Buying PowerBook In A Few Hours, Had A Few Questions Though???

[jumpman25]

First off, I would like to say thanks to all those that have helped me out and answered all my questions regarding the PowerBooks. I have decided to order the base 12" model without super drive (I figure if I ever need one I can get an external for about the same price which is much faster). The total comes to 1482.94 with tax. I plan on upgrading the RAM to 768 from crucial, and am getting an AE card when my friend pays me the money he owes. I was just wondering what kind of software the laptop comes with before I make the purchase. Does it come with any word processing software so I can type papers? I read somewhere that it comes with a trial for office X. Can anyone confirm this? If so how long is the trial? Is there any other software that I should probably get? I am a little short on cash for extra software, but if there is something that is a must have then I can probably squeeze it in. Anything else that would be of use or just stuff to make me feel good about my purchase is welcome. I will be sure to write a review of the PB as soon as I get it. I will try to include pictures as well. Thanks in advance for your help.

[jsw]

From the Apple site, included software is:

Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Sherlock, Address Book, QuickTime, iLife (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD[4]), iSync, iCal, DVD Player, Classic environment, Art Directors Toolkit, EarthLink TotalAccess 2003 (includes 30 days of free service), FileMaker Pro 6 Trial, GraphicConverter, Microsoft Office v. X Test Drive, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition, Zinio Reader, Developer Tools, and Apple Hardware Test

So no word processing SW except for the Office trial. BTW, OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner are cool - esp. Graffle.

FWIW, iBooks come with:

All models include Mail, Safari, iChat AV, Sherlock, Address Book, QuickTime, iLife (includes iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie), iSync, iCal, DVD Player, AppleWorks, Mac OS X Chess, and Classic environment; Microsoft Internet Explorer, AOL, Quicken 2004 Deluxe, World Book 2003 Edition, Microsoft Office 4.X Test Drive, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, Deimos Rising, Sound Studio, and Zinio Reader; Apple Hardware Test.

which does include AppleWorks, which is pretty decent for a free add-in.

You can get an educational version of Office for $150, so, while expensive, isn't killer. There are other options (like buying AppleWorks for $80), but, of course, Word is the de facto standard.

Best of luck with your purchase - whatever you get, you'll love it!

[jsw]

And, seriously, you're going to love this thing when you get it. My brother's got one. It's just stunningly cool.

[jsw]

And I forgot - the Office trial is 30 days.

[aswitcher]

Not sure if you can airport extreme installed afterwards...best you check that but I think thats the deal.

You get iLife but not Appleworks with the Power range.
Appleworks has the basic word processor and excel copy etc Should be good enough for most stuff. It shouldn't be too expensive and they might cut you a discount :)

Seriously think about getting Applecare now or later...or take you chances down the track after 90 days...you can get it after you buy the PB.

Hard drive is pretty cheap to upgrade now $50 for another 20 gig! If you have lost of video or music or photos planned for this machine, then that would help.

Ask them what other things they have on special or special to be packaged with a computer/indeed a powerbook purchase. There could be some nice cheap software offers about you might be tempted by.

[jumpman25]

Thanks jsw, thats exactly what I was looking for. Don't know why I never thought to look on the apple website for the software??? Anyway, that 30 day office trial should hold me over until I get the cash to buy office X. I'm going to hit the apple site right now and make the purchase. I have been a long time PC user and just got sick of the same old thing. I also like the aqua interface. :-)

[crazzyeddie]

Not sure if you can airport extreme installed afterwards...best you check that but I think thats the deal.

Yes, it can be added later by the end user.

Also, have you considered just using Text Edit? I find that for most stuff, in rich text mode, TextEdit is enough with built in spell checking. Its also compatible with word docs... so you can even open those.

[jumpman25]

Not sure if you can airport extreme installed afterwards...best you check that but I think thats the deal.

You get iLife but not Appleworks with the Power range.
Appleworks has the basic word processor and excel copy etc Should be good enough for most stuff. It shouldn't be too expensive and they might cut you a discount :)

Seriously think about getting Applecare now or later...or take you chances down the track after 90 days...you can get it after you buy the PB.

