do with Microsoft or anything, it's just your generic run-of-the-mill fear of the unknown. I'm used to know "everything" with computers, but on the other side of the fence, I'm pretty ignorant!

 

I find apple to be one that tries to maintain a long battery life.

I guess it wouldn't JUST be ms propaganda, but i would say that many myths add up to add to the fear of the "unkown" mac. People really need to get around the 'fear of the unkown'. its a stupid fear to have, especially when there is still unkown things out in the world

 

yeah, well, you may be right, but don't push it, I might start believing some things said about mac fans

I, for one, find it reassuring to use things I'm comfortable with, I dunno if I'm so strange being so.

 

Heaveny38 I am about to buy a ibook 12" also. I been into windows for a long time but lately I have brought 2 macs os 9 and osx 10.4 and both a very good and easy to get used to and I am still learning. The ibook is at it's prime now so I think it good buy. A+

 

I jumped into Mac's a while ago as well, but sold the ibook after about half a year.

I purchased the 12" ibook JUST before the 1.2ghz g4's were released.

What I found about the macs:

OsX is really nice, things work well, but with 256MB of ram, I could barely run Microsoft Word without the laptop becoming unusable.

I promptly upgraded to 768MB of ram. It was required enough that I suggest everyone consider this a minimum requirement.

I had no trouble finding software for the Mac. In fact, it was a bit better than looking for PC software - although there was significantly less software than for PC's, what I did find was generally much higher quality.

The battery also lasted a good consistent 4-5 hours.

Overall a good experience.

I had two major issues with the iBook, however.

1) Lag, whatever I did, there was lag. It didn't increase with memory used or anything. It was like a universal lag that existed whenever I ran anything or tried to do anything with the mac at all. It wasn't huge, but definitely noticeable and annoying. I did eventually get used to this, but because I switched between faster PC's and the ibook, it was a bit frustrating.

2) Build quality. Although the ibook is fairly well built, the midsection between the top and the bottom (and turns into the keyboard) is cheap plastic that I had a crack develop on. It looked like a stress crack. Furthermore, the ibook started to creak. Definitely not a good thing. (within 6 months of purchasing it too) I suspect this was due to the way I carried it - in a sleeve inside my backpack.
The other issue with the ibook is the poor screen lid build. The two tiny rubbers they put on the ibook screen added with the huge screen clearance off the keyboard when closed caused the lid to flex ridiculously. Again, poor design.

Anyways, now I'm on an LG T1, and it is definitely built much better than the iBook and has better battery life, but I miss the slot drive. Guess you can't have everything.

 

It's funny what your post is saying the_hurricane, because the T1 and the iBook are 2 of the laptops I'm currently looking for The other one is an inspiron630m, all these 3 laptops have many of the important criterias I'm searching for.

As you say, though, the slot-load drive is seomthing I find ridiculous that most laptops should have it, even though it might cost a little more, it just makes sense.

About that T1, you say the battery life is better, how long do you get with it?!?! And is it even more robust than the ibook?

Thanks all for the tips. If anyone else has done what I'm about to do, I'm all ears!

 

maybe we should wait to see if there will be a new ibook with the new intel duo?

 

yeah, perhaps...

but Apple could change lots of things I like about the iBook, or maybe they won't, that's what makes me hesitate.

And regarding iBook VS LG T1, there's one definitive detail that's also at stake, price iBook is 1250$ versus ~1900$ for the LG T1. Makes for an important difference!!!

 

those would be little quirks that i dont notice, don't have. The only 'damage' mine has is a little chip that i found in the lid recently. The creak would be due to the plastic construction. But even though it is plastic, it is a strong one. I haven't been too gentle with it and it has been just fine. My other one that was plasticky, it reallly flexes and breaks. The screen flex you mentioned is very minor in my opinion, my other one flexs MUCH more, and cracks really easily.

 

But then again the ibook is at best now

 

One last thing I (and another buddy who picked up the 1.2GHZ G4 ibook after it came out) noticed - the lcd on the iBook is not very bright and is prone to a bit of flickering.

The specs of the iBook now are different from when I purchased, but if you loaded the iBook up to about the cost of the T1 (~$1800+taxes CDN), it would be a tough comparison of the two.

The core duo's are definitely much faster & you'll get the dvdrw, but with the mac, you'll get the dedicated video + faster drive.

The better comparison would be the 12" Powerbook or 14" iBook with the T1.

In the end, it comes down to what you're looking to do with the laptop....

Eitherway, you're getting a nice machine.

 

BTW, what kind of software are you planning on using? I'd check that out first.

 

i have the 1.33ghz ibook, and there is no flicker in my screen and i rarely have it on full brightness.

 

ok thanks...

about the T1 and iBook at the same specs, I know... it's just that money's tight and 1250$ is like the best I feel I can spend without taxes (15%). I'm trying to sell my desktop and if I do, I'll go for it, be it an iBook or something else in that price range.

What matters most for me now is battery life, size, looks and build, price. I'll have to make sacrifices to get all that for little money, 'cause I'd really like that SuperDrive on the 14" model, but it's too heavy, the battery lasts a little less and it costs 400$ more.

If I had the money, I think I'd drop the Mac idea and go for the T1 right away, as soon as I saw it come out, I was at awe

Software, mostly: web, mails, chat, writing, photoshop, coding (I'd like to give a go at mac coding for at least once in my life) and most importantly, watching tv shows and anime.

There is these other things I do I know I'll have trouble doing on a Mac, like converting downloaded videos to other formats, burning DVDs (I'll have to buy an expensive external drive when I'll have the money), maybe some other stuff I can't think of right away.

I don't plan on gaming on this machine so I don't care if there are less games or if the graphic card is only a 9550 with 32mb.

 

Ah.. with that budget, the 12" iBook is definitely your only real option. I think that was the reason I took the plunge and bought my first mac.

There is little that will compare to the iBook in terms of specs and build at that price range.

If you really did want to stay with PC, the only thing I can think of in that range is probably the MSI 12" laptops... I had one for a while, and they're popular... but I personally didn't like it (heavy, battery stuck out, had touchpad problems, major pain to take apart - guess you can say that for the iBook too)

Let me know if you have any questions about software, etc... changing over. The first few weeks with the iBook was interesting for me!

 

okay, thanks!

and I forgot to mention that I meant CAN$

I'll continue thinking about this!

 

Yup.

If you don't mind used though, you could probably find a used T42 or T43 for $1200-$1300

 

I really have diffculty with used Stupid of me I guess, but I almost never bought anything computer-related used...

I've been given some used things, but I almost never bought any, except when the deal was so good that I'd be a fool to miss it

 

How's 'bout this? : http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259166

That guy's legit, I've traded with him before.

Not a bad deal IMO, tons of IBM warranty left too. Only thing that some people might have issues with might be the 1024x768 res..

 

yeah, true about the rez. on a 12" that's fine though. but thanks for the tip I'm waiting for a buyer for my desktop and once that's cleared, I'll make a choice!

But I think very much it'll be the ibook, I just gotta try Mac And I'll buy a nexternal DVD burner at a later time if the need arise! I know they're expensive, but it could be handy, considering I won't have a desktpo anymore.

 

An external burner shouldn't be more than $100 CDN.

 

Dear, what are you sources?

For Mac, the cheapest burners I've seen are like 150$ and that's because they don't have good software with them, or none at all, otherwise, they cost around 200~250$ .

I've found LaCie to be the only actual brand who seems to support Mac DVD burners. I've seen one model from Sony but I can't find a place to buy it from here and it's around 200$ too.

There are many ~150$ external DVD burners in stores, but they are for PCs only.