Hard drive is pretty cheap to upgrade now $50 for another 20 gig! If you have lost of video or music or photos planned for this machine, then that would help.

Ask them what other things they have on special or special to be packaged with a computer/indeed a powerbook purchase. There could be some nice cheap software offers about you might be tempted by.

Thans Switcher, can anybody confirm this becuase we have a wireless network in our house and to not be able to use AE would be a real bummer. Also, do you know if Appleworks has spell check? Thats a big one for me as I type fast and often miss stuff.

[jumpman25]

Yes, it can be added later by the end user.

Also, have you considered just using Text Edit? I find that for most stuff, in rich text mode, TextEdit is enough with built in spell checking. Its also compatible with word docs... so you can even open those.

Ok cool, so I just unscrew a port in the bottom of the PB and it clicks right in right? Also, does anybody know if Apple works is compatable with Word Docs, and does it have spell check. I am assuming that test edit does not have spell check.

[Markel]

Thans Switcher, can anybody confirm this becuase we have a wireless network in our house and to not be able to use AE would be a real bummer. Also, do you know if Appleworks has spell check? Thats a big one for me as I type fast and often miss stuff.

IIRC, you can add AE later, but not Bluetooth (internally).

[HexMonkey]

Ok cool, so I just unscrew a port in the bottom of the PB and it clicks right in right? Also, does anybody know if Apple works is compatable with Word Docs, and does it have spell check. I am assuming that test edit does not have spell check.

Yes, AppleWorks can read Word documents, and it has spell check. In fact, almost every OS X text editor (including TextEdit) has spell check because it is built in to the system.

EDIT: TextEdit can read Word documents as well.

[jumpman25]

Yes, AppleWorks can read Word documents, and it has spell check. In fact, almost every OS X text editor (including TextEdit) has spell check because it is built in to the system.

EDIT: TextEdit can read Word documents as well.

Thanks, I just assumed that the TextEdit would be like notepad on my PC. Guess I was wrong.

MAN I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS THING TO ARRIVE AT MY DOOR!

[jumpman25]

Forgot to add this in my last post. Would you people reccommend that I get apple works??? I can get it for 39.00 from apple for the educational version. Do you think it would be worth it or would???

[aswitcher]

The only other deal you may want to consider is the .Mac account special which is available with new purchases...

Check the Apple website for details. Some pretty cool stuff.

[aswitcher]

Forgot to add this in my last post. Would you people reccommend that I get apple works??? I can get it for 39.00 from apple for the educational version. Do you think it would be worth it or would???

If you plan to buy the new Office X in June when the new version comes out then I would say save your money unless you are going to be doing signficant amounts of writing the next 3 months...

[HexMonkey]

Forgot to add this in my last post. Would you people reccommend that I get apple works??? I can get it for 39.00 from apple for the educational version. Do you think it would be worth it or would???

It depends on what you need. I'd recommend getting your PowerBook and looking at what's there, and then deciding. For basic text editing, TextEdit is useful. It has styled text, different alignments, spacing, tabs, spell check, kerning, colours and more.

AppleWorks has a few more features in its word processor, but it's getting out of date (last major release was either 1999 or 2000). It also contains spreadsheet, database, drawing, painting and presentation tools, but it sounds like word processing is the main thing that you're looking for.

If you're planning on buying Office, then AppleWorks is probably not necessary, as Office can do pretty much everything AppleWorks can do plus more (despite being made by Microsoft ;)).

[jumpman25]

It depends on what you need. I'd recommend getting your PowerBook and looking at what's there, and then deciding. For basic text editing, TextEdit is useful. It has styled text, different alignments, spacing, tabs, spell check, kerning, colours and more.

AppleWorks has a few more features in its word processor, but it's getting out of date (last major release was either 1999 or 2000). It also contains spreadsheet, database, drawing, painting and presentation tools, but it sounds like word processing is the main thing that you're looking for.

If you're planning on buying Office, then AppleWorks is probably not necessary, as Office can do pretty much everything AppleWorks can do plus more (despite being made by Microsoft ;)).

Thanks, I am plainning on buying office when it comes out, so I will just use the trial version and TextEdit until the new version of office. All I need is word processing so those should be fine for now.

[oingoboingo]

IIRC, you can add AE later, but not Bluetooth (internally).

Bluetooth is standard across the entire PowerBook range, so this is not an issue.

[jumpman25]

I just placed the order. It said that the powerbook will ship same day. I paid extra for 2-3 day shipping, so I figure I should have it by Wednesday or Thursday. I'll write a review when I get it. Thanks for all your help.

[Kwyjibo]

it doesn't really matter when you buy office because right now microsfot is offering a free upgrade to all users who buy office.x so I mean you can't go wrong... look around ebay for that if your comfortable I think my friend got his for like $70 .... your gonna realize real quick what you need and what you don't and then you'll be set.

[jsw]

it doesn't really matter when you buy office because right now microsfot is offering a free upgrade to all users who buy office.x so I mean you can't go wrong... look around ebay for that if your comfortable I think my friend got his for like $70 .... your gonna realize real quick what you need and what you don't and then you'll be set.

Just a possible warning: I'm not sure that the free upgrade applies to the educational/home version of Office. That version, which I got for the three OS X Macs in the house, works just fine, BTW. But if you can get the new version, the feature set is impressive.

And AppleWorks is pretty much useful if and only if you can't/won't get Office.

Please post when you get your system, or feel free to PM me (or others, I'd imagine) for advice on freeware/shareware/alterations. There's a lot of good free or nearly free software out there, and, unlike PC world, there isn't nearly as much garbage.

Also, you might strongly want to consider getting one of the many OS X hint/tip/explanation books. Not to help you to start using OS X, which is pretty self-explanatory, but to really get some of the joy out of what is buried inside of that Mac you just bought. Two suggestions are:


"Mac OS X Killer Tips" by Scott Kelby
"Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition" by David Pogue


You get a lot of cool SW supplied with your PB, but OS X is pretty amazing in and of itself.

[mrgreen4242]

Also, there is always OpenOffice.org for a completely FREE office suite. I use it on my Pc (both Windows and Linux) but Haven't used it for the Mac, as I am still waiting to order mine. I actually like it better than Office 2k. It is completely compatable with Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. It also has it's own format, that is abotu half the size of MS's, while maintaining all the features. It doesn't have alot of the more annoying 'features' that Word has, like the auto bulleted list's which drive me INSANE whenever I am typing up a .plan...

OOo 1.0.3 for Max X11 is supposedly completely stable and easy to install, but I can't vouch for that personally. (Now that I am thinking about it, I may have to stat another thread to see who is using OOo and what thier comments are). The newest version is 1.1, which supposedly has alot of very nice features and improvements, but isn't supported for OSX yet. There's some sort of Java implementation that works with OSX, but I know nothing about it. (Not a huge fan of Java for performance reasons). Anyways, I have been using 1.0.3 for Linux for awhile, and haven't been compelled to upgrade.

The only thing that bothers some people, from what I hear, is that because it's an X11 app, it doesn't have the Aqua look and feel to it. Although, I was lead to believe you could configure your X11 apps to look however you wanted, including looking like OSX?

Anyways, it's worth a look, imho. Oh, did I mention it was completely FREE? :)

Rob

PS For open source word proccessors, there is also AbiWord, which I have used in Linux, and is supposedly compatable with OSX's X11 implementation, tho I have never tried it. It's listed on Fink's package list, so I s'pose it must be. Add that to Gnumeric (a free X11-based spreadsheet which is also listed under Fink) and Thuderbird (Mozilla's stand alone email app) and all your missing is a presentation package. Just something else to look at if you don't like OOo.

[rstroud]

Yes, Teacher and Student edition is good for the free upgrade offer.
Acquire the following Office v. X products…
Office v. X Student and Teacher Edition English (731-00765)
…and receive the following Office 2004 product…
Office 2004 Student and Teacher Edition
…for this price*
Free

Plus shipping and handling.

Taken from this (http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/5/f/05f5ef70-dd7f-4e81-92b2-4e5d82fbeaad/Office2004-Tech-Guarantee-Coupon.pdf)
pdf file. ;)

[jumpman25]

Just a possible warning: I'm not sure that the free upgrade applies to the educational/home version of Office. That version, which I got for the three OS X Macs in the house, works just fine, BTW. But if you can get the new version, the feature set is impressive.

And AppleWorks is pretty much useful if and only if you can't/won't get Office.

Please post when you get your system, or feel free to PM me (or others, I'd imagine) for advice on freeware/shareware/alterations. There's a lot of good free or nearly free software out there, and, unlike PC world, there isn't nearly as much garbage.

Also, you might strongly want to consider getting one of the many OS X hint/tip/explanation books. Not to help you to start using OS X, which is pretty self-explanatory, but to really get some of the joy out of what is buried inside of that Mac you just bought. Two suggestions are:


"Mac OS X Killer Tips" by Scott Kelby
"Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition" by David Pogue


You get a lot of cool SW supplied with your PB, but OS X is pretty amazing in and of itself.


Thanks, I did get the Pogue Missing Manual for Panther, it has tons of info in it. It has a chart in the back for all the shortcuts plus it has pictures. :-)
I also will be asking for any other software that I should download when I post my review. I don't know that much about the software available so it would be nice to know what kinds of things are out ther.

[jumpman25]

Also, there is always OpenOffice.org for a completely FREE office suite. I use it on my Pc (both Windows and Linux) but Haven't used it for the Mac, as I am still waiting to order mine. I actually like it better than Office 2k. It is completely compatable with Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. It also has it's own format, that is abotu half the size of MS's, while maintaining all the features. It doesn't have alot of the more annoying 'features' that Word has, like the auto bulleted list's which drive me INSANE whenever I am typing up a .plan...

OOo 1.0.3 for Max X11 is supposedly completely stable and easy to install, but I can't vouch for that personally. (Now that I am thinking about it, I may have to stat another thread to see who is using OOo and what thier comments are). The newest version is 1.1, which supposedly has alot of very nice features and improvements, but isn't supported for OSX yet. There's some sort of Java implementation that works with OSX, but I know nothing about it. (Not a huge fan of Java for performance reasons). Anyways, I have been using 1.0.3 for Linux for awhile, and haven't been compelled to upgrade.

The only thing that bothers some people, from what I hear, is that because it's an X11 app, it doesn't have the Aqua look and feel to it. Although, I was lead to believe you could configure your X11 apps to look however you wanted, including looking like OSX?

Anyways, it's worth a look, imho. Oh, did I mention it was completely FREE? :)

Rob

PS For open source word proccessors, there is also AbiWord, which I have used in Linux, and is supposedly compatable with OSX's X11 implementation, tho I have never tried it. It's listed on Fink's package list, so I s'pose it must be. Add that to Gnumeric (a free X11-based spreadsheet which is also listed under Fink) and Thuderbird (Mozilla's stand alone email app) and all your missing is a presentation package. Just something else to look at if you don't like OOo.

I'll have to check those out. I'm a little short on cash right now after purchasing the PowerBook, so the free stuff would be nice. I should have enough money for Office after the 30 day trial is over, but I am going to give those a try.

[mrgreen4242]

I'll have to check those out. I'm a little short on cash right now after purchasing the PowerBook, so the free stuff would be nice. I should have enough money for Office after the 30 day trial is over, but I am going to give those a try.
If you find OOo suits your needs, you can always take that $150-$500 (depending on the version; student up to proffesional) and spend it on cool stuff for you new PB... external DVD-r comes to mind immediately... I'm sure you can think of others. :D

As far as some other free software, check out the Fink project here (http://fink.sourceforge.net/). There is a graphical frontend available for it, which should make finding, installing, configuring, and updating software packages pretty easy. From the Fink homepage:

"The Fink project wants to bring the full world of Unix Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X. We modify Unix software so that it compiles and runs on Mac OS X ("port" it) and make it available for download as a coherent distribution ... The database was last updated at 16:38 GMT on Sunday, March 28 and currently lists 3524 packages in 22 sections."

So there's a whole lot out there! Good luck...

Rob

PS Can you confirm for me that your Superdrive-less Powerbook came with iDVD? Thanks :)

PPS in case you were having trouble finding it, here (http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/ooo-osx_downloads.html) is the OpenOffice.org OSX download.

[James Craner]

Jumpman,

Congratulations on your new purchase, I am sure you will not be disappointed. What do you plan to use it for, apart from word processing stuff? We may be able to give you some additional guidance on software.

[kaylee]

Yes, Teacher and Student edition is good for the free upgrade offer.
Acquire the following Office v. X products…
Office v. X Student and Teacher Edition English (731-00765)
…and receive the following Office 2004 product…
Office 2004 Student and Teacher Edition
…for this price*
Free

Plus shipping and handling.

Taken from this (http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/5/f/05f5ef70-dd7f-4e81-92b2-4e5d82fbeaad/Office2004-Tech-Guarantee-Coupon.pdf)
pdf file. ;)

from what i've heard though, student and teacher edition of Office will not be eligible for upgrades from Office 2004 onwards (ie when they put out a new version of Office, you will have to buy a full academic/student version instead of just getting an upgrade to your current version - although with student discount the full version may not be that expensive anyway).

[kaylee]

PS Can you confirm for me that your Superdrive-less Powerbook came with iDVD? Thanks :)


a friend of mine got a 12in pb with just the combo drive when they were released last year, and it came with idvd.

[josepho]

from what i've heard though, student and teacher edition of Office will not be eligible for upgrades from Office 2004 onwards (ie when they put out a new version of Office, you will have to buy a full academic/student version instead of just getting an upgrade to your current version - although with student discount the full version may not be that expensive anyway).

Well, the Apple UK educational site certainly says you can upgrade, only paying shipping and handling charge. I imagine, as was stated earlier, that this would also apply elsewhere in the world.

[jumpman25]

Jumpman,

Congratulations on your new purchase, I am sure you will not be disappointed. What do you plan to use it for, apart from word processing stuff? We may be able to give you some additional guidance on software.

Apart from word processing I plan on using it for music, watching DVD's, internet, a little gaming, chatting, and just messing around with software that looks cool. I'm pretty much open to any suggestions as I don't know all that much about what software is available. I'm thinking I might buy .mac when I get some more money as the iDisk looks like it would be very useful for accessing small files on other computers, given that the PB does not have a floppy. I think I might buy Sim City 4 so I have something to do on road trips or when I'm bored. Does anybody know how SC4 runs on the 12" PB? Any other suggestions for freeware or whatever would be appreciated.

p.s. I'll let you know if it comes with iDVD when I get it MrGreen.

[jumpman25]

If you find OOo suits your needs, you can always take that $150-$500 (depending on the version; student up to proffesional) and spend it on cool stuff for you new PB... external DVD-r comes to mind immediately... I'm sure you can think of others. :D

As far as some other free software, check out the Fink project here (http://fink.sourceforge.net/). There is a graphical frontend available for it, which should make finding, installing, configuring, and updating software packages pretty easy. From the Fink homepage:

"The Fink project wants to bring the full world of Unix Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X. We modify Unix software so that it compiles and runs on Mac OS X ("port" it) and make it available for download as a coherent distribution ... The database was last updated at 16:38 GMT on Sunday, March 28 and currently lists 3524 packages in 22 sections."

So there's a whole lot out there! Good luck...

Rob

PS Can you confirm for me that your Superdrive-less Powerbook came with iDVD? Thanks :)

PPS in case you were having trouble finding it, here (http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/ooo-osx_downloads.html) is the OpenOffice.org OSX download.

If I could save the money from office I do have a few things on my want list. I wouldn't mind the LaCie 8x DVD burner with toast. A 1GB stick of memory from crucial would be nice too. :-))

[QCassidy352]

I have a combo drive 12" PB and it came with iDVD.

A word of caution regarding the trial of office: I wouldn't count on using it heavily. I only used it a little bit before I installed the full version, but it seems very crippled. Not in terms of features, but by the fact that little windows pop up all the time, and (I'm not sure about this next part - it seems too absurd to be true, but it's what I remember) the fact that you can't save documents.

[oingoboingo]

I'll have to check those out. I'm a little short on cash right now after purchasing the PowerBook, so the free stuff would be nice. I should have enough money for Office after the 30 day trial is over, but I am going to give those a try.

If you look in the right places on Usenet and Google, there are hacks which unlock the 30 day trial version of Office into the full thing.

[ingenious]

Thanks jsw, thats exactly what I was looking for. Don't know why I never thought to look on the apple website for the software??? Anyway, that 30 day office trial should hold me over until I get the cash to buy office X. I'm going to hit the apple site right now and make the purchase. I have been a long time PC user and just got sick of the same old thing. I also like the aqua interface. :-)


you cannot print in the office x trial!!!! also, the albook will includle iLife '04, so you will get that, but not garageband i dont think cuz that a superdrive only thing. does mac os x support external dvd burners?

[Coca-Cola]

Best word processor for the mac is ....Mellel. http://www.redlers.com/. It is also the least expensive. Openoffice is free and a neat idea as well, but starts up so slowly. It drives me mad! Abiword doesn't print. Office is okay, but who wants M$ on there computer especially if you have to hand over money to do so. Another good word processor is http://www.nisus.com/Express/. But Mellel looks better and is cheaper. Appleworks could be very good. I thought it was the bomb back in the Mac OS 9 days, but really doesn't fit in with Mac os x very well. It could be so much better. Like Mellel. Oh so good. I am in love with Mellel.

[Inspector Lee]

but not garageband i dont think cuz that a superdrive only thing. does mac os x support external dvd burners?

Not so fast my friend... iLife '04 ships on a dvd so you need only a dvd-rom to install it (read: combo drive) and not necessarily a superdrive.
You can use an external dvd burner with OS X but you will need a hack in order to use iDVD. See below:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=63869

The alternative to iDVD is DVD Studio Pro.

[Inspector Lee]

and (I'm not sure about this next part - it seems too absurd to be true, but it's what I remember) the fact that you can't save documents.

You can definitely save documents but you cannot print them. Other restrictions are outlined when you install the trial - they currently escape me.

And I know the following horse has been beaten to death (and beaten severely) but isn't it time to upgrade Appleworks and garnish it with Keynote and maybe Filemaker? Put together something with a little more muscle and a little more moxie?

It makes me wonder if Jobs and Gates made a deal back in '97 in which Apple agreed to stay out of the Office realm for x number of years.

[rstroud]

from what i've heard though, student and teacher edition of Office will not be eligible for upgrades from Office 2004 onwards (ie when they put out a new version of Office, you will have to buy a full academic/student version instead of just getting an upgrade to your current version - although with student discount the full version may not be that expensive anyway).
Speculation. No offense, but once they put out Office 2004, you wouldn't have to worry about upgrading for a few years. And btw...the full academic/student version costs 179-199 dollars (at least the PC version does) depending on where you buy it. So worrying people now with speculation isn't needed, but thanks for your two cents. :cool:

[Inspector Lee]

Purchase Office v. X for Mac Student and Teacher Edition anytime between now and June 30, 2004, you will be able to get Office 2004 Student and Teacher Edition free.

I pulled this from Apple today. This wasn't the case when I purchased back in late January. I stand corrected.

[ingenious]

Not so fast my friend... iLife '04 ships on a dvd so you need only a dvd-rom to install it (read: combo drive) and not necessarily a superdrive.
You can use an external dvd burner with OS X but you will need a hack in order to use iDVD. See below:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=63869

The alternative to iDVD is DVD Studio Pro.

doesnt it also ship on cd?

[ingenious]

...It makes me wonder if Jobs and Gates made a deal back in '97 in which Apple agreed to stay out of the Office realm for x number of years.


maybe the number of years that M$ has to stay out of the filemaker pro realm? and not come out with (barf) Access:Mac

[Inspector Lee]

doesnt it also ship on cd?

I think it ships on dvd only but I may be wrong. Apple's site states it requires 4.3 GB of disk space. I don't own it but I am probably going to pick it up along with Panther in the next few weeks. I probably shouldn't be throwing out statements without owning the product, but I could swear you need a dvd-rom drive (internal or external).

[seattlemaclover]

If you look in the right places on Usenet and Google, there are hacks which unlock the 30 day trial version of Office into the full thing.

Any hints on what to search for?, or maybe sites?

[legion]

If you look in the right places on Usenet and Google, there are hacks which unlock the 30 day trial version of Office into the full thing.

Welcome to stealing! If you can't afford it, don't use it.